Larry Gompf

2008 with 5# Walleye (pickerel) 1969 Grad Photo 

Bio of Larry Gompf 

I was born and raised on a mixed farm at Oak Lake, Manitoba. We had 1,000 laying hens on the farm which seemed like a lot back then but isn’t even on the radar for size by today’s standards. My most memorable summer was 1968 when I went with Perry Pressman and Mel Johnston to New York to work on a research farm for Geigy Chemicals (now Syngenta). We had a blast and met and worked with some interesting people. Of course this was before graduation but I felt it deserved mention here. 

After graduation, I worked with Shell Chemicals in the ag. research department helping to bring along Endaven and Mataven wild oat chemicals. In the fall of 72, I worked for 7 months for Shell out of head office in Toronto. In 1973, I married Lily Parsonage (BN / 74) from Baldur, Man. We moved to Saskatoon in 1975 where I helped Hoechst Chemicals develop Hoe-Grass, another graminicide for wild oat and green foxtail control in wheat and barley. In January of 1977, my first daughter Laura was born. That fall we moved to Birtle, Man. where I tried my hand at full time farming. I also taught short courses in Crop Production for Assiniboine Community College during this period of time. It was at that time, 3 more daughters came along, Sarah in 1979, Michelle in 1980 and Jenny in 1982. When my farming career ended, I got back into the ag. chemical business with Chipman Chemicals (subsequently named ICI Chemicals, then Zeneca and now Syngenta). With Zeneca, I helped with the development of many crop protection products including Achieve, an effective wild oat and green foxtail product that is registered on a number of crops. 

In 1996 my wife and I went our separate ways and in 2002, I married Beverley Jamieson originally from Souris. We had met in residence at the U of M and remained friends over the years. She is a U of M Pharmacy Grad (69 also.) I finished my career by writing for 3 years for the farm newspaper Grainews. I want to thank Terry Highmoor for positive feedback of my articles over the years. At least it proved to me that someone was reading the words I was scribing. Bev and I live in the Ft. Richmond part of Winnipeg, south of the university. Bev is a good cook and we host a family dinner every Sunday evening when we are around. We have 2 grandsons (10 and 6) and there is another grandchild expected in October. We attend exercise class called Resistance Training for Older Adults at the university 3 times a week from Sept. to mid-May and then get lax (of course) for the summer months. In the winter, we also attend Current World Affairs lectures organized by the Creative Retirement folks. There are always interesting presentations on topics such as the political situation in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, the Middle East, North Korea the state of the economy or “what- have-you.” The discussions after the lecture are sometimes just as interesting as the presentation itself. In the summer, we spend considerable time at our cottage at Eagle Lake near Vermilion Bay, Ontario. One good memory – Bill Day with other guys, dragging a sled from residence to the Monty to buy beer during the snow storm of March 1966. It was either charge others the princely sum of $1.00/bottle or drink it themselves. What do you think happened? Happy 40th anniversary everyone! I look forward to seeing one and all during the weekend. Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have. Larry Gompf

life since '69

Hi

I'd like to tell you a bit more about my life since 1969. The black and white picture is me in 1947, sitting in a sleigh in the same  yard where we live at present.

The first picture shows me on a donkey (mule) riding up the hill to the town of Santorini, Greece in November 2013.

This month I turn 69 which seems like the right thing to do for a 69er.

For the past 26 years I have been married to Fran.  We have grandchildren in Edmonton and children in Seattle, Edmonton and Chengdu China. 

I worked in Asia for 6 years with the Asian Development Bank. I appraised loans for gravity irrigation projects in Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh and so on. The last one I did was $90million, al of of money in 1981. As a result, I had seen a great deal of rural Asia and Asia in general by the age of 40.I also worked in Edmonton, Manitoba,  Barbados, China and Zambia. And Ottawa.

I hope to have another 10 good years ahead of me and to see as many of you as possible at the 50th anniversary reunion in 2019, wherever it may be held and whoever is blessed with organizing it.

We had a good reunion in 2009 and hope to see most of you again in 2019 - and preferably before then. 

'Best in 2015
Bill Anderson

News from Ron Triggs

From: Ronald R Triggs

Sent: Monday, December 27, 2010 10:21 PM
To: 'Ray Redfern'
Cc: Larry Gompf; Terrence Highmoor
Subject: RE: hi from Ray

Hi Ray;

Nice to hear from you.

It was indeed sad to hear about Bill.

I started the year working the Olympics as a security officer x-raying bags at the Athlete’s village.etc. I really enjoyed seeing the athletes, especially when they came back with their medals. I met every Canadian medal winner and have some great memories.

Right after the Olympics it was 6 weeks of radiation; I am still fighting prostate cancer (I had surgery removing my prostate last October but some cancer still seemed to be hanging around.). I go in for another PSA test tomorrow as the Cancer did not go away immediately following the radiation. They tell me radiation is very slow acting and I should have a much better result this test. No matter, my year ahead is already planned out.

