Community Action on the Prairies

So many of us forget where our food comes from. Most of us, especially those raised in urban areas, don’t know the people that grow our food. My dad was a farmer. Most of his friends were farmers and if they weren’t, they were working within our small farming community. Teaching us, running our grocery stores, selling farm machinery, creating active church communities, teaching figure skating, guiding the 4-H Club members and so very much more. Long freight trains stopped at our grain elevators to load and carry the grains grown to far flung markets after all the dirty dusty work that our farmers had done. As a child raised on one of those farms, I saw the green heavy headed wheat, blue flowered flax and yellow flowered canola grown in vast fields on either sides of dusty dirt roads. Our gardens grew most of our food as did the gardens of other community members.

Milestone was a community that pulled together to feed each family whether home or farther afield. At any time of extreme need at seeding or harvest time, whoever was available brought machinery and food to plant or to harvest the large fields waiting for the farmer’s hand. Yesterday on Facebook, I saw that same passion in action following the death of a long time community member. Milestone, Saskatchewan still is a community that pulls together. Twenty farmers with their combines, four giant grain carts cleared this man’s wheat fields to ease the burden on the family, along with as many friends and neighbours that could help. To the all farmers and their families, I salute you and thank you.

“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured 

by the compassionate actions of its members.”
~  Coretta Scott King