Farming runs deep for Margery Steckler and her late husband, George. Committed to the advancement of agriculture, farmers and education, this Didsbury couple has become a familiar name at Olds College. In 2019, George and Marge commemorated their retirement from 47 years of farming with a generous gift of 310 acres of farmland to the Olds College Smart Farm, and a $100,000 endowment fund to Olds College which provides five bursaries of $1,000 annually to students enrolled in agriculture programs. And their legacy with Olds College didn’t stop there — the Stecklers recently pledged an additional 800 acres of land west of Craik, Saskatchewan forming the Olds College Saskatchewan Smart Farm.
“I don’t think people know enough about Olds College and what they do,” Marge says.
Olds College is known for high-tech, hands-on agriculture education and innovative applied research focused on solving real-world problems in farming, food and land. Since the inception of the Olds College Smart Farm in 2018 beginning with 110 acres and a handful of applied research projects, the Smart Farm has quickly grown to 3,600 acres with over 60 applied research projects planned for the current year. Marge and George were aware of research happening at the College, but really didn’t know the depths of what Olds College is actively involved in until they started getting serious about donating land to the Smart Farm.
Marge’s connection to Olds College, who she refers to as good neighbours, runs deep. Her parents met in the late 1930s when they both attended Olds College; they always spoke highly of both the education they received and the College’s progression. Her dad was enrolled in agriculture mechanics (before he was conscripted into the Second World War), and her mom graduated from economics and sewing. Somewhere in Grisdale Hall, there is even a beam with George’s initials on it from his days as a construction welder. The Stecklers also supported work-integrated learning at the College for years by bringing in their tractors and combines to be overhauled by students in the agriculture mechanics program.
Most importantly, both George and Marge believed in the value of education. George taught most of the neighbourhood kids how to weld and was a strong believer in having a trade to fall back on in case you ever needed it.
