The Village Squire, 1981-08, Page 15breed apart
another one in his spare time between
shows, which he and his wife love to
attend.
Another active enthusiast is Bev
Hughes, a much younger man, in his
mid -thirties. Bev is the principal of
Craigwood, a residential school for boys
near Ailsa Craig. Bev, too, has been
involved with farm machinery all his life.
The farm where he and his family live
near Ilderton has been in the family since
1819, and they still have the original
parchment crown deed. Bev is not a
steam man; his love is the old tractors
and unusual farm implements. He hasn't
always been involved, but when his
community was preparing to celebrate
it s 100th birthday in 1976, he became
interested, and is now a moving force
behind the annual Heritage and Antique
Show held at the Ilderton Fair Grounds
early in July. Bev is the owner of several
old tractors and John Deere seems to be
his favourite make. His pet is a 1929
model designed for corn scuffling, which
he bought in Ohio.
Bev and his friend Rick Guy are joint
owners -restorers of a unique vertical
buzz -saw, bought near Port Perry. There,
it had been used to buzz wood for local
schools up until County school boards
took over the educational system and
central schools with more sophisticated
heating plants were built. The saw was
built about 1850 and was originally
operated by live horsepower. They have
dubbed themseleves the G and H
sawyers. Bev enjoys hooking his saw up
to George's little steam engine. And Bev
remembers the threshing bees; "I sure
do", he said, "especially the dinners, I
was that kid always underfoot."
The common denominator among
machinery buffs is that the old imple-
ments are a part of their personal past
and heritage. Bev Hughes refused to use
the word 'history'. "It sounds much too
school teacherish and turns people off.
Show them articles that their ancestors
used when our country was young and
they love it, but call it history and it
becomes dull and boring."
For whatever reason. these boys, and
girls too, both young and old, love their
ancient toys with inexplicable obsession.
Even some of the retired enthusiasts who
spend their winters in Florida can be
found - you guessed it - at the steam
shows and flea markets.
by Doris Bond
VILLAGE SQUIRE/AUGUST 1981 PG. 13