Remembering our roots ~ Slim (Justin) and Heather Wilson

By John Godsman Times Contributor

Records for the Wilson family name commenced with the birth of John Hugh Wilson in County Antrim, Northern Ireland on March 27, 1856. As a young man, John decided a career in the local police force showed promise. However, when he attempted to enlist, an official suggested he should travel to Canada, the land of opportunities.
Borrowing sufficient funds to purchase a ticket, John landed in Halifax, then made his way to Gleichen, where he arrived in November 1887. He worked as a fireman for the CPR from 1888 to 1901 before returning to Ireland to reunite with his friend Sarah Hayes. He brought Sarah back to Gleichen with him in 1901 and they were married in 1902. They homesteaded just north of Gleichen and had four children, continuing to farm until John Hugh passed.
One of their four children was Hugh John, born in 1918, who married Georgina (Genie) McPhee of Gleichen in 1947, and they had four sons. Hugh and Genie lived on the Buckley place, while farming both the Wilson and McPhee homesteads that make up Wilson Ranches. Their four sons – Smoky (Kenneth), Rocky (Allan), Timothy and David – were instrumental in running the Wilson Ranches as they began to grow. The family was known for its involvement in chuckwagon racing, roughstock events and stock contracting.
In the 1950s and 1960s, pigs were the main source of income, and at one time Wilson Ranches had 2,000 free ranging pigs. In the 1970s, the ranch made the transition from hogs to cattle, running 450 cow/calf pairs and 250 head of horses between Gleichen and Crawling Valley. An operation of this size required reliable pasture management and the Prairies without rain made it very hard. So they turned to flood Irrigation which was the most fiscal method in those days.
In 1977, Slim (Justin) Wilson was born to Smoky and Shirley Wilson, and as he grew up, he helped his grandparents run the ranch when he wasn’t helping dad Smoky on the chuckwagon circuit.
In 1997, Slim married Heather Brown, daughter of Don and Dianne Brown, owners of the very popular Country Farmhouse Restaurant east of Gleichen. They have two children, Jason and Layne, who are fifth generation Wilsons and who are already planning to continue the family tradition. Jason is currently a Wheatland County Councillor for Division One.
A family quote states: “If it weren’t for the generations before us, taking risks and building on to the family legacy, Wilson Ranches wouldn’t exist, nor be able to continue.”