BRUCE IPM invests over $800,000 of profits into Health Care and Community Projects

Organizers of the 2008 IPM have realized a profit of approximately $822,000. After an unforgettable rainy, muddy weekend when exhibitors and trailers were arriving on site an astounding 94,400 visitors attended the five day show when the gates opened Tuesday September 16 just north of Teeswater.

In the early stages of planning the IPM Committee selected local health care as the main beneficiary of any profits having the greatest impact for all Bruce County residents. A meeting is scheduled for early February when the IPM Executive will meet with representatives from local Hospital Foundations to discuss equipment available to be funded within their facilities. A total of $500,000 has been budgeted to support local health care in area hospitals.

Community organizations will also be recognized for their contributions to the IPM in exchange for volunteer time, resources or services. Donations totaling $130,000 from profits of the International Plowing Match are: Tractor Square Dancing “Team Farmall” $6000; The Municipality of South Bruce $30,000; The Municipality of Arran-Elderslie $5000; Bruce County Plowmen’s Association $30,000; Bruce County Heritage Association $5000; Bruce County Genealogy Society $1000; Bruce County Woodlot Association $2000; Bruce County Foster Parent Association $2500; Formosa Lions Club $500; Belmore Community Centre (Kitchen) $3000; Bruce County EMS $25,000; Bruce County Mutual Aid Fire Association (new equipment) $10,000; and St. John’s Ambulance $10,000.

Organizations receiving a total of $69,140.00 for time working at the IPM include: Quota International (Owen Sound), Mildmay Rotary Club, Clifford Rotary Club, Southampton Rotary Club, OES Goodwill Chapter (Harriston), Paisley Rotary Club, Chesley Rotary Club, Huron Shores ATV Club, 543 Squadron Air Cadets, Belmore Minor Sports, Ripley Lions Club, Teeswater 4H Club, Formosa Lions Club, Walkerton Knights of Columbus, Walkerton Rotary Club, Paisley Kinsmen Club, Trinity Lutheran Church (Walkerton), Chepstow Lions Club, Ripley Lions Club, Tiverton Lions Club, Lucknow Lions Club, Special Olympics Central Bruce, Walkerton District Secondary School, Walkerton Hawks Jr. C Hockey Club, Cargill District Community Fund, Mildmay OSS Broomball, F.E. Madill Secondary School Rugby Team, Saugeen Shores Winterhawks Hockey Club, Kincardine Rotary Club, Wingham Jr. C Hockey Club, Teeswater Culross Horticultural Society and the Teeswater Culross Fire Department.

The IPM also has set aside $82,000 for IPM Committee and Executive Members to direct $2000 dollars each to a charity or community organization of their choice in reward of their efforts and time dedicated to the IPM. Their commitment for success by keeping costs low while also fundraising had a dramatic impact on the event profits.

Event organizers acknowledge the success of the event would not have been made possible without the overwhelming response from the local community and businesses who supported the IPM. The entire county of Bruce along with surrounding Huron, Grey, Wellington and Perth Counties were behind the IPM from the very first announcement that the event was going to be held in Midwestern Ontario.

Official financial figures will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Ontario Plowmen’s Association held in the District of Temiskaming host of the 2009 IPM in late February. The IPM comes back to south-western Ontario in 2010 to be held near St. Thomas in Elgin County, then in Eastern Ontario hosted by Prescott-Russell for more information visit www.plowingmatch.org.

Having said how difficult it is to get around in rural Ontario – Getting to Grey County – I found a great ride share or carpool site.  It’s Canadian, is easy to use, and has members all across Canada, the US, and around the world.  Think incredibly organized hitchhiking.

PickupPal – a service to love

PickupPal is amazing.  Registration is fast and easy, and free.  I posted a request for a ride from Dungannon to Toronto, definitely not the road most travelled, and within 2 hours had 12 (12!!!) possible rides.  One is a definite possibility for a regular trip to Toronto.  Someone from Kincardine goes to Mississauga every Wednesday morning.  I could meet them somewhere between here and Kincardine, go to a Go station near their destination, and then transit from Union Station to Cabbagetown.

Coming back would be easy enough, I know I can always get a ride from Stratford to Dungannon on either a Saturday or a Sunday so I can take the train from Toronto to Stratford.

This is way better than taking the truck to Toronto or to Kitchener and paying for days of parking at the station.