10 days after the radiation, Fran and I went on a trip to the U.K. It was a bus tour that took us to England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. We were on the move virtually every day.. We really enjoyed it but I do enjoy cruising more. When cruising one does not have the daily pack and unpack the bag routine.

We spent most of the summer at our R.V over on the west side of Vancouver Island. I had to really work to get them this year but I did catch 14 springs in the 20 pound plus size for canning. I got Barry into his first 20 pound plus fish. Then came the big sockeye run. This was the first sockeye opening for sports fishermen that I can remember. Most of the sockeye were by us heading to the river before they opened the run for sports fishing but we still did very well.

We got a call yesterday that with all the rain on the island the last couple of days, (130 ml) coinciding with the annual winter “King” tides our waterfront RV park has been flooded. Our RV is situated on higher ground than some, so we got lucky. It will be all gone as soon as the tide changes.

We had some exciting news in November. Barry (our youngest son – one of the twins) got engaged. Barry and his fiancée, Virginia, have gone to Venezuela to visit her parents over Christmas.

Jeff (our oldest son) and Joanne had Christmas this year. It was nice to give Fran a break from cooking the turkey. Fran did however cook a lot of the other dishes. Their children ( Ryan 9 and Amy 6) are both in school, and busy with Tae Kwan Do. Patty (Barry’s twin sister) and Arlo’s little girl Hazel is now 13 months old and walking up a storm. Fran has been going out to Patty and Arlo’s to babysit once a week for the last few weeks. They live about 45 minutes away, in White Rock so it’s a bit of a trek, but Fran jumps at the chance because as you know, babies have a way of growing up way too fast.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year.

As ever,
Ron and Fran

Henry Riese

Henry and Karen who have lived in Curacao for most of their lives, March 2010

Jim Pietryk, 2009

August 6, 2009

As you l re-call when we were in school times in the ag sector were tough and farmers were facing falling incomes and uncertain markets. Records from the Manitoba Agriculture Annual Report indicate that farmland values fell to their lowest levels in decades through 1969 and 1970. Average land values in the province were reported to be $100 per acre.

Despite this environment we 69’ers set off in the world of work hoping our education would carry us along the way.

1969 was an important date in my personal life as well. In November that year I married Carol Kornek. We celebrate our 40th anniversary this fall. In 1977 Nancy, our first daughter joined the clan. Three years later she was joined by Kathryn. Carol retired from teaching in 2005 after 36 years with the Winnipeg School Division #1.

Highlights related to my working life include three distinct stops along the way. One was two oversea postings with CIDA, one in Zambia and the other Ghana. Second was 15 years with the Royal Bank’s Agricultural Department. Third was 12 years in producer and government relations at the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB).

I describe my time with CIDA as supportive book-ends to my working life. In 1972-1973 in Lusaka, Zambia I was involved in Projects within the Crops Group in the Ministry’s Planning Unit. The focus was the National Oilseeds Development Program to provide emerging and commercial farmers alternatives to the maize economy and develop self-sufficiency in oilseed production. Of particular note were the people involved in the Planning Unit. Our own Bill Anderson and Hank Friso were officemates along with Aggies from Alberta – Peter Apedaile, Rodger Hughes and Dennis Bergeron.

Upon returning from Zambia I enrolled in the MSc. Program at the U of M. It was my good fortune to have the late Dr. Daryl Kraft as my advisor. He was not only a friend but also provided invaluable educational guidance.

At the Royal Bank I had the opportunity to work with Doug McRorie – sometimes referred to as the father of ag credit for chartered banks. You mayre-call that Doug was a guest speaker in Clay Gilson’s Capital and Credit course. At its peak the Royal Bank employed over 40 Aggies from coast-to-coast advising farmers and bank managers on the feasibility and capacity of their operations to grow and re-pay debt.

t the CWB as Manager of Government and Community Relations I was witness to the transformation of the CWB from the five-member Commissioner structure of leadership to a farmer-controlled organization with a 15-member board of directors, ten of whom are elected by farmers across Western CanadaThe role provided me with the opportunity to travel extensively in Western Canada, from the Peace River Area to Eastern Manitoba. Many farm meetings were held with heated discussion among farmers on the CWB and its future. These continue today. I also had the opportunity , with various Board members, to meet Ministers and MPs from all political parties. At the other end of the book-end my working career ended with a contract with CIDA. From 2005 to 2007 I was a Policy Advisor in the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Accra, Ghana. A great reward for our time in Accra is the new friends from all over the world that we made. The job providedthe opportunity to chair the Ag Donor Group for 18 months with agriculture reps from 12 countries.
I retired in January 2008. I enjoy my time with family, renovation projects, the cottage , curling and golf. I act as Treasurer of the Agriculture Institute of Canada Research Foundation. Life is good.

