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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe 27th Huron Pioneer Thresher Reunion, 1988-09-07, Page 23THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1988. PAGE A-23. Horses bring added bonus of tranquility Continued from page 22 now has a tractor and other modern conveniences, the horses still are a viable way of farming on the McQuail’s 100 acre farm. In mid August the McQuails put their two teams to work on two horse-drawn mowers and cut seven acres of second-cut hay in an hour and a half. On another fresh August day, after the heat wave finally broke, Tony has a team hitched to the front of a siderake and is windrowing hay ready for baling. The attractions of farming with horses are obvious in the field near the back of the McQuail farm. Aside from the snorting of the horses and the squeek and clatter of the rake there is little to interfere with nature’s sounds. The wind rustles the leaves. A fly buzzes by. Crickets chirp and the baa of a sheep drifts over from a nearby pasture. Overhead, a huge hawk, wheeling in circles, lets out a series of squeals. Tony stops the team to adjust the harness and the horses take advantage of the break to dip their heads and grab a mouthful of the fragrant alfalfa hay. Most of the crops grown on the farm are fed to the livestock, Tony explains. Cashcropping is limited to the apple orchard. Sheep provide most of the outside income with the couple marketing much of their lamb directly. The sheep flock is larger this year than normal and they’ve had to buy hay to feed it. The flock may be reduced to try tobring it in line with the amount of feed they can grow on the farm. They discussed buying more land but have rejected the idea. Their 100acres seems like enough, Tony says. “Enough is a very important concept in our society.’’ More land would mean more equipment, more equipment would mean more invest­ ment. It might do the work faster but with higher costs, the extra time he gained might have to be spent in getting a job to help pay for theequipment. Oneofthe reasons he chose this kind of farming is that he wanted towork on the farm with his family. Besides, he said, “if you keep getting bigger, you destroy your neighbourhood’’ as farmers take over more and more of their neighbours’ land and farm families get farther apart. The McQuails have both worked off the farm at times but their earnings have gone to capital improvements on the farm. When they moved there, there was only a barn. They lived in the barn while they built a passive-solar house high on the hill. Since then they’ve added two new barns, one of them a more modern version of the old barns that served farms for more than a century. They are willing to go out and borrow money whenitcanbepaidbackin a short time, Tony says, as they did when the barns were built. He also took advantage of a good finance plan to buy the new tractor and they have tile drain loans but those are the only loans they owe now. Their determination not to go far into debt certainly helped when the farm debt crisis hit in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, Tony says. The McQuails live a more simple lifestyle than some of their high-flying farming colleagues butTony says he reminds himself that while they may not be rich by North American standards, they are rich compared to the majority of the world’s population. There’s something to be said for content­ ment, not always reaching for more, he says. “We should be happy just to be alive on this planet.’’ With a cluck of his tongue the horses pick up their heads, strain into the horse collars and set the hay rake clacking its way up the hill against the bright blue sky. One wonders if maybe the McQuails have a wealth money can’t buy. to everyone attending the 27th Reunion of the Pioneer Threshers w W Campbell Transport Ltd. Blyth 523-4204 Welcome Threshers Neil Gowing YOUR PICK^EIEE) REPRESENTATIVE Brussels Phone 887-6292 Now Available: ARROW & AMBASSADOR ALFALFA VARIETIES Superior resistance to verticill- ium wilt and other diseases SPECIAL LAWN SEED Wecan provide special lawn seed mixtures for erosion control when seeding, ditches, waterways, etc. CULBERT INSULATION & BACKHOEING •Residential •Commercial •Agricultural •Industrial R.R. 6, GODERICH Free Estimates 529-7571 Century Farms With every white head that is sinking Where the work of a lifetime was done. We are losing gold threads in the linking Of traditional days that are gone; Those days where they laid the foundation For the gains which their children have won. Of those pioneers who built for the future In the labour and stress of their day. We can hear their soft voice in the gloaming, We left this for you down the years; Each one of us won it with hardship Yes, even with sorrow and tears. " Congratulations on the 27th Reunion We are proud to have the Thresher Reunion in Blyth H wy. 4 So uth, Blyth 523-4256 There is never a patriarch dying But a story is passing away, Author unknown Old friends and new often meet at the Thresher Reunion in Blyth, drawn by such intriguing models as this 3/i inch scale working model of a railway steam engine displayed by Remie Grimminck of RR 3, Lucan. Chauncey's hairstyling Inc. JF ’Expert Cutting Xi\\ • • \ / ’European Perms & Tints \ \ . ‘ j _ /■ ’All Hair Care Products . \ I ’U.V.A. Suntanning S Chances are — you'll love it Queen St., Blyth, Ont. 523-9722 Welcome to everyone who is in Blyth this weekend for the 27th Threshermen’s Reunion. We are glad to have you here. Dickson’s Auto Repair Blyth 523-9706