The Citizen, 1990-06-20, Page 13Rutabaga
> this week
“The Root of the Blyth Community”
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Big parade highlights Blyth Rutabaga Festival
Pioneer and promoter
Rutabaga pioneer Russell Dougherty (right) demonstrates his King” who worked with Mr. Dougherty to promote rutabagas
precision planter to A. H. Wilford the legendary ‘‘Rutabaga including giving a bag of rutabagas to the Queen.
Russell Dougherty pioneered rutabagas
The history of Blyth and the rutabaga
industry revolves very much around one
man: Russell Dougherty. It was Mr.
Dougherty who began the rutabaga plant
in Blyth and invented a machine that did
much to change the growing of the crop.
Russell Dougherty was born in McKillop
Township in 1900, the son of John
Dougherty and Margaret Fulton. He
moved to Blyth in 1929 and took up
residence in the house now owned by Dave
Lee on Drummond Street.
Along with Joe Hamilton, he rented a
garage owned by Adam Dodds on what is
now the municipal parking lot at the corner
of Queen and Drummond Sts. Mr.
Hamilton fixed cars while Mr. Dougherty
sold International Harvester farm equip
ment. Tommy Morrison worked for them
and Mr. Dougherty became a licenced
mechanic.
The garage burned down in 1935 and
Mr. Dougherty moved to what is now
Campbell Transport, north of the river on
Queen St. The property had once housed a
grist mill and the village’s electrical
generating plant. He built a house and
garage and fixed cars and sold farm
machinery.
In 1939 he began rutabaga waxing in
part of the building while running the
garage and selling new and used cards in
the rest.
In 1944 he built a waxing plant near the
CPR station and moved the waxing
operations there. In 1951 he built a
precision seeder, the first one in North
America. It allowed seeds to be dropped
into the soil one at a time. Until then many
more seeds than needed would be planted
then the plants would have to be laborious-
CBC’s Ontario
Paul Kennedy, Donna Tranquada, Bren
dan Connor and the rest of the Ontario
Morning gang will broadcast live from the
front lawn of the Festival Theatre on
Friday, June 22 from 6 to 9 a.m.
‘‘I’m delighted to get the show out of the
studio,” says host Paul Kennedy. ‘‘Usually
it’s just the producer, technician and me all
alone in a small room. Now I’ll have lots of
people to talk with, and we can watch the
sun come up. And, I’ve always been very
fond of rutabagas. They’re my fourth
favourite root.”
Joining Paul is newsreader Donna
Tranquada and sportscaster Brendan Con
nor. Regular Ontario Morning correspon
dents are using this opportunity to strut
their stuff in front of a live audience.
Shelley Parker (Bruce correspondent) will
sing, Herman Gooden (London) will talk
about his other career as a writer and
ly thinned out by hand. Farmers as far
away as Walkerton and Exeter were
growing rutabagas to be brought to the
Blyth plant. Fifteen people worked in the
plant, trimming and waxing the rutabagas
during the winter, processing 1500-1800
Continued on Page A8
Morning broadcasts Friday
playwright, Gord Cudmore (Legal) will
reveal how he became a lawyer and
reporter Jane Antoniak will talk about how
she finds the fascinating people for her
stories.
The remote broadcast also marks the
Canadian premiere of ‘‘The Rutabaga
Blues”, a lively ditty celebrating the Blyth
Rutabaga Festival.
Guests include author Paul Ross from
Auburn; Michael Valpy, gentleman farmer
.and outspoke advocate of rural preserva
tion; and the incoming and outgoing
artistic directors of the Blyth Festival,
Peter Smith and Katherine Kaszas.
The staff and board of the Blyth Festival
will be selling coffee and doughnuts during
the show. All profits go to the Blyth Capital
Expansion Fund.
Ontario Morning is produced by Sandy
Mowat, with researcher Victoria Wilcox
and technicians Don Witt and Mike Ewing.
The first Blyth Rutabaga Festival parade
promises to be the biggest parade in Blyth
for years.
Parade committee chairman Dave
Williams says entries have been pouring in
during the past week and many more are
expected up until parade time. There will
be a registration desk at the assembly area
at the Hubbard Rutabaga plant in the east
end of Blyth on Dinsley St. but those who
can get their registration in early will help
organizers by allowing more time for
proper planning of the parade around the
bands and other attractions. The parade
will form up at noon.
The parade will kick off at 1 p.m. and
travel west on Dinsley St. to the corner of
Mill, North on Mill to Drummond, then
west again to Queen (main) St. The parade
turns south on Queen and travels through
the main business section to Wellington
where it turns west and ends at the fair
grounds or east to Blyth Public School.
Leading the parade will be bands such as
the Forest City Pipes and Drums, Brussels
Legion Pipe Band, Clinton Legion Pipe
Band and London’s Mocha Temple Shrine
Oriental Band. The Shriners’ Fire Brigade,
Scooter Patrol and Rat Patrol.
The parade will pass a reviewing stand
set up at Blyth Memorial Hall on main
street where each will be described.
Prizes will be awarded for best business/
commercial entry, best rural/agricultural
theme entry, best church/service club/
seniors group entry, best municipal entry,
best school or group under 15 years of age
and best individual.
Gong Show
promises fun
The spirit of the Rutabaga Festival will
be demonstrated Friday night with the
Gong Show following the opening cere
monies.
The show, featuring local talent (?) will
take place on the stage in Dickson’s
parking lot on main street. A number of
acts have been practicing their skills to put
on for the audience and the three
discerning judges at the show.
Master of ceremonies for the evening is
Jim Swan of CFPL television in London and
formerly of CKNX.
The gong show begins at 7:30 p.m.
Admission is free but loonie donations to
reward the loonie entertainment are accep
ted.
Paul Kennedy