The record, 27 août 2003, Supplément 2

> *** MAIN BLDG.Bronte County a NEWS Ji Supplement August 2003 ¦MMIMM s » '-a-tî-» .v!1 .viii ’ .* '""It / .V .' kj* */ i?mgm PAGE 2 • BROME FAIR • BROME COUNTY NEWS Wednesday, August 27, 2003 Take the road less travelled to the Brome Fair Randy Kjnnear Publisher.800 463-9525 Sharon McCully Editor/Off.Mgr.(450) 242-1188 Alison Steel Secretary .(450) 242-1188 Lynda bellavance Advertising_____(450) 242-6892 Michel Duval Advertising .800 463-9525 Jamie Zachary Corresp.Editor _____800 463-9525 Richard Lessard Prod.Mgr.800 463-9525 Serge Gagnon Chief Pressman.800 463-9525 Francine Thibault Prod.Superv.800 463-9525 CIRCULATION Distributed to all Record subscribers every Wednesday as an insert, and to all households and businesses in Abercom, Bedford, Brigham, /frame.Bromonl, Cowansville, East Farnham, Foster, Fulford, Knowlton (Brome Lake), Sutton, Bolton Centre, West Brome SUBSCRIPTIONS GST PST TOTAL Canada: 1 year 114.40 8.01 9.18 S131.59 6 MONTHS 59.00 4.13 4.73 $67.86 3 MONTHS 30.00 2.10 2.41 S34.51 Out of Quebec residents do not include PST.Rates for other services available on request.The Record is published daily Monday to Friday.Back copies of The Record are available.The Record was founded on February 7.1897, and acquired the Sherbrooke Examiner (est.1879) in 1905 and the Sherbrooke Gazette (est.1837) in 1908.The Record is published by Hollinger Canadian Newspapers L.P.Canadian Publications Mail Service Product Agreement No.0479675.Member ABC, CARD, CNA, QCNA Brume County NEWS 88 Lakeside, Knowlton, Quebec, JOE 1V0 Tel: (450) 2421188 / 242-6892 Fax: (450) 243-5155 Established May 1991 Published weekly by 1195 Galt E., Sherbrooke.Quebec; JIG 1Y7 RFrORD FAX: (819) 569'3945 E-mail: IVL/CAl IV lv newsroom@shcTbrookerecord.com website: www.sherbrookerecord.com ‘Remnants of farmsteads and old orchards’ By Claudia Villemaire Brome Perhaps it’s true that on Labour Day weekend all roads lead to the big Brome fair.But one thing is sure — given a bit of imagination and a sense of this area’s history, almost any road one takes to the biggest little country fair in the Eastern Townships can be an adventure.Fair visitors with a little time to Les Entreprises Stone fin rfaven Inc.“Swpfier ofldaturaf Stone and Oaks Concrete Taxers and Waffs" • Granite • Blue Stone • Field Stone • Boulders • Slate • Limestone • Black Manoir • Concrete Pavers/Walls Masonry projects Chimney / BBQ Fireplace House exteriors • Walkways • Walls • Steps • Patios Posts 1 cv • Stepping stones • Boulders "Over 30 years of experience to answer your questions" Good supply of landscaping products and gift shop Store hours: Mon.to Fri., 8:00 to 5:00; Sat.8:00 to 4:00; Sun.closed 605, ch.Knowlton Rd.(450) 242-0255 fax: (450) 242-2071 spare might take a jaunt up Mount Echo Road, turn right on Sugar Hill road and enter a magic world where leafy branches form a canopy, giving cool shade to travellers and rolling hills might reveal grazing deer, a farmyard where elk watch warily as vehicles pass or even the occasional black bear, totally engrossed in filling his belly with wild berries as signs of fall have tinged maple trees with a bit of colour and he knows he must put on enough fat for the long winter sleep.Once up the first hill, travellers will find a plateau to cross where fields give safe harbour to fancy light horses.Or perhaps the road passes a tiny farmstead where a flock of goats with their kids are always ready to put on a show.All too soon the land begins to slope, the road pitches the last few hundred feet to the junction of Sugar Hill and Stage Coach roads.One can imagine the farmer and his wagon and team, stopping to watch a coach and four-horse hitch-trundle by, the coach swaying, harness Landscaping projects Mike Stone, proprietor - ^ 5 oANTi#^.La Poutine the Breakfast • Specials at noon OPEN AT 7 A.M, 756 Lakeside Foster, Lac Brome r me **S ^ Cor»e to ru< ““.'Voir » Dinner RECORD FILE PHOTO Visitors from across the province to the Big Brome Fair will have an opportunity to visit some magnificent corners of the Townships while on their way to the fair grounds.jingling, horses breaking into a slow gallop as they face the first of many hills before they reach the Bolton Pass.One more right turn and the fair gates come into view.Or, if smoother highways are one’s taste, the visitor arriving from the Eastern Townships autoroute can turn right, drive through Foster where the barn still stands that was a landmark in the first years of the Foster horseshow, an event that brought horses and competitors from far and near and hundreds of spectators.Parking was in the freshly mowed hayfield on the left and horseshow fans lounged against the show ring fence or stretched out on the grassy SERVICE D'IMPOTS C.K.’s INCOME TAX SERVICE BOOKKEEPING -COMPATIBILITÉ Pick-up & Delivery service available Success to Brome Fair 512 Ch.Knowlton Rd.Knowlton Tel.