The Rural Voice, 1993-08, Page 55RAINY R1VER
Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
R.R. 1, Devlin, Ontario POW 1C0
807-486-3622
• The Rural Voice is provided to Rainy
River Federation members by the RRFA.
July 5, 1993
The Rainy River district is once
again living up to its given name and
there seems to be no letup until the end
of the week. The July 1 weekend was a
wet one. Three -and -a -half inches fell
in one night with many roads washing
out. Haying is now at a standstill.
There was no RRFA meeting this
month, because everyone is supposed
to be haying. We had the same
problem a year ago; could it be
following a pattern?
At the district fairgrounds, the shiny
new bleachers are now in place. The
Grandstand Committee had hoped to
include a roof at the same time but it
will come later for economic reasons.
Future plans include the construction of
washrooms, booths and office space
under the stands. A complete
reorganization of the existing grounds
is being considered. The new seating
was completed in time for the local
stock car races and the annual Fall Fair
which takes place August 19, 20 and
21. More funds will be needed to
continue this project. Anyone wishing
to donate a cheque or money order,
send to the Rainy River Valley
Agricultural Society, Box 358, Emo,
ON POW 1E0, payable to the
Grandstand Account. The Society is
the oldest institution in the Rainy River
District. The Directors are proud of
that heritage and its future for our
children, and their children to come.
The Emo Fair Queen committee
members Kim -Jo Bliss, Nancy Anness
and Cathy Robinson have announced
the following candidates to compete for
the crown at this year's Fair. They
include Laureen Bliss of Fort Frances,
(sponsored by AB Electric); Cori
Angus of Barwick, (Fairway Store);
Lisa Webb of Fort Frances, (Makabi
Inn); Jennifer Carlson of Emo, (Sharp
Cuts); Jenny Vargas of Emo, (Smitty's
Repair); April Rose of Emo, (Matheson
Bros. Painting); Bev Barenec of
Barwick, (Shangri-Lan Restaurant);
and Shauna Allen of Barwick,
(Riverside Garage). The girls will have
a number of local festivities to attend as
well as a talent show on August 4 and
the Emo Fair Parade on August 21.
The Emo Fair Queen Pageant will be at
2:00 the same day. The girls will sew
and design their own banners.
The Ag Awareness Committee will
have an easier workload at the Fair this
year. RobRoy Donaldson has been
hired as a summer student under the
Agriculture in the Classroom program
which is overseen financially by the
Rainy River Federation of Agriculture.
Donaldson is entering his fourth year at
Lakehead University this fall. He has
been hired to promote agriculture in the
district with a display and slide
presentation at the Farm Progress
Building. His job is also manning the
booth and maintaining the kids'
activities. He's not babysitting; he's
showing the youth what farming is all
about in a fun and educational way.
Last year, kids were able to play with
the cornmeal "sandbox" and toy farm
equipment as well as participating in
quizzes, colouring, and other educa-
tional games.
The Rainy River Farmers' Market is
open every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to
12:00 noon. They feature numerous
crafts, a variety of baking, woodwork-
ing and honey.
The Clover Valley Farmers' Market
is open every Saturday at Fort Frances
from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. On
Saturday, July 3, the market members
held their first annual Chocolate Chip
Cookie Contest. First prize went to
Jeannine Cornell of LaVallee. Her
prize was a pottery utensil holder
created by Terrill Pentney. The very
competent judges were Nadine
Johnson, Helen Cousineau, and Allan
Tibbits. On July 17 the market plans
on a Festival of Flowers in conjunction
with the Fort Frances Horticultural
Society. Then on August 14 the market
will join forces with the Northwestern
Health Unit to make "Nutrition Day".
For any information on the market, call
Manager Deb Cornell at 486-3409.
Linda Armstrong called by and
reported that there is room for 50
display booths at the Fair in August.
Of these, 32 are now rented out. Call
her at 807-852-3645 for space to rent or
if you would like to help set up for
Fairtime. Help is also greatly appreci-
ated for dismantling the framework on
the booths the last day (Saturday) of the
Fair. "The Lord gave us two ends —
one to sit on and the other to think with.
Success depends on which one we use
the most."
This year the annual 4-H Funday
will be held at the Emo Fairgrounds on
Saturday, July 17. In previous years, 4-
H families travelled to Morson and
beautiful Lake of the Woods, but
distance seemed to be the factor for low
attendance as time went on. The
fairground will provide the atmosphere
without the lake. But, if this rain keeps
up, we'll have that, too!
On Sunday, July 18, a Showmanship
Clinic will be held at Ted and Deb
Zimmermans' farm. 4-H Beef
members will groom and clean their
animals. There'll be a guest speaker.
The members will receive instructions
for their show at Fair time and a
potluck luncheon will be available for
everyone who attends. Good luck to all
4-H members and leaders.
The next RRFA meeting will be
held at the Ag office at Emo, August 5
at 7:30 p.m.
Our deepest sympathy goes to our
President Rick and wife Sue Boersma
and family. Rick's Mom passed away
this week.
The district is still mourning the
loss of a dear friend and neighbour,
Bill Irvine, who passed away June 16,
1993. Bill was a former manager of
the R.R. Cattlemen's Salesyard at
Stratton and recently was awarded
special recognition as Founding
Member with 20 years of service to the
Farm Safety Association of Ontario.
Condolences to Alice and all the
family.
Sympathy of the community to Glen
and Lucille Hart and family. Glen's
father passed away this week.
"God saw you getting tired, when a
cure was not to be,
So He put His arm around you, and
whispered, "Come with me".
So He took you to His garden, and laid
you there to rest.
God's garden must be beautiful for He
only takes the best."0
Shirley Morrish
AUGUST 1993 51