EDMONTON – Inside a brown brick building, beside one of the country’s largest universities, is an agriculture oasis.
Farm House, an agriculture fraternity, is a haven for farm kids at the University of Alberta.
While Farm House doesn’t look much different than the rows of student housing beside the university, there are signs it’s a different kind of frat house. Outside the house is a row of pickup trucks. Inside the front door is a wall of cowboy boots and Carhartt jackets. On the coffee table are the latest issues of The Western Producer and Cattlemen and a collection of bull sale catalogues.
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It was this sense of rural familiarity that convinced Brandon Thompson of Sangudo, Alta., to join the fraternity and move into Farm House.
“We’re all from small towns. Moving to the city is a big step. Here you have immediate friends,” said Thompson, who is studying physical and elementary education.
“It’s a good option. It’s close to campus, cheap and I have a group of friends I can talk with.”
Four nights a week the 16 members living at Farm House sit down together for supper cooked by Farm House members.
Every second Monday all 33 members of the Farm House fraternity gather for supper and hold a meeting where they plan retreats, organize sports teams, plan study sessions or just visit.
For students worried about leaving the farm and moving to university, Farm House is the right size stepping stone, said Justin Weiss of Medicine Hat, Alta.
“It’s a smooth transition from home to university and university out to what people call the real world.”
Weiss even changed his plans and came to the University of Alberta instead of the U of A because of his family connection to Farm House. Weiss’ father and brother are Farm House alumni.
The international fraternity Farm House began in 1905 at the University of Missouri and now has chapters across the United States. Farm House was established at the U of A in 1974. It was the only Canadian chapter until last April when a second Farm House opened at the University of Guelph in Ontario.
In 1998 Farm House bought its existing house through a fundraising drive. With only $10,000 left on the mortgage, members are planning a second fundraising campaign to pay off the remaining mortgage.
Mark Hagen of Okotoks, Alta., said he had no interest in joining other fraternities, but Farm House seemed a good fit with a compatible group of men.
“It’s like a home away from home with a farm atmosphere,” said Hagen, who will move into Farm House next year but has been a member of the fraternity for two years.
Since joining Farm House and competing in intrafraternity events on campus, Hagen realizes fraternities aren’t as wild as their television reputation, but they do have a more urban flavour.
Hagen also appreciates the rural work ethic at Farm House. Members pitch in to do maintenance on the house and have held fundraising events to buy a big screen television and pool table, but they are also willing to roll up their sleeves to study hard and maintain marks.
“Work doesn’t get put off much,” said Hagen, studying agriculture and business.
Twice a year the members get together and give the house a good scrub, washing walls and getting the grime out of corners. A house manager sets up a regular cleaning schedule throughout the year and makes sure the members keep the public parts of the house clean.
“Within the house, the rooms are not all the same cleanliness,” said Hagen.
Weiss said learning to cook for 16 men and keeping their frat house clean is an important skill not often learned by students living in residence where staff are hired to keep the common areas clean.
“There is a sense of guidance about teaching young members how to organize and clean up,” said Weiss.
“Here, once you leave university you know how to cook more than Kraft Dinner and Campbell’s mushroom soup.”
Throughout the year the group develops a strategic plan. The members may set goals to keep grade point averages high, set philanthropy goals for charitable giving or invite speakers in to talk about risk management.
Every second week the group holds Bible study classes and talk about spirituality in their life. Because Farm House has a no-alcohol policy, Thompson said there are few distractions from university work at the house.
Thompson said his mother was hesitant when she heard Thompson would be living in a frat house with 16 men, but she now appreciates her son’s choice.
“There is a brotherhood around you and a sense of community and family you have in city. You have lifelong friends you make in an instant when you join,” said Thompson.
