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The Citizen, 1992-07-01, Page 50PAGE A18. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 1,1992. — s U1 — % East Wawanosh Township 125th Anniversary Commemorative Edition Published by North Huron Citizen Couple remembers days as part of ‘Dirty Dozen’ continued from page A16 says Lewis proudly as he gives his wife a little squeeze. They went to school together and four years from the time they were finished, they started dating. Three years after that in 1924, they were married. Lewis took over the operation of his 50- acre family farm on the south half of the north part of Lot 40, Cone. 7, when he was 21 years old, the same year he married Verna. The farm was bought from the Crown in 1864 by William Rath Sr., sold to Wm. Johnston in 1895, then to Lewis’ father in 1898 and then,to Lewis. Lewis bought 50 acres across the road from Albert Nethery in 1937. The Cooks lived there until 1947 when they purchased the farm of the late Wm. E. Scott on the east half of Lot 38 and the west quarter of Lot 39, Cone. 6. The Cook's second farm was 150 acres. Today, the farm belongs to Lewis's and Verna’s older son Eldon and his wife Lorraine. Eldon and Lorraine have four children, and these children in turn have 11 children. Their second son Bob has two children and he currently lives in Shelburne and works for Ontario Hydro. Lewis and Verna lived on the farm with Bob until he married and then they moved back up the sideroad to the original farm, renting it from Thomas Thompson. In 1958 the Cooks sold the farm to Mr. Thompson and bought a home in Belgrave, where they still reside. Home Care comes in the morning to assist Lewis with Verna who has developed Alzheimer disease in recent years. Another woman comes in the afternoons so Lewis is free to work in his workshop. He builds children's wooden lawn chairs and novelty objects which he takes orders for and sells in the Belgrave variety store. Lewis estimates he's taken over 200 orders for the lawn chairs alone since he started making them several years ago. When he broke his pelvis bone a few years ago and he was in the hospital, Home Care came in to visit him. The woman brought Hallahan wit continues to sparkle continued from page A17 again so he decided to wait until spring. However, his neighbours came to his rescue and helped him rebuild immediately. It was seven weeks from the time the old bam burned until the cows were in the new bam. The new barn held 50-60 cows, whereas only 25 could fit in the old bam. Simon and his four brothers were known for everything from threshing gangs to construction work, but Simon says if he had to do it over again, he'd still choose farming as an occupation. Of course, he says, things him what resembled a miniature outhouse As a young couple, Lewis admits, he and Verna didn't do much in the way of social activities. "I was not much of a hand to leave home," he states, proven by the fact that he spent his life on the two farms and now in the Belgrave home. "I never played hockey, but I played baseball from time to time," he adds. They used to go skating in the winter on ponds since no indoor ice-rinks were available. Sometimes, Lewis recalls, he and his wife would throw dinner parties. There were six couples in the neighbourhood that hung around together and had suppers at each other's homes. They would even play hide- and-go-seek, yields Lewis sheepishly. The group of couples used to call themselves the Dirty Dozen. This moniker was given to them by an old neighbour who was notorious for listening in on the party lines. Once she overheard someone talking about her and to show her spite, she called the group of them the Dirty Dozen. Lewis and Verna are the only surviving members of the Dirty Dozen. Lewis remembers the time when threshing gangs were a common sight in the township. In the fall of 1923 he was hired to thresh for $1.50 a day, often putting in more than 10 hours a day. "It was dirty work," he asserts. "You could hardly see though the dust and dirt." At the same time that Lewis was farming, he had a brother farming on a nearby farm. The two of them would often work together, helping each other back and forth, sharing implements. Lewis explains that back then, no one owned all their own implements. Farmers would share what they had among each other. He says he didn't need to hire much help this way. One of the big changes in farming that Lewis remarks upon is the size. He mentions that when he and Verna first started out, they had three or four cows to milk. Now, Lewis says, his eyes wide with astonishment, his son Eldon has a herd of 40 Brown Swiss. Lewis is very proud of his wife Verna. He claims that he never saw such a hard­ working farm woman in his life, as he gives her another hug. She used to be able to drive three horses behind the plow or the binder at once. He declares he doesn't know of another woman that could do that. He once knew of her to milk 11 cows by hand and do the separating all by herself. In 1958 when the Cooks moved into Belgrave, Lewis found a job at the Co-op where he worked almost 10 years. Verna ~ went to Wingham to do house cleaning until she was 67 years old. After the Co-op, Lewis worked two summers with Lewis Stonehouse in the carpentry business. He did repairs, painting (he proudly points to the living room walls that he painted himself) and shingling. "I had all the work I could do," he tells me. After the move to Belgrave, Lewis acknowledges that they missed the farm for a while. Verna missed it terribly, but now they've been there for a while and enjoy the new life. were different. Even in the toughest of time he was never refused money from a bank, unlike farmers today, but the money involved back then was less than today. Simon married Beatrice in 1961 after having lost two wives to cancer, and the couple is still happily married. Beatrice thinks he has too much time to sit around and worry instead of getting out and doing things as he has done all his life. After a car accident in the fall of 1988, he doesn't drive anymore. Still, the famous Hallahan wit continues to sparkle. Congratulations & Best Wishes to the citizens of East Wawanosh on your 125th Anniversary Celebrations from the council and residents of: MORRIS TOWNSHIP il I cl Always at your Service” or And ask your Pioneer Sales Representative how these value-added services can help you... • skilled agronomists and silage specialists • on-farm ‘weigh wagon’ yield comparisons • educational and entertaining summer crop expos • early pay and quantity savings programs Although we’re the world’s leader in agricultural genetics, at Pioneer Hi-Bred, leadership goes beyond research. Our products lead where science meets the soil, where it truly counts... on the land of Canadian farmers. On your land. seed corn ^soybeans >XSila-bac. inoculants alfalfa sunflowers ^^sorghum-sudangrass Congratulations East Wawanosh on your 125th Anniversary & Homecoming Phone: 357-2170 357-2992 Quality products and service... Pioneer is meeting the needs of the Canadian farmer Your Pioneer Sales Representative is: JAMES A. ROSS RR #3, WINGHAM, ONT. 357-3895 /3g\PI0NEER. J BRAND ■ PRODUCTS All sales are subject to the terms of labelling and sale documents. Registered trademark licensed to Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited.