[from an address upon his induction into the Agricultural Hall
of Fame,
courtesy of the Lloydminster Regional Archives]
Robert Golightly was born at Prestonpans, Scotland, on June14, 1901, and was the eldest of a family of five boys. His parents were William and Christine Golightly who were farmers. In addition to his farming interest. Mr. Golightly, Sr. was also an export buyer for Great Britain and used to come to Canada to buy horses and sell them in Scotland. He was an excellent farmer and had a flock of 200 Suffolk and Hampshire sheep on his mixed farm. He also used to show and judge sheep at the Edinburgh, Perth and Dalanth fairs and the thing he enjoyed the most was being judge at sheepdog trials.
So Bob had a good teacher in regard to the raising and showing of sheep and showed interest in them at an early age and looked forward to the time when he could have a farm of his own.
Bob received his education at Haddington School coming out with a grade 12. He could not see much in the way of a future in Scotland and was attracted to the wide open spaces of Western Canada, so in 1920 he immigrated to Saskatchewan and got a job with Smith and Beatty of Battleford, who were professional men and showed stock as a hobby. Bob showed sheep for them on a show circuit and greatly enjoyed his work.
Later, he worked for John McKercher of Waseca and Alex Giles of Marwayne. He then returned to Scotland but he could see he much preferred Canada. So he came back, this time to Ontario, where he obtained work with Milton Fryfogel of Stratford, Ontario, who had a mixed farm of 200 acres.
In 1927. Bob was married to Francis Makins who was an Ontario farm girl and very interested in Agriculture and stock raising. The same year they came west to the Lloydminster area and settled on his brother Bill’s farm in the Willowlea district which he farmed from 1928-46. By this time the depression was over and economic conditions had greatly improved.
During the time they were at Willowlea, two daughters were born to them, Christina in 1929, who became a home economist, and grace in 1931, was trained as a school study supervisor and later worked at the Canadian Bank of Commerce, Lloydminster and then obtained employment with the Canadian Wheat Board in Winnipeg. They both married, Christina to Robert Fryfogel of Shakespeare, Ontario and Grace to Harold Nickless of Streamstown, Alberta and both have families of their own.
It may be of interest to note that when Bob arrived in Ontario as noted he worked for Mr. Fryfogel, they kept in touch and years later his son, Robert, came west and worked for Bob and in 1949 he was married to Christina in Lloydminster. The Fryfogel’s now make their home on a farm in Shakespeare, Ontario.
Bob’s real interest lay in sheep and in 1937 he bought 50 head of Hampshire sheep from Alex A. Mitchell, well known Lloydminster cattle breeder, and later he bought 30 head of Suffolk sheep from Dr. Hill also a well known Lloydminster stock man.
In 1946 he left the Willowlea district and bought 3/4 of a section of land three miles north of Streamstown, Alberta, and as he already had a quarter this gave him a full section.
His flock of Suffolk and Hampshire pure bred sheep now numbered close to 200 and he set out to make his farm a real sheep enterprise where only the best would be put on the market for breeding purposes, the others being culled out. His breeding stock was soon in big demand and was sold all over Canada and he became one of the best known sheep man in the Lloydminster district and developed a name for high quality animals combined with personal integrity and honest dealing. He was also a good neighbour and at all times was willing to give others the benefit of his experience in regards to sheep raising.
He showed his stock with success at the following fairs; Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Lloydminster, Vermilion, Prince Albert, Red Deer and Melfort and won countless prizes, trophies and ribbons. Asked him how many prizes he had won, he said he had not the faintest idea.
At the Edmonton fairs he was awarded the champion and reserve champion for his Rams on several occasions and in Calgary in 1969 he took the championship both for a Ram and a Ewe. Sheep he had sold for breeding purposes became champions at Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Lloydminster, Vermilion, Prince Albert and Melfort all under different judges.
In 1969, he sold Mr. Stephens of Calgary, five ewes and out of this line of breeding a Ram was produced that according to a news item in the Western Producer of July 1980, was sold for $5,400.00 at the Brandon Canadian Sheep Classic Sale, June 18-21, 1980, this being the top price paid.
Bob said when the Hayes Prize list came into effect in 1969, it was much better, first the prize money was doubled which was a big help to the small exhibitor and then you could only show two Rams and two females in any one class. Bob judged sheep at the Toronto Royal in 1956, several times in Edmonton, Red Deer as well as at other fairs.
