Stan McKen has been involved with farming in one way, or another, all of his life, which is now coming up on 91 years as of next March.
Stan farmed alongside his dad and took over farming following the death of his father in 1949.
“As McKen’s, our roots are grounded in farming and the farm way of life. Harvest time is always the highlight of the year. It wasn’t until the death of my Dad in 1949 that we began to harvest with the combine,” he wrote in a bio in 2010.
As family farms do, in time Stan’s son Brent began farming alongside his father, eventually taking over the farm operation in 1995.
But just because his son took over the farm didn’t mean Stan really retired.
Locally, he is still known as Mr. Fix-It, and that keeps him busy.
Whenever something breaks down it is Stan to the rescue.
He still spends his days in his workshop either doing repairs to machinery, inventing replacement parts which cannot be purchased or building.
Over the years, he has done a lot of building, including renovations to his home.
“I learned a lot of my building skills from Nick Fritz, who built the cupboards in our house in 1952-53. These are still the cupboards in the house today. The house we live in today has undergone many transformations. The kitchen is still the original “lean-to” to the original one and a root cellar. In 1944 the one “lean-to” was torn off and replaced with a living room, parlour and two bedrooms. The following year Mom and Dad added a veranda. My Dad was quite the carpenter and I learned a lot of building skills from him too. He wanted a cottage style roof on the veranda and figured out (with some difficulty) how to do it. He was also a builder and built many bins. More recently the veranda has been removed and replaced with a double car garage and workshop, the house has been lifted and a basement has been built under about two-thirds of the house and several interior renovations have been made. The kitchen is still the original part of the house,” Stan explained in some detail in his bio.
He still lives on the original homestead of Stan’s parents Charles and Ethel near Yorkton and in the home where he was raised as a child.
Since he likes to tinker and repair, his children, grandchildren, friends and neighbours know that if they need something fixed, Stan is the man to take it to.
A sign mounted in his workshop reads, ‘Welcome to Dad’s Garage: If he can’t fix it, it ain’t broke. Open 24 hours.’
Somewhere amid years of farming and machinery repair Stan fell in love with tractors, not surprising with his background.
His first tractor was his dad’s IHCW30 (International Harvester).
As most long time farmers can attest through the years and decades many tractors have come and went since then.
In recent years though, Stan has developed an interest in restoring old tractors and equipment - the repairman in him coming to the forefront.
What initially might look like a piece of junk to most people gets transformed into a smooth running, functioning work of art under Stan’s caring hands.
Not only is each tractor mechanically sound, but the body of the tractor is totally restored and painted and includes all the authentic decals from decades past.
Stan recalls the first tractor he restored was his most challenging.
It was a 1952 CASE DC4 with a long wheel base that had belonged to his brother in law, Norman Klingspon.
It was not an easy fix.
The engine was seized requiring many long hours to get it running.
And then the work on restoring the body of the tractor began.
But after the successful reclamation of the Case restoration was under Stan’s skin.
After completing the first tractor, more old tractors started showing up for restoration.
Stan’s nephew, Glenn Milbrandt, gave him a 1952 Super M IHC to restore.
Other tractors he has restored include a 1949 Massey, a 1950 Case D, another 1952 CASE DC4 with a short wheel base, a 1949 Ford 8N, a 1952 Super W6 IHC.
In summertime, the line-up of tractors on his front yard gets much attention from friends and neighbours.
But for Stan it is just a fun effort that keeps him busy. He says this is something he really enjoys doing and he is looking forward to his next project.
Of course hard work comes natural to Stan too.
In 2010 he wrote several pages of memories for his family, and it started off by noting the work ethic of the farm.
“The funny thing about memories is that what is remembered seems as though it happened only yesterday. It is hard to believe how quickly time has passed. Looking back over the past 80 years, our way of life has seen many changes but there are some things that never change: The importance of family, our desire to help create a better future for our children and our belief that hard work, faith, perseverance and hospitality are the keys to success. When I think back to my early years these values describe my parents as well as the generations that have followed them and gone before them,” he wrote.
The early work ethic was best shown when it came time to gather the ‘gang’ for harvest.
Until 1949, they were still using a threshing machine on the McKen farm, and that meant needing a threshing crew, or gang.
“The word ‘gang’ had quite a different connotation than it does today. Dad’s threshing gang was well known in the area as “The Syndicate.” Our gang was usually comprised of Oswald Tillman, Ewald Tillman, Christian Trost, Uncle John (known as Jack), Maurice and me. As a gang we would move from one farm to the next to do the thrashing,” wrote Stan.
“. . . When we were thrashing at our farm we got to sleep in our own bed, but when we moved to another farm we took our caboose with us. Then we got to sleep on straw mattresses and horse blankets, but we slept well. It would have been nice to have had access to a shower in those days. Harvest has changed a lot form the “old days.” Two men now do what it took twelve of us to do back then.
“When I was younger I helped the threshing gang by being a ‘bin man.” After school I would have to go into the bin and keep pushing the grain down to make more room. At age 15, I was put in charge of a team of horses. One occasion I was put in charge of Uncle Jack’s team. I felt very fortunate because his horse “Birdie” was a very fast horse and Uncle Jack took great pride in her. At the end of the day we would unhook the horses, jump on one and ride it home while leading the other one. One evening while I was riding Birdie home she stepped into a badger hole, tripped and rolled over. Luckily, we both escaped injury but I had to face Uncle Jack with a broken harness and reins.”
In his reflections Stan also hints where his love to tinker may have first set seed.
“I had a lot of good teachers as I was growing up and one of the best was my dad. He spent many long hours in his blacksmith’s shop where he manufactured whatever he needed. I was often Dad’s forge blower. I learned a lot from him about how to make things. I remember him making his own harrow bar from old binder wheels. It all had to be bolted together because, of course, there were no welding machines in those days. To make a hole for a bolt, Dad would heat the iron until it was red hot and then use a punch to pound a hole through it. Being resourceful is an important skill to have if you are a farmer and I credit Dad with helping me to have the ability to often improvise when what you needed isn’t at your fingertips,” he wrote.
Stan would grow up, and in 1954 married Linda Tillman.
Initially they rented an old cottage for $25 per month to live in.
“In the winter it was so cold that the water in the kettle on the stove would be frozen in the morning. If it wouldn’t have been for each other and Mom Tillman’s feather blanket, I think we would have been frozen too. The following year I tore an old barn apart and used the lumber to build us a house. Winter came before it was finished and I still remember lying in bed at night and being able to see the stars between the roof boards. As I recall actually, it was kind of romantic,” Stan recalled.
Stan and Linda would raise two sons, Brent who took over the farm, and Daryl, who is a school principal.
While there were hardships, his passion to fix and repair old tractors comes from his farm background, and ultimately helped forge the man he is.
“Much water has passed under the bridge since the “good old days.” We went through many hard times but also many good times. I relish the memories and would gladly relive those days if I had the chance,” he wrote.