Thanks to Bill Anderson for taking on the big job of organizing the 69’ers for this 2009 reunion and for getting us to re-acquaint with each other in print.

Jim Pietryk

Gordon Prouse 2009

After graduation I married Valerie my long-time sweetheart and we moved to Brandon where I began a program in wildlife management. Shortly thereafter I was offered a job with Manitoba Natural Resources in sport fisheries research so abandoned the wildlife management program in favour of a salary.

In 1974 we moved to Dauphin where I was the Fisheries Biologist for western Manitoba and in 1975 back to Winnipeg as Fisheries Biologist for eastern Manitoba. In 1977 I became Chief of Fisheries Management for the province.

In 1980 we moved to Nanaimo BC where I was Regional Manager of Fish and Wildlife and in 1986 to Victoria BC as Provincial Manager of Wildlife Habitat. In 1988 it was back to Winnipeg to become Director of Parks. One wonders why anyone would leave Victoria for Winnipeg but I did and I do wonder.

Throughout the changes in location, Valerie was able to continue working with special needs children. I retired in 2002 and Valerie in 2004. This year we will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary. Along the way we managed to raise three children. Travis is a CA with a tax speciality and works for Cargill, Scott, a videographer, works for CBC French Television and Meghan is an Occupational Therapist working in the school system. We have two grandchildren, boys four years and seven years. They have enriched our lives immeasurably!

Recreational activities along the way included running, cycling, wilderness hiking, curling and family camping. The only children currently at home are two Irish Wolfhounds which keep us in shape with daily walks. The walk has been lengthened with a membership in a local golf club which provides a dose of frustrations I thought I had given up when I retired from work.

Gordon

Bill Breckman 2009

Bill Breckman, married to Carol 1967

Hi all. I would like to offer a special thanks to Bill Anderson and all the others who helped organize the big reunion. Happy 40th to you all.

After reading the bios on Bills blog I was a little reluctant to write anything about my career. It seems rather “domestic” and boring, but what the heck, it was my life.

I married Carol in 1967 during summer break after second year. We were blessed with our first daughter Krista in 1968. Unfortunately, due to family responsibilities I wasn’t able to participate in many of the historic social functions that the class of 69 was famous for.

My first job was with Ag Canada. I joined the Ag Officer Training Program. I had never been out of Manitoba so it was very exciting to spend the next six months traveling the country from coast to coast. After the program, we were able to negotiate where we would start the actual work. I was fortunate to be assigned a job in Winnipeg. Since I majored on Plant Science, it was only natural that I should choose to work in Dairy.

We remained in Winnipeg for four years during which our second, and final daughter Tara was born. Fortunately for me (not so fortunately for him) the Director for the Maritimes passed away. I was given the opportunity to move to Moncton. We soon fell in love with the Maritimes but our time there was rather short. After four years I was asked to amalgamate the region with Quebec and move my family to Ottawa.

We spent four years in Ottawa in various jobs, all with the Dairy Division. One of the things I was fortunate enough to do was to act as the Secretary Treasurer of the International Dairy Federation Canada. In that capacity, I organized a major international conference in Quebec City as well as attending conferences in a number of countries.

Time to change again. In 1979 we moved to Regina. Another big reorganization in Ag Canada. I was given the opportunity to be the first Regional Director in Saskatchewan in what is now called the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). After four years we completed the great circle route and returned to Winnipeg where I became the Ag Canada Regional Director in charge of everything no one else wanted.. I negotiated development agreements with the province and implemented them. I chaired numerous boards and committees. How bureaucratic ! In addition, just for fun I established the Farm Debt review Board and The Rural Transition Program.

After twenty some odd years I had had enough of the rat race. I gave up my job and worked from home for two years . I was responsible for working with the Organic industry to establish standards for organic foods. It was completed before I retired in 2004 but it took CFIA several more years to establish the regulations.

Carol and I have two daughters, five grand children and will become Great Grandparents in August.

Greg Borotsik, 2009

My apologies for not being able to attend the reunion; the committee have done a lot of work and it should be very successful. A lot of water has gone under the bridge during 40 years of life and I regret not being able to renew those friendships from so long ago.

As you are aware Bill, after 34 years with Agriculture Canada, Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Sandra and I have retired to Stratford, Ontario and we live in what must be one of the most beautiful little cities anywhere. Stratford is ~ 32 K in population and is of course famous for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

I have been an usher at the Festival for 3 years and I absolutely love it. I meet the most interesting patrons from all over the world and, what is even better, I get to see some of the best theatre anywhere! It is truly a magical place and I have developed a passion for theatre, especially Shakespeare.

