A well-known Springbank area family is celebrating 100 years of farming.
Arthur Jacob Longeway, and his wife Hannah, first moved to the 300-acre farm in the fall of 1910 from their land in the eastern townships of Quebec. The family made the cross-country move to give the nine Longeway children more opportunities.
“A cousin of theirs worked in the Healy cheese factory, the first in Alberta, then he went back and told them about the beautiful west,” said Eric Longeway, 84. “He paid $20 an acre, which was the highest price that had been paid for anything out here.”
According to Eric, his great-grandfather was likely fascinated with the beautiful scenery and the rich land.
“He was a farmer, so he knew what good land was,” he said.
The Longeway family quickly settled into the district, which was fast filling up with what Eric describes as “good community people.”
Arthur quickly invested himself in the area, becoming a school trustee and an active member of his church.
“He had been so involved in the community in Quebec,” said Eric.
“He was really attracted to the same attitude of people (living in Springbank). It was and still is a great community.”
The Longeways began milking the cows they brought with them. This method of farming fit in well, as the Springbank area was one of the most active dairy areas in the province.
Many descendents of the original Longeways stayed in the area and were dairy farmers, including Eric’s father, who purchased land nearby.
“We finally went out of dairy in 1993,” said Eric. “We had milked cows for 82 years.”
According to Eric, there are about 160 descendents of Arthur and Hannah.
On Sept. 5, 125 of them attended a celebration at the farm. Eric is proud the family has maintained an agricultural lifestyle in the area, which he says is not the norm.
“We were some of the few that have stayed agricultural, not developing,” said Eric. “We love it. It is hard to get away from it.”
Eric said it is likely the next generation will continue farming as one of his sons is very active on the farm, as is an adult granddaughter.
The original farm now belongs to Michael Longeway, Eric’s second cousin. Eric’s family farms the land.
Eric hasn’t missed a year of haying season in decades, although he has certainly seen technology change.
“This is the 77th year I have put up hay,” said Eric. “I started on the hay rake when I was seven years old and never missed a year.”
As the years passed, so did the original place. The original house was a two-room “shack,” that was added onto as budget allowed.
According to Eric, Springbank’s community spirit is something that hasn’t changed.
“It is as great a community as it always has been,” said Eric. “It is great land, and we have kept it as good or better.”
