Agricultural College hosted talent competition in 1925

In 1874, the provincial gov­ernment established the Onta­rio Agricultural College just outside what was then the southern boundary of Guelph.

 The purpose was to conduct research and to train young men in the latest and most effi­cient farming methods.

From the beginning, both the government and college officials desired to build strong connections with Ontario farm­ers, both to disseminate new tech­niques and to recruit stud­ents. Some of their plans in­volv­ed extension work of various types. Wellington Coun­ty became something of a test laboratory, as the college tried various means to build ties with practical farmers.

An early and long-standing tradition for the college was the annual open house, which attracted hundreds of farmers for a day of lectures and demonstrations. Many went to Guelph on special trains chart­ered by the college. Perhaps the most successful program was the setting up of the system of county agricultural representa­tives, who organized various activities and programs in their localities. Still, a large propor­tion of farmers wanted nothing to do with the college, its Ag Reps, and its “book farming.”

In Wellington County, and several other counties, the Agricultural Representatives had a great deal of success with school gardens and junior agri­cultural exhibitions. Most rural schools participated. One of the purposes of that program was to open the eyes of youngsters to improved agricultural tech­niqu­es, and to encourage them to take up farming. The pro­grams dove-tailed with the activities sponsored by the Junior Farmer movement.

For a half dozen years prior to World War One, The Ontario Ag­ricultural College held an open house for Wellington County’s school children in mid-June, before the school year ended. Those events in­cluded various competitions as well as tours of the college’s faci­lities.

Wartime conditions and lack of manpower at the col­lege forced the cancellation of the program in 1916. But in 1925, college officials decided to resume the event. It was scheduled that year for June 12 and 13, a Friday and Saturday, a time when many schools were planning field trips. The program included competitive classes for young people over 18 who were no longer in school, but were members of various Junior Farmers groups.

By 1925, many farmers owned motor cars or trucks, and the railways played only a small role in bringing in hun­dreds of school students, their teachers, and a generous sprink­ling of parents. The pro­gram for the event expanded from what it had been a decade earlier to include musical com­petitions and events in the evenings.

Saturday was the big day, featuring Junior Farmer com­petitions for girls and boys. The new War Memorial Hall served as the venue for the musical contests through the afternoon. Public response to the musical part of the program delighted the organizers. At times there were more than a thousand people in the hall, all impressed with the talent of the county’s rur­al children and young peo­ple.

Henry Wheeler of Hills­burgh, president of the Well­ing­ton Junior Farmers Improve­ment Association, chaired the event. Judges included two men from Toronto, along with Jessie Hill and Nellie Little, of Guelph, both experienced music teachers.

The Drayton School Orch­es­tra, directed by Mrs. M.L. Helwig, took the top prize in the musical program. Ruby Bur­ford, of Arthur, was best soprano under 18, and Marga­ret Cook, of Everton, was top soloist in the over 18 category. Other vocal winners included Helen Black and Jack Busch­len, both of Arthur, Chester Somers, of Eden Mills, and the Eden Mills Mixed Quartet.

Winning violinists included Margaret McGrorey, of Fergus, and a Miss Mahoney, of Arthur. There were also prizes for piano, and for other instru­ments, and for recitations.

The choral competition among various school choirs attracted a great deal of atten­tion. School choirs were im­men­sely popular at that time, and the young vocalists spent countless hours practicing. The top one that day at Guelph was the Fergus choir, directed by G.H. Leeson, the organist at Guelph’s Knox Church. Tied for second place were the Arthur choir, directed by Mrs. E.B. Nelles, and the Hillsburgh choir, under G.S. Thompson. Prof. Holgate’s Eden Mills choir ranked fourth, followed by the Everton choir under G.I. Martin, of Rockwood, and the Mimosa choir, directed by Clifford Haines.

Though the musical events captured a large portion of the crowd, the main events of the day were those related to agri­culture. Both the college and the Junior Farmers placed a great deal of emphasis on cattle judging in the 1920s, and that program involved the training of new judges. A team of young men from Erin won the compe­tition for cattle judging, with members John Young, William Barbour, Robert Rowan, Alvin Miller, and Wesley Beatty. Individual winners in the vari­ous judging categories included Gladwin Crowe, Dan Mc­Doug­all, and William Smith of Pus­linch, Irwin Kopas of Nichol, and Howard Sinclair, William Barbour, and John Young of Erin.

Competitions were strictly segregated between boys and girls. Only boys were involved in the cattle judging, and the girls had to be content with domestic science, as cooking, baking, and needle work were then called. Awards went to the various communities on a total-points basis. Puslinch led the list, followed by Eramosa, En­notville, Mimosa, Hillsburgh, Ospringe, and Arthur.

There were also awards to the young women who scored the top individual scores. Head­ing that list was Lottie Blair, of Puslinch, followed by Ruth Mackenzie of Puslinch, Miss Kil­patrick, of Elora, Emily Young, of Ospringe, Lorain Ferguson, of Eramosa, Grace Cormie, of Ennotville, Elva Hamilton, of Everton, and Kathleen Home, of Palmerston.

Though many of the compe­ti­tive classes were for teams, rivalry amongst individuals was particularly intense as a consequence of the prizes for the top individual scores for the weekend. The two top girls and top boys received trips to the international livestock show in Chicago the following fall. Those much-desired prizes went to Lottie Blair, Ruth Mackenzie, Gladwin Crowe, and Irwin Kopas.

That three of the four top winners came from Puslinch undoubtedly created some re­sentment. It is probable that the Puslinch competitors were much better prepared than most of the others. Puslinch and Erin had far more than their share of winners. It appears that there was little representation from the west and north of the county. Also noticeably absent from the list of winners is Guelph Township, which in 1925 was still the leading agri­cultural township in Welling­ton.

Such spotty representation in the school programs was always a problem for the county Agricultural Represen­ta­tives. Some schools and town­ship councils were very enthusiastic in some years, only to lose their zeal later. It was impossible for the Ag Reps to persuade all the schools and townships to support the pro­gram every year.

Despite their efforts, the Ag Reps could not maintain enthu­siasm for the school programs during the 1930s, and the Ontario Agricultural College could not support the county school day. Faculty and staff members were hard pressed to maintain their many other pro­grams in support of agriculture during the 1930s.

That weekend of activity at the Ontario Agricultural Coll­ege 84 years ago offers a glimpse of a much different time: when agriculture was still at the centre of Wellington’s economy and society, and the training of future farmers was still considered an important goal of the educational system.