Greg Borotsik

Bill Anderson 2009

1969-1971- Brandon and Winnipeg
1972- Zambia
1974: Ottawa ON
1977: Manila, Philippines
1982: Beijing, China
1983: Edmonton AB
1987: Ottawa
1988: Barbados
1990: Ottawa
2000: Barbados
2005: Ottawa
2006: Forrest MB


Fran and I have 3 boys in Calgary (Sean, aged 36 and married); Boston (Erik, 36 and single); and Hong Kong (Vaughn, aged 30 and single).

Mel Johnston ,Mowbray MB

Life has been marvelous, full of good times, challenges, hard work, uncontrollable risks, fulfilling rewards. Gloria (B. Music ’69) and I have enjoyed 40 rich years together and it has been easier than I ever expected. She’s a tolerant woman who doesn’t nag. I’m a deadlines and just-in-time man and the honey-do list is long so I really appreciate her tolerance and patience.

Since 1971 we have been operating a mixed farm - 3 partners, First myself, added my brother and now my son.

My business career has been very straight-forward.1969-1971: Ag extension in Claresholm and Lethbridge. May 1971: I pass on extension and agronomy opportunities to return to the family farm at Mowbray MB. For the uneducated, this is SW of Morden and just 3 miles from Jack’s Bar at Maida, ND. I expect many of you have enjoyed a great steak and a stimulating atmosphere there. Between the Pembina valley and the North Dakota border, we have raised and merchandised hundreds of purebred Simmental cattle and hundreds of purebred Boer goats, tonnes and tonnes of canola, flax, sunflowers, hemp, grass seed and cereals. I’ve also raised a lot of cain and eye brows. Oh yes, and three perfect children.

Regrets. Ideas I’ve had and didn’t pursue hard enough; never acquiring keyboard skills, never having a flashy sports car (yet); haven’t won a provincial or national sports championship; the 70 hour work week; and never had enough wisdom or knowledge.

Things I miss. Deceased family and friends; 40-hour work week.

Passions. Farming, family, baseball, fastball, and now 55-plus slow pitch, my Christian faith. Although it wouldn’t qualify as a passion, I’ve invested a lot of time and money, planning and effort into community youth work.

Present state. Grain farming with only one son having sold the cattle and goats in 2007.
-extremely healthy and Gloria quite healthy
Moving to Manitou in October- -
Arizona –winter retreat to play slow-pitch and soak up the sun
-poor but happy
-seven wonderful grandchildren
Railroad Baron – shares in Manitoba’s new and only shortline RR

Thankful for: achievements- coaching a national championship
Grand Champion @ Agribition show
-talented, fabulous wife
-clever, personable and healty children

Philosophy.
-There are a lot of decisions to make - some will be erroneous so be sure to make the biggest decisions right.


-when faced with a conundrum, give it time to sort itself out

-Don’t worry over things of which I have no control
-plan ahead but be flexible
-learn by experience and try to space out my mistakes
-tomorrow is another day. Live today

Mel Johnston

Larry Gompf

Bio of Larry Gompf

I was born and raised on a mixed farm at Oak Lake, Manitoba. We had 1,000 laying hens on the farm which seemed like a lot back then but isn’t even on the radar for size by today’s standards.
My most memorable summer was 1968 when I went with Perry Pressman and Mel Johnston to New York to work on a research farm for Geigy Chemicals (now Syngenta). We had a blast and met and worked with some interesting people. Of course this was before graduation but I felt it deserved mention here.
After graduation, I worked with Shell Chemicals in the ag. research department helping to bring along Endaven and Mataven wild oat chemicals. In the fall of 72, I worked for 7 months for Shell out of head office in Toronto. In 1973, I married Lily Parsonage (BN / 74) from Baldur, Man. We moved to Saskatoon in 1975 where I helped Hoechst Chemicals develop Hoe-Grass, another graminicide for wild oat and green foxtail control in wheat and barley. In January of 1977, my first daughter Laura was born. That fall we moved to Birtle, Man. where I tried my hand at full time farming. I also taught short courses in Crop Production for Assiniboine Community College during this period of time. It was at that time, 3 more daughters came along, Sarah in 1979, Michelle in 1980 and Jenny in 1982. When my farming career ended, I got back into the ag. chemical business with Chipman Chemicals (subsequently named ICI Chemicals, then Zeneca and now Syngenta). With Zeneca, I helped with the development of many crop protection products including Achieve, an effective wild oat and green foxtail product that is registered on a number of crops.
In 1996 my wife and I went our separate ways and in 2002, I married Beverley Jamieson originally from Souris. We had met in residence at the U of M and remained friends over the years. She is a U of M Pharmacy Grad (69 also.)
I finished my career by writing for 3 years for the farm newspaper Grainews. I want to thank Terry Highmoor for positive feedback of my articles over the years. At least it proved to me that someone was reading the words I was scribing.
Bev and I live in the Ft. Richmond part of Winnipeg, south of the university. Bev is a good cook and we host a family dinner every Sunday evening when we are around. We have 2 grandsons (10 and 6) and there is another grandchild expected in October.
We attend exercise class called Resistance Training for Older Adults at the university 3 times a week from Sept. to mid-May and then get lax (of course) for the summer months. In the winter, we also attend Current World Affairs lectures organized by the Creative Retirement folks. There are always interesting presentations on topics such as the political situation in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, the Middle East, North Korea the state of the economy or “what- have-you.” The discussions after the lecture are sometimes just as interesting as the presentation itself.
In the summer, we spend considerable time at our cottage at Eagle Lake near Vermilion Bay, Ontario.
One good memory – Bill Day with other guys, dragging a sled from residence to the Monty to buy beer during the snow storm of March 1966. It was either charge others the princely sum of $1.00/bottle or drink it themselves. What do you think happened?
Happy 40th anniversary everyone! I look forward to seeing one and all during the weekend. Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.
Larry Gompf

