The Citizen, 1994-06-22, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 1994.
B. Roy owns piece of the past
By Janice Becker
A small piece of equipment, con-
granary.
Bruce Roy, now of Clinton
bought the Dougherty precision
seeder in the early 1950s, just a
year after it was first created. Mr.
stituting a large of piece of Blyth
history has been taken out of stor
age from the recesses of an unused
A piece of history
Roy says, "Russ Dougherty was an
inventor, always trying out new
ideas and tinkering with the equip
ment."
The development of the seeder
was a big step forward for the
rutabaga industry because up until
that time, the crop was very labour
intensive.
"My family had always grown an
acre or two of rutabagas through
the '30s and AOs. The good ones
could feed the family or be sold to
earn a few extra pennies. The insect
damaged plants could be feed to the
cattle," says Mr. Roy.
"In 1947, we bought the Hullett
Township farm, next to the parents
farm, which had a large bam on it.
Our cattle operation could not use
the numerous stalls so we removed
them and converted the bam to a
rutabaga store house."
Mr. Roy says," The rutabaga
acreage grew to 10 and was all
hand-planted, thinned and harvest
ed for the first few years."
"Once we bought the Doherty
precision seeder the job became
much more efficient."
Soon after a sprayer followed and
the crops became more marketable
because of the higher quality prod
uct.
The Roy family helped supply
the Doherty rutabaga plant until
1957 when the bam was converted
WELCOME TO THE BLYTH
RUTABAGA FESTIVAL
You will find a unique line of gifts and
accessories for your home at
{Rein tin her lllhcti...
Many in-store specials all weekend
Opening 10 a. m. Sat. as usual
170 Dinsley St. W.
It's the RUTABAGA
The precision seeder developed by Russ Dougherty of
Blyth in 1951 was a major step forward in the ease of
rutabaga production.
back to cattle usage.
Mr. Roy says the most important
element of the seeder was the
wheel inside the seed container
which picked up one seed at a time
and then brushed it down the chute
into the row.
The wheel was designed to plant
the seeds two inches apart which
still required some thinning
because the proper distance is eight
inches, says Mr. Roy.
The even spacing made the job
much easier because one could just
walk the rows with a hoe and
remove the excess, he says. There
were no longer groups of seeds
clumped together.
Mr. Roy says the old precision
seeder has been sitting hidden in
the back of the granary for some
time, but he hopes to refurbish the
equipment and show it off at the
\C£ CRE^
We're your
headquarters
for a wide
variety of
items
including:
• pop • film
• cards
• video rentals
• grocery items
FESTIVAL!
Yes, there
will be
rutabagas, Jun,
food & frolic
June 24, 25 & 26
Be sure to visit
the gang at...
Blyth Mini
523-4486 Mart
Open Mon. - Sat. 7:00 a.m. -10:00 p.m.
Sun. 8:00 a.m. -10:00 p.m.
The Race is On
Overflowing
Bruce Roy of Hullett Township supplied Dougherty's
rutabaga factory with the vegetable during the 1950s. One
wagon load would carry approximately 125 bushels.
Psychic amuses
The 5th Annual Rutabaga Festi
val will play host to something
slightly different this year.
Carol Clark and Grant Powell are
the founders of the Total Aware
ness Group which will be present
ing a psychic fair Saturday.
The cost of the half hour reading
will be $25 and will include the use
of Tarot cards, medicine cards, psy-
chometry, telepathy, clairvoyance,
clairaudience and ciairsentience.
For those interested in an inter
esting form of entertainment, this
may be just the ticket.
next Blyth Rutajxiga Festival.
1992
APOTHECARY
Dig the savings at our
EARLY MORNING SALE
Saturday, June 25-8 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Sale starts early
The early bird gets the worm as
we all know and shoppers in Blyth
will have a chance to find some
excellent bargains on Saturday
morning of the Rutabaga Festival
during the Early Bird Sale, which
begins at 8 a.m.
While strolling downtown for the
best buys, shoppers will enjoy see
ing and hearing the participants in
the first ever Buskers Festival. Var
ious local talent will be on hand to
sing and strut their stuff.
20% off ALL Sunscreens
20% off ALL Sunglasses
20% off Hallmark Cards
20% off Hallmark Graduation Albums
20% off Upper Canada Soap Products
10% off Kodak Films
"Root out many more Instore Specials"
Blyth 140 Queen St. N. 523-4210
Plan to be part of it
Once again The Citizen is sponsoring
Rutabuggy soap box derby races at the Blyth
Rutabaga Festival
Saturday, June 25 in Blyth
1 p.m. Gypsy Lane (near the Lions Park)
(Please note correction in time from last week’s adv^rti^^ment)
CONTEST RULES
1. All vehicles must have an effective steering mechanism.
2. All vehicles must have an effective braking mechanism.
3. All cars must register 15 minutes before the starting time
of the race.
CLASSES
Prizes will be awarded for the following categories:
1. Fastest girl 9 or under.
2. Fastest boy 9 or under.
3. Fastest girl, 10-12.
4. Fastest boy 10-12.
5. Fastest girl 12-15.
6. Fastest boy 12-15.
7. Best decorated for the Rutabaga Festival theme