Meet Arizona Agriculture’s Meier Family
Author
Published
8/14/2018
Once reliable irrigation systems were built, Phoenix became a true agriculture center in the early 1900s and on. Farmers, like Robert Meier, could farm in the heart of Phoenix managing crops like citrus, other fruits and cotton as main crops.
The Meier’s family, beginning with his father, Bill, had always farmed hundreds of acres in what we’d consider close to the heart of Phoenix, much of it on land that now has houses instead of crops. Father and son grew Pima cotton, short-staple cotton, beets, grain and more. Bob also tended beehives and sold citrus, mesquite and cotton-blossom honey.
I recently met up with, Kathleen, in the home the Meier family built in Phoenix in the 1950s. From Cleveland, Kathleen came to Arizona with her family when her father started a restaurant and an air-conditioning business out here.
Nearly 90-year-old Kathleen has spunk and reminds me of so many farm and ranch wives that are partnered with their husbands in the business. She and Bob met on a blind date when both were attending the University of Arizona in Tucson. Little did this city girl know she’d soon begin the life of an Arizona farmer.
Bob with his daughter, Sally, on the tractor.
“I love my tractor,” she said. “I won’t give that up. I did just hire someone to do all my yard work for the first time [on a spread that’s three-quarters of an acre]. But I still got my tractor and when I feel like it I still love getting on it and driving around.”
And though Robert John Meier passed away in March of 2017, Kathleen can speak to their days farming and
Bob had a passion for Arizona agriculture. He loved his time on the farm and the wonderful friends he met through the farming and ranching industry, including Farm Bureau where he served as membership chair for many years with the Maricopa County Farm Bureau. In fact, he invested countless years with the Farm Bureau and served on the U. of A. Alumni Association board.
He was devoted to his church, Bethany Bible, and mission work, traveling to Russia, Turkey, Scotland, and Iceland with Campus Crusade for Christ.
A photographer friend took this early photo of Robert and Kathleen for a publicity shoot.
Arizona Farm Bureau’s Ongoing Series of farm and ranch families.
Interview with Kathleen Meier of Phoenix, Arizona.
Tell me the story of how the Meier family began farming and a bit more background on the family in general. Bob’s father, William Meier, came here in the 1920’s, starting in Tempe. He was one of the first farmers in the valley to farm sugar beets. He even invented
However, I am a big city girl. The only thing I know about agriculture was what I learned after I married Bob. I took ag 1 and ag 2 and animal husbandry one and two just to become more acquainted with what it takes to be a farmer at the U of A. Bob also studied at U of A and got a bachelor’s in Agriculture Science.
Bob also served in World War II.
To go way back, Bob was born January 12, 1925, in Alhambra, Arizona to Ida and William Meier. From his earliest years, he worked on the family farm and kept an eye on his three sisters: Helen, Lucille, and Sally. He attended North High, graduating in 1943.
We raised two daughters, Sally and Robin, in the Royal Palm district of Phoenix. We were active with 4-H, quarter horse shows, and our church.
He was "Bobo" to his grandchildren: Josh, Tyler (Randi), Kristin (Kelly) and Andrew (Shannon). He so loved his seven great-grandchildren: Jack, Raegan, Luke, Kate, David, Caelyn
BoBo and Kiki to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, the Meier-Colace clan continues in farming to this day in California.
In fact, the grandchildren were convinced BoBo could fix everything. “He had the patience and ability to do anything,” says daughter Sally Colace. “Mom has a Jeopardy-type of mind and visits with the grandchildren about everything including sports. She’s well read and will talk to anyone.”
What other crops, besides cotton and citrus, did you farm? We farmed a lot of different things including all kinds of vegetable crops. You name it we have farmed it! We also had chickens and Charolais cattle and grew sugar beets for seed. Our farm was located between Indian School and Camelback. We lived on the farm before we moved to Phoenix.
What farming practices are a highlight to you? Bob and his father Bill would put together whatever things they needed to get the job done. He was really good with baling wire and duct tape if it called for it. He never saw a piece of string he didn’t think he could use.
What else was the Meier family farm involved in that no one really knows about? We also raised bees and harvested honey. Bob had a milk route when he was eight-years-old. Bob once headed out the door saying, “The pulling chains [used during a difficult delivery] are in the pantry,” since one of our mares was about to foal. I went into the living room and cried, pulled myself together and told myself to be ready if the situation called for it. I had never used the pulling chains before. It turned out I didn’t have to use them.
I also happen to be an avid gardener and I love my friends. [Life lesson I learned interviewing Kathleen: always make friends with people younger than you.]
What impressed you about your husband’s farming? Probably that he was the most honest person I have ever known.
What were some of the highlights about joining a farming family? Well, we never got to go on vacations and he wouldn’t come home at times because he would have to take care of irrigation. If the night irrigator didn’t show up, he’d have to do the job. He’d drive to the other end of the field, take his boots off, lie down in the furrow with his feet forward toward the coming flow of water. A few hours later, when the water washed over his feet, he knew the water was at the end of the row.
What’s an interesting hobby Bob took part in that most people don’t know? Bob was quite the collector, he never found a string he couldn’t use.
Daughter Sally remembers her parents waking her up in the middle of the night to watch a foal being born. “It was special; magical.”
Plus, “Both my parents loved to do yard work together. Dad at 92 before he passed away and mom at 88. They were still doing it together. And, Mom, up until recently was doing it on her own.”
What kept you as farm bureau members? Well, Bob loved agriculture and it was in his blood. He loved what Farm Bureau stood for and believed the organization was a protector of the industry. [The Meier family have been Farm Bureau members for decades. Their insurance agent, Steve Goucher, says Bob once told him he became a Farm Bureau insurance client at 16; 76 years as Farm Bureau members.]
How is the next generation of the Meier family staying in agriculture? One of my two girls married a farmer whose operation is in California. They farm an assortment of different things. They met while in college at the University of Arizona.
How will the next generation of agriculturalist have to operate? They will have to get bigger. The cost to farm keeps getting more expensive.
What is the best business advice you have ever received or been given? Stay on the right path. Be honest and operate with integrity.
You talk to the family and you hear the same character traits about BoBo: Gentle. Kind. Loving. Humble. “My dad was a beautiful picture of someone who loved God and people,” says Colace. “I am so proud to call him my father.”
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