In 1974 he gave a cup for the best flock of 4 or 5 at the Edmonton show. The winner had it a year and then it is put up for the annual competition.
He was director of the Lloydminster fair board for a number of years and in 1956 was elected president, a position he held for three years. He was director of the Canadian Breeders Association for 6 or 7 years and was elected president in 1957 and was later given a scroll in recognition for his work and to the high esteem in which he was held. He was director of the Provincial Breeders Association from 1940-60, so he was well honoured by his associates.
He was elected as a delegate for the Alberta Wheat Pool, a position he held from 1941-74 and was councillor for the County of Vermilion River from 1963-74.
Mrs. Golightly
This story would not be complete without special mention of Mrs. Golightly who made a big contribution to her husband’s success.
Coming to the Willowlea district in 1927, Mrs. Golightly loved the country and its people from the start and they fitted in very well with the young people in this area and soon became a part of the community. Mrs. Golightly was a fun loving person and loved dancing so they both used to attend dances and other forms of recreation which they greatly enjoyed and had many good times together. Later, when they moved to the Streamstown district she became involved in ladies organizations and other social activities.
However farming is not all pleasure and having a good time. There is plenty of hard work to be done and as they got more and more involved with pure-bred sheep Bob had to attend the fairs and sheep shows where much of his breeding stock was offered for sale. During the time Bob was away Mrs. Golightly looked after the sheep and kept things running smoothly.
Bob said she knew many of the sheep by name and if any were missing she knew which ones they were. Bob also said without her help and support he could never have attained the success he had as a sheep breeder. So we see that raising sheep was a family affair and a 50-50 effort by Bob and Mrs. Golightly.
Mrs. Golightly always had a good vegetable garden but it was in her flowers she excelled. Her flower garden contained many different kinds of flowers which made a wonderful show and gave the house and yard a most attractive appearance.
Mrs. Golightly was also interested in poultry, so Bob built her a spacious chicken house and she specialized in White Wine Dots, which she raised from baby chicks and soon had a flock of 400 laying hens. There was plenty of work involved as the eggs had to be gathered four times daily, crated and delivered to the creamery. One time when his wife was in the hospital, Bob gathered and looked after the eggs and said he found out what a big job it really was.
However her real interest lay with her husband and family to which she was devoted and whose welfare, at all times, was her chief priority. Her family included three boys and a girl as grandchildren of which she was very fond and when any of them called it was the highlight of her day. She had the satisfaction of seeing her children grow up to be respected citizens who were a credit to their parents and an asset to the community.
Mrs. Golightly was a most compassionate person and could not bare to think of anyone suffering whether it was people or animals. She used to take baby lambs who were weak or sick into the house, where they received every attention and usually became strong and well.
The Golightly’s kept 2 sheep dogs to which Mrs. Golightly was very attached. They were a great help with the sheep and when visitors called they were quite an attraction.
One year the Golightly’s had a sheep shearing demonstration at their farm which continued for most of the day. T here were about fifty people in attendance and they came from near and far. Many of these present had the opportunity to try their hand at sheep shearing and those without experience had a difficult time and some of the sheep were quite messed up, so it was apparent that it was a job that required a bit of skill and practice.
Lunch was served by Mrs. Golightly and assisted by some of the ladies present and all in all it was quite a gala occasion which would be remembered for a long time.
Mrs. Golightly used to accompany her husband on the fair circuit and at conventions and greatly enjoyed these outings. They also did considerable traveling together, going to Scotland three times and many times to Ontario where she used to visit relatives and friends in her old home town, and in later years used to visit daughter Christina, son-in-law, Bob, and grandson Don.
They were often seen going around the Co-op store together, talking and visiting with friends. Mrs. Golightly passed away in 1972 after a lengthy illness and is sadly missed and fondly remembered by her family and friends.
Of late years Bob has spent most of his time traveling and visited Scotland each year since 1972 when he attends the Scottish fairs. While in Scotland he took a European trip five years in succession. He visited France, Russia, Germany, Finland, and greatly enjoyed these visits. He also visited Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and India. He reported there was extreme poverty in India and many people live under extremely unsanitary condition. He saw a dead elephant in the Ganges River from which people were taking their drinking water. He was always glad to get back to Lloydminster and is still interested in sheep, judging the 4H classes in 1977.
He still lives a fairly active life and enjoys good health and is often seen talking to his friends in the Co-op Store where they reminisce about old times.