New display a salute to Artisans of the Soil

A collaboration between the Canadian Industrial Heritage Museum and the Waterford Heritage and Agricultural Museum has resulted in a new exhibit that opens in November.

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Artisans of the Soil celebrates the 110-year history of the International Plowing Match and its connection with the Brantford-based Cockshutt Plow Company.

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A highlight of the exhibit is two large trophies that were presented by Col. Harry Cockshutt to the Grand Champion Sweepstakes winner of the plowing match.

The trophies have not been publicly displayed for about 100 years.

“We are offering people who attend the opening gala on November 4 from 2 pm to 4 pm a one-time opportunity to get up close and have your picture taken with these trophies, like they do with the Stanley Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto,” said Rob Adlam, a member of the CIHC board of directors. “This is our Stanley Cup.”

One trophy is from 1918 and identifies Cockshutt as the president of the company, while a larger trophy from 1926 indicates Cockshutt was the Lt.-Gov. of Ontario.

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“The film footage we have from the 1920s, shot by the Ontario government’s film bureau, shows Harry Cockshutt touring the plowing match in his capacity as Lt.-Gov. of Ontario,” Adlam explained. “The films are silent, but captioned frames mention him awarding a trophy.”

A visit to the Ontario Plowmen’s Association offices in Guelph resulted in the discovery of the two large trophies that Adlam arranged to borrow for the exhibit at the museum in Waterford.

The Artisans of the Soil exhibit will focus on the 1941 International Plowing Match held in Peterborough County, and farmer William Lemery from Rockford who was a regular plowing match competitor.

“We have film footage – in color – of Lemery competing on Cockshutt tractors and using plows at the match,” Adlam shared.

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Also featured in the exhibit is a Cockshutt Model 17A horse-drawn plow dating from the 1930s that was an improved version of an earlier model, thanks to recommendations from a plowing match competitor.

The Model 17A – which sold for $24.50 in 1941 – was 100 pounds heavier, and featured a mold board with an adjustable turnbuckle on a threaded rod to enable adjustments for the quality, size, and angle of the furrow.

“We have done co-exhibits before but this is the first in a series we have planned for the next three or four years,” said WHAM curator James Christison. “The museum holds the Cockshutt archives for the CIHC. We are able to provide them the space and in turn they help us out with research and these collaborative exhibits.”

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The curator said the museum is always looking for partnerships in the community, and the one with the CIHC that began in 2008 is “a natural fit.”

He said the museum’s agricultural gallery has always had a connection to the Cockshutt factory.

“We are fortunate to have a well-rounded gallery with various pieces from different companies, but certainly a lot more Cockshutt-related items thanks to this partnership.”

Christison noted that the exhibit shows the importance of the plowing matches, features a local connection with the Lemery family, and provides details of matches held in 1957 near Simcoe, and 1996 in Haldimand-Norfolk.

“The biggest thing was Rob’s discovery of the two trophies and how monumental they are,” he said. “That’s one of the things that make the museum world so interesting. You never know what’s going to come through the doors.

“You can make these amazing discoveries that help tell the history.”

Artisans of the Soil runs until the end of February 2024.

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