Edward Wallace Hood was born on April 9, 1910 near Carberry, Manitoba.  Wallace, the son of Edward and Margaret Hood, lived his whole life on the family farm in the Fairview district near Carberry.  He married Grace Naylor in 1935 and they raised three boys, Barry, Gordon and Bruce.  He was an innovative farmer, working first with his father and older brother Tom, operating a mixed farm.  Later he farmed with his sons Barry and Bruce.

Wallace was a pioneer in the development of the potato industry in the Carberry area.  During his years as a councillor for the R.M. of North Cypress, he facilitated the purchase and rehabilitation of the airport site, which was subsequently sold to J.R. Simplot for a potato processing plant.  He also assisted in organizing and served as a director and president of the North Cypress Community Development Corporation 1960–1976.  This led to the establishment of Carberry Farms – a potato growing corporation and a storage facility.  He and his son Barry held two of the first nine Carnation Foods contracts in the Carberry area.  Wallace negotiated with various lending institutions for startup loans for farmers wishing to enter the potato business and sponsored meetings to interest and inform other local farmers on growing potatoes.  Wallace and Grace hosted many farm tours from Europe, Japan and Canada to view western Canadian agriculture and the potato industry in particular.

One of the other achievements dear to Wallace’s heart was the establishment of a regional library system.  He believed that education was one of the keys to the future and that every citizen should have free and equal access to a good library within a reasonable distance.  He was a driving force behind the establishment of the Carberry/North Cypress Library in 1967.  He received the Bank of Montreal Rural Leadership Award, which enabled him to travel across Canada and the northern United States, studying other regional library systems.  With the knowledge he acquired, he lobbied various levels of government until the Western Manitoba Regional Library became a reality.

Wallace Hood was a community leader.  Other involvements included:  school trustee for Fairview School 1939–1955, Carberry Plains 4-H Seed Club, director of Carberry Plains Agricultural Society 1953–1966, 75th Anniversary Carberry Plains history book, Spruce Woods Recreational Area Committee, which led to the establishment of Spruce Woods Provincial Park, West-Man Regional Development Board, director of United Grain Growers 1969–1975, director of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, director and president of the Manitoba Agricultural Museum, director of Manitoba Farm Vacations.

Wallace was a man of vision whose influence was felt throughout the agricultural community.

Nominated by Harold M. Calvert, Carberry
2001