Jan. 24, 2008

Ferris State freshman forward Justin Menke grew up in Shamrock, Saskatchewan, a tiny town with a population under 50 people. While growing up on a farm was a lot of work, he and his brothers found plenty of time to play hockey on a homemade rink and take advantage of what the rural area had to offer. Even after leaving his hometown to play hockey, Menke still returns to his family's farm to help out and have some fun.

Life on the Farm
By Justin Menke

Living on a farm has its ups and downs. There are so many things you are able to do on a farm that you are not able to do in the city. However, rural areas do not have various things that some urban areas do because of the scarce population.

I have lived on a farm my whole life and I still call it home to this day. I have adapted to the city life over the last five years because I have had to move to a billet in order to continue playing hockey.

As a boy growing up, I was a typical farm kid that loved to play hockey. I started skating when I was around two or three years old and it wasn't long after that when I found myself riding a tractor. Year after year, my brothers and I skated on the slough and dugout out back behind our house. It is a lot of work to clean off all of the snow but all of lasting memories make it well worth it. We spent countless hours on our homemade rink constantly beating each other up for the right to be pond hockey champions. We usually never escaped without a few bumps or bruises. My brother is responsible for my new teeth, which were eventually replaced along with a few others during junior hockey.

Hockey usually lasted from about October to March depending on the weather and then it was time to farm during the summer. I used to think farming was fun when it was riding in all of the machinery and pushing all of the buttons. Then I got older and I actually had to do some work which is most of the time not all that fun. July has to be the worst when it is hour upon hour for days in a grain bin shoveling wheat when it is 100 degrees outside. There is however lots of big machinery and new technology to operate.

Last year we were knocked out of the SJHL playoffs in the second round so I had to come home right during the middle of calving time. I think dad was more upset than I was...he gave me the graveyard shift and I had to check cows at three in the morning which sometimes lasted until five depending whether there was trouble or not.

There are also a lot of fun extracurricular activities to do that you don't have the luxury of doing in urban areas. In wintertime I can snowmobile pretty much anywhere and everywhere I want. My dad and I often go hunting for coyotes on our sleds out on the lake on Christmas day; it has been a tradition for a few years. We often go up north on trail rides. Throughout the spring and summer we always go gopher hunting. In the fall we hunt geese, deer, chickens and pheasants. There's nothing better than a meal of wild meat.

Farming isn't all that bad. I don't have to be on time for a job. I can sleep in on Sunday...sometimes. Dad always gives me time to train for the next hockey season. I am glad I grew up on a farm I like the lifestyle and the rink in the back yard. It is always fun to come home during the summers.