The Interlakes CattleBelles have spent the past 40 years giving back to their community.
A celebration of those 40 years was held at the Interlakes Community Hall on Oct. 21. There weren’t as many women gathered for the group photo as there had been in the past but they are no less dedicated to educating area residents on everything from how to make bread to invasive weed control.
A provincial CattleBelles group was formed in 1974 as the women’s auxiliary to the BC Cattlemen’s Association. The local chapter formed in 1983 and when the B.C.-wide group disbanded in 1988, the local chapter decided to continue independently.
“I guess we’ve always had good community support and there was always issues coming up that required some agricultural input,” said Pat Lytton, one of the four founding members still with the group, when asked what kept the CatlleBelles going after the provincial group closed down.
Lytton along with Helen Horn, who just celebrated her 100th birthday, Ginny-Lou Alexander and Lorraine Jerema have formed the core of the group since the beginning.
READ MORE: South Cariboo pioneer turns 100
The organization is dedicated to the support and promotion of agriculture through education, local events and workshops. They have invasive weed and grain seed displays they set up at various events across the region, and offer a $250 high school scholarship with preference given to students pursuing a career in the field of agriculture. They also support local 4-H clubs. And, once a month they rent a table at the South Cariboo Farmers’ Market where they sell baking, preserves and other homemade items.
Perhaps the two things the CattleBelles are most known for are its famous mouth-watering beef on a bun and the publication of a beef cookbook back in 1986.
The cookbook was so popular, a second printing was needed. Putting together an updated version of the cookbook is a project being considered by the organization.
It is their beef on a bun that is the signature creation of the group, however. People lined up for the tender beef cooked in the CattleBelle’s secret sauce and piled on a fresh bun. Even today, the sauce recipe is a closely guarded secret.
But the group has grown in scope over the years. Where once the focus was on beef, being ranchers’ wives and living in cattle country, it has expanded to include a variety of ideas based on changes in agriculture across the region. This change is reflected in the logo which originally featured a lonely cow and now sports a cow, sheep, chicken, pig, goat, flowers and baskets of produce.
Local farmer Rod Hennecker addressed the crowd at the anniversary celebration recounting the story of how he and Pete Bonter became honourary CattleBelles around 15 years ago at the 100 Mile Fall Fair. The two men were waiting for their beef on a bun just outside the kitchen. Not ones to see good help sitting idle and knowing that Hennecker could handle a knife they were nicely asked to lend a hand.
“We spent the next four or five hours chopping onions. We were of course outfitted in the classic homemade front and back aprons and proceeded to chop and water- fry onions in the classic CattleBelles method…we did get honourary B&Bs at the end of our shift.”
He went on to describe what a CattleBelle is, saying they are not Knights or Lions or Rotarians, but rather a group of self-organized mostly farming or ranching women who function as a service group to help the community and sometimes their own members who are facing tough times and in need of a bit of a boost.
“They are totally self-motivated and are formed because they saw a need.”
The organization was instrumental in getting the Bridge Lake Fall Fair up and running again and they have done some innovative things over the years.
Hennecker added, “As weed warriors, they’ve invested in a couple of weed whackers to take on the invaders.” This is in addition to their education on invasive weeds at trade shows, schools and other community events across the Cariboo.
They also joined the BC Farm Women’s Network and along the way travelled to various areas around B.C. sharing their knowledge from a Cariboo perspective.
They helped in the publication of the organization’s newsletter as well as hosting provincial meetings all designed to increase knowledge of all things agricultural.
“All of us were active with that,” said Lytton. “We travelled to the seminars and stuff and we put on three or four seminars ourselves here for all the ladies in B.C. who wanted to come.”
She said they had speakers come and talk on agriculture issues, stress, new farming methods, health, agriculture safety, tax preparation, estate planning and a variety of other topics for an audience that came from as far away as the coast, the Kootneys and up north. Lytton said it was a great way to network and learn from each other.
Horn was recognized for her years of membership with the group and presented with a gift of appreciation during the evening. The centenarian was visibly delighted with the honour.
And while some of the members are getting up in years, fresh new faces continue to join the organization.
“You can only do it for so long and so much and then you get worn out. You need some new, fresh ideas,” Lytton laughed, adding that they have four new members.
The organization continues to flourish and give back to the community. Workshops on bread making and farm safety are in the making and hosting another seminar is a possibility.
Hennecker said they give up their time and experience and do not shirk their responsibility to the community be it local or provincial.
“They’re the ones to call upon when the going gets tough. They’re a part of the history of the South Cariboo,” he said.
“For 40 years they’ve been around as a welcoming hard-working group who’ve made up their own rules and given up their time and energy to the people of their community.”
