Times Advocate, 1992-07-15, Page 364
Page 22 Times Advocate
REFLECTIONS
Recollections by Alvin Pym.
Alvin Pym, who was bom on and farmed Lot 2 Conc. 6, recalls that life in the early
1900's was a mixture of work and play.
Alvin attended the fust short course in agriculture which was sponsored through the
Junior Fanners organization and held for the month of January 1917 at the Seniors Hall
in Exeter. He and several other Usbornc lads, among them Nelson Squires and Harold
Jeffery, travelled winter snows every day to obtain new informauon on farming Methods.
That particular winter. storms were numerou.s. London Road, now Hwy. 4, was packed
with three feet of snow "They didn't plow out the roads then like they do now." When
the "pitch holes" got too bad, a single furrow walking plow as pulled behind a sleigh to
cut open the crust so the snow could be pushed back and thus clear the road.
The winter of '47 was another of deep snow. "An old grader with a plow on the front
got as 'far as the fenceline between us and Squire Herdman's and got stuck. The banks
were piled up as high as a man standing up straight and you couldn't walk under the tele-
phone wires. They said, "That's it folks until we get a thaw!"
However. extremes of weather were not limited to snowfall. On February. 14, 1919, a
freak thunderstorm was responsible for the burning down of the bam at -the Y on the
southwest boundary road. "We were back in the bush cutting Wood with a crosscut saw
and nouced the sky get awful black." Hightailing it for home. the snow in the lane was
thigh deep and wouldn't hold their weight. Turning around dunng the breather, they saw
thc lightning hit.
"it's not over yet"
A theatre group flourished at Elimvillc in the early 20's through the encouragement of
the Methodist minister's wife Mrs. Livingstone. Alvin participated in several of the plays
put on by this group, which were staged in area community centres as far away as Park-
hill. When the minister took another charge, the impetus for such productions was lost
Alvin saw thc farms west of his tumcd from swamp - "you could walk across the ice in
the winter and water lay in it all summer" - into nch farmland, after the Elimville drain
was dug out to hook into the Little Ausable River in 1910-12. It was shortly after this that
Fred Ellerington inherited these acres from his father-in-law Richard Quinton. Brother
Thomas Quinton was noted for. having one of, if not the, largest sheep herds in Usbomc.
Using the most systematic tiling of that era, pastures became fertilize areas for canning
and other different crops. "Ditching" was easier in this land compared to other Usbornc
farms due to the sparsity of stones!
The first sugar beets were grown in this area around 1936. Alvin grew two acres of
them and recalLs the hard labour of loading them on the truck to take to rail cars in Exet-
er.
Pranks were as plentiful in time past as they are today. Incidents such as substituting
burdock seed for pipe tobacco (which blew up), putting a democrat wagon on top of thc
chopping mill at Hallowe'en (which stayed there for a whole year), and outhouses on
their sides (which "backfired" as the prankster took a wrong step) are examples of activi-
ties done "jest in fun".
With 92 years past, Alvin has seen the economy circle through to another recession. In
the 30's, under the Credit Adjustment Act. many mortgages were cut in half as farmers
couldn't afford to pay the full amount, resulting in some bitter lenders but farms remain-
ing in the family name.
Alvin ponders that this may happen again to solve the present day financial crisis - "it's
not over yet".
Pro -Motion liar tie 112 omits began k 1980 with this float entered in the Hensall
Fair. Members of the Parker. Skinner and Prout families participated.
CONGRATULATIONS
'Yff f4/ �M1l�:
USBORNE TOWNSHIP
ON YOUR SESQUICENTENNIAL
baPPV
tSQ1iLEt1ttRlYtY iaX
to CgbOrt1t tOkgrcoijip
Have a great time
from
J.M.R.
7 -Electric Ltd.
Mechanical and Electrical Contractors
137 Thames Rd. E.
Exeter 235-1618