BINDLOSS, Alta. – Jim and Carol Hern know what it’s like to be busy.
They run a 600 head Angus cow-calf herd on 55 sections of rangeland on both sides of the Red Deer River near Bindloss in southeastern Alberta.
But it doesn’t stop there.
Carol also has a full-time job as principal and teacher at the Bindloss school.
As well, the family runs a log cabin lodge, a bird hunting business, a river tour operation and a baseball team.
“We are multi-tasking people,” Jim said. “Actually, we’re nuts.”
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A schedule that would burn out many people began as a need to diversify the ranch, which includes the spread south of Bindloss where they moved in 1962 and the land north of the Red Deer River that they bought in 1991.
“Five years ago we sat down, Carol and I, and we started deciding what we’re going to do because agriculture isn’t really paying what it should,” Jim said.
The first step was to restore a 100-year-old 2,500 sq. foot log cabin on their north ranch and turn it into a bed and breakfast and retreat destination.
They soon saw the picturesque location’s potential for upland game bird and pheasant hunting. Alberta Western Uplands was born.
They have been introducing 500-800 pheasants a year to the area. They buy the birds from a farm in Manitoba and plan to introduce 1,000 next year.
Hunting parties usually include four people, who stay at the lodge for three to five days, although a group of 12 is booked for this year.
Hunting started three years ago and generally takes place between September and January.
Guides are hired from Calgary, Medicine Hat and the Bindloss area, while hunters come primarily from the United States and Europe.
To extend their business into the summer season, last year they began offering tours of the South Saskatchewan River on a 12-person jet boat. Customers who opt to stay overnight sleep at the lodge and can also tour the district, visit the ranch and take nature hikes across the Herns’ open prairie.
“There’s so much to see down here,” Jim said.
This year they’re adding a four-seater boat.
The Herns believe they have something to offer that some people will never see: open grassland and the privacy of a ranch.
While earning a profit is a major motivator for the Herns, their pride in southeastern Alberta is also a driving force.
“I think we have something to offer where people can relax and just get back to nature,” Carol said.
“People are really rejuvenated when they come back from this. They just love it there.”
Added Jim: “We really enjoy showing people around because we take time to look at our own ranch, too.”
Their next project has been to join forces with other tourism operations to help promote the entire region. Called Prairies to the Pines, the consortium has published a promotional pamphlet, which the Herns hope will attract more people to southeastern Alberta.
If that doesn’t keep them busy enough, two years ago they and their partners founded the Medicine Hat Mavericks, starting the Western Major Baseball League team from scratch in time for the 2003 summer season. Carol said part of the reason for getting involved in the team was to give local college players a place to play during the summer.
“Otherwise there isn’t a place for them to play and they would have to leave the community.”
Jim is team president and takes care of recruiting and other decisions. They make a point of driving to Medicine Hat to watch all of the team’s home games and try to attend away games as well.
“We drive home late and then go to work,” Carol said.
It’s a lifestyle they became accustomed to when they were younger and Jim competed in professional rodeos.
“We just haven’t cooled off from the road,” she said.
Athleticism runs deep in the Hern family. Their son Craig signed with the Seattle Mariners for a time and now coaches ball for the St. Cloud Technical College in St. Cloud, Minnesota, while studying computer drafting and design.
Their daughter is studying nursing on a fastball scholarship at Grandview University in Des Moine, Iowa, and their son Jay played professional hockey in the United States for six years.
The Herns say their hectic lifestyle wouldn’t be possible without their two hired help couples and Jay, who works with his parents.
They also believe in living life to the fullest and helping the community.
“We’re trying to promote this area,” Carol said.
