The Three Sisters Trees

The Three Sisters Trees

Chomiak Family Submitted

At the Chomiak Charolais Farm, our Ukrainian heritage and history are always in mind, so we look for ways to preserve the history of the farm to continue celebrating its future.

John and Cathie have dedicated a small portion of the original homestead to be named the Three Sisters Area (TSA).

This area is what remains of a windbreak, once made up of 100 poplar trees planted during the early 1900s by the original homesteaders, our great grandparents Motivi and Salomea Chomiak.

Over the course of a century, many changes have taken place on the farm. The poplars were replaced with spruce trees, and three of the original poplar trees somehow survived. These particular trees were planted in the 1920s by our gido, Stephen Chomiak, and our great-aunt Mary Kubin.

Our dad, John, decided to extend the life of these century-old guardians to represent a living piece of the farm’s history. He cut them to a trunk level of approximately 5 feet in April, 2020. All three are growing a healthy crop of new growth that will produce new branches and will continue to provide a windbreak. Currently, these trees are protected by metal panels to prevent horses and cows from eating the sought after new growth.

Since good things come in threes, John and Cathie decided that the Three Sisters Trees would be a fitting name as they have three daughters, Christine, Darlene, and Karen. They are looking forward to watching these trees continue to grow, provide shelter and strength, as they continue to tell the story of this very special family farm.