At 81 years of age, with two hip replacements and a touch of angina, Doug Thompson averages two rural meetings a week, puts four hundred hours a year on his tractor, and remains the patriarch for 5,200 acres of farmland in southern Saskatchewan.

One of five boys growing up on the prairie, Doug started farming in 1929, at the age of sixteen, but the 30's were bad years on the Prairies and it was 1940 before he got his first crop. Despite the rough start, Doug and his wife, Pat, managed to start their best crop, their children, on that land and the farm continued to grow. Doug became involved in the community of Vantage until it vanished in 1967.

In 1977, Pat and Doug left their son on the farm and moved to near-by town of Assiniboia. But unable to stray too far from the farm, he turned down an offer to become an MLA.

In April, 1994, Doug received the Order of Canada for his contributions to rural life as a councilor, a reeve, a member of the Hail Insurance Board, and for his volunteer work with the young and old.

Length: 23:44
Original Format: Video
Originally Broadcast: September 6, 1994 on CBC Television

• The Northwest Rebellion of 1885 - life in Saskatchewan before the farmers.
• The Saskatchewan Western Development Museum - social and economic history.

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Rob King (Regina, Saskatchewan) has been writing, directing and producing documentaries for the last nine years. He is a partner in Minds Eye Pictures, a Regina based film production company, and a member of the Saskatchewan Writer's Guild. His documentary credits include The Sporting Ice and a multi-award winning half-hour television documentary on the future of Canadian agriculture. Rob is currently involved as a story editor and producer on several dramatic projects. He is also a published and award-winning short fiction writer.