Check it out.  It’s so easy.  And such a good idea!  The more people that register, the better the coverage. We’ll all be able to get or give rides.

One of the challenging things about owning a weekend home in Priceville is getting to it – and getting around once you’re there.  There is no inter-community public transit in Grey County, or in most of rural Canada.

If I want to go from Toronto to Flesherton (forget direct to Priceville) you can get a Greyhound bus. Of course you still have to get to Priceville.  No idea if there are taxis in Flesherton.  If there are they don’t have websites.  Maybe I could hitchhike.

I’d have to make sure I had groceries with me because once I arrived in Priceville it wouldn’t be easy to get to Flesherton, Durham, Hanover, or Markdale to get groceries.  Of course that won’t be as important once the general store opens.  Yes, we’re going to have a general store in Priceville!

Inter-community public transportation is a thing of the past in rural Canada

I was quite excited today when I saw this link in my Google Alerts – Charter sought for railway line past Horning’s Mills. I clicked the link and read the article.   I have to admit that I found the language a bit old-fashioned and formal but the idea was terrific.  I was all ready to blog about it when I noticed this at the top – 125 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 21, 1883.

I often think about how communities were connected in the past, that it was much easier for people to go from town to town.  We rely so heavily on cars now that we can’t get from one town to another.

Tony McQuail proposed a Rural Rideshare program as part of his platform in the 2008 election.  We need something.  I wonder if it’s possible to use school buses as inter-community buses when they aren’t taking kids to school.  It’s not particularly friendly but it is better than everyone driving their own car.

There’s a discussion group about trains at the Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board.  Trains are a great idea. They don’t have to be huge, they can be just one car.  Unfortunately Canada did away with the rail infrastructure in the 70s.  A lot of old rail beds are now hiking paths and bike trails.  I can’t see anyone rushing to convert them back.

We do need ot do something but maybe the solutions need to come from individuals, not from government.

We’ve had a bumper crop of tomatoes and will be harvesting until the frost.  So far we’ve had lots of pasta sauce, tomato, black olive and pine nut salad, tomato and mozzarella salad, roasted tomatoes – in salad, on sandwiches and in pasta sauce, and, of course, tomato sandwiches.

And we’ve been making ketchup and tomato sauce.  We’ve made three batches of ketchup, each from a different recipe.  The first batch tasted a lot like barbeque sauce, not a fave of mine, but good.  The second batch was pretty good and the third batch was stunning. The recipe is at the end of the post.

We’ve also made three batches of tomato sauce.  It’s all canned and processed waiting to be transformed into pasta sauce in the winter.  It’s a pretty basic sauce, tomatoes, a little oil, a little wine vinegar, chopped onions and chopped garlic, fresh oregano, and salt and pepper.  The tomatoes, garlic, onions and oregano are from the garden.  It’s the first time I’ve ever grown stuff and preserved it.  I feel so smug.

Today, just as I finished labelling the last batch of tomato sauce, the furnace man arrived.  There had been a very strong oil smell which didn’t seem good.  He was laughing. We had told him we thought we might have an oil leak.  "Oil leak!  Look at the floor!"

Oops!  I thought that was water from the heavy rain last week.

He cleaned the floor and put down some magic stuff that pulls the oil out of the concrete.  We have to leave it for about a week.  He also put down some kind of odour absorber.  He fixed the pump, that was the problem.  It wasn’t spraying in oil the way it’s supposed to, it was dripping it in a continuous stream so it wasn’t all burning.

After he’d done all that he turned on the furnace to burn off the oil that was still there.  I opened all the windows and doors to try and get rid of the smell.  The chimney belched black smoke for about half an hour.

Disgusting!

Fresh Tomato Ketchup Recipe

3 hours | 30 min prep
yields 4 cups

If you like your ketchup a bit chunky you can skip the food mill or blender step.

