Vance Booth reflects on life rooted in family and farming

By Joan Janzen

Vance Booth has been enjoying the past two years as a resident at Caleb Village in Kindersley, where he took time to share his memories of growing up near Herschel, Sask.

He was born in Rosetown on Dec. 1, 1939. Vance said he was too young to remember much about the war years, but he does recall one story about his uncle returning from the army. “He came back and always kidded me that I was born in 1939 and caused the war,” he chuckled.

Vance Booth enjoys his days at Caleb Village and took time to share memories of family, farming and the agricultural industry. PHOTO SUBMITTED

Vance and Faye Booth on their wedding day, July 12, 1962, in Herschel, Sask. PHOTO SUBMITTED

Unlike the conflict experienced during the war, Vance recalls a peaceful childhood on a mixed farm located eight miles from Herschel. “We were more or less self-sufficient,” he said.

His parents, Pearl and Gordon, raised their own beef, chickens and pigs, and maintained a large garden that supplied food for Vance, his sister and two brothers.

“Every year we’d fill a one-ton truck with potatoes, which was the main food at each meal,” he said. “I did the milking and took care of the animals, especially during harvest.”

His education began at Kensington School, just two miles from their farm. One teacher taught children from Grades 1 to 9 in the one-room school. “That’s the way it was back then,” he noted. “I went there until I was in Grade 6.”

It was around that time that electricity first came to the village of Herschel in the 1950s. “Shortly after that we got it on the farm,” he said. “Rural contractors put in the power lines.” It marked the beginning of a new era of rural electrification.

With electricity came the family’s black-and-white television; however, most people relied on their local newspaper for news. “Each town had a paper, and the radio was a big deal,” he said.

Everyone worked hard, but they also found time to enjoy themselves. “We played hockey and ball at school. Each school had its own team. We had good times back then,” Vance said.

“As a kid we didn’t go too far, but my grandfather had a farm up at Spiritwood. We’d visit him, and he’d take us to the lake to go fishing,” he recalled.

One of the highlights each year was the annual Christmas concert. “A lot of time and preparation went into it, but we always had a good time,” he said.

Vance took Grades 7 and 8 in Herschel before attending LCBI, a Christian boarding school in Outlook, for Grades 10 and 11. “I changed schools because they had more to offer in Outlook,” he said. But at age 17, he lost interest in school and found work in Rosetown sharpening discs, later pumping gas at a service station.

Although school did not hold his attention, it was there he met his first love, Faye. “I met Faye at school. She was two grades below me,” he said. They were married in Herschel on July 12, 1962, and shared 49 years together before Faye passed away. They raised two sons, Kevin and Ron, and a daughter, Sharon, in Rosetown.

In 1966, Vance received a job offer that shaped the next chapter of his life. “When my uncle asked me to join Western Sales in 1966, I jumped at the opportunity,” he said. “I did every job there except accounting.” He worked in the parts department and stayed until 1987. “I really liked meeting people. I knew everyone and I knew all their phone numbers.”

Family time at the lake became one of his greatest joys. “We went to Kimball Lake for 30 years in a row after we got married. We enjoyed it very much. The family looked forward to that tremendously,” he said.

In 1987, he returned to farming, partnering with his father-in-law near Herschel. He farmed for 14 years before selling his equipment and moving to Rosetown, though retirement did not come immediately.

“I worked with my cousin Alvin Moore on his farm until I was 80 years old. I enjoyed it immensely,” he said. After 12 years, he decided it was time to slow down.

Vance later remarried and spent six years with his wife, Joan Gunnlaugson, before her passing in December 2019. Today, he has eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, with his children living in Swift Current, Saskatoon and Herschel.

He now spends his days watching sports, going for walks and enjoying life at Caleb Village. “The girls working here are tremendous. They’re good people,” he said. He added with a smile that he has not used his stove in the two years he has lived there.

Even at 86, Vance considers himself one of the younger residents. He said he is often surprised by how many of his neighbours are in their late 80s and 90s.

Thanks for sharing your memories, along with your love of family, farming and the agricultural industry.