Remembering our roots ~ Terry and Brenda Tower
By John Godsman Times Contributor
The Tower family originates from Hingham, a market town located in the county of Norfolk in southeast England. A number of fellow church-goers sailed to Hingham, Mass. in the early 1800s.
Terry’s great-grandfather, Addison Sylvester Tower Sr., was born in 1836 in Chenago County, N.Y., and married Adeline Lough from Elkhart, Ind. They had 10 children. In 1881, Adeline died. Addison married again, to Aarbella Johnston, in 1882 at Council Bluff, Iowa, and they had two children: Goldie (born 1883), and Addison Sylvester Jr. (Pete) Tower (born 1887).
Addison Sr. died from injuries suffered in a tornado in April 1906.
Terry’s paternal great-grandmother, Aarbella Tower (nee Johnston) and daughter Goldie, arrived at Gleichen in 1907. Her son Pete came to Gleichen from Nebraska in 1906 by cattle train, on which he fed and watered the livestock, and he purchased some land (NW of Gleichen west 1/2 of sec 23 twp 22 rng 23 W4M). This was the first farmland purchase and is still part of the current farm. Aarbella died in 1946.
“Tower Ranches – 1973” was the name chosen by third- and fourth-generation family members when it was still a cow/calf and grain operation. In 2008, the cow/calf herd was sold and it became a grain farm only. It is located near Hammer Hill (SW 1/4 of sec 2 twp 23 rng 23 W4M), a well-known landmark in Wheatland County. The ranch celebrated 100 years of operation in July 2007.
Pete married May McAlister (born 1895) in 1917 and they had three children: Connie (born 1916), Clifford (born 1918) and Richard (born 1920). May died in 1952. Pete then married Rose Mack in 1947, but regretfully he died in 1950. Cliff Tower married Winnie Stewart in 1944 and they have two children, Donald Addison and Brenda Lee.
Richard (Dick) Tower married Frances McJunkin (born 1924) in 1944. They have two children, Terry (born 1947) and Heather (born 1950).
Dick served in the RCAF, and following his discharge in 1952, he and Frances returned to the farm where he worked with his brother Cliff. Unfortunately, Cliff passed away suddenly in 1953, and Dick was left to operate the farm on his own. His son Terry eventually joined him, and then grandson Curtis was able to assist. Frances passed away in 1990, and Dick remained on the farm until he retired in 2001 and moved to Strathmore. He passed away in 2007.
Terry’s maternal grandparents were Harry LeRoy McJunkin, who was born in St. John N.B. in 1900, and Alice McJunkin (nee Carlson) born in Burdette, Minn. in 1901. They married in Calgary in 1920, and had two daughters: Eileen (born 1922) and Frances (born 1924)
Terry and Brenda (nee Hayes, born 1951) were married at Gleichen United Church on Nov. 6, 1971 and have two children: Aerin (born 1974) and Curtis (born 1976). They took all their schooling in the Gleichen and Cluny area schools. Terry attended Mount Royal College (now Mount Royal University) and SAIT before returning to Tower Farm in 1967. Brenda entered the nursing profession. Brenda’s parents are Walter and Olive Hayes (see Remembering Our Roots, Vol. 1, page 90), whose farm also celebrated 100 years of farming in 2007. (Also see history book – Cluny Gleichen Memories Recalled, page 456.)
Aerin married Toby Wheeler in July 1999 and they have two sons, Will (born 2003) and Devin (born 2005). Aerin and Toby divorced in 2017, and Aerin and her two sons live in Strathmore. Curtis married Brandi (nee Brewer, born 1976) in 2000 and they moved to Tower Farm in 2001. This marriage produced five children: son Spencer (born 2003), and four daughters, Alexis (born 2005), Danica (born 2009) and twins Callie and Brianna (born 2012).
Terry and Brenda have always been very involved in community events, serving in many positions in the Gleichen, Cluny and Strathmore districts.
In 2012, Wheatland County chose Terry and Brenda and family to represent the county at the 100th Calgary Stampede as the Family Farm of the Year.
The Tower family has served the Gleichen community for the past 112 years.