Edmonton Journal | By Renata D'Aliesio | August 14, 2002 The drought has stolen much from Alberta. Crops from fields too dry to bear them. Livestock from farmers too financially strapped to feed them. Tranquility from families who are cracking under the pressure, worrying what fall and winter will bring.
From the children of farmers, the drought has stolen innocence. Instead of spending the summer entangled in carefree adventure, they worry their parents will lose their farms. They wonder whether they should abandon their dream of becoming farmers. They pray for the skies to turn grey, scrawling on a town sidewalk, "Please God, make it rain." What happens, they ask, if things get worse?
"I've been sad having to sell some cows," 13-year-old Kasie Vitek says from her home in Viking, about an hour's drive southeast of Edmonton. "It makes me feel sad that, if worse comes to worse, we'll have to sell the herd.
"When we never got rain this spring, we thought, 'What's going to happen?' What worries me is, do we have to sell the farm and move to the city? Will mom and dad have to go find work? What will happen to our family if we can't farm?"
The worry has Kasie and her younger sister, Shelby, wondering whether they'll grow up to be farmers. The girls are in the 4-H Club, and they have started their own herds.
Kasie is two years older than Shelby, and thus has two more cows. There's Emily and Jaden, and their calves Tom and Little J. She also has a heifer, with a name that plays on hers, K.C. She's afraid of losing them. She's afraid of what tomorrows will bring.
"It kind of worries me about what it's going to be like in the future. Putting myself in my mom and dad's position, will I have to sell the farm when I'm older?"
These questions are bitter tastes of reality for the children of livestock producers, and it's important they learn how to handle them, says Marguerite Stark, head of 4-H in Alberta.
Leaders of the organization have begun looking at ways to help members through the drought. They'll have a better idea of what's needed when clubs begin meeting again in October.
"The drought is a lesson in reality. It's taking a look at what happens in real life, learning to cope with that and move on and be resilient," Stark says. "The 4-H program has gone through the Great Depression and through the wars and has come out strong. I think we will come out of this as well."
Thirteen-year-old Jaden Lockhart isn't so sure. While his parents have experience and education to help them get through the drought, Jaden has only the worries he overhears, the social-science lessons that compare the drought to the Dirty Thirties, and the science teacher who told him global warming could wipe out his family's livelihood one day.
"If my parents lose their farm, I don't know what we are going to do," Jaden says from his home in Youngstown, about an hour's drive northeast of Drumheller. "I don't want to move to the city. I like the open prairies.
"I don't know if I'm going to be a farmer when I'm older because of the way things are right now. It all depends on the conditions."
Parents should be as open as they can about these issues, says Krista Osborne, a youth resources worker with Support Network.
"So often what we do is leave the kids out of it and try to protect them. But they often know something is going on," she says. "If you put them in a vacuum, they are going to make up the details."
The agency runs a distress line for rural communities in northern Alberta. And between Jan. 1 and July 31, it received 645 calls, 219 more than for the same period last year.
Osborne says the jump may be related to the drought, but she can't say for sure.
"Most of the issues are around increased relationship troubles and domestic violence."
The Viteks and the Lockharts talk to their children about the drought. Each family has four children. The Viteks' youngest is six, the Lockharts' seven.
"When parents are concerned and worried about making ends meet, it trickles down to the kids," Jaden's mother, Sandy Lockhart, says.
By the time concerns trickle down, though, they often appear worse than they are. For example, the Viteks and the Lockharts aren't yet worried about losing their homes, but their children are. That's why Jaden's 12-year-old sister, Shyann, has been hoarding her babysitting money. And why Kasie Vitek will do without a lot of new school clothes and supplies.
"I'm watching what I buy," she says. "I'm not going to go overboard on clothing because we have to save money."
rd'aliesio@thejournal.southam.ca
FOR THE RECORD
The drought has touched children on farms across Alberta. As they watch their parents struggle, they can't help worrying about the future.
Here's what children and parents say about the drought:
- Shyann Lockhart of Youngstown -- farmer's daughter, part-time babysitter, 12 years old:
"I have been worrying a lot. I talk to my sister about it.
"Dad kept saying we weren't going to have enough money for the things we needed.
"I try to not use as much money as I used to. When I first started getting money, I would spend it right away."
- Sandy Lockhart of Youngstown -- farmer, wife, mother of four:
"They understand the seriousness of farming. They say, 'Mom, are we going to lose the house?'
"Every year we keep losing ground. It's not getting better. Ever since '99, it's gone downhill.
"The three older ones are very mature in mind and they can see what's happening. They get tense."
- Alanna Prins of Fort Saskatchewan -- farmer's daughter, business student, 20 years old:
"It's really frustrating to see your family work so hard for so many years and see this drought take everything away.
"I'm trying to think of a way to help out. To raise awareness of farmers.
"People don't realize the amount of work farmers put in, because they are humble."
- Larry Minailo of Willingdon -- fourth-generation farmer, husband, father of one:
"I'm not encouraging him to be a farmer. It's a good life, but there are too many variables in it.
"I feel it's a lot of stress and I have only one child. I don't want him to go through the stress.
"I don't think there's going to be another generation of farming here. I'd rather my son go to university and make a more stable living."
- Kerry Minailo of Willingdon --farmer's son, aspiring dentist, 13 years old:
"I like to make money that I know I can make. These drought years can happen again.
"Farming is hard work. When I was little I wanted to be a farmer. I would always be on the farm.
"I have no interest in farming now. I want to be a dentist because I'm doing good in school. It's short hours, clean work and you can make lots of money."Edmonton Journal:
