For some, farming is in their genes and every career path seems to always end up leading back to the land. Joe Maxwell comes from a long line of farmers who immigrated to Canada from England in 1854. He grew up working on his parents’ farm in Bruce County and in 1947 he left to attend the Ontario Agricultural College. By the time he graduated in 1951, he wanted to go his own way and had no desire to return to the farm.
Whether they’re scrambled, boiled, fried or whipped into an omelette, eggs are a favourite staple of the Canadian diet. Over 1,000 egg farmers contribute $1.4 billion to Canada’s GDP every year, but how often does the average Canadian think about what goes into producing an egg?
For hundreds of years, generations of the Klosler family worked off the land in Transylvania, Romania; growing fruit, making wine and raising livestock. In 1921, shortly after the end of WWI, George Klosler’s grandfather came to Canada to earn money for his family. He always planned to return home, but the onset of the Great Depression and WWII prevented him from making the trip he longed for. He continued to work on a tobacco farm in Norfolk County, Ontario with his family a continent away.
Upon arriving at the McCracken family home in Scotland, Ontario, we are greeted by their standard schnauzer named Fritz. Friendly, regal and a big part of the family; little did we know how Fritz would play a part in our story. Ron and Doreen McCracken both grew up on farms, and still feel at home in the country today. Their current residence, built in 1993, has some 48 acres. A neighbour farms a portion of the land with the remaining set aside for hobby farming, their garden and a place for Fritz to roam. Ron has kept bees, raised geese and ducks, and even guinea hens, but today he enjoys retirement after a long and interesting career.