The Rural Voice, 1993-09, Page 6SEE US AT THE
INTERNATIONAL
PLOWING MATCH
Sept. 21 - 25, 1993
Walkerton, Ontario
Booth 6
We will be displaying:
• Spiral staircase kits
• Wood splitters - 4 models
• BWM snowblowers
• Hydraulic cylinders
• Canox welding supplies and
equipment
• • Harris welding equipment
• Uniweld welding equipment
• Lincoln welding supplies
LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS OF
WELDING EQUIPMENT WILL TAKE
PLACE AT THE MATCH DISPLAY.
BARFOOT'S WELDING
AND MACHINE SHOP
Marton, Ont.
519-534-1200
1-800-265-6224
See Carson's Feed & Farm Supply at our
tent at the International Plowing Match -
Sept. 21-25/93, Walkerton.
See us for horse tack and supplies.
Canadian
Distributor
for
Pennwood's
Equine Supreme
From Weaning Through Maturity
A special blending of vitamins, minerals,
amino acids and electrolytes formulated to
bring out your horses' lull potential.
Fencing
(EALL'*GHE'
�"'� We use Red
Pine pressure -treated posts.
• Sales • Installation • Free estimates
CARSON'S FEED & FARM SUPPLY
Hwy. 86 E, Listowel
519-291-1094 Fax (519) 291-5065
2 BRUCE COUNTY I.P.M. EDITION
Keith Roulston
Plowing Matches remembered
Pardon a little bit of western
Ontario chauvinism if we mention
that having the 1993 International
Plowing Match in the arca may be the
best thing that could happen to the
old rural
institution.
There have
been complaints
in recent years
that things just
weren't the way
they used to be at
the IPM.
Looking over the
years, however,
some of the best
matches in
history have been
in western
Ontario, so
things could be
looking up. Certainly from what was
on view at the Media Day in August,
it looks like the hard-working crew in
Bruce have put together a super
show.
The International is part of the
mythology of this part of Ontario. I
wasn't born yet when the big show
took place at the Port Albert airport,
north of Goderich in 1946, but I grew
up with the stories of every shoe store
within miles being sold out of rubber
boots and galoshes.
Twenty years later I missed the
Match at Seaforth, but I worked at
the local paper the summer after and
heard the tales of people nearly being
lost in the mud there too.
I remember the 1972 match at
Sebringville for an unusual reason.
The weather, I recall, on the
September afternoon was hot and
dry, a far cry from the wet weather
that had plagued earlier matches in
this neck of the woods. But the crowd
was distracted. The first Canada -
Russia hockey showdown was on.
The day I visited (a Friday, if I recall
properly) was the final game of the
eight -game series in Moscow. At
every booth a radio was blaring or a
television was showing the game.
People kept taking time to ask the
score every few minutes.
I remember I couldn't stand the
suspense, especially as the last score I
heard, the Soviets were ahead.
I got in my car to return home
and, since my car didn't have a radio,
I was oblivious to the miracle final
minute until after I had arrived home.
I took it for granted that Canada had
lost until I turned on the radio and
heard the final score. Needless to say
I watched the replay of the game that
night and felt a special sense of
occasion since it was Paul
Henderson, from my own Bruce
County town, who scored the most
famous goal in Canadian hockey
history.
The 1976 Match at Walkerton, as
I recall, was dry too. Bruce was, of
course, a perfect host and attendance
soared. Two years later, the Match
moved to Jim Armstrong's farm just
outside Wingham. Again the luck of
the weather was with organizers with
dust being more of a problem than
mud, until the final afternoon when a
deluge erupted.
I remember that Match as the
event that helped build an arena. It
came at a time when the province had
just closed dozens of arenas across
Ontario and communities were
scrambling to replace these buildings
that were the heart of their
community. In the Village of
Brussels, the closure of the old arena
led to ambitious plans for something
much bigger and better. The problem,
of course, was cost.
But a group of women from the
village and the neighbouring
townships of Morris and Grey turned
to an age-old rural fund-raising idea
— serving a supper. Except they took
on the task of serving thousands of
suppers at a catering tent at the
Plowing Match. They raised a huge
amount of money for the new
building which became the pride of
the community. As if that wasn't
enough, the group stayed together
and to this day, they continue to serve
meals, turning over thousands of
dollars a year toward the operating
costs of the arena.
Maybe those volunteers symbol-
ize the rural spirit that makes western
Ontario Matches so successful.°
Keith Roulston is editor and
publisher of The Rural Voice as well
as being a playwright. He lives near
Blyth, ON.