HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1986-04-16, Page 151
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 1986. PAGE 15.
McGavins plan celebration July 25 at Brussels
Continued from page 14
require their dealers to build.
The McGavins moved their
operation to Walton from the farm
location in 1952 and located on the
corner of County roads 25 and 12,
the main corner of the village. In
1963 the move was made to the
present location in a scheme that
was a story in itself.
People in the Walton area had
decided they wanted to build a new
school. The provincial government
had slapped a freeze on new school
construction but said any school
that had already started construc-
tion or purchased land for a new
school could proceed. Gordon
McGavin purchased the land on
which the present Walton school
OFA rejects
commodity
price -based
mortgage
plan
The Ontario Federation of Agri-
culture's board of directors, in its
monthly meeting, unanimously
rejected a federal plan for commo-
dity price -based mortgages.
"Michael Wilson's budget
speech announcement led farmers
and consumers to believe that
farmers now have access to 6
percent money. This was out and
out misrepresentation on the part
of the federal government. The
fine print tells the real story," said
Harry Pelissero, OFA president.
The House was not told - as
budget papers released later re-
vealed -that farmers would have to
actually take on a mortgage at 14
3/8 percent (two percent higher
than the current rate for FCC
loans). "Rather than giving inter-
est rate assistance to farmers, this
program actually charges a two
percent penalty to enroll in it,"
commented Pelissero.
While the mortgage is register-
ed at 14 3/8 percent a "side
agreement" will allow FCC to fix
the interest rate at 6-9 percent,
trying the principle to do commo-
dity price fluctuations.
Government budget papers
stated that given a moderate price
increase in commodities, the pro-
gram would not be any more or less
expensive than conventional fin-
ancing. Pelissero said he inter-
prets this to mean that the program
would not cost the government any
money. "In fact, with the two
percent surcharge, it could actu-
ally make money for the govern-
ment."
The OFA board of directors
passed a resolution to "demand
that the federal minister of Agri-
culture and the FCC develop a
program which truly reflects a
legitimate loan program and re-
structured mortgage program,
using the $700 million outlined in
the budget, as promised in the past
years, with affordable interest
rates."
Spicer MacGillivray
Chartered Acc, wntant,
LISTOWEL 291.1251
Partners
M.J. Hoyles, C.A.
N. MacDonald Exel, C.A.
Manager
L. M Gagnon, C.A.
GODERICH 524-2677
Partner
R E Takalo, C.A.
Manager
R.M Kaufman. C A
stands, swapped it with the school
board, and overnight the school
board qualified to proceed with its
new school.
Gordon McGavin probably got a
lot of satisfaction in outmanoeuvr-
ing the Progressive Conservative
government for one of the few
victories the long-time Liberal was
able to claim for many years when
Tory domination was supreme
both federally and provincially in
Huron county. After many years of
working hard behind the scenes,
Gordon ran for election in 1963 and
turned the running of the company
over to Neil who had returned to
work for his father after graduating
from University of Guelph in 1957.
One of the first headaches the new
young manager had to deal with
was the number of farmers who
arrived and announced they had
worked on his father's election
campaign and expected an espe-
cially good deal because of it. More
than a few turned out not to even
live in the riding.
Today another generation of
McGavins is on the way up in the
organization. Last year Neil's son
Brian graduated from Guelph and
joined the company. Not that
business is new to Brian. He
already operated a successful
commercial baling business and
did $21,000 worth of business in his
first year. Nowa second son, Jeff is
also in the baling business.
The family lives on the farm
where the company originally
started out in the 1930's.
The McGavins plan a big
celebration of their 50th annivers-
ary on July 25th when they will
have a big open house at the
Brussels, Morris and Grey Com-
munity Centre showing off a big
selection of the goods they have for
sale. The rest of the plans are
imcomplete but probably there will
be some sort of recognition for the
many employees who have helped
build the company, Neil says. A
search of the employee records
shows there have been 117employ-
ees with the company over the
years.
I� SUN
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t4'No
,.eo�a Hoy �.,cwo� nin
Man 's g
Building Supplies Ltd.
Blyth 523-9305
ATYOUR
SERVICE!
IN
The Seaforth Area
W.G. Thompson & Sons Limited
are pleased to announce the purchase
of the former Ontario Bean Growers
Co-operative in Seaforth.
We Are Open To Serve You
Ralph Currie, formerly of our Mitchell branch, welcomes
you to discuss your planting requirements and
marketing needs for the coming year.
Seed - Fertilizer - Chemicals Available
We Are Looking Forward
To Serving You
Seaforth 345-2545
Ralph Cu rrie....Manager