The Rural Voice, 2019-08, Page 66old hay fork and... what is that?
“You use that to catch a sow,”
explained Doug of the odd metal
contraption with two roundish
‘hooks’ on either end.
There is a lot of history on that
wall.
Fixing things is something Doug
has always enjoyed. He took over the
dairy farm from his parents but sold
the cows when the industry switched
from milk cans to coolers. Then he
raised pigs while maintaining off-
farm jobs working first in
construction and then in hog barns.
Now retired, he has spent recent
years restoring farm equipment that
reminds him of his past when he
used to farm with horses.
He still has one horse, a dappled
roan Standardbred named Rosie who
has been in local parades. She also
pulls Doug down the sideroad when
there is enough snow for the cutter
sleighs.
In good health, though mindful of
the stroke he had eight years ago,
Doug says “I’d like to see these
things sold before I croak.” He wants
them to get used and appreciated.
Some days he spends more time
playing solitaire than working in his
man cave. It’s time to let some things
go.
There will be an auction at Cedar
Grove Farm outside of Monkton on
September 7. David Carson Farms
and Auction Services will be running
it.
Doug is still deciding what will be
sold and what won’t. He wants to
keep the old 1949 Allis Chalmers
Model B tractor for his sons. It was
the first tractor he used on the farm.
For the rest, though, it’s time to let
others make use of what he has
restored. ◊
Doug McEwen and his son Brian (top,
right) are cleaning and organizing the
restored tractors, hand plows, cutters
and carriages at Cedar Grove Farm to
prepare for a September sale. They’ll
keep the farm and Rosie the horse too.
However, at age 83, Doug is feeling it’s
time to retire from restoration work to
let others make use of his life’s passion
even though each item, like the red
cutter (middle), has a story to go with it.
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