by Shonna Giles, Member of Ontario Barn Preservation.
If the old barns could speak and tell stories, what would they say? I am writing a book about the colourful and diverse rural history of Ontario. These stories are heartwarming, powerful, some sad, but mostly inspirational; stories that have shaped the landscape of our present day Ontario.
This beautiful Bank barn was built in the Waterloo region in 1881. It has had many additions over the years including the cement steps down to the main house that were added in 1915.
The original farm was a mixed farm with dairy cows, pigs, chickens and 2 Clydesdale horses. The chickens, egg production, was the family’s grocery money and the horses used to plow the fields in the summer and haul wood in the winter.
The farm started with Jersey cows, mainly because Jersey cows were a smaller breed and fit in the smaller stalls in the barn. The farmer, with some other local Jersey breeders, had a contract with a cooperative dairy that paid more for the higher cream content of Jersey milk.
This all changed in 1965 when the Milk Act was passed. The Milk Act called for the creation of a body that would buy all the milk produced by Ontario farms and sell it to the processors. As a result, the Ontario Milk Marketing Board was created. The purpose of the Milk Marketing Board was to stimulate, increase and improve production of milk in Ontario. The Board provides control, production, marketing and quality of Ontario milk products. At first farmers were opposed to the idea of a centralized milk board as all farmers would be paid the same for their milk, no matter the cream content.
‘Production discipline’ avoided overproduction and provided security for farmers, allowing them to invest their profit back into their farm. Over time, farmers, like the farmer of this barn, came around to the idea of the Board and saw its benefits so much so that both father and sons sat on many committees and were President of the Board over the years.
Many OBP members have had me out to document their history and take pictures of their barn. If you are interested in being in my book, I’d love to hear from you!
Please email me at shonna.giles@gmail.com.
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Shonna Giles is a retired teacher who is passionate about our rural history told from the perspective of the beautiful big barns that dot our Ontario landscape. She is looking for barns from all across Ontario since each area has a unique history and stories that she would like to showcase.
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To all OBP blog readers: If you have not already done so, please support not-for-profit, volunteer-run, Ontario Barn Preservation by becoming a member! Also, if you are in the business of repairing, reconstructing, engineering, designing, etc. old barns, please consider advertising your amazing skills on our Barn Specia-List. If you own an old barn that you would like to offer to someone else, or you are hoping to obtain one for your own project, make use of our Barn Exchange page. If you own an old barn and would like to save it in the virtual world for future old barn lovers, historians and researchers, check out our Your Old Barn Study page. And please send us your own barn story, photos and/or art for submission as a OBP blog posting for the enjoyment and education of all barn lovers! info@ontariobarnpreservation.com