The Citizen, 1991-06-19, Page 15THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19,1991. PAGE 15.
Blyth Rutabaga Festival '91
R. 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 bom 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 comer
of Queen and Drummond Sts. Mr. Hamilton
fixed cars while Mr. Dougherty sold
International Harvester farm equipment.
Tommy Morris 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 cars 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 laboriously 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 bushels a day. In summer these
and more employees went from field to field
hoeing and thinning. In peak season up to
150 people could be employed, recalls Ruth
Dougherty, Russell's widow. Children,
people from the Clinton air base, local
people and the entire Dougherty family
worked.
"There were always lots of transients in
Test
recipes in
cooking
contest
There are many ways to serve up
rutabaga and inventive cooks are invited to
enter the second annual Rutabaga Cooking
Contest, part of Blyth's Rutabaga Festival
celebrations on Saturday, June 23.
Last year over 50 entries were judged
by eight judges and prizes were awarded in
four categories. The winners' creations were
auctioned off after the parade and the public
could try samples of the recipes for 50 cents.
Awards this year will be given to
winners of the Cake Division, Muffin or
Loaf Division, Pie Division and Most
Creative Division.
Blyth businessman George Hubbard is
again supplying free rutabagas for the
entrants. Last year close to one ton of
rutabagas was supplied for use by the
Rutabaga Festival cooks.
IT'S
scooped
ere.®
those days" Mrs. Dougherty says. "We’d
give them a place to slay, never refused a
person a job and fed them too. But it was
very hard work. When Sam (her son) was
14, we paid 75 cents per hour. You worked 8
a.m. to 6 p.m. with an hour off for dinner --
that was a regular day. There were a lol of
kids that worked and they were paid the
same way that the adult workers were:
combine the number of rows by the price per
row. Everyone was paid in cash each day for
their work but the plant regular workers
were paid by cheque. Everyone worked on
the honour system -- you stated your hours
and Russ paid you accordingly."
Her husband, she says, had a knack with
rutabagas and could hoe faster than anyone.
He worked seven days a week for most of
his life. In 1963 Mr. Dougherty sold the
plant to George Hubbard, who had started
growing and processing rutabagas operating
out of a rented bam at Bright. Starting from
70 acres of rutabagas that first year in Blyth,
Mr. Hubbard steadily increased the acreage.
Today the plant has been expanded several
times and the rutabagas are shipped
throughout North America on the company's
own trucks. Mr. Hubbard is also an inventor,
building his own harvesting machine. The
family is involved in he operation.
Russell Dougherty died in 1977. He is
survived by his wife Ruth, sons Sam,
Clifford (d.1968), Willie, and daughters
Lena Nesbitt and Pal Pfrimmer.
We're your headquarters for
a wide variety of items
including -POP -FILM -ICE
CREAM ETC.
We also have VCR Rentals
RUTABAGA
FESTIVAL!
Yes, there will be
rutabagas, fun, food,
frolic June 21 - 23
BE SURE & VISIT
THE GANG AT....
Blyth Mini Mart
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 'TIL 11 P.M.
Blyth
Ipp THURSDAY NIGHT IS WING NIGHT
WINGS 300 EACH (MINIMUM ORDER 10)
A VARIETY OF SAUCES AVAILABLE (NO TAKE -OUT)
FRI. & SAT. NITES 5 - MIDNIGHT
^a-Best Wishes to
Wthe 1991 Blyth
Rutabaga Festival
CHICKEN WINGS & CHIPS $4.95
(EAT IN OR TAKE-OUT)
THURS., FRI, & SAT. NITES - PIZZA NITE
BUY ONE GET A 2ND FOR 1/2 PRICE
5 P.M. - MIDNIGHT (EAT IN OR TAKE-OUT)
DOUG McNALL ENTERTAINS THE BLYTH INN
FRI. & SAT. NIGHT 9 P.M. -1 A.M. 523-9381
WELCOME
TO THE RUTABAGA FESTIVAL
We hope you enjoy a fun
filled Weekend in Blyth, Ont.
BE SURE & SEE OUR FRIENDS FROM THE
SHRINERS RAT PATROL
OUR SPONSORED ENTRY IN THE FESTIVAL PARADE
VISIT US AT
GORE’S Home
Hardware
■ /
BLYTH
523-9273
BE SURE AND ATTEND BLYTH’S
30th ANNUAL
HURON
PIONEER
THRESHER
REUNION
SEPT. 6,7&8r?1I
’"eTHETHIS AD IS
COURTESY OF THE
HURON PIONEER
THRESHER & HOBBY
ASSOCIATION - BLYTH