Wellington County Junior Farmers will be celebrating their 90th anniversary on Oct. 18at the Arthur Community Centre.
Jennifer Girvin (nee Mitchell), county president from 1999-2000, recently interviewed Mary Ann Connell (nee Elgie), county president of the group in 1965, about her memories of Junior Farmers in Wellington County.
Connell said of her membership, “I joined in the early 1960s. I do not recall any specific reason, except that I met other people who were members and they seemed to be having a good time, so I thought I would like to be part of the fun and activities. It also provided good opportunities to meet other young people.
Connell remembered that the “Fergus Junior Farmers was my first club. After I married and moved to the Palmerston area, I then joined Minto Junior Farmers.”
With all the activities available in the group, Connell said, “The county debating team was my favourite activity. I like public speaking, and I like learning about new topics. Being on the debating team forced all of us to research the topics, organize the information in an informative and interesting way, and present it in a certain number of minutes.”
Connell added of that debating team, “It also taught me to think on my feet. When preparing a rebuttal for the opposing team’s arguments, we had only a few minutes, and had to be able to get up and present an argument in a concise manner with convincing facts.
“Sometimes the opposition would use the same articles and information that our team had, but would confuse the facts, or quote the source out of context. We would then have the opportunity to present to the judges and audience the source of the information and the correct facts..”
All that work paid off, as Connell recalled.
“We won the Provincial Junior Farmer debating competition in March, 1965 at the annual conference of the Junior Farmers’ Association of Ontario, held at the University of Guelph,” she said. “Our Wellington team defeated Ontario County debating the topic, “Resolved that Canadians would have more security if North America was united.”
Prior to that final debate, Wellington County debated Waterloo, Oxford, and Elgin County teams in the semi-finals. In the first debates, the question of the benefits to Canada of a national health scheme were discussed.
When asked what her favourite memories of Junior Farmers are, Connell said, “My favourite memory of being a Junior Farmer was meeting so many enthusiastic young people, full of life and energy, friendly, and welcoming. One of the ways I was able to get to know so many people was being part of Wellington County Junior Farmer executive, and later being president.
“I edited the Newsletter, which gave me an opportunity to keep up with the happenings in the county. I also attended several provincial Junior Farmer activities, where I interacted with more young people.
Connell added that being a member of Junior Farmers also prepared her for her later years.
“I learned a lot of things about organizing events, such as meetings, banquets, church services, socials, and recruiting new members. It taught me many organizational skills that I have used every day of my life, at home, at work, and in volunteer organizations.
Connell also had some advice for current members.
“Enjoy every minute of it, participate in the activities that interest you, and make the most of it, because there are only a few years that you are able to participate in such a great organization,” she said.
“The exit age of 30 comes quickly. It is one of only a few organizations that provide the opportunity to meet people from across the county and across the province.
The 90th anniversary of the Wellington County Junior Farmers is being held on Oct. 18 at the Arthur community centre.
Tickets for the dinner and dance are $20 and are available by calling Jennifer at 519-855-4231 or emailing wellingtonjf90th@jfao.on.ca. More information is available at www.jfao.on.ca/wellingtonjf90th.
