Allan and Frances Siewert, along with three of their boys, Doug, Brian and Stan, came to the Cayley area in 1974 from
Hanna, Alberta. Allan and Frances met while she was in a nursing program at the
Hanna hospital and were married in November of 1965. They owned and operated
a farm on the edge of the Hand Hills.
In 1967, Douglas Kevin was born, in 1968, Brian Keith arrived and in 1969 Stanley Harvey made his appearance. Needless to say, they were a busy family and what one boy didn’t think of, the
others did. Their grandpa once said “I think you’ve got the guardian
angels working overtime.”
Allan had always thought it would be nice to
go ranching out west so they proceeded to follow that dream. They were fortunate
to come across the original Tiffin farm along Mosquito Creek so on the first of April 1974, they pulled semi’s through
snow drifts and up the lane from their Hand Hills farm to unload the cattle on beautiful bare land near Cayley, just in time
for calving. They enjoyed their mixed farming operation with the mild winters,
rippling creek, and the beautiful mountain view.
In the fall of 1974, when the boys started
school, bussing became a problem. Allan felt that one solution would be to help
out driving, just for one year. That year has now lasted 30 years as both Allan
and Frances transport students around the division. Driving worked well with
farming and was a help during economically challenging years.
In 1975, Gregory Dean was born and in 1977,
Robert William arrived to complete the Siewert family – not quite a baseball team but close enough that it was natural
to get involved in baseball. There was great enthusiasm each spring as ball got
into full swing. When school was out the boys began attending Westlock Bible
Camp. As they enjoyed it and later became involved in leadership, Frances didn’t
want to miss out and started cooking for the 100+ teens and staff. The boys also
enjoyed attending and later leading a youth group in High River.
After graduating from SRHS, Doug attended Mount
Carmel Bible School and then the University of Alberta where he earned his Bachelor of Education. He married Kari McLeod from Alder Heights and they now have four children, Kaela, Joshua, Krista, and Luke. After teaching high school for several years, Doug is currently leading a church plant
in Calgary. Brian after graduating from SRHS, also attended Mount Carmel Bible
School and then worked at CHRB radio for several years. He married Celia Doupe
from High River and then attended and graduated from Briercrest Bible School with a Bachelor of Religious Education and is
presently employed by Focus on the Family. They have four children, Jesse, Jayme,
Brittany, and Brooklyn. Stan graduated from Okotoks Composite High School and
then began his apprenticeship at the Chev-Olds dealership in High River. He earned
his journeyman ticket from SAIT, and later married Heidi Jackson from Blackie. They
have a farm in the Blackie area and have three children, Katelyn, Kaleb, and Jake. Dean
graduated from SRHS and began his apprenticeship with Barry Steele Construction and earned his journeyman ticket from SAIT. He married Jennifer Tilleman and they have two children, Elijah and Natasha. They have made there home just a mile north of the home place. Robert graduated from SRHS and attended Montana Wilderness School of the Bible and has been farming in
some capacity ever since. He married Sarah Tilleman and they live just north
of the home place. This is great for Allan, as he knows where to go for help. Robert and Sarah both have other employment to supplement their farming enterprise.
The Siewert house in the foothills isn’t
quite as busy as it once was, but there are still times when it is invaded by people who’ve found a home there –
children, grandchildren, youth groups on hayrides, AWANA events with 100+ children, even peculiar animals that weren’t
envisioned in a ranchers dream when he moved west with his young bride.
