The Canadian Charolais Association Honor Roll 2006 - Recipients
Ed Silbernagel c/o Ms. Pat Silbernagel Water Valley, AB Born in 1924 near Beiseker, AB Ed comes from a large family, his parents Pete and Elizabeth Silbernagel raised six boys and two girls. Ed served in the Royal Canadian Air Force for nine and one half years where he lied about his age in order to get accepted for duty. When the Air Force found out his true age, he was no longer allowed to fight, but he did get his pilot’s license and served in France, Germany and North Africa during the course of the Second World War. Upon returning home to Canada, he worked in eastern Canada for a while and there he met and married Helen Reekie. Ed and Helen had one daughter, Gloria, who still resides in Toronto. Ed traveled as a bookkeeper for the Western Canadian Racing Association for many years. He became quite an authority on bloodlines and decided that a good combination for stock horses would be a Thoroughbred and Morgan cross. Ed raised many sought after ranch horses with these bloodlines. Ed’s old stallion “Cowboy” was a fixture on the ranch. In 1958 Ed was tired of his job with the Racing Association and decided to buy a ranch west of Water Valley which he promptly called “The Bar 7 Easy Ranch”. He knew this particular part of Water Valley, from when he was a young boy. George Day would take him hunting and fishing on this ranch. As water is very important to ranching, when this ranch came up for sale in 1958, Ed purchased it and the ranch has been his life ever since. Ed loved the peace in his valley. He started ranching with commercial cattle but it wasn’t long before he tried a Charolais bull. His first calf crop convinced him he had to breed with only Charolais bulls. Around 1963, Ed was in Calgary at the dentist’s office getting some work done on his teeth. The dentist gave him some painkillers and was told if he needed to take some that he shouldn’t drive. Ed got as far as Airdrie and stopped at the auction market there, took some pain killers and by the end of the sale owned several Charolais animals and a new Charolais breeder was born. Ed heard about the Conception to Consumer program and wasn’t long in enrolling his commercial herd as a test herd which he continued to enroll for three or four years. When he saw what the Full French Charolais bulls could do on the C to C Program, he was convinced he had to switch completely to Full French bulls and to establish a Full French breeding herd. In September of 1981, Ed brought into his life and his ranch, his most valuable asset, when he and Pat McCarthy married. This brought into Ed’s life Pat’s three children Ken, Shannon and Bev. Together Ed and Pat continued the dream of their Full French Charolais breeding program. They established their herd by buying French animals wherever they were for sale in Canada. Their first annual Charolais sale was held at Highwood in 1986 and every year after until 1991. Their sale was then moved to Olds and by 1994 they held their first Full French Sale where consignors were invited to take part. When their Full French sale expanded and managers were brought in to help select the cattle, they then asked Ed how many animals he would consign. His reply would be “come and pick what you need to make a good sale”. Ed not only supported the Full French Sale by consigning to it, but he always made several purchases in every sale. Ed attended almost every Charolais convention including a congress in Mexico and always had great input into the meetings. When issues would get off track, Ed was ready to get the discussion back to the point. Ed served as parliamentarian at an annual meeting, as well as served with the committee that hosted the 2000 Canadian Convention in Calgary. Ed never showed his cattle, preferring to sell and buy cattle that were displayed in their natural state without a lot of camouflage and dressing on them. Ed’s Bar 7 Easy cattle have been sold from coast to coast in Canada, the United States, Mexico and Korea. Most of the new Full French herds today will have Bar 7 Easy cattle back in the pedigree. Ed’s Bar 7 Easy Ranch was the largest breeding herd of Full French Charolais in Canada. At a 2006 sale of French cattle in Texas, two of the animals showed Bar 7 Easy in their pedigree. Ed and Pat were hosts to many exchange students over the years, many of them coming from Japan. Besides taking in exchange students, Ed had a soft spot in his heart for orphaned fawns and moose. His ranch was nearly taken over by rabbits as he nursed the small creatures to adulthood. He had so many rabbits on the ranch that he became known as Eddie rabbit to his friends and neighbors. Ed was very active in the Water Valley Community Association. He was instrumental in setting up the Pine Slopes Rancher’s Association. This Rancher’s Association was set up prior to the pre-sort sales of recent times. The Association built corrals and office north of Water Valley. All the members brought their calves in, weighed them off the truck then sorted them to sex, weight, color, conformation and penned them accordingly. At sale day, a 3% shrink was applied and the buyers and auctioneers moved from pen to pen to sell and buy the cattle. The cattle stayed quiet in their pens. Ed was also very supportive of the Water Valley Riding Club. This Club was basically set up to teach children how to enjoy a horse and how to have the horse enjoy its life. Ed did not have children of his own to go into this club at that time; however, he did constantly support the local children and the club. Ed passed away in 2002, but left a legacy of Full French cattle that his wife Pat continues to breed and market. Some of Pat’s six grandchildren continue to be ‘weekend warriors’ and help her with ranch maintenance and work. All of the Full French and purebred Charolais breeders in North America can be proud of Ed for his long-term commitment to producing Full French Charolais. Without his determination and efforts, Full French cattle would not enjoy the resurgence in Canadian herds that is experienced today. Submitted by Hazel George and Lisa Schnuelle On behalf of Alberta Charolais Association
