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The Rural Voice, 1988-05, Page 40FOR QUALITY, SELECTION & tp BEST 1 VALUE � Shop Louis' of Hanover • Saville Row • Chaps • Arrow • Riviera • Nash & many more Specializing in shorts, tails & oversizes. ouis' 1aen's 'tni Downtown Hanover 364-1060 DON'T REPLACE - REFACE! GIVE YOUR KITCHEN THE NEW LOOK! Your kitchen cabinets may look worn and out-of-date, but they are probably sound and usable. In fact, they may be better made than ones you can buy today. Now you can bring your kitchen back to lite without major investment with the amazing new Kitchen Saver System! Kitchen Saver replaces what's visible - cabinet doors and drawer fronts. And we Dover all exposed surfaces. In Just 2-3 days you'll have a stunning, stylish kitchen that significantly adds to the value of your home. CALL NOW FOR A FREE ESTIMATE STRATFORD MITCHELL Toll Free "Serving Perth 519-271-6822 519-348-8627 1-800-265-0933 & Huron Counties" 38 THE RURAL VOICE NOTEBOOK SHE SERVED j FAITHFULLY Adrian Vos came to Canada from Holland in 1953 as an immigrant sponsored by a department store manager. By the time Vos arrived, the manager had forgotten him, so the young man went on a determined job hunt in Hamilton, where he took to underqualifying himself in order to get factory work — at $1 an hour. Labourer, cabinetmaker, and welder, Vos became a hobby farmer as well. It was by accident, he says, that he and his family eventually became operators of a full-time farm. The following is an early memory of trial and triumph as a green "part-timer." Everyone knows that a farmer must have a tractor. But it was when I tried to spade our large garden that I was convinced. The soil was so gravelly that the spade wouldn't go in. I didn't, however, know anything about tractors or plows. To a basically urban person, a tractor is an imposing piece of machinery. It has levers whose use is a mystery and there are all kinds of gadgets sticking up from the rear. I needed help. I got it from a friend, Frank Stap, who was farming nearby. Together we set out for Vincent Farm Equipment's used implement lot in Ayr. On Frank's advice, I bought a 35 Massey -Harris tractor with a mechanical hitch for a two -furrow plow — price: $150. The service man showed me the con- trols and helped me hitch up the plow. After that I was on my own. I had some pretty heavy obstacles to overcome, not the least of which was my ignorance. The trouble began immediately. Proudly I drove to the garden and began to prepare my wife's future joy. But, like the spade, the plow wouldn't bite into the soil. All it did was draw a line in the dirt. I got down and made adjust- ments. Same story. I kept adjusting, but the deepest furrow I got was two inches. I called on Frank again. He couldn't make it work either. I called on Vin- cent's. They sent a service man out. Same story. For weeks I tried every- thing. Then, one day, a neighbour dropped by to get acquainted. He saw evidence of my struggles and suggested mildly that new plowshares might help some. He, of course, knew the soil. He had the same type in some of his fields. I immediately set off to get new plowshares. That same afternoon I plowed the whole garden to a depth of six inches. My problems were over. That spring I found out that all my fields were of the same gravelly soil. Before I had plowed 20 acres, my shares were worn down again and had to be replaced once more. Half of the farm should have been a gravel pit, and 16 years later when I sold it to the University of Guelph, the new owners agreed. They asked for a permit to make the change. The other half was swamp, an ideal wetland reserve. Altogether, the farm was perfect for a pair of hobbyists. We lived the bucolic life and didn't worry about making profits. I had my job and the mortgage payments were no higher than the payments on our house in the city had been. We left the 5 -acre field behind the house in pasture and I plowed the remaining 35 arable acres. In the implement shed we found an old horse-drawn grain drill that was outfitted with a hitch for a tractor. I studied it to find out how the thing worked and repaired it. Next spring, I seeded the 35 acres. Someone told me that I needed to add fertilizer to my seed and I dutifully did. Of soil tests I knew nothing. Of herbicides I knew nothing. In fact, of growing wheat I knew nothing. Before my wheat was a foot high the whole field turned a very pretty yellow — the exact colour of flowering wild mustard. The same neighbour who had rescued me from insanity by hinting that new plowshares might solve my tillage problem suggested spraying. I hired him on the spot. It was too late to do the job properly, but it helped somewhat. Years later, I sold the tractor, with- out the plow, for $150. We might say: "She served me faithfully for many years."0 ©Adrian Vos