Huron Expositor, 1999-09-15, Page 5Correspondents
Plowing match leaves local legacies
From Pate 4
night before. more than 1,00
people. died. victims of
Hurricane Hazel.
'There were three of us.
My uncle Nick came along
to help, He was a well -liked
man.and always generous.
with his time.
By mid-morning. we were
"on highway 7 between'
Kitchener and Guelph. it
was damp and drizzly but
not.cold: The 1954 match•
was -held on the farms'of
John. Randall and the
• adjoining Jantzen farm. not
tar from Breslau. Elizabeth
• Jantzen and her family were
longtime friends. Their high_
wooden water tank was a
landmark kir miles around.
As we approached. the
area.. 1 w as about to point-
out
ointout their farm. when Nick
blurted out "Clare. i need a
drink real had'" He pointed
ahead at the trees in the
distance and went on. "I see
snow hanging in those damn
-trees ahead. and big .piles of
.nou in the fields." As We
lot closer. we saw it was.
white but it wasn't snow. Of
. course: we had not yet heard
about the hurricane .so
wondered how the large
tents from' the plowing
• match ended up miles away,?
Some were strewtr in ditches
• and on telephone poles.
transplanted Ks the fierce
winds on the -outer fringes Of
Hurricane Hazel. We didn't
stop.' •
Although i attended other
matches from the .1960s
through to 1985. with
Premier William Davis. they •
:were working assignments
and were usually of only a
few hours duration.. Thatis.
except for the 1963 match.
• on Connie.Smyth's Caledon
farm in. -Peel County, the -
riding of the new young
Minister of Education.
The highlight, of the day
was a plowing match,
between the Prime Minister
of Canada. the Honourable
Lester Pearson and the local
M.P.P.. the Honourable Billy
Davis. 1t was a test of
stamina and skill. with a pair
of oxen froth Black Creek
Pioneer Village. Mr. Davis
plowed the; neatest furrow
and took the honours. I'm
not saying there was any
skullduggery but the oxen
were supplied by the curator
'at Pioneer Village..Russell
Cooper. Bill Davis' first
cousin.
My last plowing match in
Huron. County was a wet
one- it was also a nostalgic
trip. recalling my earlier
days. in Seaforth: for the
1966 match was held on the
Scott.farm.
"Chicken"-Jimy .Scott's:
farrn was on the edge of
town. In fact -the long lane
to his house and barn began
within the town limits. •
In the summer,of 1935. I
was 11. Aside from chores
for my dad and my grandma.
I had never before been paid
for working. After church
one Sunday. Mr. Scott's
hired man asked if I'd like to'
work for him in the summer
holidays. I •was.Ihrilled. i
would get a dollar a week.
All I had to do was show up
at the fatm. at 5 a.m.: fill up
a big tank on a stone boat at
the windmill pump and
spend the next four hours on
the range filling countless
water troughs for thousands
of thirsty young chickens.
Some of those earl j•
mornings it was cold and.the
tugging and jerking of the
stone boat splashed us until
we were. soaked from head -
to toe. I lasted for most of
the summer and aside from_
thesix .or seven dollars.1
made. there was. a great;
bonus. I got to know
"Chicken" Jimmy Scott and
Mrs. Scott! Although they
were a generation ahead.
they did not treat me as a
child. It was part of a
teaming process we go
though - if we're lucky. We
see the kind Of people we
• want to be. and we never
forget them.
As a prelude to the 1966
match; Huron MPP Charlie
MacNaughton and Minister
of Agriculture Bill .Stewart
took part in a sod -turning
ceremony with a plow that
had been used on the same
land a hundred years earlier.
It was a beautiful June day.
In fact. the -weather was
pleasant all summer until the
afternoon before opening
day, The skies darkened and
rain began to fall and it.
continued for four days.
Most plow events took place.
bui the daily parade had -to
be cancelled.
-The match was extended
• for a fifth day = and more
rain fell. On the bright side.
the match was a financial
success. And for me. the rain
• made me feel more at home
as I wandered the same
fields where I -was soaked to
- the:skin in the early hours of
the•summer of 1935. The
chairman of .the Seaforth
match was the same man
who introduced Governor
General Alexander on
opening day 20'years earlier
.at Port Albert. Gordon
McGavin died in 1976.
The legacy he left us is in
remembering what the -
simple. straight furrow has
meant to mankind for 6000,
years.
My lastvisit to a plowing
match was - short' and
unexpected and also wet.
- The Ontario Minister .of
Agriculture. Lorne
Henderson.. called wanting a
favour. Would'1 escort Ken
14aylor. Canada's former
ambassador to Iran. to, tl�
plowing match ' in
Woodstock? Of course. I
said y-es.'his car or mine' It
•
Nation Payroll Week
novo recognized by government
Dear Editor: • small business in this ext end my • sincere
I am writing to advise you country could take on two appreciation , to - the
and your readers that the extra employes, we would employers•of Huron -Bruce.
Goyernmentof Canada now not have the population to.
