NEW VIEWS FOR 2010
A Prairie Boy's View 2010, a 12-month 2010 calendar featuring the photography of the late Interlake cattle producer, farm writer and Co-operator contributor Glen Nicoll, is now available.
Glen, who had been battling brain cancer from the summer of 2008 until his death in June 2009, sought to use his own fight to help others, and donated photos he took during his years of travel through rural Manitoba for the first Prairie Boy's View calendar for 2009. That run of 1,000 calendars sold out by late January, raising net proceeds of $6,700 for Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada (see photo below).
You can now get the 2010 edition by mailing a cheque or money order for $13 to the Manitoba Forage Council, c/o 71 Inman Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2M 0R7. You can also pick one up for just $10 during the Manitoba Grazing School, to be held at the Victoria Inn, 3550 Victoria Ave. W., in Brandon, Man. on Dec. 1 and 2.
Other donations in Glen's memory can be made online to Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada; by mail to Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, 301-620 Colborne St., London, Ont., N6B 3R9; or by calling toll-free 1-800-265-5106 (Visa, MasterCard or AmEx accepted).
About Glen Nicoll
Born and raised in Alberta, Glen came to Manitoba as a television cameraman and ultimately became a rancher and farm journalist, setting up a herd of grass-fed cattle as well as Country Quarters, a bed-and-breakfast operation near Fraserwood, about 15 km west of Gimli.
From that ranch in Manitoba's Interlake region, he became known for experimentation in the production, processing and distribution of grass-fed beef as a participant in a separate company, Prairie Grass Fed Meats.
In recent years, Glen also became known as the author of the "Manitoba Roundup," a weekly newspaper column in which he travelled to cattle auctions across the province, documenting how sale prices and price ranges corresponded with the conditions, types and weights of animals moving through the ring.
The column began in 1995 in the Co-operator, then moved to Farmers Independent Weekly in 2002 and returned to the Co-operator in 2007.
Glen, while visiting his family in Alberta, was diagnosed in September 2008 with grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
His grass-fed herd was dispersed at auction near Winnipeg later that month.
Although not initially expected to leave the hospital in Edmonton after his diagnosis, he soon returned to the Interlake and continued to produce the "Roundup" column and other features on a semi-regular freelance basis.
Glen returned to Alberta in late June 2009 for visits to Edmonton and Stettler when his condition worsened. His family again admitted him to hospital in Edmonton, where he died at about 2:30 a.m. June 29.
Memorial services for Glen were held July 1, 2009 at Stettler, Alta. and July 4 at Fraserwood, Man.
A slideshow tribute to Glen is available on
YouTube.
Gail Stekler (left), the Manitoba ambassador for Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, accepts a cheque for $6,700 from Co- operator contributor Glen Nicoll (right) and the staff of Farm Business Communications, publishers of the Manitoba Co-operator. Clockwise from left: Gail Stekler, managing editor Dave Bedard, customer service representative Karla Singbeil, reporter Ron Friesen, editorial director John Morriss, editor Laura Rance, Glen Nicoll, calendar designer Arlene Bomback, sales and circulation director Lynda Tityk, designer Angie Penner, customer service representative Christine Senkow and reporter Lorraine Stevenson. Photo by Bob Willcox.