& Fax: (450) 243-6324 Carol Krainyk banks that surrounded the field/ring.This event continues today with the same goal, raising funds for the BMP hospital in Cowansville, but now the show is held at Victoria Park in Knowlton.Continue on route 215, past the newest golf course in the region, greens, ponds and fountains spread across the land where the Jerseys from the Gable Farm once grazed.A quick glance to the right will reward the traveller with a view of the once stately barns, now perched on the edge of gravel and sand pits.Keeping to the right, dip down to where several mills once operated.The quarry-stone buildings are still there and the bridges narrow enough to slow down the most hurried traveller, providing an opportunity to appreciate the historic buildings.Heading toward Bondville, pass stately summer homes, once large farms where deer graze unabashed.Then from the corners, we rise up, twist around another ridge of sharp hills and emerge on the side of a broad sweep of land that rushes away to a distant brook.See Road, Page 16 BROME FAIR • BROME COUNTY NEWS Wednesday, August 27, 2003 • page 3 Royce Dustin, cattle-show gladiator ‘Ifyou can make a pretty good cow look even better then you might have a chance to move up ’ By Claudia Villemaire Brome Royce Dustin still remembers his first moments in the show ring.“We had just turned from a dairy operation to beef and my boss said ‘y°u take some animals to the fair and show 'em,’ and that’s exactly what 1 did.But I had no idea how to fit a beef animal for the ring, or even what to do once I got there.” He lifts his cap to wipe away perspiration, laughing still at the memory.Today, Royce Dustin has 48 years of showing Shadybrook Farm livestock at the Brome Fair.The walls of his home office are witness to the fact he has enough red, blue and rosette ribbons to redecorate several rooms.Dustin grew up on a farm called Echo Meadows, near Ayer’s Cliff.His father didn’t exhibit cattle but going to the Ayer’s Cliff exhibition was part and parcel of his growing years.And his love of fairs has served him well for nearly half a century.“This will be the 48th time I walk out to that race track with an animal.Seems like only yesterday I almost stumbled into the ring with an animal that was as ill-prepared as 1 was.Boy that was some feeling.” Dustin watched and listened.Already learning about genetics and breeding programs at home, he soon had his head buried in sire catalogs and nutrition charts.Choosing the right bull to match up with a promising female, no matter if you’re looking for well-muscled bodies or the capacity to fill an udder with milk on a regular basis, is never easy or sure.That’s where “fitting" comes into play.“If you can make a pretty good cow look even better by clipping, shaping, trimming, training and careful feeding, then you might have a chance to move up the line from last place - where I started out,” he says.“Then it’s a case of watching the trends.Some years ago, say back in the ’50s when there were often two fairs in some areas, the winter show was designed to show what they called fat stock.Now believe me, they meant it.Beef cattle then were short-legged, square-backed animals, carrying quite a bit of fat.” That trend began to change, “and judges were looking for long-legged, slim-hipped animals that would hardly give you a good hamburger, in my opinion.” Consumer demand for leaner meat brought show animals with hardly any well-muscled rear quarters.“Bodies were longer and the barrel much smaller.I knew that wasn’t the way to go but, what could you do, you had to produce animals that met judges’ approval or stay at home.” Shadybrook Farm was once the home of prize Jerseys.