ManitobaThis week, 99-year-old Olive Elliot, with the help of her family and some farm ingenuity, got into the combine beside her grandson near Reston, Man., proving she’s still at home in the field.With help from family and farm ingenuity, Olive Elliott was back in the combine this weekChelsea Kemp · CBC News · Posted: Sep 13, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoOlive Elliott, 99, returned to the field for a harvest ride near Reston, Man., on Tuesday. ‘It was a good, comfortable ride,’ she said. (Submitted by Janice Gould)At nearly 100 years old, most people would be content to watch the harvest from the sidelines — but not Olive Elliott.On Tuesday, Elliott, with the help of her family and some farm ingenuity, got into the combine beside her grandson near Reston, in southwestern Manitoba, proving she’s still at home in the field.”I knew I’d be watching [harvest] from the car. But … the car wasn’t close enough,” Elliott said. “I was visiting my grandson the whole time that I was in the combine, and I really enjoyed seeing the lovely field with no weeds, and the beautiful trees and the blue sky.”Born into farming and never far from the land, Elliott has spent a lifetime in the fields, rarely missing a harvest. But a compound fracture in her back and a knee replacement sidelined her from the farm for the last several years — a difficult change for someone who has always been part of the season’s work.”I didn’t think I’d ever be out there again,” she said.Elliott says she hopes she gets to help with harvest next year. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)Her daughter, Janice Gould, says for as long as she can remember, her mom has been out helping during harvest. Her family worried Elliott would never be able to attend harvest again as they waited for her to recover from her health setbacks.This summer, as Elliott’s health improved, her family was determined to get her up and riding in the equipment, Gould said. With careful planning and a telehandler — a machine that provides a lift with a telescoping boom — to hoist her into the combine’s tall cab, Elliott finally got her ride.”[The family] all wanted her out there.… It’s traditional, and she’s darn near 100 years old, that’s the other reason. Like, how many people her age are swift enough,” Gould said.”They were waving at her like crazy when they went past her in the combine.” Elliott’s grandson Sheldon Gould, who posted photos of Elliott’s adventure on social media, said the moment meant a lot to his family. He described his grandmother as a social butterfly who is always on the go or on the phone.”She’s the one that holds the family together,” he said. “It’s good that she’s active.”Decades of farmingElliott said farming has transformed in her decades on the farm.She was born in Eastend, Sask., in 1926 before moving with her family to Hillview and later Pipestone in southwestern Manitoba. She got married in 1949, and together she and her husband, William, farmed near Reston for 40 years.Her sons still farm in the area today, continuing on their family’s legacy after her husband’s death 16 years ago.The combine she got to ride in this week “is so comfortable … it was like riding in the car, smooth and no bumps,” she said.”In the ’50s and ’60s, there was no room in the combine for anyone but the driver.… The combines now have a seat, an extra seat,” she said. “It was a good, comfortable ride.”But she says the best part of farming has always been the people. Neighbours would play cards together or have dances, where her husband would play music until the early hours of the morning.”When we were farming, we just had a small acreage, but we always had time to visit our neighbours,” she said. “We depended on each other. If we needed help with a newborn calf or something, the neighbour was there.”Now on the mend, Elliott says she hopes this won’t be her last harvest.She turns 100 in April — a long life that has come with joys and challenges, she said.”When you get to my age, your friends are all gone before you.… You worry that you will lose any of your family,” she said. “I’m not sure about getting too old — 100’s good. That’s a good number.”Above all, she’s grateful for what she still has.”I’m just thankful that I still remember who I am,” Elliott said. “I just take one day at a time.”99-year-old Manitoban at home in the combineUsing farm ingenuity and help from her family Olive Elliott was riding in the combine this week with her grandson. Born into farming and never far from the land, Elliott has rarely missed a harvest.ABOUT THE AUTHORChelsea Kemp is a multimedia journalist with CBC Manitoba. She is based in CBC’s bureau in Brandon, covering stories focused on rural Manitoba. Share your story ideas, tips and feedback with chelsea.kemp@cbc.ca.
99-year-old Manitoban returns to the field for harvest ride
