Friday 20 November 2009

09 Ontario - cousin Garnet ...

Feversham is a small town Grey County ... one of many. When we visited this area as children, there seemed to be relatives in most of the small towns. We managed to arrive in time for the famous Feversham Fall Fair! It included a bagpipe band, old cars, strange vehicles and even older tractors.
4 H club is alive and well here. Also, there were small horses and proud teams pulling wagons. Back at the fairground there was a bake sale, quilt show and lots of crafts. Outside displays included some farm machinery from past years. My dad would have liked the one below. An engine supplies power for a wood splitting machine. My husband loved this hand-built motorcycle with the hand crafted donkey sitting on the front fender.When we attended the fairs in the 'good old days', horses pulled heavy weights. Today it is the tractor pull that wins bragging rights for the year. The heavy trailer ran on wheels until the tractor started to pull and then it slowly lowered to create drag. When the tractor had met its limit, the stack would be puffing, the back wheels spinning and the front ones balancing off the ground.My cousin Garnet and his wife Inez drove us around the area. One stop was the family farm my mom had grown up on. The buldings are gone.The area is known as Revanna. The school has been changed into a house. A broken window in an old church tells of change.One thing I learned about Inez is that she is also a quilter! She does beautiful hand quilted bedcovers and teaches at the local store.Flesherton is another charming little town, with a store that covers mailing a letter, buying food and picking up a bottle. This mural is on the side of the store.This church is resurected as the Osprey Museum.My cousin has a garage where he rebuilt a 1923 Ford Roadster for his daughter to ride to her wedding.Inez has her special place as well. Her garden is called 'Memory Lane' because she has incorporated objects like her grandchildren's bike and other toys. Unfortunately, the photos were too shaded. But, some flowers stuck there heads up in the sunshine.This is the wedding photo of my cousin's parents, my aunt and uncle. My brother and I used to visit and play on the farm. There was always a baby lamb that needed to be bottle fed. My aunt Vi always had a smile - she was a quilter, too! My uncle was known for his antique collecting. When I visited in the 70's, I mentioned that I needed a dining room table. He replied that he had seen one for sale in the local paper. We ended up renting a trailer and stuffing a table, 6 chairs and a buffet in it ... along with bales of hay to stop shifting.A family treasure is this small bible from the second world war. The hole is said to be a bullet hole that saved the soldier's life. The bible was in his breast pocket.This photo is of my grandmother, the mother of my mother.
She played the organ at St. Mary's Anglican church. This may have been the one! My grandparents are laid to rest in the church graveyard.
Another mural, this one in Markdale. My brother and I used to ride these steam trains from Toronto to visit the farm.And, of course ... we stop for quilt stores! I'm hoping I haven't mixed up some of these small towns. In earlier years, the typical town consisted of a post office, hardware, car/machinery repair, food store and possibly a church. The elder farmers often retired to small houses in the town.
This town is a little larger than most and has a brick firehouse.

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