The Rural Voice, 1982-09, Page 12William Gates of Glencoe, a guest like
Duncan Carmichael at last winter's
plowmen's convention, demonstrated a
new 12 -horse hitch in the 1928 match. The
horses were lined up four abreast on just
one set of lines. The Glencoe girl
demonstrated how to use the horses with a
tandem disc rather than a plow, a feat
many of her male counterparts couldn't
duplicate.
If preparations for the event weren't an
undue strain on the Carmichaels, the
cleanup operation certainly produced
some tense moments. Duncan Carmichael
still remembers his sister-in-law spending
several days out in the field, carefully
gathering up and burning all the paper
dropped by visitors at the tented city.
Another problem was that much of the
plowing, done with single -furrow plows
behind about 90 borrowed teams, was
done in narrow, six-foot strips which the
Carmichaels had to painstakingly fill in
before the next spring's planting.
But the 1928 match proved to be a
resounding success, from the pair of
Kentucky oxen who plowed furrows as
straight as any tractor to the popular
Robert Carson, 86, of Logan Township,
who won a $10 gold piece as the oldest,
and apparently also one of the best,
plowman on the grounds.
The 90,000 visitors turned out to be just
about double the number expected. As a
London Advertiser reporter enthused, the
Carmichael farm was "literally black with
crowds and parked automobiles."
While Allan Scott has the cleanup
operation to look forward to, he has done
some advance preparation for the 1982
event. He and many of his neighboring
farmers have changed their cropping
routine for the past two years. In addition
to the Scott farm, the match organizers
have leased almost 2,000 more acres of
land on Con. 2,3 of Biddulph Township.
It's only poetic justice that part of that
land belongs to Wilf Hodgins.
Scott says he's been impressed from the
start the way both Lucan and Biddulph
Township residents, and his neighboring
farmers have pitched in to make the 1982
match a Middlesex County showcase.
He emphasizes too, contrary to rumor,
that offering your land for the match
"sure as hell isn't a moneymaker. The
neighbors are likely out money due to
rotating their crops and the extra work."
This year's match is going to include
several unique events. For example,
Media Day, on September 9, with Ontario
Agriculture Minister Dennis Timbrell, is
focusing on 75 homegrown, Middlesex
products. Local auctioneers Hugh Filson
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PG. 12 THE RURAL VOICE/SEPTEMBER 1982
and Tom Robson will be giving guests .a
chance to bid on 50 of these items, with
the proceeds going to crippled children's
projects.
Another new twist is the on-site
demonstration of various corn and soy-
bean cropping techniques by members of
Duncan Carmichael, who didn't fully
retire from his Medway Creamery work
until three years ago, hopes he can relive
some 1928 memories at the 1982 match.
Mind you, though he says, "I'm not as
fresh as I used to be."
Allan Scott still has several hectic days
to look forward to, presiding as mayor of
the tented city, and maintaining his sense
of humor through the hoopla of parades,
tours by VIPS and numerous banquets.
Oh, and there's just one more similarity
Allan Scott is convinced the 1982 match
Will share with the 1928 venture. Back
then, you see, the rain held off until the
day after the match ended, and then
Carmichael recalls, "we had a real
soaker."
Scott, backed by the always reliable
Farmer's Almanac, is confidently predic-
ting beautiful blue skies Sept. 28 to Oct.
2.
You see, rain is just about the only
thing that could spoil Middlesex County's
biggest match ever.
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