Alternate names

Stuart Grant Cowboy Hat

Description

Narrow brimmed hat with large soft crown, folded sides with round creases in a diamond style, matching hat band

History of Use

Stuart Grant was born September 14, 1915 at home in the Hillandale district just north of Val Marie. His father was Alexander L. Grant and he married Stuart’s mother, Henrietta Newton, in 1906. Alex was born in Glengarry country, Ontario, and Henrietta was a schoolteacher also from Ontario. They came to the Val Marie area in the fall of 1910. Stuart grew up and went to school in Hillandale. In the ‘30s and early ‘40s money was generated for the family by the selling of coyote hides hunted with the use of hounds and a horse. In the 1940s Stuart and his brother Ian contracted bucking horses to various rodeos throughout the province. On the death of his father, Alex, in 1934, Stuart went into a ranching partnership with his mother. Later, his younger brother Ian was included in the ranch operation. Stuart and Ian phased out the horse business to concentrate on raising cattle. They ranched mainly Hereford cattle. In the early years of the Val Marie PFRA (Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act) pasture, cattle were run year round in the pasture. Stuart or Ian would ride 15-20 miles one way twice a week to check the cattle in the winter field. In 1939, Stuart married Esther Lenora Klath. Esther was from Beaver Valley. Together they had three children: Larry, Lynn, and Dean. Stuart and Esther lived on their ranch about ten miles north of Val Marie until they moved to a farm on the outskirts of town. Their children were raised here and they all went to school in Val Marie. In 1945 Stuart was elected to the Board of Directors of the S.S.G.A (Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association) and served in that capacity for 32 years until 1977. He served on numerous committees including the Lease, Park, & Ways & Means committee. In the early ‘60s when the lands branch changed their lease fee formula, Stuart was instrumental in preventing the new formula from being applied to contracts signed prior to implementation of the new formula. Stuart also served on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. On September 22, 1985 Stuart had a heart attack and passed away. Esther died on May 28, 1993 a victim of cancer. All of their children are involved in agriculture in the Val Marie area today.

Materials

felt