LASHBURN — Stooks sat in the fields, horse-drawn carriages offered free rides and Jim Metherell and his family excitedly taught the next generation what farm life looked like 120 years ago. The only question that remains is what will farming look like in 2140?
The Metherell family have lived and farmed on the same land since 1903, and on Saturday, hundreds of community members came out to share in the family’s threshing bee and celebrations in honour of their 120th harvest.
“My grandparents came in 1903 with the Barr colonists,” Metherell said. According to Metherell, when his grandparents farmed their first year, they lived the winter on rabbits and frozen turnips, with a little hay to feed the oxen team.
The threshing bee allowed onlookers to envision the difference modern technology can make in farming. What once took hours of hard manual labour, close calls with dangerous machinery and dirty work now takes seconds in machines often larger than houses and equipped with air conditioners.
The Metherell family borrowed a threshing machine and a binder from a family friend and neighbour, using the machine to thresh the stooks into a pile of straw and a cart of grain.
The family displayed various antique vehicles and machinery, with drinks and desserts offered by donation. They had more guests than they dreamed of and family members said they hope to continue their family farm well into the future.
