[This tribute was given by the President of the Exhibition Association for 1974 before he unveiled a picture of Alex Mitchell who was chosen to be the first member of the Lloydminster and District Agricultural Hall of Fame in the new "Stockade" building.]
"The honour that has been bestowed upon me this afternoon, as President of the Lloydminster Exhibition Association for 1974, will no doubt be one of the most memorable occasions in my life, past or future, outside of my own enjoyable family.
The idea that special occasions such as this be conducted by the Lloydminster Exhibition Association, originated much like your present Short Course, and by the same hard-working, sound-thinking, aggressive man, Mr. Joe McLean, Q.C. He brought forth the idea to the Lloydminster Exhibition Association, that a Hall of Fame be set up in the new multipurpose Agriculture Building, called "The Stockade", and candidates be those who, in their life endeavors, have made a major contribution to the Agricultural Industry in the area; be it livestock, grain, horticulture work, or pioneer businessmen or professional people who pioneered the area and made many contributions that kept this great agricultural community alive and thriving.
After consideration, it was unanimously agreed that the late Alex Mitchell be the first member of the Lloydminster and District Agricultural Hall of Fame. No doubt, no more deserving or fitting person could have been chosen.
I feel very humble and greatly honoured to be chosen to pay tribute to such a great person, who ranked with the best of some of the past world leaders such as Winston Churchill, President D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhauer, John F. Kennedy, Lester B. Pearson, John Diefenbaker, and many more illustrious people.
The late Alex Mitchell, in his own way, contributed as much to this country in his own field, as these men in theirs.
To tell the history and many achievements of Alex Mitchell would take many history books and someone much more qualified than I. But I will endeavor to touch on a bit of his past history and a few of his many achievements.
He was born December 14th, 1883, at Port Monteith, Perthshire, Scotland. His father was a noted cattle buyer and agriculturist - which sort of proves an old theory - "Like father - like son".
Mr. Mitchell came to Canada in 1905 and worked in the Medicine Hat area with a family friend, Mr. Alex Galbraith. In 1906 he returned to Scotland to bring bulls to Canada which were to make good herd sires. He made several trips back and forth, bringing livestock into Canada until 1914. On one of his return trips to Scotland, he joined the Scottish Horse and he fought at Gallipoli and Egypt.
In 1916 he transferred to the Lovat Scouts and in August of that year married Mary Ralston from Island of Coll off the west coast of Scotland. He had met her while going there before the war years to buy cattle. During the war, she trained as a nurse and waited for the war to end so she could be with her husband who was then serving in Salonika in Greece, France, Belgium and finally in Germany in 1919.
In the fall of 1919, after the war was over, he returned to Medicine Hat and later to Edmonton where he again worked with his old friend, Mr. Galbraith, and this time imported Clydesdale horses which left their mark throughout Canada.
A year later he established himself at Lloydminster, which turned out to be a blessing for this community. He brought his wife and son out from Scotland. This marriage was blessed with three children, Bill, Nan (now Mrs. Wib Savage), and Jean, who died in 1938.
During his first years here, he applied his extensive knowledge and sincerity of character as a cattle buyer, with a partner, Mr. Tom Cadzow, and later on he went on his own, conducting his same honorable business as a livestock buyer. It has been said many times that his word was his bond, and many millions of dollars’ worth of business were done by his word of mouth, not contracts, not agreements, just his word.
As one old cattleman, who is Lee Williams, has said many times, "He was the most fair and honorable man that I ever had the pleasure to do business with", and through his 60-some years in the business, he has come in contact with many different personalities. Mr. Williams cites an example of buying some 500 head of fat cattle from Mr. Mitchell for shipment to the United States and they agreed upon a purchase price and the cattle were to be sorted and shipped out load by load. When they got to the last 150, Mr. Mitchell phoned him and said, "I think you should take $1.00 to $1.50 per hundredweight off this bunch, Lee. They are the tail-end and do not look just as good as the previous shipments".
So again, it shows the honesty and integrity of this great man.
The Mitchells purchased the famous Battle River Ranch bit by bit, with the first purchase being made in 1925, from which originated one of the finest herds of Purebred Herefords ever established. Because of his efforts, good management, fair trade practice and foresight into the future, this area has been noted for producers of top quality cattle in North America.
Mr. Mitchell was not prejudiced to any one breed, and the story has been told many times of him buying car loads of good range bulls at the Calgary Bull Sale and distributing them throughout the area, and in many cases without any agreements or money down and this way helped the expansion of all breeds.
His triumphs and good deeds were many as I mentioned earlier and it would take many books to tell of them.
One particular note of interest that I became involved in, was this past fall, on a cattle buying trip to British Columbia, in the Kamloops and Douglas Lake area, I purchased some 300 calves which I thought were some of the best cattle our company had handled for some time. After enquiring into the original cow herd and herd sire, I found that they originated from the ancestors of the great Alex Mitchell herd and had been purchased years previous at the Kamloops Purebred Bull Show and Sale. So it would seem, wherever you go throughout Western Canada, you are bound to find most good herds of cattle in some way relate back to the great work of the late Alex Mitchell.
In 1958 because of failing health, he sold his purebred herd and retired to Lloydminster. It has often been said and I firmly believe it to be true, that behind every good man there is a good woman, and in this case it proved so true, as the Mitchell home was always open to friends and passersby and none ever left their door hungry or needy.
The Mitchell Dispersal Sale turned out quite successful and grossed some $171,310.00, but previous to this in their own way, they were millionaires, and I say this from a very good old friend and partner of mine whom I was having lunch with in a cafeteria one afternoon. A young couple walked in with their family of three and spoke to this gentleman. After a short conversation, this couple departed and he said to me, "That couple are just getting started farming, but you know they are having a hard time. But they are millionaires and don’t realize it". Every one of those youngsters is worth a million".
When we look at the fine family the Mitchells left, and now the children and grand-children, indeed it was very true, as we now find Bill married to the former Evelyn Turner. They have raised a family of three boys and are still carrying on at the famous Battle River Ranch, with a top herd of commercial cattle. Nan, who married Wib Savage, together made quite a team. Raising a family of two, carrying on the tradition of the late Alex Mitchell both in his field of endeavor and in his generous and friendly way.
In summing up, and I know I have missed many highlights of these great people, I would like to say to all, the family especially, how pleased the Lloydminster Exhibition Association is to open the Hall of Fame with such a distinguished man, who contributed so much, not only to agriculture in this area, but in helping to mould the community spirit and good fellowship that exists today.
As quoted after the death of Mr. And Mrs. Mitchell in 1960,
"The community lost those two fine pioneers when both slipped quietly away on the same night. None avoided praise more than this couple. As Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, "That man is a success, who has lived well, laughed often and loved much, who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children, who has filled his niche and accomplished his task, who leaves the world better than he found it, who has never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had’.
I think there is nothing more fitting that describes the late Alex Mitchell.
We will now unveil the picture, which is to be placed in the Hall of Fame in the new Stockade Building. In future years, we hope to see many of his good friends and associates’ portraits beside him.
[article courtesy of the Lloydminster Regional Archives]