Lloydminster is celebrating 120 years of the Lloyd Ex Fair this year. What a momentous occasion it is.
Read more: Local fair celebrates 120 years
In my research for the history of the fair, I came across an excerpt from a very old book.
The Golden Land, published in 1911 by Arther E. Copping, speaks to some of the experiences of the colonists in Lloyd.
One local legend, J.C. Hill and his family, are known for their oat growing. For three years they won the Colorado Cup in the early 1910’s for a sample of the best oats.
“Yes, yes, my oats scored 95.5 out of a possible 100 at Brandon Winter Fair, averaging 86 bushles to the acre and 50 pounds to the bushel. Not bad, eh,” said Hill.
The family came from Woolwich, England, and had settled in Lloydminster ready to grow oats.
They first arrived in 1903 and immediately got to work on the adjoining quarter-sections allotted to them near the Battle River. A log house was built, land was broken, but they hit a bump in the road as the land they were on was promised to someone else.
The three Hill boys set off 70 to 100 miles away to work for wages, letting them survive the winter and during the spring, giving them enough to start again.
It wouldn’t be until 1905 when they finally made their start, getting their first crop in 1906. Unfortunately, the family was heavily in debt. They would have multiple years of tough weather which set them back even farther.
The light was there at the end of the tunnel, 1908 was the mega-yield.
“The 1908 crop not only cleared off every penny we owed, but left me with a bigger balance than the money I came out with,” said Hill.
This breakthrough set the family up for long-term success and they were finally off to the races.
What interested me is when asked if Hill had a desire to return to England, he said yes.
“But not to stay, only to have the chance of telling people about this country and persuading them to come out,” said Hill.
Lloydminster gave him and his family an amazing opportunity, though they had a rough start they found their bearings. Their family had land, had success and had each other in a foreign land with new friends and opportunities.
Hill is a local legend in the wheat game and continued having amazing success in what he did. It reminds me of how many came to Lloydminster, maybe just temporarily, but found success and opportunity like non-other.
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