“In those days we were milking quite a herd for the times.I worked for two owners at that time.Then the herd was sold along with the milk quota and the third owner decided to go to beef.” Dustin's father had raised both dairy cattle and beef, in particular Shorthorns.“I had a little experience with that breed so I suggested we go into that breed.” Dustin and Shadybrook have never looked back.With quality livestock in the competition at local fairs, ribbons and trophies soon started piling up.Regular sales have made Shadybrook stock available to Shorthorn breeders near and far.A look at the genealogy papers of local herds often trace ancestry to Shadybrook stock, and often the purchase of one basic, good-quality cow has given a new producer the kick start needed to build a quality herd.Dustin admits he’s slowing down a bit now.His farm manager’s duties have in large part been handed down to his protege Lloyd Wright.Serious heart trouble curtailed his activities temporarily, “But I’m not gone yet." The Brome Fair cattle barns will be full again this year, he adds, “and that’s quite a surprising fact with the situation in the BSE, (Mad Cow) and the embargo on shipping beef across the border.” Farmers are stuck with animals it wouldn’t pay to ship to market.“That means more feed needed, more work to do and less money coming in.Guess they believe in their fair.” Until there's a Muscular Oystroptij Assseiatkin sf Canafla AAA 1 800 567-ACDM cure, there's us.CLAUDIA VILLE MAI RE/SPECLAL Royce Dustin (pictured) grew up on a farm called Echo Meadows, near Ayer’s Cliff.Retirement living in Knowlton "A place to call home!" «Un endroit où il fait bon vivre>:> RÉSIDENCE POUR LES AÎNÉS / RETIREMENT RESIDENCE with 24 hr.supervision Social activities to enjoy with a warm and caring personnel Soins 24h sur 24 Programme d’activités et un personnel chaleureux 28 Mount Echo, Knowlton, Québec (-453-3246 Website: manoirlacbrome.com E-mail: manoirlacbrome@sympatico.ca Accredited residence in Town ot Lake Brome Ï E M B RT fcfi Quftkf page 4 • BROME FAIR • BROME COUNTY NEWS Wednesday, August 27, 2003 Board expands into year-round offices We need to develop this site for more events’ By Claudia Villemaire Brome The Brome County Agriculture Society has a new home.The Miller house, located right beside the main gate, has been transformed into the headquarters where society and fair manager Gaylon Davis holds court.“We are really pleased.The directors agreed we needed more room and a winterized locale where we can work at other than fair projects and make better use of the facilities here,” Davis said last week as we discussed plans for the 147th fair.“We need to develop this site for more events through the warm months”, Davis explained.“Government financial help has dwindled to a trickle and doesn’t come close to covering the prize money, let alone the cost of maintenance and special projects.“ The old office, where all the office equipment had to be moved in for the fair and back out again afterward, will now be used to extend the ladies de- partment situated at the back of the building.“We have seen an increase in exhibitors and exhibits in this area the past years and they were really getting cramped for space,” Davis added.“Now they will have as much again to display the area’s handiwork.Needless to say that made them very happy.u Davis and his partner, past president Ernie Banks, were busy measuring and calculating and getting ready to mark out a new area near the horticulture society’s building and the area near the old dining hall.“We’ll have nine new booths in here,” Banks said, trying to find a bit of shade.The sun was high and hot, shadows hard to find but Davis and Banks were determined to mark the measured spots for their new kiosks.“Come on, we’ll talk as we measure.” That’s exactly what they did, getting measurements confused and marks badly placed.Good humour and teasing banter was the order of the day as aching bones made their presence felt, the heat was making perspiration run down red faces and calculations kept coming out with different answers.See Board, Page iti.U 'mM CLAUDIA VILLE MAI RE/SPECIAL 4#.'• ¦ i Medic Alert medicalert For more Information 1-BDO-66B-15D7 f ROCH VAILIÈRES m ri< Come Visit Us And See our NEW Product lines at the Brome Fair Aug.29,30,31, Sept.1 Booth #33 (under the Grandstand) La Boheme 1-888-926-4363 cue* (face