Doug Clements

I will be unable to attend our 40th reunion as I am currently in Northern Ghana and will not return until mid-August. I was very much looking forward to following on from our get-together in 2006.

As for my life as an Aggie, the following is a brief overview of my life since 1969:

I continued on at U of M studying for my MSc in the Ag. Economics Department but did not complete my thesis before taking a posting with CUSO to serve as a volunteer in Tanzania from 1971 to 1973. After two very interesting years working as an Agricultural Economist in the Tanzania Sisal Corporation, I continued for a further 2 years in the same position on direct contract with the Tanzanian Government in Tanga Region on the cost near the Kenya border.

In 1976 I moved to the capital, Dar es Salaam where I was the General Manager of the Tanganyika Sisal Spinning Company, a foreign-owned sisal processing company which manufactured baler twine and ropes. In 1976, I also married Angelique Stephens, who put up with me for the next 8 years.

In 1980 I applied for re-admission to U of M Graduates Studies to complete my Masters after a 10 year absence. I was accepted back and returned to Winnipeg in 1981, completing the requirements for an MSc by the summer of 82 and departed for Bangladesh to take up a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) contract as an advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture.

I remained in Bangladesh until the end of 1986 and moved to Thailand where I started to do consulting work, mainly for CIDA working out of Phuket in the south of the country. I had the opportunity to undertake short-term assignments in such diverse countries as India, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Indonesia, Barbados, Jamaica, Mozambique, Laos PDR, Zambia, Ghana and Sudan. In 1978 I married Nipa Taveesawat of Bangkok and in 1990, our daughter, Wasana (Jenny) was born.

After realizing that our daughter seldom saw me, I decided to take on a job that did not require travelling outside of Thailand and ended up in Khon Kaen in Northeastern Thailand where I was the CEO of Khon Kaen Dairies Co. Ltd, a pasteurized milk and drinking yogurt manufacturer. After an extremely interesting and moderately successful expansion phase of the company, I moved back to Phuket in early 1996 and in October of 96 moved to Ethiopia with my family to take up a job as a Senior Food Policy Advisor in CIDA’s Program Support Unit where I remained until the summer of 2002.

In 2002, I took up the same position in Ghana although the position of advisor was located in the Ghana Ministry of Food and Agriculture instead of CIDA’s offices. In 2005 Nipa, Wasana and myself moved to Winnipeg, residing in Fort Richmond. On semi-retirement, I managed to successfully obtain two multi-year monitoring contracts with CIDA which allows me to continue with involvement in agricultural development in Africa through 3-4 trips annually to Ethiopia and Ghana.

In the fall of 2008, with our daughter attending McGill University in Montreal, we sold our house in Winnipeg and spent the winter in Phuket renovating our house which we have had to more than 2 decades.

Our intentions for the future are to spend the winters in Thailand and our summers in Canada dividing our time between Winnipeg and our family farm north of Killarney. Just writing out my biography makes me realize it is time for retirement!!!!

