In the year 1900, Richard Donaldson Skuce made the long journey from Ontario to southeastern Saskatchewan to transform three quarter-sections of bald prairie into productive farm land.

A century later, the same three quarters, located five kilometres south of Stoughton, are being farmed by his grandsons.

That proud farming tradition was recognized Saturday when the Skuce family, gathered together at the homestead site for a reunion, was presented with the Century Family Farm Award by Agriculture Minister Dwain Lingenfelter.

The award is meant to honour Saskatchewan's pioneer farm families and their role in the development of this province. More than 400 families have received the award since it was established in 1981.

As one of those pioneers, Richard Skuce came out alone to begin the formidable task of breaking his land with horse and plow. He built a sod house with a straw roof, where he lived alone.

A fire destroyed the original sod house, and in 1904 Richard rebuilt with wood. That same year, he married Quebec native Janet Sturgeon.

Throughout their marriage the couple had nine children: Lyle, Bill, Elmer, Bernice, Allan, Helen, John, Doris, and Lois.

Helen, Doris and Lois, the three remaining children from the pioneer family, remember what life was like on the largely undeveloped prairie.

"We had a milk cow, and lots of horses," said Helen, sitting with her sisters under the shade of a tent at the family reunion.

"There were a bunch of turkeys we raised, and they followed dad all over the place. When it came time to kill them, dad went to get them and it was comical to see the turkeys run after him," she recalled, laughing.

Lois remembers brother Bill driving the younger children to school in the winter, and the huge family suppers hosted in the small farm house.

"We used to have a lot of people over on Sunday. Mom would set the table three times - she could make a meal stretch far," she said, adding her dad was a good farmer with what he had to work with.

"He was a good dad," interjected Helen. "He would give me his last nickel to go to Sunday School."

"It was a hard life," said Lois. "But we made our own fun along the way."

Richard Skuce died in 1960, and his third son Elmer moved into the homestead. A bachelor all his life, Elmer took over the farming duties with his brother John. John's sons, Bob and Jim, spent many hours with their dad and uncle on the land, and so it was fitting that the brothers took it over in the 1990s after the second generation of Skuce farmers passed on.

"I'm wishing my dad was here," said Jim of his father John, who died last year. "He's been instrumental in keeping the land in the family. If it wasn't for him, the land wouldn't be here."

The farm has become a labour of love for the two brothers, who work weekends to keep it viable. Bob, who works for TransCanada Pipeline, lives in Moose Jaw, while Jim is the manager of a school bus company in Weyburn.

Low commodity prices and rising input costs have taken their toll on the small farm. The flax, durum wheat and linola growing in the fields may or may not bring in a profit this year. But the brothers are willing to take that gamble.

"For the last three or four years we've been farming it with support from our salaries. But there's a legacy here, 100 years being in the same family," said Jim.

"I'm going to keep farming," said Bob. "I'm really proud of this. I love farming - I just love to be here."

Both brothers are confident the Skuce farm legacy will carry on, as their sons have expressed a strong interest in keeping the farm alive despite the current bleak outlook in the agriculture industry.

"It's just a part of the family tradition, the way things have been for many years," explains Bob's son Robert. "It's the love of the land."