Murray Jeffries shares about life on the farm
By Joan Janzen
Murray and Carol Jeffries are newcomers to Caleb’s community, having moved there in November of 2023 from their farm which is located between Marengo and Smiley. Murray said. “It’s a very good place to be; the staff and the management make this place.”
He has witnessed a lot of changes throughout his life, which began on December 5, 1940 when he was born in the Dodsland Hospital. Because it was winter and the roads were blocked, Murray and his mom took a train ride home to Smiley. “That was the mode of transportation in 1940,” he explained.
Murray Jeffries and his wife Carol are adjusting to their new life in Caleb, after having moved from their farm in November, 2023. PHOTO BY JOAN JANZEN
He and his five siblings attended Prairiedale School, three miles west of the farm. There were 22 students. Both the school and a church were located on separate two acre plots of land. Murray was baptized and confirmed at St. Catherine’s historic church located one mile west of Major. The priest travelled on a speeder on the rail line to Loverna for baptisms and funerals during the winter. Although church is still standing today, the school closed in 1958, after which students went to school in Major.
He estimated having ten different teachers while he was enrolled at Prairiedale School, and he remembers all of them. “There was a teacherage on the school yard,” he recalled. “It was probably stressful for single female teachers to live in the middle of the prairie with no power or running water.”
On one occasion Murray caused his teacher even more stress when he came into the school holding a live skunk by the tail. Apparently a skunk won’t spray when it’s held by the tail, but the teacher probably didn’t know that. “I got her pretty excited,” he admitted. “I got expelled for a day for doing that.”
He also remembers the Prairiedale School and Victory School’s combined ball team. Victory School was just seven miles from Prairiedale School. “We had a really good ball team,” he said. All his siblings were on the team, and they played ball in Kerrobert, Major and Smiley.
On field days they’d enjoy a rare treat - ice cream that was ordered from Kerrobert and came in an insulated two gallon container. Since there were no freezers, the ice cream had to be eaten right away, which wasn’t really a problem.
Winter was spent playing hockey and using Eaton’s catalogues as shin pads. “It was better than a stick on the shins,” he laughed. Although they played hard, they also worked hard. Families took turns cleaning the school and lighting the fires in the morning so the classroom was warm when the kids arrived.
All the kids in his family milked cows, shovelled grain from the wagon into the square bins, and gathered eggs. “Every month different farmers supplied beef for all the neighbours,” he recalled. Since there were no freezers, there was lots of canned beef and canned chicken in the pantry.
After completing his Grade 10, Murray worked for the RM of Prairiedale, and continued working on a casual basis after he began farming. “I started working for 35 cents/hour. Beer was 10 cents a glass, and $20 bought more bags of groceries than you could carry out of the store,” he said. “Now I carry $70 dollars worth of groceries out in one bag.”
On Oct. 5, 1962 he and Carol were married and moved on to their farm in the spring of 1963. At that time they purchased three quarters of land for $14,500, and installed power for $600.
Their farm had a huge barn, 32’x80’ and 42’ high. “But the house was a cracker box,” he laughed. “We moved in an old house, and renovated it. The wind blew right through it. We lived in it until 1972 when we built a new one.”
Carol and Murray had four children ... two boys and two girls, who were involved in figure skating and 4H. “In 1976 I was Deputy Governor of the Kinsmen Club and visited 13 towns twice in a year.”
Both Carol and Murray helped out at auction sales. Carol was a clerk and Murray was a ring man. “Did it for about 18 years. During April and half of May there was an auction pretty much every day,” he said.
Besides farming, Murray also started up Prairiedale Oilfield which he operated for 25 years, along with his son, hired help and Carol doing the books. The Jeffries worked hard, but they also took time out to travel.
They journeyed south for the winter for 21 years. They also toured Alaska, Vietnam, Germany, China, Holland, Hungary, Florida, Hong Kong, Cambodia and Austria.
Now he and Carol have ten grandkids and two great grandsons. And they all love coming to the Marengo area to visit, where Murray and Carol’s sons continue to farm.