HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-09-14, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017.
Countdown to IPM '1
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Ryan family honours Marianna by hosting IPM
The hosts
Jack Ryan, seen here with his grandchildren, has been
tapped to be the host farmer for the International Plowing
Match in Walton next week. He and his children have seen
hosting the IPM as a way to tribute Jack's late wife
Marianna, who passed away in 2012. In addition to this
custom-made barn quilt on the front of Jack's home, two of
the most prominant streets in the IPM's Tented City are
named after Marianna. (Photo submitted)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Jack Ryan, his children and
grandchildren are all serving as hosts
for this year's IPM in Walton. The
roots of this endeavour, however, are
strongly tied to Jack's wife
Marianna, who lost her battle with
ovarian cancer in 2012.
The Ryan farm is the setting for
the IPM's tented city, but nearly a
dozen landowners have come
together to make the match a reality,
including the Ringgenberg family,
whose land will host the RV park.
The Ryans have been involved
with the IPM planning since 2013.
In June of 2013, the Huron County
Plowmen's Association announced
that Walton would be the home of
the 100th IPM and that Ryan's farm
would be the focal point.
Since then, the Ryan family, in
many ways, has become the face of
the match, with many telling the
story of its generations of farm
families and rich Huron County
roots.
The Ryans have been featured
extensively in Huron County's
marketing materials for the match,
serving as the models for the IPM's
official poster, which, in one picture
spans four generations of the family.
The family's roots in Huron
County are only the beginning when
it comes to Walton's connection with
the history of agriculture and
competitive plowing in the country.
With the historic 100th IPM on the
line, holding it in a community with
such rich history in the world of
competitive plowing like Walton —
the home of so many provincial,
national and international
champions, not to mention many,
many faces behind various plowing
organizations — is a symbolic gesture
in itself.
Jack Ryan was first approached
about potentially hosting the match
at his farm in the fall of 2012.
Despite being approached by Henry
Grobbink, a relative who has been
involved with competitive plowing
for a very long time, Ryan says he
was hesitant and decided the timing
wasn't quite right.
Then -Huron County Plowmen's
Association President Brian
McGavin, however, returned to the
Ryans in the spring of 2013 and, as
Jack's son Joe puts it jokingly,
turned on his salesman's charm and
soon enough the Ryan family was on
board, but not before a family -wide
consensus was reached.
In an emotional interview with
The Citizen, Jack and his son Joe and
daughter Peggy Sloan say the
decision went much deeper than
competitive plowing and community
spirit and was viewed within the
family as a tale of rural triumph
and perseverance through tough
times.
"We definitely looked at it as a
celebration," Joe said. "My parents
went through a lot of hard times.
They worked through really tough
times just to make ends meet, so to
have something like [the IPM] now,
here in Walton, it's a celebration to
be sure."
Jack lost his wife, Marianna, in
2012 to ovarian cancer, which
changed the outlook of the entire
family. She was a very special
woman for a lot of reasons.
"That was a big factor in this
whole deal," Jack says. "We've been
through a lot of challenges, a lot of
stress over 43 years of marriage."
Sloan says that her parents were
soulmates and that their marriage
Remembering
Jack Ryan is seen here with his wife Marianna, who lost her
battle with ovarian cancer in 2012. Hosting the International
Plowing Match at the family farm, he says, is very much
about honouring her memory. (Photo submitted)
has served as an example to all of
their children: Joe Ryan, Peggy
Sloan, Monica Ryan and Steve
Ryan.
"They taught us the importance of
marriage, how it is a true partnership
and how absolutely beautiful
marriage can be," Sloan said. "They
gave of themselves for each other
and for their family."
Marianna was a dedicated farm
wife, working as hard and
sometimes harder than Jack did on
the farm. She also worked as a
registered nurse after going back to
school to learn the trade.
"She should be all in this mix,"
Jack says. "She was a farm girl"
Jack and his children described
Marianna as a special woman who
will always hold a place in their
hearts. She was a farm girl at heart,
Jack said, which is why he felt
hosting the IPM at their farm was a
fitting tribute.
Sloan says that while Marianna
may have passed away in 2012, she's
still very much with the family and
she'll continue to be with them as
their family farm hosts the IPM.
"She'll be keeping an eye on us,"
Sloan says.
Joe says that his mother always
did everything she could to help the
family, even if it meant returning to
school at an advanced age.
"When things got tough around
the farm, Mom went back to school,"
Joe said. "I think that meant a lot to
dad."
Over four decades, Jack ran a
Continued on page 13
Special Meeting
HT of Council
V
Monday, September 25, 2017
7:00 p.m.
Wingham Town Hall Theatre
274 Josephine St., Wingham, ON
Representatives from the OPP will present a Police Service Costing to
service the Town of Wingham. Members of the public are welcome to
attend and hear the presentation.
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