Our People, Our History, Our Communities

Growing up on the family farm in Brighton Township was difficult work. My Dad, Doug Goodfellow, and my grandfather, Cecil Goodfellow, expected me to participate with these chores. Reflecting on my early years, I don’t harbor any hard feelings towards my Dad or Grandpa. In fact, I feel quite proud that they could share their achievements with me. They were both incredibly hardworking, and great role models to their children. This story that I want to share was born of questions I used to ask my father and grandfather, and of research on my family. It reflects my own experiences and the experiences of my family.

This story starts with a negative of our old family farm that I had developed. It shows most of the buildings on the farm as they were in the 1930s. Looking at the photo brings back fond memories with my family. I often followed my Dad and Grandpa around the farm as they went about their chores. They often gave me chores to do as well, not minding that they could have done the chores much faster than myself. They taught me to work as a part of the family, and it brought us closer. My Dad left school when he was fourteen to help his father on the farm. Around this time, my grandfather purchased an adjoining 100-acre property, and he needed the help. It surprised me to learn that my grandfather attended private school in Napanee, and his brother went to the Ontario Agricultural College, but further schooling wasn’t an option for my Dad. My parents ensured their children finished both secondary and postsecondary school.

[figure 3 – a formatted table for the buildings and square footage to be added later]              

Back then, the farm buildings were far more valuable more than the farm homes. Because of this, the barns, stables, and such were first in line to receive upgrades like electricity. Animals were often a major revenue source for farmers that had them. It was crucial to protect and care for the animals – they were so important to us. The farm buildings also took up much more space than the house. Our farmhouse was 560 square feet in the front with a 240 square foot addition for the kitchen. Compare this to the farm buildings, which totalled 4500 square feet – that’s more than five times larger!

The Goodfellow farm had horses, cows, pigs, and chickens. Horses were the main source of power on farms before tractors and were critical members of the team. Cows, pigs, and chickens were producers, but were just as important to us. I fondly recall my tasks of feeding and watering the animals, collecting eggs, and corralling the animals into the barns - especially the cows. It always struck me how smart the cows were; they knew exactly where their individual spots were in the barn, and they went right to it when I brought them inside. Cleaning the pens out wasn’t as fun.

We timed the cows’ births so that they gave milk in the warm months – it was much cheaper to let them graze in the fields than having to provide extra feed indoors in the winter. The milk was transported by horse to a local cheese factory at the corner of Goodfellow road and Highway 30. All the farmers had a friendly competition going to see who could get there first. Chickens, on the other hand, were less work. We collected eggs from the chickens and stored them in the cellar, which were picked up once a week. In the fall, we took one or two pigs, and one of our steers, to the slaughterhouse where the meat was prepared and preserved for winter.

In the past, farming was much more cooperative. This image of the family’s threshing machine reminds of the great effort it took to harvest all the hay, wheat, oats, and barley. Neighbours gathered and the community took turns harvesting each other’s fields. It was an equal relationship with unspoken rules. You help us, we’ll help you. The steam engine and threshing machine required people with the skills to operate them, so teamwork was really the best option. The neighbours also helped bring the wheat, oats, and barley to the threshing machine where the sheafs (bundles) were fed into the machine to separate the grain. This was a particularly dusty job, and on hot days it was grueling. My mom always set out a wash basin for the men before lunch.

My mother spent a lot of time cooking large lunches for all the working men. Often, she was cooking for fifteen to twenty workers for three or four days! Thankfully the men went home for the evening, otherwise she’d have had to cook supper for them too. Incredibly, most of the food was grown right in our garden – delicious beans, carrots, tomatoes, and cauliflower, among other things. My mom also canned our beef, which was incredible. It was especially tender, and the gravy was so flavourful. For dessert, my mom always prepared two different pies for the workers. It was a good meal and a great time for the men, but I do wonder if my mother worked even harder than they did!

One year, the farm purchased an Allis Chalmers pull-type combine. The combine only needed two people to operate and harvest the grains, as opposed to the fifteen or twenty it used to. The farm no longer needed the neighbours, so my Grandpa and Dad did the combining themselves. Before farms became mechanized as they are today, farm operations were awfully labour-intensive. Families commonly had many children to secure the labour they needed. This was also true for the Goodfellow family. My father and grandfather slowly replaced their horses with tractors and machinery. They electrified the barn in 1937 and the farmhouse in 1938. Central heating was installed in the house along with a wood-burning furnace and ductwork for forced air. All these examples are representative of the larger changes that were occurring in the ‘30s – farm operations became more independent and stopped relying as much on neighbours and family for labour and social support.

Researching my family’s history, I’ve gained an appreciation for the way things once were in the olden days. People worked very hard, but they also enjoyed life, for the most part. Things were simpler. People were freer and easier. Although, the most important life lessons came from my family. My grandfather taught me to always work hard but take one day a week to rest. My Dad taught me to take care of family – above all else, family (and friends) are far more important than wealth and privilege. I am so proud that I had an opportunity to grow up on a family farm and share these stories.

I’ll leave you with a thought: how do you think life today compares to the stories and histories of the old days?