In the first decades of the 20th century, Arthur Township developed a tradition of novelty in agriculture.
The quality of the land in much of the township was not the best, and the township had the additional disadvantage of higher shipping costs than did areas to the south and nearer to markets and suppliers.
One response was that advocated by Arthur-area farmer J.J. Morrison, who pushed for farmer-owned co-operatives and a political agenda focused on farmers. His movement, the United Farmers of Ontario, enjoyed limited success, but ultimately failed.
More successful was the Arthur Poultry Show, held in the late fall of each year. The organizers urged farmers to grow chickens and turkeys, and marketed them at a big show that attracted the top buyers from Toronto. Arthur area farmers got top dollar for their fowl, and developed relationships with dealers serving the big markets.
In the 1920s the provincial department of agriculture had a strong influence in the area in promoting new lines of endeavour and new methods. The Agricultural Representative, R.H. Clemens, did much to improve the lot of farmers, and his name and presence became ubiquitous through Arthur Township and North Wellington. He worked alone out of an office in Arthur, but he managed to accomplish a phenomenal amount of work.
In the fall of 1928 Clemens helped organize the Boy’s Sheep Clubs, which taught budding farmers the latest techniques in raising and breeding sheep. For decades sheep had been raised in Arthur, but Clemens wanted to teach the young men the best ways to maximize their returns.
On Aug. 11, 1930 Clemens set up the first Wellington County Lamb Fair at Kenilworth. Boys from the clubs who had been raising lambs brought their best specimens for judging and shipment to Toronto. Clemens brought in Bill Howard of the Dominion Livestock Branch in Ottawa to grade the sheep, and the Canadian Pacific Railway agreed to have livestock cars at the Kenilworth station to load the lambs for shipment to Toronto. At the show each lamb was weighed and graded separately. This was a departure from the usual method of sale, where lambs were weighed and graded in lots. After examination by Howard, the lambs were marked and loaded into the cars. One was reserved only for the top grade, and another for those slightly below top grade.
Clemens told reporters this was the first time lambs had been graded in this way, but that he expected it to become common in the future. He claimed that accurate grading at the source would permit Canadian lambs to compete with imports from New Zealand and Australia, where such grading had been commonplace for years. Clemens was particularly pleased that many of the best lambs at Kenilworth that day were raised by boys who were part of the Boy’s Sheep Clubs, and that their lambs were equal or better than those raised by seasoned breeders.
As well as grading the animals for market, there were also competitions in several classes, with a total of $200 available in prize money. Competition was keen for the prizes. Depression conditions were being felt by August of 1930, and farmers feared that prices, which had already dropped, would continue a downward spiral. Many realized that improving the quality of their animals was one way to cope successfully with the depression conditions.
Many of the winners that day would go on to successful careers in farming. The prize list included the names Fred Noble, Jack Russel, Albert Weber, Harry Rhame, Everett Oxby, Charles Martin and J.P. Connell. Everett Oxby of Drayton brought the best lamb that day, earning him a $10 prize, and the reserve champion was owned by Walter Ovens of Harriston.
As well as the sheep competition, Clemens arranged for a talk by Lionel Stevenson of the Ontario Agricultural College on treating sheep for parasites. About 100 farmers listened intently. Several of the young farmers spent their prize money and proceeds of their sale of lambs to acquire some pure bred champion rams to help improve their flocks.
Both Clemens and the young farmers left Kenilworth pleased with the day’s outing, which allowed them to market their sheep for the best possible returns, and to talk with other breeders and exchange tips and techniques.
Two days later a long-standing event took place in Arthur village: the annual horse races. The weather was ideal, and that brought out a huge crowd numbering more than 2,000 – a mixture of farmers, racing fanatics and village residents. Organizers had originally intended the competition to be among local entries, but the races became a victim of their own success, attracting many horses from elsewhere.
The track was fast, and each race created clouds of dust. Obscured vision resulted in two accidents, neither of which, fortunately, produced serious injuries. In one, Robert Riddell of London, a man rather elderly for active racing, was thrown from his cart. He was badly shaken and suffered several broken ribs when trampled by several horses. Race organizers rushed him to McFarlane Hospital, where he remained for four days.
Owners brought about 35 horses to Arthur, a huge number considering that only three races were scheduled. In the end only 23 of them were entered. The owners of the others, intimidated by the quality of animals present, either withdrew or took their horses to Seaforth, where races were scheduled for later in the week. Owners expected competition to be less keen there.
In any case, it was the largest field entered in the Arthur races in a decade. The day was advertised to begin with a ladies softball game between Elmira and the celebrated team from Alma. However, the game did not materialize because the Elmira team did not show up. Still, the Alma girls received shouts and cheers from the crowd. Though from a tiny hamlet, their success against teams from much larger centres had made them into minor celebrities.
The races themselves created much excitement. Cecil L. Wilson, a familiar figure at horse races, was the official starter. Though there were only three races, each was run in three or four heats. The winners were Mac Togo, owned by Fred Hewer of Guelph, First Star, owned by the Wellwood Stables of Merlin, and Alf Abdell, owned by J.B. Walters of Glen Allan. Many of the horses came from nearby towns, such as Palmerston, Guelph, Acton and Preston. There were also several from much greater distances, such as Kingston, Ridgetown, Merlin, Milton and Niagara Falls.
With the huge crowd in town, after the races business was brisk at all places in Arthur serving food. Some people stayed at the track, being content to gorge themselves on the offerings of the various concession stands.
The reason much of the crowd lingered after the races was a dance, held at the Arthur Arena. It was well attended by both village residents and farmers. It was one of the last times people were able to ignore depression conditions and have a good time.
The worst economic conditions for farmers and for the Arthur area were yet to come. The ensuing five years would be a trial for all.