Remembering our roots ~ Richard and Ruth Huether

By John Godsman Times Contributor

The surname Huether originates from northern Germany, in the same time period as Katherine the Great of what we now call Russia. Katherine the Great invited her people (Germans), known as excellent farmers, to move to Russia in the 1700s to farm and settle the land seized from the Turkish army. This land became known as Ukraine. Many of these people later moved from Russia to North America, where they continued farming.
Thomas Beiseker, born in Harvey, N.D., came to Alberta in the early 1900s, and arranged for a group of ethnic German settlers to move from the Great Plains of the Dakotas to the Beiseker/Carbon area. Included were the Huether and Triebwasser families who moved to Levelland, and the Hagel and Schmaltz families who moved to Beiseker (the town was named after Thomas). Triebwasser comes from the joining of two names – “Trieb” was one family and “Wasser” was added later when no heirs were in that family. So, a male Trieb married a female Wasser and Triebwasser came into being.
Richard Huether was born in Bassano, on Sept. 22, 1928, the fourth of six children, to Reinhold and Emma (nee Triebwasser) Huether. He attended Grades 1 to 9 at Levelland, then attended Canadian Union College (now Burman University) in Lacombe. He left school early to farm with his father Reinhold at Levelland, and in his spare time drove a truck for the nearby Rosewood Ranches. He remembers working for a farmer at Gayford where he stooked hay for 10 cents a day. At the age of 16, he helped build the Levelland Seventh-day Adventist Church which he still attends. It was built entirely by hand in 1945 – even the cement was manually made – and as the height of the walls increased, the labourers had to find ways to push, pull, and raise the carts of cement higher and higher.
Ruth was born May 30, 1934 in Liebenow, Germany (now Lubieniów, Poland), and spent her early years in Rosenfeld, Germany. As the Second World War ended, her brother was killed. Shortly after, her father and livestock were taken by the Russians to Siberia, leaving her mother to care for five young children. The family walked many miles to the west to escape from Russia before following other relatives to Alberta in 1950.
Two years later while visiting relatives, Richard was smitten when he saw Ruth walk into the small country church at Levelland. They were married on Nov. 6, 1952 and raised their family on the farm.
After taking sewing lessons, Ruth became an excellent and much sought-after seamstress, even making matching clothes for both Richard and herself. She played the organ at church, led the school choir and enjoyed sharing her table with others.
Richard and Ruth built Huetherville Dairy Farm, one of five dairy farms in the area, where they raised and milked up to 110 Holsteins, and sent the milk to Model Dairies (now Alpha Dairies) in Calgary. Following their retirement in 1988, their farm was soon taken over by a grain farmer, as happened to the other five or more dairy farms in the area.
In 1990, Richard, assisted by his neighbour, dug out the land where the basement would be for their new house, half a mile south of the old farm. Their new house was constructed and shipped by road from Standoff, Alta. Under the driveway into the new house yard, they unearthed an Indian hammerhead stone that can weigh up to four pounds. On the southwest side, there is a 60-foot cliff, at the base of which they discovered many First Nations artifacts, including traces of fire rings, teepees, hammers, knives, etc.
Regretfully, Ruth, who for several years lived at Age Care Sagewood, passed away on Nov. 18, 2016. Richard still lives in the house, and recently celebrated his 90th birthday, with the aim to surpass his grandfather who lived to 100.
Changes in the surrounding area are mainly related to farming. In the 1950s, there were many small individual, family-owned farms and dairy farms. These have all been replaced by huge grain farms. The gravel roads are wider and better maintained. Everyone has their own phone, replacing party lines of years ago.