Sentinel Review,Tuesday,11th October- G.R.Green district agriculture representative and his assistant Harold Trueman are handling all the preliminaries.Oxford OPA director J.H.Hillborn of Bright and seven other directors were staking out lots for exhibitors north of the city.A competition for tractor experts and demonstrators would be held on Thursday afternoon.A plowing contest between one tractor with a two bottom plow and four teams of horses was held; to make good on tractor companies advert that a tractor could do the work of four teams of horses in less time, with less cost ,to plow two acres( an acre each).Four of the best plowmen in Ontario drove the four teams.They were:James McLean,from Richmond Hill;Frank Weir,from Agincourt;William Doherty,from
Toronto;and William C.Barrie from Galt.
S.Review,Wednesday,12th October
Merchants of Woodstock agreed to decorate their stores and stay open during the evenings for convenience of visitors.Citizens were requested to decorate their homes by putting out flags and buntings.School children were to have a holiday on one of the days.
Warden Johnston and E.W.Nesbitt supported the directors to keep the show on a high level,-no midway attractions,fakirs,or scammers to spoil it.It was to be entirely educational and business-like;farmers,business men,and manufacturers should work hand in hand on a common ground for the good of Canada.
The champion plowman,S.Parker,from Smithville,south-east of Hamilton was in the city on Monday,Oct.10th searching for a team of horses for his plow.He was practising with a team in the forenoon of Tuesday Oct.11th and said anyone wanting to win the championship would have to work hard to get it.
The railroad had a special unloading platform erected for tractors,threshing outfits, and machinery exhibits.
The Royal Bank presented a shield worth $275.00 for the best plowman in Ontario.The best plowman from Oxford County received a silver cup,also from the Royal Bank.These trophies were donated by the Royal Bank of Canada through the efforts of Mr.Kirkpatrick,manager of the Woodstock branch.
The Tollgate sideroad,on Saturday Oct.15th,had exhibit booths on the south side where there are new houses in 2017; the north side had dining and refreshment tents.Silverware trophies from Toronto arrived at the office of G.R.Green;-the Cockshutt trophy,the grand championship prize for the best plowed land in sod stood about 30 inches high with a deep wide bowl, donated by Colonel H.Cockshutt,Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. The Renfrew trophy was for the champion plowman in stubble.
Twenty-five to thirty acres were secured in four different locations,from four directions,for parking cars.The Sentinel-Review printed a special 'Plowing Match Edition' "in natty pink" for the expected 50 to 60 thousand people to attend and spend their money in Woodstock.
The directors felt a telephone at headquarters tent was a necessity.The phone company would not instal a line without a charge of $30 for labor to string wires from a box at the corner of Vansittart Avenue and the 2nd concession(Devonshire Avenue) north to the site.
The local committee and the police commission were at odds regarding the rate the taxi-men were planning to charge.Cab drivers were demanding 50 cents cabfare each way.The interests of the city and thousands of visitors were being ignored for fear of offending 15 taxi-men who were planning a rich harvest.Lockie Wilson stepped in and said 15 cabs were inadequate; outside cabs were needed anyway;In view of the support the farmers were giving,there should be no reason the cab drivers could not do likewise instead of giving Woodstock a black eye to outsiders.
George McKay was in charge of securing horse teams for out of county competitors and thought that 30 teams would be sufficient,but entries came in at such a rate,he had to make a canvas request for more.By Monday morning,Oct.18th,he had 84 teams of horses committed for use in the practise field.
It rained on Wednesday(the first day);the fifteen hundred people on the grounds were fed in the dining tents for 65 cents a meal.The rain stopped at 2.30 P.M.and the crowd poured in; by 4.30 P.M.there were 4,000 to 5,000 people.Wednesday was Demonstration day,given over largely to machinery manufacturers,who plowed a large acreage(the experts plowing exhibit).Admission to the match was free,outside of eating tents and booths.No selling schemes of any kind were allowed on the grounds.
The Perry street arena hosted an Indoor Industrial Exhibition and a political meeting,both on Wednesday night.The display of manufacturers and retailers of Woodstock continued Thursday and Friday evenings.Speeches were made from the bandstand at the end of the rink and a band enlivened the proceedings on Wednesday evening.
The attributes of the Holstein cow producing natures most perfect food and the livestock industry in general was summed up in this story:Farming A Permancy As Our Basic Industry.More than a billion dollars are invested in Canadian livestock.More than one-half of this sum is in the meat yielding animals.The other industries of the Dominion taken singly,no matter how important,fail by comparison with our animal industry.The whole fabric of our national prosperity rests,and will rest in still greater measure as the years pass,on our farm animals.The fact is so patent,so obvious that one is apt to overlook its real value.With a growing proportion of our population in our cities and towns,it should be repeated and reiterated that farming is the bedrock on which alone the rest can be made strong and stable and that livestock is the foundation of permanence in farming.
Thursday was the Stubble competition (Class one) for the Renfrew trophy valued at $100 offered by the Renfrew Machinery Company.It had to be won twice to become property of the owner.It was won by Martin Vansickle,Middleport,Ontario in1920.A lusty cheer rose from the people of Oxford when W.O.Grenzebach of Hickson was announced champion stubble plowman for 1921.Wilfred won over 16 competitors including two from Oxford;-John Richardson,R.R.4,Woodstock and Jerry Stauffer,from Bright.
