Hand mowers signing up for 2007
Scything championships part of haying weekend at Ross Farm Museum
The phone is ringing, mail is arriving, all from men and women
eager to compete in the 2007 Maritime Handmowing Championships
scheduled for Aug. 25 at the Ross Farm Museum in New Ross, N.S.
The entire weekend will be devoted to a celebration of hay-making
as the Museum staff weather permitting rolls out
antique horse and ox-drawn equipment and early 19th and 20th
century tools for numerous demonstrations. In addition to hand
mowing, plans are afoot to add contests designed to show off
proficiency forking hay and harvesting grain.
The Ross Farm Farmers' Market (see accompanying story) will be
in full swing Saturday. There's talk of live music, and we're
hoping to include more opportunities for instruction and practice
mowing with a scythe, as well as learning how to sharpen blades
by hammer and/or with a stone, and adjust handles.
This will be the fourth anniversary for the Maritime Handmowing
Championships that were first held at Agrifest in 2004. The idea
goes back farther, but never went beyond an idea because we did
not know where to hold the event. There has been one like it
going back to 1948 in Addison County, Vermont, held in conjunction
with the county fair. But here in the Maritimes we were not aware
of an exhibition with fields of grass or grain where a competition
could be held.
Then came Agrifest on the grounds of the Peill family farm near
Canning, N.S. We spoke with Agrifest organizers, got their consent
to reserve a stand of Winter wheat for mowing with scythes, and
the rest fell into place. Glen Ells, well-known Kings County
farmer and writer brought together a team of timers and sober
judges including Bill Swetnam, Mac Eaton, and Ron Clarke. Contestants
came from the far corners of the province.
Tying for first place in 2004 were Doug Brown from Granville
Ferry, N.S., and nurseryman Hank Bosveld from Lakeville, N.S.
We moved the event to the Nova Scotia Exhibition in 2005, then
back to Agrifest in 2006. Numbers of contestants remained about
the same, about 20, but the crowd of onlookers swelled. Highlights
of the 2005 competition included members of the Vido family from
up north on the St. John River in New Brunswick Peter,
son Kai, and daughter Fairlight who put on a great show
demonstrating possibilities with a scythe never imagined. Peter,
especially, drew gasps with his twirling and catching of a scythe
as though it were a baton, and appreciative nods as he mowed
the grass from beneath a straight-leg chair.
Overall winner that year was Fairlight Vido, 15 at the time,
mowing barefoot. She was also deemed winner of an entertaining
side-show, mowing against a gas-powered string trimmer operated
by Alan Clark, a professional silviculturist with a good sense
of fun. The two were about equally swift, but there was no comparison
when it came to quality of the results, Fairlight's swath being
left shorn like a sheep with the cut grass neatly gathered to
one side.
Last year Hank Bosveld mowed to victory against a field of 17
contestants. With the help of John Herygers we added a team event
harvesting, gathering, and tying bundles of grain, something
we hope to include again this year if contestants step forward.
Herygers also brought an unusual home-made double-sided rake
of a type he used in the Netherlands years ago, demonstrated
its use and donated it as a prize for contestants in the open
competition.
Returning to the Netherlands earlier this summer, Herygers was
able to scare up more early tools for haying and grain harvesting
which will be demonstrated this summer.
As we have done in years past we offer the chance for representatives
of rural and farm heritage villages, associations, and museums
to defend their name and honor in a friendly mow-off that would
be an aside to the main, open event.
We ask that anyone wishing to take part in the mowing events
register first by phoning DvL Publishing Inc. at 902-354-5411,
or write to Dirk van Loon, care of Rural Delivery, Box 1509,
Liverpool, NS B0T 1K0. The email address is dvledit@eastlink.ca.
Please get in touch no later than Aug. 10. DvL
