source: Farm and Food ReportGiven that the Town of Eatonia was named after the Eaton Family, it would make sense to celebrate this fine anecdotal detail with a piece of Eaton memorabilia.
How about a house -- an Eaton catalogue house?
That is precisely what Eatonia's Anne Reinhardt is working on.
"Eatonia was originally known as Eaton, but the name was changed because of the confusion with Eston for mail delivery purposes," says Reinhardt. "The Town of Eatnoia and the Economic Development Committee -- of which I am a member -- became aware of an Eaton catalogue house five miles away. We needed to know if the owners would consider letting us have the house."
The King family agreed to donate the house to Eatonia. The town will eventually have it designated as a heritage property. It will provide land on which to place it, and hopes to establish a park setting around the new site where the 1925 railway station, which was featured on cover of the 1955 Eaton Catalogue, is also located. The station is on its original site. It is already listed as a heritage property owned by the town.
Now, Reinhardt has to find a few dollars.
"The house is solid and the materials were of excellent quality. The first phase of this project is to move the house and place it on a foundation. The Town of Eatonia and the newly formed Heritage Committee hope to begin soon. We have approached numerous individuals and companies for funding. Our first contact was the Eaton Family, and when we received a donation from the Thor E. and Nicole Eaton Family Charitable Foundation, we were encouraged to proceed with fundraising. To date, we have received donations from a number of former residents, oil companies, a car dealership; we received a grant from RBC Foundation, as well as from Boomer family members -- the original owners."
Nearly $8,000 has been raised for the project, and more is to come. On June 18, former resident and singer Denise Reinhardt Wolda will give a concert in Eatonia with special guest Ann Mortifee, under the theme "Coming Home." This will be a community fundraising event, and proceeds will go toward the project.
"We already have plans for the house. It needs to be re-roofed, and certainly needs a fresh coat of paint. We might turn it into an art gallery and a place for art classes, children's art activities, dance classes, community college programs, or even a picture gallery of prominent former citizens. It could be used for meeting rooms, office space, as a living museum and, of course, as a tourist attraction."
Reinhardt definitely has no shortage of ideas for uses. Much solace will be found in knowing that Eatonia, at last, will have its very own Eaton catalogue house.
Tickets for the June 18 concert are available at Rogers Jewellery in Kindersley and Stueck Pharmacy in Leader, or by calling (306) 967-2992.
For more information, contact:
Anne Reinhardt
(306) 967-2992
source: Farm and Food ReportTucked away in prairie bluffs, five miles south of St. Walburg in northwestern Saskatchewan, the Imhoff Studio stands as an extraordinary monument to Christian artistic tradition.
The studio draws pilgrims from everywhere, according Phyllis Imhoff.
"People can't believe we have something like this here. Some visitors enter the studio as if it is inhabited by a sacred presence -- with tears welling up in their eyes at times. They tell us they have been to the Louvre in Paris and the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and the vividness of the works on display, the colours which emerge from the canvas, are unparalleled in Imhoff's art."
Count Berthold John Von Imhoff was born January 14, 1868 in Mannheim, Germany. He was a well-known religious artist, decorator, and frescoer throughout the United States and Western Canadian provinces.
At the time of his death in 1939, he had completed the interior decor of over 100 churches of all denominations. Because of his work, Pope Pius XI made him a knight of St. Gregory the Great in 1937.
Today, his studio, located on a small farm, contains over 200 paintings that were once destined for cathedrals and churches across North America.
Phyllis introduces her husband Bert Imhoff, Count Berthold's grandson, a charming man.
"I grew up in this 10-room house built in 1914," says Bert. "My mother looked after the studio -- or the gallery, as we call it now -- for as long as I can remember. We didn't travel much. It was a bit of a burden. I didn't inherit my grandfather's talent -- though I painted a fence once," quips Bert, "it was all of one colour. That's the extent of my artistic abilities."
The Imhoff studio was built in two sections. The lower-rise part with dormer windows dates back to 1920; and the higher-rise section was added in 1925 to accommodate larger paintings, measuring as much as 13 by 18 feet. Both sections have a gabled roof. The studio is basically in the shape of a T, with 2,000 square feet of working space. The architecture is of European inspiration.
"My grandfather only painted with natural light and only with light from the north -- the true light, as this does away with shadows. He painted the exterior stucco of the building splendidly and spent most of his days inside the studio, painting life-sized figures of the Christ and Mary; of European and American history; royalty; military leaders like Napoleon; and his ancestors, as well as his wife and father."
Like many other Europeans, Count Imhoff was drawn to the area because of the frontier's appeal. He had heard of the area's reputation among hunters. The solace and inspiration he would draw from such a perfect location could only help him pursue his artistic and spiritual mission.
