Eminent Farmer
County: Perkins
T. E. Hayes was born at Brinklow, England, May 16, 1874. Brinklow is a village that dates back to the Roman era in England, half way between Liverpool and London.
As a young man he lived on a farm where his parents raised purebred Shorthorn cattle and Shire horses. He left the farm early to take a position in a brick and tile works near his home.
In 1896 Hayes married Edith Gray whose home was near Sulgrave Manor, the home of the Washingtons.
In 1904 they came to the United States, locating in Aberdeen where they lived six years. Hayes followed his trade as manager of a brickyard.
In 1910 Hayes took up a claim in Perkins County, and there he built the house in which he and his wife lived until 1936 when they moved to Eugene, Oregon. They Hayeses had one child, a daughter.
Hayes was an active shareholder in the Lodgepole Cooperative Creamery. He raised dairy cattle and purebred Rambouillet sheep.
Hayes activities have not been confined to farming alone. He was a member of the local school board for many years and also one of the township supervisors. He was a Justice of the Peace and a director of the Harding County Mutual Insurance Company. He also served two terms in the State Legislature.
Perhaps Hayes’ most outstanding accomplishment is his community leadership. In 1920 Hayes, together with a few of his neighbors, organized the Fairview Community Club, and he was its president for 14 years. The club was awarded a prize for being the second best rural club in the Northwest states, and later was awarded a silver cup for being the best community club in South Dakota. This rural community club is 23 miles from a railroad.
Hayes is known throughout the Northwest for his “jingles,” which are regularly published in farm and weekly newspapers. U.S. Sen. Norbeck read one of these “jingles” into the Congressional Record.