A former president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities and member of the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame has been named to the province’s highest honor.
Rancher Boyd Anderson, of Glentworth, is one of six recipients of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit for 1997.
Anderson got involved with the family ranching business as a boy and started his own operation in 1939.
In 1942 he joined the army and resumed ranching when he returned from the Second World War. He later became involved in local government, first as a councillor, then as reeve of the rural municipality of Waverley. He also served as president of SARM from 1977 to 1982.
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Anderson got involved in local politics after noticing that “other areas had things that appeared to be luxuries for us” such as telephones, modern housing, water systems and roads.
But Anderson says politics are different now.
“Those years I was involved were building years. Now things have changed in that we’re starting to pull back. There doesn’t seem to be the same support to maintain communities.”
Anderson has also been involved in several boards and committees including the provincial Beef Stabilization Board, the Canada Grains Council and the Saskatchewan Advisory Committee on Transportation. He also served as president of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association and the Canadian Cattleman’s Association.
In 1979 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Saskatchewan and in 1992 was named Saskatchewan Cattleman of the Year.
Other 1997 Order of Merit recipients are naturalist Margaret Belcher, artistic director Carol Gay Bell, sculptor Vic Cicansky, teacher Sterling McDowell and businessman Ross Pinder.