"We know that what we have here is a treasure," admits Bert Imhoff. "My mother knew it, as well. We had to close the gallery in 1983 because of the commitment it imposed on us. We moved 253 paintings to the Barr Colony Heritage Cultural Centre in Lloydminster, where they can adequately look after them. Nobody knew we had paintings left in the gallery."
Due to the persuasive encouragement of a few community members, who plainly expressed how the gallery's closure had affected local tourism, the Imhoff family reopened the facility to the public in 1993 after unrolling some 100 canvasses that had never been shown before. Another 150 await a similar fate in safely stored boxes.
"We now open the studio on the May long weekend, and we have students conducting tours of the facility and collection. My grandfather had always kept the studio open to the public. I am sure he would have liked us to carry on the tradition."
Bert Imhoff is always amazed to see how far his grandfather's reputation extends.
"No matter where you go, when I travel, people ask me: are you related to the artist? Recently, this happened to us on a trip to Hawaii."
Phyllis Imhoff assumes her interpretative responsibilities with the kind of rare dedication that is inspired by an honest desire to share a very special resource.
"This art, this studio, and the passion that has animated it over the years belong to everyone. It is a gift endowed with meaning that we discover collectively through the eyes of each new visitor. I, myself, learn about art every day because of this."
It seems pilgrimages are as popular as ever and take a variety of forms. The most inspiring could well be those undertaken by families that seek revelations through Imhoff's art, and sustenance in his beautiful yard, as they partake in picnicking activities during the summer.
Mixing the quest for leisure and enlightenment can bring immeasurable pleasures.
For more information, contact:
Phyllis and Bert Imhoff
Imhoff Studio
(306) 248-3812
source: Farm and Food ReportHe is animated with the kind of passion one would expect from any leader, one who lives by the principles he hopes to see in others. He is the kind of individual whose questions are motivated by the simple quest for solutions.
Naicam's Germain Dauk didn't start out as a farmer, but that hasn't stopped him from gaining respect from his peers as a farmer later in life.
"I was a school teacher who had always wanted to be a farmer. After my father passed away in 1984, I reinvented myself; quit teaching and sought guidance from my father-in-law who had a small farm at the time. I bought some land and started farming. I had much to learn, so I joined every agricultural group I could think of. I had the luxury of asking questions such as: why do we summerfallow? Nobody could give me a straight answer until I started talking to proponents of direct seeding."
It seems Dauk's efforts have paid off. He and his family were recently recognized as the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association's (SSCA) Farm Family of the Year for 2005.
"As we celebrate National Soil Conservation Week from April 18 to 24, it is only fitting that we ask ourselves what legacy we want to leave our grandchildren. We started direct seeding at home in 1990. My oldest son, who is 41 now and was working in oilfields, wasn't convinced this approach would make economic sense at the time."
To keep the peace in the family, Dauk started half direct seeding and half conventional seeding.
"My son did all the combining that fall and he could not believe the difference. It was a relatively dry year, and the yield difference was 25 per cent more in favour of the direct seeded fields. He became so totally convinced of the merits of this approach that I couldn't have talked him into cultivating the land anymore if I had to."
Dauk admits that his initial motivation was more economic in nature than engendered by concerns about soil conservation.
"Sure, I have seen fields blow and soil fly away, but soil conservation has to make economic sense for it to work for producers in the long-term. In the end, you have to decide what system best fits your approach to life and your conscience. Organic farming does not resonate in the same way for me because of what I would describe as the excess tillage it generates. I would love nothing better than to see organic agriculture be successful, but I don't think we are quite there yet."
The Dauks were among the first agricultural producers to adopt direct seeding in the Naicam area. Apparently, neighbours wondered for the longest time if the family was actually working these fields, as there was no visible evidence of seeding activities. Of course, all that changed when the seed germinated.
"I find that we use less chemicals than we did under conventional tillage. Some glyphosate takes care of thistle and quackgrass, so we don't have to use more expensive herbicides later on. A good burn off in the spring will take care of things for us. We also find that we achieve substantial savings on fuel because we do all our seeding work in one pass as a result of direct seeding. Energy conservation may not have been such an issue 20 years ago, but it sure is now."
Dauk willingly spends many hours spreading the direct seeding gospel to anyone seeking guidance on the phone, in person and at meetings. Both he and his son Richard are former presenters at SSCA events. Dauk senior even presented at Alberta's annual soil conservation conference.
The two literally spend hours sharing with others their direct seeding experiences, and it now appears that soil conservation is first and foremost in their minds.
For more information, contact:
Germain Dauk
(306) 874-2006