Without your continuous
•recocnizes the w• eek of meet with the demands of hard work, desotion-and
September 13th -17th (1999) the job markets. I'm certain dedication, the government.
to be National Payroll Reek. that any. government would and indeed :society in
cit should'be noted that this like to have a problem like general: could not function
week is designed, to formally• that. in a productive manner.
----express- gratitude --to -the,-_In keeping _with the above: Paul Steckle, NIP
hundreds of thousands of on behalf of the Government Huron -Bruce
employers --across. Canada of Canada. I would like to
who regularly assist 'the
guts ernment with the
• administration of the payroll.
benefits that we as a society
, hay e, come to reon.
Each year,
, in Canada.
countless thousands of
individuals risk- their
financial stability • and
sacrifice their personal free
time with family in favour of
starting a new business.
Many of us take far granted
the fact that small business is
the engine that drives the
engine of our economy: it
has been said that. if every
How to access us
Letters to the Editor and other submissions
can be made to us by noon on Mondays at:
Seaforth @ bowesnet.com
All letters and submissions must be signed
and accompanied by a day -time telephone
number. All submissions art subject to editing
for both length and content.
Don l forget to check out our homepage at:
www.bowesnet.com/expositor/
FALL CLEARANCE SALE
15°‘trOFBIKES
25
%OFF
HOFFMAN BMX
FREE
Bell With Each Bike Purchased.
25%
OFF
SEAFORTH
Veae 54*
527 -BIKE
was up and back for just a
few hours over lunch on the
following day but not by car.
A helicopter would whisk us
from the .island airport to the
match site on the Oxford
County .Hartley' farm and
return us in mid-afternoon. •
As we approached the site.
we spiraled down to about
100 feet looking for- a•place
to land _where we would not
• sink in the mud. We spotted
what looked like a small_
greet tent moving .through
the crowd. • • •
. Arms waved from under it
and beckoned us to a Sate
landing site. Pre small green
• tent was big Gene's hat - the
-trade mark of Canada' -s
affable Minister - of
Agriculture. the- Honourable
Eugene Whelan In knee-
length ,rubber ,hoiits., he
escorted. u. through the thud
.10 see the main point. of
interest. We had a'great
lunch and departed in mid-
'afternoon as planted.
- Although -matches hase
chang d civet the years a.
farthing has .updated itself to
modern methods and .new
rnachinery: there are still
strong ties to the past. For a
few day each fall we May
„ feel these ties. in the air and
.on the •grdund and in
conversation: It will all he
back to -Huron County this
month. If we are lucks. we
may hear it despite the noise
and clamour of our modern
farm :machines. The tleetinit
sound,of • a .nursing learn as
- their hooves grip the grc'und
and the harness rattles as the
,plowman eyes the stake in
the distance to make that
first -straight benchmark
furrow that wilt set .the
integrity of the ter and the
next and the nett.
And maybe. ,if y.ou ,listen
• hard. And believe in just a''
little rpagfc. .ou,might feet •
:the. soul and,.pirit of th-ose
who came before us'to alms'
those first furrow': of -the
. tract of Huron.
Allan Carter, Broker
• Home • Auto -
• Commercial
• Farm
522-0399 Seaforth
1-800-265-0959 Strathroy
THE HURON EXPOSITOR, Septentbor 15, 1390-5
7n/roc/uciny 7oriay 's %i•./stye.
7inproried 6y 1i shire.
B4oa9e y�
Full Service Salon
527-0780
sas Haefling
Bas Haefling, C.A., P. Ag. Associate: Barry Boyd;
Providing a full range of accounting. computer. tax..and_I
financial consulting services:to meet the needs
of Business and Farmers -
Ph: 348-8412 - 11 Victoria St Mitchell - Fax 348-4300
THE HURON COUNTY
HEALTH UNiT
and the Huron Cir r: -
VETERINARY CLINICS
are o''er:rc
ANTI -RABIES CLINICS
for dogs and cats over 3 months
Please have them on leashes or in boxes .'. - .::-.e
COST: $
The following Huron County Clinics are participating:
3;1t- Velem". y rs
-
A 5-
4. ? _
`.-. .l.
7.,""
5- -
„
cxeenc:
R R =2 Gode'c:• 24-2621 -
s-' 22 9 2 yin at- . _ ' r va . .
!Tt 25.99 a'-0:3-.. :.. ^r: Serr
. . r. _ 4. _.
•
T,he•e clnr:_; :ire tar Rabies Treatment . Pl.',
oilier treat»ten: :1st:.' i'e
DESIGNED
FOR
PEOPLE
«'I'I'I -I FEE'
• A wide selection on shoe sizes and widths.
because feet come in different sizes and
widths.
• Extensive sizes and widths don't cost
extra (a bigger shoe doesn't mean a
bigger wallet).
The more your shoes 'are comfortable and
property fit, the more your shoes win feel
comfortable and properly -fit — -- -
FREE
Gift with
purchase while
upptues last