I was saddened by an early morning call on Monday from Robert Campbell alerting me to the fact that Harold MacCrimmon had died peacefully at the Ottawa General Hospital on Saturday, September 23 at the age of 73.
Harold grew up on the MacCrimmon family farm east of Fiske’s Corners with his siblings: Barbara McCormick of Ottawa and the late Catherine McIlwain, Elizabeth Barton and Lloyd MacCrimmon. Harold and his wife Janet took over the farm from his parents, James and Sarabel. While I never met Harold’s mother, I gather she was an ardent supporter of the stone kirk in Dunvegan. As a young girl living in the hamlet, Sherrill Trottier remembers seeing Sarabel passing by on her way to church. It should be noted that Mrs. MacCrimmon made this journey on foot… a four-mile trip each way.
A happy, warm and welcoming man, Harold always had time for his neighbours, even for those from away, like Terry and I. He will be missed. Not only by his family, but also the many friends and acquaintances his life touched.
A graveside service will be held in the Kenyon Presbyterian cemetery on Friday, September 29 at 11 AM. This will be followed by a celebration of Harold’s life at the Glengarry Pioneer Museum grounds from 1:00 to 3:30 PM. For those wishing to make memorial donations, the family is suggesting the Glengarry Memorial Hospital, Canadian Cancer Society, Kenyon Presbyterian Church or the Ottawa General Hospital Foundation. In closing, I’d like to express my sincere condolences to Harold’s wife Janet and their children, Sarah and Rod.
Lipstick on a pig
In the end, I missed North Glengarry’s public information meeting on their Community Improvement Plan (CIP) last Thursday in the Dunvegan Hall. However, DRA president, Ben Williams was there and kindly sent me the following report.
“The Dunvegan CIP meeting went well, although there were only six people in attendance. Hopefully, word will spread once a few projects start happening. James Prevost and his new neighbour, Louise Quenneville, look like they will be taking advantage of the program… (and) Sean Burgess might also use it to spruce up his front porch. The program will indeed benefit Dunvegan since the original CIP was altered to allow for residential improvements. This means that nearly all the homes in downtown Dunvegan can apply.”
Ben secured a map that highlights the approved properties, and I will post it on the Community Bulletin Board beside the community mailboxes. You’ll note from the map that the CIP program only impacts in-hamlet properties on the two main drags, Dunvegan Road and Greenfield Road. Those on the side streets do not qualify. In a way, it echoes the movie sets from old Spaghetti Westerns… the ones that consisted of just the fronts of buildings, propped up from behind with 2” x 6” braces.
I realize the CIP train has left the station and it’s too late to stop it. However, I don’t think it’s the best use of scarce public funds. And if the CIP meeting in Glen Robertson is any indication, I’m not alone. I’ve heard that the recent meeting there turned ugly as 20 or 30 citizens complained to the presenters about money going towards CIP instead of road maintenance and the like.
Personally, I think a portion of the CIP funds should be used to hire a temporary “Property Standards” by-law officer and have Council authorize her or him to cite property owners blatantly in contravention of by‐law no. 42 ‐2008… and not just those on our hamlets’ main thoroughfares. For those of you unfamiliar with the regulation, section 4 states, “every owner of a yard or vacant land shall ensure that the yard or vacant land is kept clean and free from: rubbish or other debris; objects or conditions that tend to create a health, fire or safety hazard; wrecked, dismantled, discarded or abandoned machinery, vehicles, trailers or boats… dilapidated or collapsed structures, or structures that are partially constructed and not currently under construction; vermin; and dead, decayed or damaged trees.” I think property standards enforcement would have a much greater and longer lasting impact on our Township.
Patchwork farming
It’s hard to keep up with all the For Sale signs along Dunvegan Road these days. Another one… a tiny, private sale one… just popped up a couple of Saturdays ago on a tree at the edge of Rene and Sherrill Trottier’s place. Worried that this long-time Dunvegan couple was moving on, I checked things out and was relieved to discover that, no, the Trottiers are not moving. Having severed a few acres around the house they built in 1973, they’re selling their farmland that surrounds it. They no longer use the land and have been renting it out for a number of years.
This is a trend that’s happening more and more these days. It’s my understanding that, with agricultural properties, the original dwelling and a small parcel of land around can be severed. However, residential dwellings (new or existing) on the remaining farmland are not permitted. This is intended to maximize the amount of precious agricultural acreage that stays in production.
The process makes sense, as the future of farming appears to be based on bigger and bigger operations. Often, the only way for farms to expand is to purchase parcels of land here, there and everywhere. So farmers end up travelling countless kilometers to make hay, grow crops and spread manure on their “patchwork” farms.
One wonders if, when all the vacant land has been acquired and residential properties for those from away severed and sold, we won’t see a giant swap meet where farmers trade properties, consolidate their holdings and minimize travel costs.
Oktoberfest tacos… seriously?
For the second year in a row, we accompanied our daughter and her family to Beau’s Oktoberfest in Vankleek Hill this past weekend. If you’ve never been, you should check it out at least once. As a piece of event management, it is very, very well done… from waves of yellow shuttle buses to a children’s entertainment centre and everything in between. True, it helps if you’re not a teetotaler like myself. But even I was able to score a Diet Pepsi in a can, thanks to the VKH Knox Church’s refreshment booth. However, I would have liked to see one or two food vendors that served more plebian fare. Virtually every epicurean outlet at the event would have met Michelin Guide standards.
But I am one of simple tastes. Pulled pork on a gluten-free waffle — or a smoked trout taco— no doubt met the needs of many in the hip young crowd. But some of us would have appreciated a good old-fashioned knackwurst or Oktoberfest sausage… without the cilantro and quinoa slaw or the boysenberry and hummingbird tongue reduction drizzled over it.
That said, I did spot two things that I would very much like to bring back to Dunvegan. I came across the ideas in the Hidden Harvest Ottawa fundraising arcade, and I think they would be great additions to the Dunvegan Winter Carnival. The first was Bumper Crop. Modeled after the Japanese game of Pachinko, Bumper Crop is a large, vertical and manual pinball-like game that’s a hoot for young and old alike. The other is a giant crokinole board that uses Beau’s beer bottle caps as the playing pieces. I’ll wait until things settle down at Beau’s and then see if they are willing to loan them to us.
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