Class two, Stubble,for contestants who have never won a first prize in a provincial match,had the largest number of contestants from Oxford (Thirteen);they were:Ray W.Parker,R.R.2,Tavistock; Angus McMillan,R.R.3,Woodstock;Frank Slaght,R.R.5,Woodstock;A Lambert,R.R.1,Salford; J.E.Milds,R.R.2,Norwich;James Fitzpatrick,R.R.1,Woodstock;Arthur Cameron,Hospital Farm,Woodstock;John Hargreaves,R.R.5,Ingersoll,L.Kitching,R.R.6,Woodstock;David Mitchell, R.R.4,Bright;Willard Bergie,R.R.4,Bright;Dave Lillico,R.R.1,Bright;G.T.Black,R.R.8,Ayr.There were 32 total entries in this class and Oxford made a great record securing 2nd,3rd,and 4th prizes being Bergie,Fitzpatrick,Mitchell,and Lillico.Class winner was Robert Watson from Woodbridge.
Class Three,for boys under 17,only 4 in this class,all from out of county.
Class Four,open to Oxford boys under 16,five entries;-a crowd of 500,all Oxford people, watched these boys and shouted words of encouragement and advice.Gilbert Barron,R.R.1,Woodstock,won the class,$25 cash,and a silver chafing dish which is still in the family(John Barron,Innerkip).Second was George Milds,R.R.2,Norwich.Third ,Joe Fallowfield,R.R.5,Ingersoll.Fourth,James Entwistle, R.R.2,Woodstock.Fifth,Robert Childs,R.R.2,Woodstock.
Class Five,for two furrow plows drawn by three horses.The three entries, J.P.Fraser,R.R.3,Woodstock;G.E.Hildreth,Vinemount,and Leslie Vincent,R.R.3,Ayr were supervised by J.H.Hilborn of Bright.
Class Six,tractor class,for tractors driven by bona-fide farmers.Twenty-six entries had to be divided between two fields; 16 in the schoolhouse field,remaining ten on the east side of the road.close to 4000 people watched.Oxford contestants were:James McCorkey,R.R.2,Mt.Elgin;George J. McCorkey,R.R.2,Mt.Elgin;George Murdoch,R.R.1,Woodstock,Aurthur Pearson,Bright.
The tractors versus horses contest was won by the horses.The horses time was one hour and 10 minutes against one hour and thirty minutes for the tractor.40 per cent of the score was for time,60 per cent for workmanship so the horse plowmen gained because they were all accomplished ex champions.They donated their $30 prize money to Woodstock General Hospital.
The expert tractor class had twenty entries,three of them were Americans,from Massechusetts and Indiana.The class winners all drove Samson tractors,made by General Motors.F.G.Sinclair of Toronto won the Ontario Plowmen's Association gold medal for the best plowing in this class.Samson tractors were second,third and fourth,the drivers being in order of merit;Clark Young from Milliken,B.M.Robinson from Oshawa and A.E.Pay,Niagara-on-the-Lake.They were all champion horse plowmen but proved they could do as well with a tractor.
By Thursday evening all the plow lands were used up and more land had to be secured for the sod event on Friday.Thursday evening the Oxford Holstein Breeders Association and their families held a banquet at City Hall;200 people attended,presided over by Martin McDowell,President.Friday's paper reported 30,000 attendance on Thursday;officials had difficulty keeping people from walking on the plowing.The highway was blocked for two miles with cars as well as 6,000 autos parked in the grounds.An Ox team plowed,watched by thousands of people,who crowded around to such an extent that George McKay had to go ahead of the oxen with a big club to clear a path for them,and the land they plowed was flattened down by thousands of feet just as quickly as it was plowed.The oxen were driven by William Fletcher of Dereham and the wooden plow was handled by Angus J.Mackay of the 12th Line of East Zorra.
On Friday,Oct.21st,Sod day,fences were constructed around the plow lands to prevent the crowd from trespassing on the plowing.Each class had a iudge.Total entries for Friday were 87.Total for both days were 191,which was three times the highest mark ever set.
S.Review,Saturday,22nd Oct.1921
Wilfred Timbers Of Stouffville Is Ontario's Champion Plowman
The Sentinel reported "Strange to say" the man who won first in Class One Sod,Clark Young,failed to win the grand championship.The first place winner in Class Two Sod,Wilfred Timbers done better work to take the championship,the Royal Bank Shield.Class Two Sod,open to all who have never won a prize in first class or a first in this class at a Provincial Plowing Match prior to 1921 had a first prize donated by the James Stewart Mfg.Company,a Good Cheer Elevated Oven Range in blue or white enamel trim($125 value);So Wilfred Timbers won that too.Mr.Grenzebach won the Royal bank trophy for the stubble champioship of Ontario.The seven classes of horse plowing on sod took place east of the present Hwy.59 where the soccer field is now.The depth(length) of the plow lands was 300 feet and each competitor had a strip 25 feet wide to plow;total width was nearly 1200 feet so that it would accomodate about 50 plowmen.Twelve Indians participated in a special class on Friday on the south hillside.
The judge of Class One sod was William Haustrauser of Malton, regarded as the leading judge of plowing on the Continent.The judge of Class Two was Francis Thompson from Echo Place.
Class 6, for jointer plows in sod,Wilfred Grenzebach's class, had 25 plowmen,the largest of all the horse plowing classes.The judge for that class was John Shadlock of Agincourt.Wilfred had a close race with a competitor named Robert Watson from Woodbridge that day.Some 40 years later a member of the Watson family,Norman Watson,was agriculture representative for Oxford County,previous to Don Taylor.
The Woodstock Armouries were packed to capacity for the Friday night banquet and awards,catered to by the Vansittart Chapter of the I.O.D.E.
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