Remembering our roots ~ Don & Kay Fraser

John Godsman

Times Contributor

 

The Fraser family name has been traced back to the 12th century, but this family story begins in the 1920’s, when Don’s grandparents Simon and Jean Fraser, and their four youngest (Matt, Douglas, Betty and Jean) of eleven children, immigrated to Canada. They arrived at Chancellor, to stay with their two sons who had served in the Canadian Army, and been assigned Soldiers Settlement Land. Grandfather bought 35 unbroken horses, about a week after they arrived, and thus started a horse business that would continue until the late thirties.
In 1923, the family moved to the George Rawling place southwest of Hussar, where Don’s father Matt, and Matt’s sister Jean, attended Meadow Grass School. Matt was born in Eaglesham, Scotland in 1909, and raised and sold rabbits to help pay for his passage to Canada.
Eventually, the rest of the family arrived in Canada and settled on the Crowfoot Creek, near Cluny. By this time the land was home to many, many cattle and horses, and as it was open range, they roamed freely. As a young man, Matt, his cousin, and a friend trailed 275 horses north to the Peace River Country, to get feed for the horses, following the extremely dry summer in the south in 1930. He met his future wife Mildred Blanes here, and convinced her to move back south with him. They were married in 1934, and lived in the Cluny area, where their three children were born, Don being the youngest, born in 1938. Don remembers riding his horse to/from Jeanne D’Arc, a one room country school through Grade 7. After the family moved to the Hussar area in 1951, he attended the Dorm in Cluny through Grade 12. This was followed by a year’s schooling in Red Deer, after which he started ranching – which he continues today, as DW Herefords.
His mother Mildred was born in Clinton, Wash. in 1913, one of 11 children of Edwin and Inga Blanes. The family moved to Bawlf, Alta. when she was still an infant. They stayed with relatives until 1916, when they all moved to become homesteaders at Sexsmith. Mildred spent her life as a farm wife, cooking and baking for her family and the work crews, as well as looking after her big garden, sewing and knitting. She now lives (age 102) in Playfair Lodge in Bassano. Matt passed away in 2000.
Her paternal grandparents – William and Elizabeth Mashford with their two small sons, emigrated from Plymouth, England to Calgary in 1912.
One of them was Kay’s father George who was born in 1910. After the war ended, William and Elizabeth bought land at Trochu and tried farming. In those days, many immigrants struggled with the farming conditions, and following Elizabeth’s death in 1929, William returned to England, where he passed away in 1939. Kay’s father George and his brother continued farming, through the tough years of the dirty thirties. In 1933, George married Marion Walker of Trochu, and they had four children. Marion was one of six children born to George and Katherine Walker, who had homesteaded at Trochu in 1905, after moving there from Bottineau, N.D. After several years of drought and hail, her father, George, decided to move on, and after training as an elevator agent he worked in this position for the next 30 years. This necessitated their living in many small towns, one of which was Wimbourne where Kay was born, the youngest of four children, in 1944. She attended school at Three Hills, then graduated from Bassano, before taking a secretarial course at Mount Royal College. She worked for Crane Supply in Calgary for 18 months before getting married. Her father George passed away in 1985, and her mother Marion in 2006.
Don and Kay met at a dance in Gem, Alta. in 1962, and were married in 1964. They have three sons, three granddaughters and five grandsons. The oldest and youngest sons are ranchers, while the middle one is a grain merchant in Lethbridge.
Don has worked with Hereford cattle all his life. He was co-owner of Fraser Hereford Farms with his father and brother until 1972, when the ranch was divided, and their place then became known as DW Herefords.
Their community activities include welcoming exchange students from many countries around the world, who would stay and work with them for six months at a time, many of whom still stay in touch.
Don is Past President of the Alberta Hereford Association, has been a Director of the Alberta Cattle Breeders Association, an Elder in the Presbyterian Church in Bassano, was a member of Hussar Lions, was secretary of the Hussar Seed Cleaning Plant, when it was built, and was one of the board members of the Bassano Gas Co-op when it was formed. He also coached minor hockey.
Kay was a Cub Leader, has been a school volunteer for 16 years, helped create and publish the second Hussar History Book, is a member of the Historical Society, and was one of a small group of women who opened a craft consignment store in Hussar, several years ago. They are both active members of the Hussar Sundowners, and have worked at the Strathmore Western Heritage Days Fair (current Strathmore Stampede) and the Strathmore Christmas Hamper Society.
Changes in the area for them are all the new rules for farmers, high-tech equipment now being used for farming, and the loss of small family-run farms.
Don and Kay feel very fortunate to be able to live in the community of Hussar, and very fortunate to have good health, and a family to be very proud of.