•   5 lbs tomatoes, ripe, quartered
•   3 medium red onions, finely chopped
•   1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
•   1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
•   1 tablespoon black peppercorns
•   1 tablespoon mustard seeds
•   1 tablespoon allspice berry
•   2 teaspoons whole cloves
•   2 teaspoons celery seeds
•   1 slice fresh ginger
•   1 cinnamon stick
•   2 bay leaves
•   1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
•   1 teaspoon sweet paprika
•   1/4 teaspoon ground mace
•   1 cup cider vinegar
•   1 teaspoon coarse salt
•   1 pinch cayenne

1.    Place the tomatoes, onions, bell pepper and garlic in a large pot.
2.    Bring to boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium-low and
simmer, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are very soft, about
30 minutes.
3.    Pass through the finest blade of a food mill to make a
semi-smooth puree Alternatively, puree in the blender until smooth and
pass through a fine strainer Place the puree back in the cleaned soup
pot.
4.    Place the peppercorns, mustard seeds, allspice berries, cloves,
celery seeds, ginger, cinnamon stick and bay leaves on a piece of
cheesecloth and tie it up to form a bag.
5.    Add to the tomatoes, along with the brown sugar, paprika, mace, cider vinegar, salt and cayenne.
6.    Simmer slowly, stirring frequently, until the ketchup is very
thick, 1 1/2 to 2 hours Remove the cheesecloth bag and discard.
7.    Ketchup can be cooled and stored in a sealed plastic container in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
8.    Alternatively, you can put ketchup in sterilized jars To do so,
first wash the jars in hot, soapy water Rinse well Bring a large pot of
water to a boil Add 4 pint jars and lids and boil 1 minute Remove with
tongs and drain.
9.    While the ketchup is still hot, pour it into the sterilized jars,
leaving 1/4-inch headroom Seal and place in boiling water bath for 12
minutes Remove and cool.

The video is my first attempt although the camera work isn’t mine, thanks to a friend for that.

There was much more of a ‘fair’ feel than I remember but 25 years is a long time and my memory isn’t what it once was. 

I have to admit that I didn’t go into any of the tents or look at any exhibits.  I got sidetracked in the hospitality tent.  There was a terrific band playing and I ended up staying until they finished their set which happened to coincide with the closing for today.  

The band is Lucky Dog.  Maybe band is the wrong word, they’re a trio and play a mix of their own music and some country and rock songs.  I’m going to post about them as soon as I figure out how to upload a video clip – and get someone to edit it for me.

In the meantime – a photo.

Lucky Dog at the International Plowing Match in Teeswater

from left: Anthony McCann, Steve Wilson, Bob Walters.

My curmudgeonly companion had 2 complaints comments.  Instead of playing City of New Orleans (which I love) he thought Lucky Dog should have played one of Gordon Lightfoot’s Railway Trilogy and he thought that the beer served should have been from a Bruce County Brewery.

I order a t-shirt a couple of weeks ago.  Yesterday I got  a refund from Google payments.  The message from 200 Nipples was "The XXL guy shirts are back ordered with our manufacturer (where we get our blanks). We hoped they’d be here by now, but we’re still waiting. I’ve refunded your shipping fee as a thanks for your patience. Thanks!"

This is truly fabulous customer service.  I hadn’t even started to wonder where the t-shirt was, our mail delivery is so slow.

Thank you 200 Nipples.

It’s not that she has anything against city folks…she just wants them to feel at home and help them understand us.

Don’t be insulted, it’s all in good fun, so don’t take it the wrong way.

THE RULES OF RURAL ONTARIO ARE AS FOLLOWS:

The system is now holding its annual book sales. Throughout the Summer and into the Fall, several branches will host book sales.

Come on out and see what bargains you can find.

The book sales run during regular hours.

There are some great books on sale at the following libraries…places, dates and times below.

Seaforth: Friday July 25th, 10:00 am till 5 pm.

Blyth: Tuesday September 9th, Thursday September 11th, Friday September 12th, and  Saturday September 13th. The Blyth library is in the Blyth Theatre Festival building. Their book sale covers parts of 3 days.

Clinton: September 19th right through until September 27th.

(Incidentally, this is now the town where Alice Munro had her home for many years)

Wingham: Thursday November 6th to the 9th. This sale gives you a chance to buy   books in November.  A good time to look for gifts in the birthplace of that famous Canadian author, Alice Munro. Libraries are a wonderful place to buy books. No one will hover around trying to get you to part with your money…the prices are right…and by purchasing a book, you are helping the library – as well as getting a bargain. And take your children, because quite often there are games for sale as well as childrens’ books.

If the book sale is your first visit to one of the county libraries, rest assured, it will not be your last.

You can read a little about the history of the Huron County Libraries here.

Happy book hunting!