Have an “OV Select” on me
Regards,

Doug,
Tamale, Northern Region
Ghana

Gordon Hills, Vermilion, AB

After graduation I stayed at the university and completed a masters degree under Dr. Peter Kondra in the Poultry Department. After completion Dick Allen found me a job with J.H. Hare and Associates Limited. The company’s primary business was developing agricultural products and marketing them for companies whose main business lay outside agriculture. I was responsible for the marketing of the “ChemStor,” a liquid feed grain preservative produced by Canadian Celanese Limited. This included all phases of the marketing process from farm calls on customers, to creating advertising copy, to coordinating the research into the use of the product under western Canadian conditions.
The job ended when the Celanese folks decided that the market for the product wasn’t large enough.
From there I moved to the now defunked National Grain Company where I was Director of Quality Control for about a year. I was responsible for the quality control program for the company’s five major feed mills and numerous mixer mills attached to the elevator system in western Canada. This involved development and implementation of a sampling system for ingredients and finished product. I was also responsible for all of the proximate analyses carried out by our consulting laboratory. I also modified various laboratory techniques to meet specific company requirements. The company nutritionist and I developed one of the first liquid feed supplements for cattle to be successfully marked in western Canada. This was the first such supplement to be based on beet molasses.
This was followed by a return to school. From 1971 to 1979 (that’s right eight years, there’s a story and I’ll tell you at the reunion) I worked on a Ph.D. under Dr. Bob Christopherson (an other Manitoba Grad 66 I think) at the University of Alberta.
Following graduation I stayed at the U of A as a research associate was responsible along with a postdoctoral fellow for the conduct of a number of research projects at the Metabolic Research Centre of the Department of Animal Science. One of these projects determined the metabolic cost of sucking to both the ewe and her lamb. Another project developed an accurate means of calibrating oxygen analyzers used in making metabolic determinations in large animals.
In 1981 I took a temporary teaching position in the Agriculture school at Lakeland College in Vermilion, Alberta. The job turned permanent and I never left. From 1981 until my retirement in 2005 I instructed technology students in two year diploma courses in animal science, animal health, and herd health.
Some of you may remember me running about campus in an army uniform.
Concurrent with much of my civilian career and education, I served in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve (Militia). I enlisted as a private soldier in the Winnipeg Grenadiers in 1963. On entering university, I transferred to the Canadian Officer’s Training Corps (C.O.T.C.). I graduated from the program in 1969 (the last cadet to complete the program before it was discontinued) and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Winnipeg Service Battalion. I was promoted to Captain in 1970 and to Major in 1976 (being at that time the youngest officer in the peacetime Canadian Forces to attain field rank). I graduated from the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, Fort Frontenac, in 1977 and served in many line and staff positions throughout Canada. I was promoted Lieutenant Colonel in 1980 and assumed command of the 15th Edmonton Service Battalion. Following completion of a normal tenure of command I retired to the supplemental list in 1983..In 1996 I was appointed Honorary Lieutenant- Colonel of the Battalion. Following three appointments and nine years I asked that my appointment not be renewed to give another deserving officer the position
On a personal level I married Cicely Langille a social worker for the city of Edmonton in 1975. Our only child Heather was born in 1981. Heather is now grown and married. The present centre and joy of our lives is our 6 year old grandson Tyvale and his 3 year old sister Kataya Mae both of whom live a block away from us.

John Gerbrandt, Vancouver

Hi '69 Class,


I will unfortunately not be able to attend the 40th reunion. A short summary of my actives of my activities after graduation include the following:



- May 1969 I moved to BC to work at the University of British Columbia.

- After one year in Vancouver it became clear to me that I did not want to move back to Manitoba with its cold winters and the mosquitoes in summer.

- November 1, 1971 I started work with the Province of BC Ministry of Forests and Lands as a Land Officer dealing with Crown land applications and tenures. A degree in Agriculture or Forestry was a mandatory requirement for this job.

- The last 10 years I worked as a project manager in the development and sale of Crown land to the public.

- In 2007 after 35 years I retired from the Provincial Government with a full pension.

- BC is still 95% Crown land and I enjoyed my career with the Province dealing with things such as agriculture lease applications, recreational cottage sites, industrial uses, ski hill development and residential development to name a few. There were days in which I marveled that I was being paid for the work I was doing as it was so interesting and enjoyable.

- I married in 1988 and have one daughter from that marriage. She is 20 years old and is in 3rd year engineering at UBC.

- I love living in Vancouver and for years enjoyed skiing at Whistler and the other local mountains.

- Among other things I enjoy dancing, playing bridge and golfing. The latter remains one of my challenges as I always think I can play this game better.



I wish all my former 1969 class mates all the best and hope that they also had/have enjoyable careers.



John Gerbrandt

Clayton Manness, 2009

Clayton Manness

- married to Cheryl (40 years last November)
- four grown children (3 married)
- nine grandchildren (so far)


Since graduation, I have:

- farmed, with Cheryl, and our sons, at Domain for 40 years
- lived there also, but now at La Salle
- worked for the Canada Grains Council, Cargill, the constituents of Morris for 14 years (1981-1995) as MLA, and myself as President of ManAgra Capital Inc.
- do not expect to retire any time soon.


During the past 40 years:

- our farm has grown into a large, modern grains and oilseeds enterprise
- Cheryl and I have visited several different parts of the world
- I was given the responsibility of leading the Ministries of Finance and Education, plus Chairman of Treasury Board, plus Government House Leader
- Co-founded the development of Prairie Flour (Elie), Prairie Flax (Portage La Prairie west), Prairie Pulp and Paper (Winnipeg), and PrairieView Park (La Salle).


