The Lucknow Sentinel, 1988-06-08, Page 140t PER COPY1
CELEBRATE IN 1988
LUCKNOW S 130th. CELEBRATION
JUNE 30 JULY 3, 1988
!PUBLISHED IN LUCKNOW ONTARIO
une ,
Nominations
still needed
As of press time, the Lucknow Sentinel
has received five nominations for the Heart
of Gold Award, a program sponsored by Air
Canada in conjunction with the Community
Newspapers Association. The program has
been organized to give recognition to those
persons in our community who give of
themselves to others.
The Heart of Gold Award is available to
all Canadian residents 19 -years -of -age and
older who are nominated by a person from
their community.
A special certificate will be presented this
summer to all those nominated. All
nominees are eligible for consideration as a
recipient of a Heart of Gold Award.
The Sentinel has set for this community a
target of 40 nominations. Surely, out of the
Village of Lucknow and the surrounding
townships, there are at least 40 individuals
who are deserving of this recognition.
Remember, this is your opportunity to of-
ficially say "Thank you" to those good folks.
' who think of others first. Let's pull together
and give credit where credit is due.
Nomination forms are still available at
the Sentinel Office.
C ELEBRATE IN 1988
With the Celebrate in '88 Lucknow Reu-
nion a short three weeks away, the village
and surrounding area is gearing up for a
, busy time of fun, frivolity and, of course,
lots of visitors.
Shop and home owners are again remind-
ed to put on their best decorations for the big
event as prizes will be offered in a variety of
categories.
The Reunion Committee has logged hun-
dreds of hours planning and organizing the
numerous events that will bring Lucknow to
life at the end of June, and you are en-
couraged to get out and particiapte in as
Many as possible. A full list of the weekend's
activities are now available from local store
owners. Take a moment to pick one up and
plan your Celebrate in '88 activities now.
For those folks expecting guests over the
Reunion weekend, be sure to show them
around and most of all, show them a good
time.
Here at the Sentinel, we are busy planning
our Celebrate in '88 Special Edition and we
could use your help.
If you have any old photographs hidden in
your scrapbooks in the attic, dig them out
and drop them by the office. We'd like to
have as many of photos as possible for our
June 29 issue. We know they are out there -
all we have to do is find them
Also, any of the village old timers with an
interesting memory of days gone by are ask-
ed to jot their remembrances down and drop
them into this office as soon as possible.
The Celebrate in'88 Reunion is a special
time and with your help, we can present a
souvenir issue of the Sentinel that will
reflect 130 years of living, loving and
progressing.
Have a look in the old drawers tonight and
stop by our office tommorrow. We look for-
ward to seeing you.
Ecological farming is more a matter of
attitude than it is of economics and the 150
people who participated in last Sunday's
tour of Tony and Fran McQuail's operation
south of Lucknow show just what a good at-
titude can do. The farm tour isone in a
series of tours organized by the Ecological
Farmers Association of Ontario. Associa-
tion President Lawrence Andres, at right,
was on hand for the tour and took a few
moments during the day to encourage
those present to consider the organic alter-
natives to agriculture. No stranger to
speaking in public, Tony McQuail, left,
kept the very interesting tour of his place
moving right along. (Rob Bundy photos)
The dynamics of organic farming
By Rob Bundy
Sunday, June 5, was a day of idea shar-
ing, observation, and commitment at the
farm of Tony and Fran McQuail as some
150 guests participated in one of a series of
Organic Farm Tours conducted by the
Ecological Farmers Association of On-
tario (EFAO).
The 100 -acre McQuail farm, located
south-east of the village of Lucknow, is a
diversified and interesting operation that
utilizes no herbicides and makes use of
"turn -of -the -century" equipment. It is this
type of "old time farming for a modern
society" that the EFAO is attempting to
promote.
The purpose of the Association, which
presently enjoys a growing membership of
some 500 farmers, is to create an
agriculture which maintains and enhances
the health of the soil, the crops, the
livestock and the farm community through
the undertanding of basic ecological
principles.
Throughout the year, the EFAO pro-
vides opportunities for farmers to observe
the practical applications of ecological far-
ming operations such as the McQuail's.
Sunday's tour brought together farmers to
share knowledge and experience in an ef-
fort to advance the ideals of ecological
agriculture.
Sweat equity
Tony and Fran McQuail bought their
present farm in 1973. At the time, it'con-
tained one shed and about 100 acres of land
which had been cropped for the twenty
years previous. The couple lived in the old
shed over two winters while they built
from scratch the passive -solar home
which now stands overlooking the opera-
tion as a testament to their dedication and
determination.
A large barn was added in 1978 and a
drive -shed in 1985.
"We became involved in farming
because to us it is life affirming," said
Tony speaking to the large crowd gathered
in the sun on his front lawn. "It is a
necessary and vital occupation. We built
this farm up on sweat equity, lived within a
strict budget and worked shoulder tol
shoulder with our neighbours."
The McQuails believe, as do many of
those participating in the tour, that the
earth is living beyond its resources.
"This is a lifestyle which puts back what
it takes out," said Tony into the loud
speaker he carried with him on the walk-
ing tour of his operation, "and that makes
it dynamic."
Feeding the family
Since the McQuails began farming in
1973, they have used no herbicides on their
land. They raise hay, mixed grain and ap-
ples. Their livestock includes sheep and
lambs, Belgian draft horses, goats, poultry
and a few hogs. Basically, animals which
"run on hay".
The 100 acres they farm is extremely
diversified, by all standards, and utilizes a
rapid crop rotation in an effort to max-
imize the soil. Renewable energy systems
from work horses and wind generators
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