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George Stewart – Maple Leaf Charolais
Honor Roll Nominee George Stewart
Date & Place of Birth: 1928 Hanna, AB George graduated from grade 8 and immediately went to work on various farms in the area. He could not join any service unit during the war years, as he was not old enough to be accepted. At the age of 15 he was working on a threshing crew. He worked many years in the oil patch, which is how he met his wife Fay. He worked for the Alberta government, but always had a dream of living on and owning a ranch. George saw his first Charolais animal in 1959 with his dad at James Rawes’ place. They liked them so much that they bought a heifer and a bull. That was the beginning of their Charolais herd and the name Maple Leaf Ranch which took the maple leaf as a brand. This brand came out in 1886 and is still being used by the Stewart’s today. George’s parents William (Sieb) and Phyllis were life time members of the Canadian Charolais Association and they registered their first Charolais cattle in 1960 under the name of W.S. Stewart & Sons, a name that included George and his brother Gordon. In March of 1960 George bought four 15/16 heifers from Ray Braunum and in 1961 he bred his entire herd of cows to Charolais and has been using nothing but Charolais bulls since that time. George was involved with the first imports of French heifers from France in 1965 and imported cattle every year until 1974. In 1969 the Stewarts showed cattle in Red Deer. Their son John was the first to show Charolais cattle there. Murray Stauffer was the judge and put their heifer in last place and then in the next class he placed that heifer first. John won Reserve Champion over all the breeds that year. When they showed in Red Deer in the Junior Show, the judge, a Shorthorn breeder, named Mr. Sharp, said there was no place for these type of animals and said he would not judge them and left John and his animal to the side.\ George knew better, and even though they were insulted by this judging event, George knew better than that judge and continued to breed and produce quality French Charolais. George had one of his Carnival sons shown in Houston in the late 1960’s and the bull won Reserve Champion. George later sold the bull at a World Sale in Calgary. George’s son, Tom, joined him in raising Charolais in 1985 under the name Maple Leaf Charolais. George then switched his farm name from Maple Leaf Ranch to Maple Leaf Charolais. In 1989, Maple Leaf Charolais sold 80 head of cattle Mexico. There were six truck loads of cattle that went south and George found it necessary to ride along with one of the trucks just to make sure the cattle made it to Mexico okay. George Stewart and his family have been using Full French bulls since 1966. In 2002, they raised and sold the first Full French Polled Charolais in Canada. George and his son Tom traveled to France in 2005 for 10 days in June to see the roots of the Full French cattle. George has always used Conception to Consumer tested bulls and felt that is what kept his cattle easing fleshing and kept ease of calving in his cow herd. He tested his bulls in test centers since 1973. George will calve out 200 head this year by himself and states that the only reason he is still ranching is because of the French Charolais cattle. Their good milk and docile nature have enabled him to build a quiet, easy-keeping herd. George is still actively involved in the Full French Charolais group where they have sold cattle for the past several years. George has been active in supporting 4-H in his area as an assistant leader and parent advisor, during the times that his children were in 4-H and after that, in order to encourage young people to continue their learning through the 4-H movement. He has been active in the community association events for many years and continues to curl four times a week. He feels that perhaps he should cut back on his curling in order to give him more time to enjoy the cows during the calving season. George coached baseball since his children were able to play and continued to coach after they moved onto to other interests. One of his great joys in life was his coaching and seeing the youth respond and do well—most always his teams were in the “A” division champions, so winning in the finals was always a challenge. Five sons and two daughters kept George and Fay busy coaching them in fastball and curling. These sports saw the family travel from Vancouver to New Brunswick for many years and the travel and sports took them away from showing cattle during that time. Along with his dream of a ranch, George always dreamed of having a hockey team, but ended up have a ball team instead—in one game he and Fay saw their five boys bat one after another in the line up. George and Fay lost one son to cancer. Fay passed away in October of 2005. George Stewart embodies that early spirit and steadfast belief in the value of Charolais cattle that made Charolais cattle a success across Canada and indeed across North America. Submitted by Hazel George on behalf of the Alberta Charolais Association |
