The Rural Voice, 1996-07, Page 39the old school on the west side of
County Rd. 12 until the new school
across the street was completed.
Then one day they marched across
the street to their new building and
McGavins began moving parts into
the old classroom. A workshop was
added at the back. The teacher's
room became an office. The
schoolyard became an arca to exhibit
new and used equipment.
After graduating from Ontario
Agricultural College in 1957,
Gordon's son Neil joined the family
business to become partner with his
father. Neil became sales manager in
1963 when his father, a long-time
Liberal Party supporter, decided to
run for election later that year. At
that time, Huron was a bastion of
strength, both federally and
provincially, for the Progressive
Conservatives and Gordon couldn't
tum the tide.
Tell, meanwhile, mct dozens
of farmers who claimed thcy
should get a special deal
because they'd helped in his
father's election campaign.
Some of them didn't even belong in
the riding, Neil chuckled when he
recalled the episode, some years ago.
Gordon continued to be part of the
business but in 1973 ill health struck
and he and his wife Florence retired
to Seaforth. He died, in his 71st year,
in 1976. Florence died in 1983.
nil and his wife Marie were left
to run the company. With the size of
farm equipment growing steadily,
more room was needed for servicing
the equipment. In 1978 the family
bought a building that had bccn used
for the county display at the
International Plowing Match on the
farm of Jim Armstrong near
Wingham and moved it to the back
of the old school to become the
service centre.
By 1986, when the company
celebrated its 50th anniversary with a
dinner and dance in Brussels which
drew 1,000 guests, Neil and Marie's
son Brian had joined the company —
the third generation in the machinery
business. Following his father's
footsteps, he had graduated in 1984.
Around the same time, the
McGavins' policy of being a short -
line dealer, selling products from
dozens of smaller manufacturers
rather than tying their future to the
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RR 2, Auburn, Ont. NOM 1E0
Tel. 519-529-7212 Fax. 519-529-3277
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Congratulations on 60 years in business
'We are proud to be a part of it for 15 years
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JULY 1996 35