Notable Abernethians

William Richard Motherwell

Born on January 6th, 1860 in Perth Ontario and died on May 23rd, 1943 in Regina Saskatchewan. Motherwell settled in the Abernethy area when it was still know as the North West Territories in 1882.

In 1901 Motherwell became one of the founding members of the Territorial Grain Growers Association. When Saskatchewan became a province in 1905 he became the new provinces first minister of agriculture serving from 1905 to 1918. He also served twice as federal minister of agriculture during the 1920's in the Liberal government of Mackenzie King. In 1966 the Canadian Government designated Motherwell's homestead as a National Historic Site and by 1983 had restored to celebrate the career of Mr. Motherwell and the history of scientific agriculture in western Canada

Alexander "Mac" McInnes Runciman

Mac Runciman was born on October 8th, 1914 in Invergordon, Ross-shire, Scotland. He immigrated to Canada with his family in 1928 and settled on a farm near the town of Balcarres.

Runciman served five and a half years withe Canadian Army during the second world war in Great Britain, North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. After the war he returned to Saskatchewan to operate a beef and grain farm near the communities of Abernethy and Balcarres.

Also active with community organizations, he served as a municipal councillor, school board secretary, and 4-H leader. He was secretary of the local Abernethy United Grain Growers from 1953 to 1955 and was then elected to the central board in 1955. In 1961 he was chosen as the president of the U.G.G., a post which he held for 20 years. He became the Rapeseed Association of Canada's first chairman from 1967 to 1971, and the Canada Grains Councils first chairman from 1969 to 1972. He was also advisor to the Canadian delegation at the International Wheat Agreement negotiations while serving on the Canadian Wheat Board Advisory Committe, a post he held for 13 years. Runciman was also director of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture from 1961 to 1968, and was a delegate to a number of world sessions of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers.

Len Thompson

Len Thompson developed his first fishing spoon in Abernethy in 1929 after his return from the first world war. Len Thompson bullet and bait was originally a part time business operated from his farm in the winter time.

In 1945 Thompson traveled to Toronto to purchase supplies, production equipment and to hire his first professional tool and die maker. After a few months Thompson had a fully equipped factory operating in Abernethy under the name of Len Thompson Bait Company. In 1958 Len and Myra Thompson, and Myrtle and Cecil Pallister moved the company to Lacombe Alberta to be closer to customers and supplies.

Ralph Stueck

Farmer, naturalist, and photographer, Ralph Stueck was inspired by a meeting with Jack Miner to establish a wildlife sanctuary on his own farm.

In April of 1957 Ralph gave a pair of Canadian geese to Fred Bard named Hiawatha and Queenie. The pair had goslings in Bard's sanctuary and in the summer and fall other geese joined them to become what are now their descendants in Wascana Park in Regina.

In 1964 the government of Saskatchewan named Stueck Island on Lac La Ronge in honour of Stueck's accomplishments, and in 1978 a film about Stueck was made for Saskatchewan school broadcasts.

Ralph died on October 10th 1979, in 1990 Stuecks collection of artifacts was moved to a new building on main street Abernethy which is now known as the Abernethy Nature Heritage Museum.