Laurence E. "Larry" Helmer, 1889-1979, was born in Russell, Manitoba, the son of Albert Helmer, 1848-1934, and Margaret Georgina Britt. Albert was a land surveyor and helped survey the boundary between Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1880. He later was a ranch inspector. Larry was employed by the Albertan before entering the Dominion Lands Office in 1907. He later homesteaded at Cessford, Alberta where he served as the secretary of the Berry Creek Agricultural Society, 1904-1931, and secretary of the Bulyea Municipal District, 1917-1932. He was an advocate of irrigation developments in the drybelt as his father had been. Larry opened a general store, implement dealership and oil agency in Pollockville in 1923, and was a municipal inspector for the Berry Creek Special Area. In 1941 he joined the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) and supervised the construction of dams and dugouts in the Hanna-Coronation district. He was a member of the Hanna town council and the Hanna Hospital Board in the 1940s and 1950s. He was inducted into the Alberta Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1978. He and his wife had three children, Norma (Meers), Lois (Alexander) and Laurence L. "Lee".