Mary McKay Lindsay

1896 – 1991

Mary Lindsay was born in Forfarshire, Scotland, a land which seems to produce a lot of good livestock people. In 1906, with her parents, James and Margaret, and her siblings William, James, Emma and David, she came to Canada to the Furness district in Saskatchewan, south of Lloydminster, the Barr Colony settlement on the border between Saskatchewan and Alberta. The Lindsay’s next herded their livestock, which included sheep, and took their goods and chattels north of Lloydminster to land near Greenstreet Lake, close to the hamlet of Greenstreet.

They bought the Harry Pick homestead. It was he who wrote a book, a very good book, on his homesteading years. It seems a bit ironic that the book had the apt title of “So Soon Forgotten”, for indeed there have been those who should have kept the name of Mary Lindsay (and of Bill and Eileen Lamont) at the forefront when ever the breed of Speckle Park cattle is mentioned, but seem purpose driven to tell falsehoods about the origin of the breed and not correctly mention the originators.

The family soon moved (1926) from the log house to the big house, a handsome dwelling where they installed electric lights and a coal burning furnace.

Mary was always drawn to animals and to the outdoors. She admired good animals of any kind and in her clippings had a picture if a beautiful Ayrshire cow,Bruchag Dora, and another of a fine Blackface ram. The Lindsay’s livestock for a larger part appeared to have Scottish origins: Galloway, Angus, Highland – but they also had some Shorthorn and Jersey blood.

In 1929 Mary had her first Highland animals brought to Canada, six heifers and the bull “Major” and from this her herd grew. She also brought in Texas Longhorns.

It was in 1937 that she acquired the heifer from Gus Formo family which became the very foundation cow of today’s Speckle Park. The cattle that May kept from that heifer she called Linebacks.

Mary and Emma owned and raised cattle in their own right. They milked by hand up to twenty cows from which they sold the cream. People of today, including farm people   now far removed from those times, might not understand why they would get Jersey blood into the herd through a Jersey bull bought by Emma. The fact is that if the milk produced by the cows was richer, one would receive a bigger cream cheque and that was vital.

Mary had a courteous relationship with many people in the livestock world, from the local veterinarians to people well-known in their day, such as Guy Weadick, Grant McEwan and, closer to home, Alex Mitchell. Again notice the names of Scottish origin! The Lamonts too, had come from Scotland although Bill Lamonts wife, Eileen, came, alas! from English pioneers.

In the Big House Mary had a room for the houseplants, which kept some greenery in the eye throughout the winter. Mary, Emma, Jim and Dave didn’t marry but kept the home a place of hospitality and managed, it could be said, a menagerie of animals and birds.

Ian McKenzie, son of Mary’s sister Canadian-born Edith, wrote a poem in which he tried to put his Aunts life into a “short story”. We do thank him for his generosity and trust in letting some special selections from the clippings and photographs he collected from his Aunts life to be used on this website.

Scattered throughout the scrapbook were such items as pictures of the Royal Family, cows, horses, dogs, sheep, the home, photographs of the like of Will Rogers, the cowboy philosopher, and the obituary of R.D. Symons, the Englishman turned rancher, was also was an artist, writer, and naturalist and more. The clippings kept by Mary show her interests and one of the most telling of all shall end this little tribute!

“ A hundred years from now it will not matter the sort of house I lived in, what my bank account was, or the truck I drove – but the world may be different because I was important in the lives of the animals and the creatures on this earth”

                                Author unknown

Mary Lindsay, true livestock people salute you! You made a difference! And you deserve to be remembered!

The Parents of Mary Lindsay

Margaret Lindsay mother of Mary

Mr. James Lindsay and the big house

The Big House

Mary Lindsay with dog Tippe

Emma and Mary Lindsay in later years

August Laboucane, the long time hired hand

Mr Lindsay on pinto horse

Pioneer helps bring Highland Cattle to Canada

News

Hall of Fame Nominee - (people often refer to Speckled Park cattle as Speckle Park, an easily understood error)

Nomination Letter

Mary McKay Lindsay was born on the 21st of may in 1896 at the Forfarshire, Scotland. Her parents, Margaret and James Lindsay had four other children born to them in Scotland. They were William, James (JIM), David and Emma. Their last child Edith was born in Canada

In 1906 the Lindsay family moved to Canada arriving in Lloydminster in the month of June, Mary was ten years old .In the spring of 1907 the Lindsay family took up a homestead at Furness. They lived there until they moved to Greenstreet in 1912. As a young girl Mary recalls working for R.J.R. Noyes parents when Bob was still a small child. The Lindsay family income in the late teens and early twenties was mainly derived from sheep raising.  It was at this time that Mary started to raise chickens. She would dress them and sell them to the hotels and various eating establishments in Lloydminster. When she had enough saved she imported 6 highland heifers and one bull in 1929. Most of western Canada's Highland cattle relate back to small herd Mary Lindsay imported. In the late 70's Mary was honoured by Canada's Highland cattle society for 50 years of raising purebred Highlands.

In the 30's Mary's father purchased some British cattle and amongst them was a roan heifer that caught Mary's eye. It had the characteristic dark muzzle, ears and feet of the wild cattle that roamed the parks in England. She had bought it from her father. She called them "line backs" because of their markings .Mary raised the line backs for many years. In 1959 Mary sold some to Mr Bill Lamont of Maidstone. He bought more from Mary in the sixties and called them speckled park cattle. They are now known as the speckled park breed. Mary also raised purebred Galloway’s in the 50's.

Mary's first land was a 1/2 section in Paradise valley which she purchased in 1945. She rented another section and ran 60 head of cows on it. In the spring of 1946 Mary Lindsay sold Paradise valley land and bought 2 sections of land south east of Hillmond. She later added another section.

Mary mother passed away in 1937 .James Lindsay Sr. passed away in 1948 leaving the home half section jointly to his daughters Mary and Emma. The sister’s hand milked a herd of 20 cows for over 50 years. Mary took over her fathers flock of sheep in the sixties .One of her rams was part mountain sheep.

Some of Mary's hobbies were raising exotic chickens. She would have eggs shipped in from down east and hatch them at home. She was a nature lover and loved wild flowers and cactus.

Mary Lindsay sold her last cattle herd in 1979. She now resides at the Auxiliary Hospital at Lloydminster.

This evening it gives the Lloydminster Agricultural Exhibition Society great pleasure and honour to be induct Mary McKay Lindsay into its Hall of Fame - A woman who dared to reach farther then her grasp.

The Highland Cow

Mary's Sheep

Highland Cattle

Letter

Lineback Cow

Mary Lindsay Honoured

Postcard

Speckle Park cattle continue to win carcass classes. REMARKABLE!! Congratulations to the owners!