WAITSBURG-This year's Waitsburg Pioneer Fall Festival Pioneer of the Year, Mary Grant Tompkins, doesn't think of herself as a pioneer. But she certainly comes from a long tradition of pioneering spirit.

Mary's family, the Grants, settled in the Prescott area in 1850s, and the rest is history.

"My great grandfather came here in 1858 and we've been here ever since," Mary said.

The Grant Farm has been up and running, harvesting wheat and very occasionally barley, continuously since its inception.

The early Grants also valued education, Mary recalls. "My great-grandparents had a school," th...