It was a time of celebrating and re-living memories for 90-year-old former long-time Cooma resident, Ken Miners, when he returned to the area recently for his 90th birthday celebration marking the occasion with twin sister, Lola van der Plaat.

Ken and wife, Daphne, now live on the Gold Coast, moving there a few years ago to be closer to family.

While back in the Monaro they attended both the Hazeldean spring bull sale and 160th anniversary of seedstock events on 5 September.

Ken was excited to be at a Hazeldean sale again and reunited with the Litchfield family.

"I've been to a few sales, I even had a run in with a bull at one sale," he recalled.

Ken was born at 'Biggam', Rocky Plains and in 1952 he started working at 'Biggam', owned by the Litchfield family.

Ken worked for three generations of Litchfields - JF, James and Jim - in his time with the family, retiring in 2003.

"I would do anything and everything at 'Biggam'; there were only two of us working on the 6000 acre property. Then I bought 800 acres joining 'Biggam' as a weekend job," Ken laughed.

"Most of the time I was on 'Biggam'," Ken said.

"My father, Bill, went there in 1927 and we managed the place from 1927 to 2000, I think, when Litchfields sold the property."

Ken took over the management role of 'Biggam' from his father. When he decided he wanted to move on from the property, one of his brothers took over managing 'Biggam'.

"There's been a lot of changes over the 50 years. I first started working mainly with draught horses and cart.

"There wasn't much mechanical equipment to help you in those days and none of the technology that's used in farming today either.

"They always had sheep. When we were kids, 'Biggam' didn't have a shearing shed and we drove the sheep from 'Biggam' to 'Hazeldean' to get them shorn and dipped. It used to take two days," Ken said.

Ken is one of nine children, to Bill and Barbara Miners, and the only surviving brother of four - Ron, Ken, Noel and Les.

"Ken and Noel worked on 'Biggam', Ron was on Myalla and Les was at Hazeldean," Daphne said, "and their father beforehand."

This connection between the Miners and Litchfield families is still going strong to this day.

"Ken's niece, Jennifer, who is Les's daughter, still works here in the office. Four generations now; it may come to an end with Jennifer though," Daphne said.

Jim Litchfield is especially proud of this aspect of Hazeldean's rich history.

"It certainly was more commonplace years ago to have families that stayed in the one place and job for a long time," Jim said.

"We are very proud of the association we have had with the Miners family. Jenny is our office manager now. I think it was her great grand-father who started working for the family in the late 1800s and that connection has been maintained since then."