I Wish and Hope:

- that our country Canada remains strong and free
- that my grandchildren grow to be solid citizens
- that our health remains fair to good as long as possible
- that taxes remain low
- and, that all my remaining fellow graduates (the class of ’69) maintain good health and strong family ties.

BEST OF WISHES TO ALL.

Brian Wiebe, Carmen 2009

After graduation in 69, I entered a Masters program in Soil Science under Dr. Soper. I did not finish that program, and went into a family meat business for a few years.

I moved to Calgary in 1974, joining Allied Chemical Services in the role of Research and Development in Crop Protection. II was with Allied for 11 years, in roles of Sales and Sales Management.

In 1985 I joined May and Baker as National Sales Manager for Canada, and transferred to their Toronto office. In 1989 I left Rhone-Poulenc, and started up a franchise Printing business in Kitchener. I moved back into the Crop Protection business in Manitoba in 1994, with Cyanamid. I finished my career with Univar Canada Ltd., as General Manager of the Canadian Agricultural Division. I retired in August, 2007, having spent 10 years with Univar.


I have two boys living in Cambridge ON., with 4 grandchildren and a fifth on the way. My first wife passed away in 2003, and I married Beth in 2007. Beth is retired from the Armed Forces, and has two boys as well. We retired in Winnipeg, and moved to Carman in 2007, where we garden a little, volunteer a little for Meals-on-Wheels and church functions, Golf at the Carman Golf Club. Winters are spent in the Rio Grande Valley where we own a mobile home.



Brian Wiebe

John and Willie Penner, Kimberley BC, '09

John Penner Ag 69

Life has certainly been interesting and rewarding. Shortly after graduation I married Willie, and this summer we are celebrating our 40th anniversary. We currently live in Kimberley BC and our two children, and daughter-in-law all reside in Calgary AB. Shane, our firstborn, is an Engineer, his wife Sue, an Accountant and our daughter, Sheryl, is an Engineering Drafter. They all have been successful, working in the oil & gas industry. We are due to expand our family in January 2010 with a grandchild.

Spring of 69 I had 2 options – a career in farming or a career involved with financing the Canadian farming industry. Gaining employment with Farm Credit Canada in 69 as a Lending Officer and later at the Regional Office in Winnipeg as a Loans Review Officer I worked with farmers to assist with debt review and money management. I’ve worked in Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan, finishing off in corporate office in Regina. Corporate office was an exciting time in that I was able to be instrumental in leading the corporation into lending for value-added businesses. I did this by being on the committee to change the Act to incorporate other venues of lending including manufacturing of farm machinery. During this time Willie also joined me at FCC in the accounting department for five years. After 30 years, an opportunity came up for me to retire early at age 50.


Now what to do? I’d married into a skiing family and the only place we wanted to be was in the mountains. The only steep terrain we had in the prairies was skiing down a grain elevator or towed by a snow machine over ditches blown with snow. Over the years we had a vision of retiring in the mountains and a goal of skiing. So, we moved to BC, living in Fernie and Kimberley, skiing the winters away.

We are now involved in a very different area of interest from agriculture, and our timing was excellent. Resort development in the southeast BC Kootenays was rapidly growing and becoming involved in alpine resort development (ski resorts) was an excellent opportunity to meet citizens from our nation as well as from overseas who wished to invest in skiing properties. To work at this, along with skiing, was the epitome of retirement for us.

Now fully retired, we love the lifestyle we have fallen into. We ski, golf, fish, and travel at our leisure. We are also looking forward to being grandparents, and not just to dogs and cats.

Regards, John & Willie

Colleen (Galbraith) Wilkinson, 2009

In the fall of 1967, I transferred to Agriculture after having completed 2 years of Science. I did my undergrad soils thesis during the summer of 1969, graduating that October.

In August of 1969, I married Don Wilkinson of Winnipeg. While he completed his BSA, I worked as a lab technician for the Soil Science Department. Following Don's graduation, we moved to Ontario where he pursued a career in Agriculture. Over the years we lived in Etobicoke, London, Milton and Kemptville. Where possible, I worked as a technician in federal and private labs.

In April 1989, we returned to Manitoba, purchasing a small farm near Oakville. Don commuted to Winnipeg for the next 18 years while I stayed on the farm doing whatever had to be done each day. Over the years, we had sheep and cattle, plus my daughter's hay burning horses. Our land was used for cereals, canola, forages and pasture. Several years ago we decided to rent the crop land to my brothers to reduce the stress load of farming and having a full time job. Don retired in 2007 and sadly now our only livestock are barn cats and a farm dog. We have a large yard with much grass and several flower beds so there is no shortage of things to do during the summer.

