Yesterday And Today, A Salute to Blyth's 125th Anniversary, 2002-07-31, Page 30In the beginning
Russell Dougherty and Bill Moffitt examine a prime rutabaga
during a Blyth trade fair (above,. Belcw, the rutabaga plant
was originally at the CPR rail yard .
(Photos courtesy: above. Jan Vodden, Ruth (Thuell' Dougherty)
Today
Rutabagas are shipped ail over North America from the G..L.
Hubbard Rutabaga plant on Dinsley Street East.
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Lest Wishes to HA
on your 125th Anniversary
ome Hardware—
Elaine Brown, Nan Gore & Mary Rouw
Gore's Home Hardware
Ell Home hardware Blyth 523-9273
building centre
PAGE 30. THE CITIZEN, YESTERDAY and TODAY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2002.
Rutabagas have been shipped from Blyth since 1875
While other indusuies have come
and gone, rutabagas which have long
played a part in Blyth's history are
bigger than ever.
Today, the sprawling G. L.
Hubbard rutabaga plant on Dinsley
Street East, stores up to 200,000
rutabagas waiting to be washed,
trimmed, waxed and shipped to
markets in Canada and as far away
as the southern U.S. Up to 13 people
work in the field operations situated
in the farmland around the village or
in 'the plant.
As long ago as the coming of the
London, Huron and Bruce Railway
in 1875, rutabagas and their cousins,
turnips, have been a part of local
farm crops. In 1880 turnips were
shipped to Kentucky to be fed to
horses and sheep.
Blyth really began to be a centre
for rutabagas (larger and sweeter
than turnips) in 1939 when Russell
Dougherty began waxing rutabagas
in parr of the building that now
houses Campbell Transport.
By 1944 he had built a waxing
plant near the CPR station and
moved his operations there:
Dougherty was something of an
inventor and in 1951 built North
America's first precision seeder.
allowing rutabaga seeds to be
dropped into the soil one at a time.
Until then, seeds were thickly sown
then hand-thinned when the plants
grew.
The waxing plant made Blyth a
centre of the industry with farmers
from Walkerton to Exeter growing
rutabagas to be brought to the Blyth
plant. Fifteen people worked in the
plant, trimming, and waxing
rutabagas during the winter,
processing 1,500-1,800 bushels a
day.
In those days when much of the
field work had to be done by hand,
up to 150 people would be busy in
the fields during the peak season,
recalled his widow Ruth Dougherty.
In 1963 Dougherty sold the plant
to George Hubbard who had begun
growing and processing rutabagas in
a rented barn near Bright. In his first
year Hubbard grew 70 acres of
rutabagas. By 2001 he was growing
275 acres.
All the rutabagas processed at the
plant now come from the Hubbard
farms scattered in the countryside
around Blyth.
The operation is now highly
mechanized. A special seeder,
designed and manufactured in
England, is used for planting the
crop. Weeds are controlled by
scuffling. Harvesting is done with a
huge harvester that George Hubbard
designed and built himself (and has
modified several times).
Though the rutabaga is a humble
vegetable, it has had its moments of
glory. In 1953 the colourful
character A. H. Wilford worked with
Dougherty to create the Blyth Trade
Fair in the storage buildings of the
rutabaga plant.
Wilford, who proclaimed himself
"The Rutabaga King" and dressed
up in robes with a rutabaga crown,
went much farther afield in
promoting rutabagas. travelling with
Dougherty to Ottawa to present
rutabagas to every member of
parliament. Later, when the Queen
visited Canada, Wilford managed to
present her with a 50-pound bag of
rutabagas.
Beginning in 1989, Blyth also
hosted a light-hearted Rutabaga
Festival which drew a great deal of
attention to the village for several
years until a lack of volunteers led to
the Festival's demise.
Congratulations Blyth
on your 125th Anniversary
Blyth Station
House
Reservations:
519-523-9826
Serving the community
for 126 years
Blyth Station was the former London. Huron & Bruce Railway, then it became the
Grand Trunk Railway and finally the CNR, serving the Blyth community between
London and Wingham since January 4, 1876. It was affectionately known as the "Butter
and Egg Special", since most passengers seemed to be carrying dairy produce to market.
The last trip was made on April 26, 1941, a casualty of cheaper road transportation. The
rails were soon taken up and used in the war effort. It stands on its original site on
Dinsley St. with its distinctive witch's hat roof.
The Station is still welcoming travelers in its new incarnation as a bed and breakfast.
Butter and eggs are still the specialty, served in the exquisite round wooden waiting
room by Linda and Chan Vir. We arc proud to continue a piece of Blyth history!
The Hubbard plant sits on
property that has a long and glorious
history in Blyth's industry. It was in
this area that the Grey, Young and
Sparling salt well was located in the
1870s. Later, after the salt industry
died in Blyth, the remaining building
was used as an early flax mill.
Feed Mill — 2002
Wingham mill burned in 1950, Blyth was
expanded. When Howsons took over the mill in
1947 it could produce 100 cwt. of flour a day.
Many expansions since then have brought
capacity to 6500 cwt.; in 2002. The feed mill has
also been regularly upgraded. In 1993 the feed
mill was moved to the elevator location just east
of Blyth. Fred's four sons, Jim, Bill, Doug and
Bruce and four grandsons, Steve. Jeff. Rick and
Christopher, are all involved in the business that
employs 43 full-time and 10 part-time
employees.
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Flour Mill — 2002
Flour and grist mills were among the first
industries in most pioneer communities. Blyth's
first grist mill was erected in 1855 on the site of
the current Howson & Howson Ltd. flour mill.
The Howson family connection with flour milling
began in 1872 when William J. Howson learned
the trade working in a mill at Norval. In 1947 his
son Frank R. and grandson Fred, now partners
in a Wingham mill, bought the Blyth mill. It had
only one light bulb in the entire building. They re-
equipped the mill and began milling hard and
soft wheat flour as well as feed. After the
NGRATULAT1ONS
Blyth on your FA
125`h Anniversary
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Howson & Howson m Ltd•01
BLYTH, ONTARIO
Flour - 523-4241 Elevator & Feed - 523-9624 or 1-800-663-3653 IN