70 Dig Deeper: BetterFarming.com Better Farming December 2016 RURAL ROOTS In praise of Holstein For one boy, holiday visits to the Calder farm were “like a real live Huckleberry Finn adventure.” by CAMPBELL CORK I t was a Christmas tradition in the 1950s for the CN train to stop in the village of Holstein, Grey County, on its way to Durham. The train stopped in Holstein every day, but on the Christmas run a few of the Holstein boys would jump onto the engine and have a little party on the way to Durham and back. The tracks passed right by the John Calder farm. John and his brother, Jim, were two of the regulars on the Christmas party run. And, as often as not, the train would stop to pick up eggs from Fern Long’s hen house. (Fern was John’s live-in housekeeper.) Herb Marsden worked on the train, and over the years he got to know John and Fern quite well. One time, John and Fern suggested that Herb’s son, Tom, might like to come to the Calder farm for a visit. What followed was an experience of a lifetime for Tom, who grew up to become an airline pilot in Australia. He never forgot the Calders nor those happy-go-lucky holidays in Holstein. Years later he wrote a letter describing just why Holstein and the Calder farm were so special. “For me, it was like a real live Huckleberry Finn adventure,” he says in the letter. “From the age of seven to 16, I would be there for every holiday. Sometimes even being dropped off by train in Calder’s back yard, so to speak, for the train line ran right through the Calder farm property. It became my second home along with having a second set of parents. “My father said to many of his friends, ‘The making of Tom was the time he spent in Holstein with John and Fern.’ “The various people I met shaped my world forever. People such as Elmer Ellis, for example, with no formal education, was the man to ask about what medications he would use if livestock was sick. “John would say to me, ‘You can learn something from anyone if you are willing to listen.’ “Chats at McGuire’s feed mill, Phillip’s blacksmith shop, Joe’s corner garage, and a cool swim at the Holstein dam after a long day of haying were all part of the atmosphere of Holstein. “I would spend almost every night sleeping outdoors with Lois and Murray, the children of Muriel and Jim Calder. Sometimes, Glen Love, a nephew of Fern Long, would join us under the stars in the two-storey tin trailer we made and dragged to various spots on the farm with the old Massey Ferguson 35 tractor. On one of our first nights with our magnifi- cent trailer it rained heavily. We thought, ‘no problem!’ We had patched all the holes with a can of tar from the shed. It turned out we had applied some old molasses that looked like tar. What a mess! But we survived. “Other nights we would witness the fake wild cat eyes that John, Fern and Barbara Harrison would cut out of old oil cans, trying to make our nights a little more exciting. “On a cold winter’s night feeding the pigs, John would offer a nip of 999 port to ‘warm up the spirit,’ as he would say. “I never saw the man get angry . . . Memories like these of the Calder farm may not seem like much, but for me (my time there) was a wonderful experience.” BF Campbell Cork lives and writes in Mount Forest. Fern Long photo Far left, John Calder; third from left, Jim Calder, and then Herb Marsden. Making the most of your OFA membership Better Farming is your trusted source for insight, analysis, and investigative reporting on Ontario agriculture. RATES AT A GLANCE One-year subscription for non-OFA members $41 Your OFA member subscription c st per year $0