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Nominated by the Saskatchewan Charolais Association Alan G. Sparrow was born on July 25th, 1927 in Saskatoon. His family homesteaded west on Delisle and later moved to settle in the Vanscoy area in the 1930’s. His father died in 1937 when Alan was ten years old leaving him and five brothers to farm. After completing his schooling at Bedford Road Collegiate in Saskatoon, he worked as a plumber for Crane Plumbing & Heating and farmed with his brothers as well. He met Nancy Weedon of Paddockwood, Sask. and they married on July 21, 1956. This summer will see Alan and Nancy celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Nancy was a trained school teacher and taught in St. Catherines, ON., Laura, SK and Arelee, SK. In 1958, Alan and Nancy started their own homestead where the farm now operates today. After hearing about a new breed from France, Alan thought perhaps Charolais may be a way of increasing his profits in his commercial Shorthorn/Hereford based cowherd. He read in the newspaper about an organizing meeting to form the Saskatchewan Charolais Association and thought that would be the best place to find a bull. Before long, Alan was steeped in the Charolais breed and was one of the first importers of Charolais from France. Together with his brother, they hosted an annual bull sale, starting in 1971. In 1984, the brothers divided farms to begin farming with their own families. This also marked the first bull sale held on the farm and sales have been held there every year since. To date, it is one of the highest averaging Charolais sales in North America each year. This three-generation farm now finds Alan’s sons Morley, Vernon and Cameron (the oldest son, Norman, is a commercial pilot). Their families manage operations that include: - a 550 head feedlot (which was first started in 1976) that feature Charolais cattle, - 4500 acres of seeded acres consisting of pulse crops, cereals and oilseeds (Alan started continuous cropping in the late 1960’s and practiced efficient soil conservation methods such as direct seeding and minimum tillage, both practices were well ahead of their time). - a 230 head of commercial cow/calf operation - a 140 head purebred Charolais cowherd (accomplishments include numerous Champions at Saskatoon Fall Fair, Brandon Ag-Ex, Edmonton Farm Fair, Canadian Western Agribition, Denver and most recently, U.S. National Champion Bull in Houston...the second time ever for a Canadian bull to win!) Sparrow genetics can be found across the globe across Canada and the U.S., Mexico, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Hungary, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand. Within the community, Alan and Nancy have been very active leaders and community builders. They were the General Leaders for the Vanscoy Multiple 4-H Club for ten years. For many years Nancy was the secretary for the Canadian Charolettes, the very active promotional group for the Charolais breed. To date, they are still active members with the United Church and Community Club. They recently were awarded with the Forty Year Member Award from the Canadian Charolais Association and have been recipients of the Saskatchewan Livestock Association Honor Scroll, the Saskatchewan Charolais Association Honor Scroll and Saskatchewan’s Breeder of the Year Award on two occasions. This past fall Alan was awarded “The Saskatchewan Centennial Medal” presented to him by Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor Lynda Haverstock. Though not a man who spent days sitting in board rooms and meetings, he was a leader by example. Alan left his mark by building a robust farming operation that continues to thrive three generations later. Morley, Vernon and Cameron have all had terms on the Provincial Charolais Association, Vernon has sat on the National Charolais Board of Directors and Cam currently sits on the National Board as well as the National Executive of the Canadian Charolais Association.. Morley also sat on the Canola Board as a Director. Alan and Nancy are honored to receive this award.
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Nesthyr Rudniski was first introduced to the Charolais breed by Dr Mel Kunkel and John Rudiger. This resulted in the application for French import permits in 1966. NR Charolais was established in 1968 with the importation of full French heifers from France and the purchase of a group of percentage Charolais females from Rodney James and a purebred Andalou son from John Rudiger. In 1970 the percentage Charolais were dispersed and a group of 53 polled bred females and a herd sire, Beau John 50, were purchased from Martens Cattle Co. in Salem, Oregon. Success on the show road soon followed. At the first ever Canadian Western Agribition, NR Charolais captured Grand Champion Charolais Bull with Exodus FMC 425. In 1975 NR showed extensively in Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, and the summer shows and became the proud winner of the “Sid Johns” Memorial Trophy. During the 1970’s Nesthyr served two terms on the S.C.A. Board of Directors, working on the promotion and show and sale committees. This was a time of great intensity and excitement as Charolais struggled to get a foot hold in a cattle industry of established breeds and traditional practices. Nesthyr was on both the Saskatoon Fall Fair and Regina Agribition show committees and was Charolais Barn Boss at Agribition. Over this time he observed the great improvement and growing interest in Charolais cattle. NR Charolais was a true pioneer in the breeding of polled Charolais. In the early 70’s polled Charolais cattle were not readily available. Over the years, the NR polled program was built around Beau John 50, Polled Prince, Suttons Cruiser 160N, Threat, and Navaron. These herd sires were selected for ease of calving, milk production, and performance. NR has continued to breed and market purebred bulls to the commercial industry for 40 years. Over the last 40 years Nesthyr has really enjoyed the Charolais industry and his many friends and customers. A very successful business man, Nesthyr has always valued his farming roots and spends as much time as he can at his farm at St. Front. In 1996, Nesthyr and Dolly received the SCA Honour Scroll in recognition of NR’s significant contribution to the Charolais breed in Saskatchewan. The NR Charolais herd was dispersed with a very successful sale in October of 2006. Submitted by Dale & Lesley Norheim for the Saskatchewan Charolais Association |
