I was recently struck by a truth that I have contemplated, but never truly considered in a formal and serious manner. While attending a lecture in Collingwood, the evening’s speaker made a simple deduction that left me searching for a pen and paper.
The Watts family of Collingwood ventured to Canada from Ireland and began a boatbuilding business that became internationally renowned. Seventy years after arriving in Collingwood, the Watts family was still building and shipping custom-made wooden boats across Canada and into the United States.
The speaker’s conclusion was this: The Watts family was able to build boats in Collingwood for so long because they were good at what they did. At a time when many Irish immigrants were destitute and struggling to stay alive, building Canada’s railways and canals, the Watts family set out on its own and established a business that earned the family a respected place in Canada’s marine history.
I can assure you that I am not attempting to argue that the Shaws are icons of Canadian history, but I would like to suggest that, like the Watts family, they were exceptionally good at what they did, and that it’s no coincidence the Shaws have been farming the land atop Blue Mountain for the past 163 years.
Far too many people assume that farming is an easy, and simple-minded occupation. In actuality, farming is a highly skilled profession that requires a strict work ethic, and a wide array of character traits for success.
Having watched my father operate his farm, I believe that a successful farmer must be self-motivated, patient, insightful, contemplative, trusting, nurturing, adaptable, curious, analytical, and generally fearless. A farmer must also be mechanically inclined, and be of a general handiness to capitalize on priceless harvesting hours, and of course to save money on small repairs. A sense of humour also goes a long way, particularly when disaster strikes in the form of plummeting commodity prices, unexpected weather systems, faulty machinery, and, let’s not forget, large (and often horned) animals.
When I was younger I naively assumed that my grandfathers, and father, were saddled with the task of farming. I had never entertained the possibility that they actively pursued farming as a viable career choice. I quickly corrected myself after listening to my maternal grandfather, Laverne Andrus, speak about his passion for farming.
Despite graduating grade eight with honours, Grandpa Andrus had no desire to pursue a high school education. In fact, he didn’t even think about it. He lived and breathed farming, helping with chores before and after school, always knowing that he would become a farmer as soon as possible. He was made for farming, and farming seemed to be made for him.
Grandpa Shaw’s pursuit of farming was a bit more complicated as farming was not his first choice of occupation. Unlike Grandpa Andrus, Grandpa Shaw attended high school in Collingwood, competing grades nine and ten. As a rural student, he was given the opportunity to apprentice as an undertaker while boarding at a local funeral home. In exchange for room and board, he would answer phone calls outside of school hours. This was a remarkable opportunity for Grandpa Shaw, and his father, Norman, agreed. His mother, however, strictly forbid him from taking the position and Grandpa’s excitement was quickly extinguished.
Although I struggle to understand my great-grandmother’s insistence that undertaking was an unacceptable profession, I am exceedingly grateful that Grandpa Shaw became a farmer because the series of events that led to my birth may not have panned out. And let’s face it, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to bomb around on the fender of Grandpa’s tractor as a kid, strategically positioned between the top-mounted lights and reflectors, bouncing through the fields and along the dirt roads, to and from the farm.
Although farming was not his first choice, Grandpa Shaw was successful in his agricultural endeavours and I am confident in stating that he enjoyed (and continues to enjoy) working alongside his children and grandchildren. Just last week, at the age of 85, Grandpa was up at the farm, cultivating the land and planting a new crop of barley.
My father was the first of his siblings to pursue farming as an occupation. At nineteen years of age, he took out a loan, bought two hundred bleating sheep, constructed a barn, and the rest my friends is history. Dad had the chance to attend college, but like so many Shaws before him, he had already fallen in love with farming, and had been learning his craft from a young age.
I am continually impressed by my dad’s and uncle’s willingness to embrace and experiment with new farming technologies. When my uncle purchased a combine that featured a GPS system I was surprised to say the least. When Dad started purchasing farming equipment online using his iPad (I kid you not!), I was blown away. Equipment started arriving from the United States, and not soon after my uncle purchased an iPad mini for the same purpose. Unbelievable! But completely characteristic of their ability to adapt, and survive.
With the assistance of my father’s and grandfather’s generations, my brothers are beginning to dabble in the possibility of continuing the Shaw tradition of farming. While I selfishly wish this tradition to continue long into the future, there may come a time when being good at farming is no longer enough.
Wooden boats are no longer crafted in Collingwood, but the history of that era and the Watts family continues to live on, just as the history of the Shaw family and its tradition of farming will continue to be told well into the future.
Thanks for reading!
Goodness! Every time I read this I learn something new! Grandpa Shaw as an undertaker!!!??? I can’t even imagine that. What is a grandpa who doesn’t smell like dirt and manure? Can you see us playing hide and seek in a funeral home instead of the barn and the fields?
I don’t have the connection to farming that you have with your immediate family but I certainly felt my heritage when I was digging down in the soil last week, tilling up the garden for planting. That Shaw blood just demands a little dirt beneath our fingernails!
I learned of the undertaker story only a few weeks ago. Grandpa never ceases to amaze me 🙂 And I completely agree with your comment about feeling your heritage while gardening. Just think about how many gardens were planted and maintained by the early Shaw families, particularly by the women. Perhaps we can consider ourselves small plot farmers…
Having come from the Leduc line of farmers from Port Severn, Ontario, I understand that farming is not always viable from generation to generation. It is the one true green profession , even though at times one must use chemicals, drugs and other ecologicalyl dubious systems to practice this way of life. Farming is the backbone of this country. Where would we be without them?