Remembering our roots ~ Gordon & Viola (Vi) Hilton

John Godsman
Times Contributor

 

Gordon’s grandparents Henry and Florence Hilton emigrated from England to the Nightingale District in 1910, and became part of the English Colony.
Henry was a tailor in England, but moved to Canada to become a farmer, so Gordon’s roots in agriculture were set. Gordon’s mother’s family, the Maillous also originated in England, immigrating to Piapot, Sask. in 1909.
Vi’s father’s family – the Bartelens immigrated from Holland in 1908 to the Aakenstad Dutch Colony, northeast of Strathmore. They were among the group who helped build the first Catholic church in Strathmore, in 1910. Unfortunately, it didn’t have a church bell, and when the elder Mrs. Bartelen was dying, she asked her husband to purchase a bell in her memory. Accordingly, a bell was ordered from France, arriving here in 1926, and was inscribed with Bartelen family names, as well as those of the Pope, Bishop and Priest who were in office at the time. This bell was moved when a new church replaced the original building, and was still in use at the time of the demolition of this church in 2013. Vi and Gordon were able to retrieve the bell. Vi’s mother’s family – the Verweires, immigrated from Belgium to the Finnegan district, near Gem, in 1913.
Gordon grew up in the Nightingale area, and Vi in the Cheadle area. They both started school in one-room country schools, for their elementary education. Gordon attended Berta Vale, and Vi the Turner schools. To reach school they had to either ride a horse (Vi), or walk to and from school. By the time they were ready to attend high school, the country schools had closed, and they were bused to the original Samuel Crowther School in Strathmore.
This was followed by a time at SAIT for Gordon, and Olds Agricultural College for Vi. They were married in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Strathmore on Nov. 22, 1955 and the reception following was held in the Strathmore Legion Hall.
They had five children – Deborah, Spencer, Lawrence, Carolyn and Sterling – who have given them nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Lawrence was tragically killed in an accident in 1976, and his school classmates approached town council to have the park located on Westmount Drive named the Lawrence Hilton Park in his honour.
Initially, Gordon and Vi lived four miles north of town, where Gordon farmed with his father Leonard, and brother Ron, for nine years. In 1964, they ventured out on their own, purchasing the ‘Harvey’ farm in the Crowfoot area. The day they arrived, it was so windy that some of the land was blowing, and Gordon resolved to put an end to this, and he started the experimentation, now known as continuous cropping and ‘No Till’ farming.
As one of the originators, it was only natural for him to be elected President of the Alberta No Till Farmers Association when it was formed in 1978. He travelled extensively in the 70’s and 80’s, looking for new ideas, which he shared with others.
With his son, Spencer, they developed a slide show presentation, showing the benefits of conservation farming to farmers across Western Canada. In 1980, he brought the first ‘No Till’ drill to Western Canada. Their farm became a demonstration farm for conservation farming and they hosted many tour groups from across Canada, the U.S., China, Russia, South Africa and Australia. Minimum tillage is now widely practiced by the vast majority of farmers world wide! Gordon has been recognized over the years for his innovation and foresight into soil and water conservation, by being inducted into the Soil Conservation Council of Canada’s Hall of Fame in Ottawa, and also received its L.B.Thompson Award for Soil Conservation, the Calgary Stampede Family Farm Award, and was recently inducted into The Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame in Edmonton.
Their farm is now being operated by their sons and wives – Spencer/Lynne, Sterling/Lianna, and grandson Dane/Michelle.
Gordon has been active in many community organizations, including the Crowfoot Community Club, Ducks Unlimited, Knights of Columbus, the Lions Club, and the Bow River Water Quality Task Force, and enjoys Seniors Curling and Shuffleboard.
Vi was a member of The Women’s Institute, the Catholic Women’s League (CWL), the Crowfoot Community Club, and enjoys playing bridge.
For the last 20 years, they’ve travelled to Arizona with their fifth wheel, and have many friends there.
The biggest changes they’ve seen are the new technology used in farming, and said they have watched Strathmore grow from a small town where they knew nearly everyone, to a small city where they go to the bank or shopping, and don’t see anyone they know!