We have 2 children. Brent (born in 1978) works for the Winnipeg City Police and Deanne (born in 1985) is entering her second year at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon.

Jim Ridley, Gunton MB, 2009

In the fall of 1969 I went into Education at the University of Manitoba and in 1970 got my Certificate of Education. In 1971 I continued on and got a Bachelor of Education.
In 1972, my wife Hazel, and I, went north to Little Grand Rapids and taught there for two years. In 1974 we moved to Sandy Bay Reserve on the west side of Lake Manitoba and taught there for one year.

At this item I decided that teaching was not for me and in 1974-75 took a 10 month electrical course at Red River C.C, and went to work for Goodman and Kojima, a Winnipeg electrical company as an electrical apprentice.

When Hazel and I left Sandy Bay we bought a house at Gunton, where we still live.

I worked as an apprentice with Goodman and Kojima for one year and then moved on to apprentice with O.G. McEwen Electric, doing mostly new schools and hospitals in Manitoba. I became a journeyman electrician and in 1985 went on my own as owner/ operator of Ridley Electric.

In 2002, Hazel and I bought a cottage at St. Laurent on Lake Manitoba. This year I am retiring and hope to spend many years at the cottage.

Neil Strachan 2009

Forty Years – How time flies! As requested I am submitting a quick summary of what I have been up to over the years.

After graduation from Agriculture, I enrolled in a summer session in the Faculty of Education thus beginning my career as a teacher. I started out in Wawanesa, Mb. and the following year I returned to my hometown of Carman, Mb where I taught for 35 years at Carman Collegiate teaching Biology and History. I also taught an Agriculture course offered for a few years! In August of 1969 I married Dorothy (Kirkpatrick). She too taught in Carman for many years as a kindergarten teacher. We are both retired now but continue to substitute teach.

Throughout my teaching career I enjoyed coaching and coached Girl’s Fastball at Carman Collegiate. In1977 I had the privilege of coaching the Manitoba JR. Girl’s Fastball Team at the Canada Summer Games in St. Johns Nfld.
Coaching the High School Hockey Team at Carman Collegiate for many years as well as coaching our sons in the Carman Minor Hockey system was something I enjoyed.
In 1999 I was awarded the Manitoba High Schools Coach of The Year Award for Manitoba High School Hockey.

Other community involvements include being a 4-H Leader for many years with the Graysville Light Horse Club, an interest that all three of our children pursued. I was also President of the Dufferin Agricultural Society for a two-year term. Presently I am Chair of The Carman Community Pathway Committee responsible for maintaining and building our beautiful walking path through the town of Carman.
In 1973, Dorothy and I built our home on the farm site where my grandfather Strachan lived. This land lies just outside the Town of Carman and it was here that we started a U-Pick Strawberry operation for 11 years. Although we continue to live on this property we no longer operate the strawberry farm. Instead, I enjoy gardening and each spring look forward to planting many vegetables and picking fruit from the apple trees we have grown...

Dorothy and I were blessed with 3 children all with whom we share a special bond. Our eldest, Brady an Agriculture Grad of 1997, spent 10 years traveling the world and teaching English. It was during this time that we visited him in Prague. After spending 4 ½ years in The Czech Republic he returned briefly to Canada and then was off to Japan to teach. Here he met his wife, Yuki. They have returned to Canada and are presently residing in Vancouver where Brady is pursuing a career in broadcasting. So it was Brady who introduced us to the love of travel.
Next came a daughter, Shaelyn who married Casey Jones and now resides in Ottawa. Shaelyn completed her PhD at the University of Waterloo, a post doc at the University of Saskatchewan and then took on a position as a professor in the Human Kinetics Department at the University of Ottawa. On March 6th of this year their daughter Bryn was born. So Shaelyn and Casey have made us proud Grandparents of our 1st grand child!

Our youngest son, Morgan is a pilot in the Canadian Air Force and is presently stationed in Moose Jaw, Sask. Morgan also started out with a Degree in Agriculture (2002) and after working for CIBC for a few years became interested in flying and pursued this dream to where he is today. Morgan loves adventure and we enjoy following his career wherever it leads him.
Since retiring, Dorothy and I have enjoyed traveling and have visited Japan, Hawaii, Ireland, Southern France, and China. We have also visited Vancouver and Ottawa where our children are living and last fall fulfilled a long time desire to visit the East Coast.
In the summer I play slow pitch softball and during the past two winters have curled. Up until two years ago I played recreational hockey. I became interested in running later in my life, inspired by my daughter Shaelyn who has run the Boston Marathon twice. I have completed 5 half marathons in the last few years. I continue to run when my body will allow me.

I am looking forward to seeing as many as I can at the up coming Aggie reunion and to read all about your lives in the last 40 years.