HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-04-13, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017.
Countdown to IsI
Craig's credentials span province, country
Quite the collection
Graeme Craig and his wife Helen have been in the
competitive plowing game for a long time. Graeme has even
attended every Huron County match in one way or another
and has been a helping hand in many associations along
the way, including the Huron Plowmen's Association, the
Ontario Plowmen's Association and now the national
association. The pair is seen here with Graeme's 50 -year
award from the Ontario Plowmen's Association and
Graeme's senator plaque for this year's International
Plowing Match in Walton. (Denny Scott photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
The September, Huron County
will play host to the 100th
International Plowing Match in
Walton. The last time Huron County
hosted the match was in 1999. It is
historically referred to as the "Dust
Match" and Walton's Graeme Craig
was the man who led the county's
charge in hosting it.
Craig first got involved in the
world of competitive plowing over a
half -century ago. He says it was by
accident, but it's a love affair that's
persisted for 56 years now since he
first got behind the wheel of that
small Ford two -furrow tractor.
It was local plowing pioneer and
champion Gordon McGavin who
first introduced Craig to the plowing
match world. Craig was a young
man at the time and had been
hanging around the match when
McGavin suggested that Craig may
as well give it a try.
The next year, Craig began
competitive plowing under the
tutelage of Campbell Wey, who lived
in Walton at the time. Wey passed
away last year in his 94th year.
Craig found some success in the
Junior circuit and continued to
compete for a number of years.
However, as he grew older, he found
that his true talent was in coaching.
He would coach a number of
locals who would eventually go on
to have provincial national and even
international success like Brandon
and Jacob McGavin.
Craig, however, says that while he
did work with the McGavin boys
among others, he worked with them
when they were just getting started.
When it became clear they were
genuine talents in the field, they
began working with other coaches
who would lead them to victory at
the Huron County Plowing Match,
the International Plowing Match
and, in Brandon's case, the Canadian
Plowing Match and the World
Plowing Match.
Coaching became a passion for
Craig. He said that Huron County,
specifically Walton, has a rich
Plowman's corner
The Craigs are a staple at Canadian Plowing Matches and in 2015 encountered a Canadian
celebrity along their travels. Graeme and his son Michael are seen here with CBC hockey
analyst Don Cherry at the 2015 match on Wolfe Island. (Photo submitted)
history of fostering youth to
becoming successful, especially in
the realm of competitive plowing.
Whether it's through 4-H clubs or
through older members of the
community passing their knowledge
down to its younger members, there
has always been a positive teaching
culture in the community.
Craig said he always liked
working with young people and his
time coaching the youth of the
community is something he'll
always cherish.
Where Craig would really have an
impact on the world of competitive
plowing, however, was on the
administrative side.
After years of being involved in
local plowing matches at various
levels, Craig became the
secretary/treasurer of the Huron
Plowmen's Association in 1979. He
would stay at that post for over 10
years.
Craig jokes that he has yet to miss
an IPM that has been hosted in
Huron County. His mother assured
Craig that while he may not
remember it, he attended the
"Victory Match" in 1946 at the Port
Albert airfield. He would be born
just a few months later.
Craig's wife Helen and her parents
Gordon and Sarah Elliott would be
among the many families that
donated their land to the 1966
match, which was held on the Scott
farm near Seaforth. Craig would
attend that match as a young man.
When the match was held on the
Armstrong farm near Wingham in
1978, Craig served as the head of the
Queen of the Furrow committee.
In 1999 he was the chair of the
match, which was held in Dashwood
and he does not intend to miss the
2017 match, which will be held in
his home community of Walton — a
community with so much history in
the world of competitive plowing in
Ontario.
Craig's family history in Walton is
not new. The farm on which he and
Helen currently live and have raised
a family has been in Craig's family
since 1867 on his mother's side.
Craig's family on his father's side
comes from Morris Township, but
his father grew up in Blyth. He
ventured Walton way to work on a
farm tended by three women who
needed help on the farm and he
would eventually find his wife and
make his way to Walton where they
would start a life together.
Over the years, Craig said he
hasn't moved much, as he grew up
on the farm on which he and Helen
currently live. He has been a life-
long resident of Walton and knows
the community well.
Over the years he has been
involved in the local church, local
politics and the insurance
community, as well as competitive
plowing.
Craig says that when he attended
the first IPM he remembers, when he
was in his teens, it was a real eye-
opener.
"It's like growing up in Walton
and then going to Toronto for the
Continued on page 15
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