The Meunier family has a long farming history in the Mosside area. Great Grandfather Telesphore left the hustle and bustle of then, St. Albert, north of Edmonton, in 1900 in search of untouched wilderness that he could settle and call his own. He set off northwest and cut trail to cross the Pembina river at which is now Belvedere. From there he continued another 10 miles until he reached high ground that overlooked an open grass meadow. This ground appealed to Telesphore as he knew he could put up winter feed for his livestock without having to clear and break any land for the first few years. The area where he settled was later surveyed and called the Mosside district. 

 

Telesphore and his wife Josephine built a family home on that high ground and soon raised a family. Over the next decade the cattle herd grew as well as a large herd of horses. When other settlers were moving into the area, Telesphore sold teams of horses to them as they were much needed to break and settle the land. The first cattle drive occurred in 1912 with the help of neighbours to Edmonton. The cattle were herded to the area which became the industrial airport till buyers came and bid on the cattle. Once purchased they drove the cattle off to the packing plant. A few years later the railroad came to Cherhill, around 20 miles south of Mosside. After that grain and cattle were taken over the Pembina river at Meadowview and taken to the Cherhill market. As well Telesphore had one of the few steam tractors north of Edmonton at the time and broke much ground and threshed grain for many farms between St. Albert and Mosside.

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The next chapter of the farm started in 1927 when Grandpa Paul married Grandma Elsie and took a homestead just west of his fathers. When the great depression came a few years later, Grandpa Paul hauled logs with his team of horses for Chisholm lumber to the banks of the Athabasca River. When he was away at lumber camps it was the up to Grandma Elsie and her young family to tend to milk cows and feed the hogs and chickens, as well as keep the homestead and family growing.  She raised 13 children, and the farm continued to grow.

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In 1969, four of Paul’s sons started a farming venture in the area. Raymond, Don, Daryl, and Lyle incorporated and became known as Paul Meunier and Sons Farms. At that time the farm was mainly a dairy farm, but also had a farrow to finish hog operation and a grain enterprise. In 1993 the decision was made with mixed feelings to sell the dairy operation. From then on the grain farm grew and a small beef feedlot was built and expanded.

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In 2003 Chad and Stacey were married and began a cow calf enterprise on the farm. Grazing land was then purchased in the Cherhill area over the next time period. Their passion was in grass and land management as well as the genetics and husbandry of calving and growing calves. This enterprise grew over the years as the market allowed and the farm continued to grow.

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In 2016 Chad and Stacey bought the original farm and since have started a family. Both, family and farm, have grown since with the guidance of the motto “Thriving Plants, Animals, and People” as their cornerstone. The fifth generation is now on its way to continue on the tradition and put their stamp on the farm and surrounding community.

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