FARM24 - The Brussels Agricultural Society continues building on 161 years of history
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
It’s fair to say that the Brussels Fall Fair is one of the fairest fairs in all of Huron County. Now celebrating its 161st year, the Fall Fair is one of Brussels’ most beloved community events, and it’s one that has been a stalwart, reliable anchor for the village. The Brussels Fall Fair has existed throughout the majority of Canada’s Industrial Revolution, two World Wars, a counterculture movement, and the Information Revolution. But what is the real driving force behind the endurance of this particular agricultural celebration? Is there something about the Brussels Fall Fair that sets it apart?
The Citizen has sought out a number of past and present members of the Brussels Agricultural Society (BAS) in search of the secret to keeping a high-quality agricultural exhibition going in the age of TikTok, and ended up uncovering nothing less than a dedicated cabal of Huron County agriculture enthusiasts who focus their energy ever year on putting together an annual showcase of all the hidden skills and talents of East Huron’s best and brightest. These unsung heroes are the true lifeblood of the fair!
Almost every fall fair in Ontario is organized by some manner of Agricultural Society, and the fair in Brussels is no exception. For current BAS President Reg Vinnicombe, joining the society was just a natural extension of his social life. “A number of Ag. Society members are also curlers, and I would curl with them on Monday nights [as part of the Brussels Curling Club], so I knew quite a few of them to begin with. When I retired from work, I wanted to find something else to get involved with... now I’m in my fourth year.”
The BAS has always been made up of a collective of local individuals who understand the importance of celebrating agriculture. They may work largely without accolades or attention, but it’s not some kind of secret society at all - in fact, they would likely love it if you wanted to join, or just help out on the weekend of the fair. “We live and die by our volunteers,” Vinnicombe admitted. “We have a great bunch of volunteers - a lot of them have been members for a long time... they’re always good to step up the day of the fair, and make sure we have enough bodies to get everything set up, and all that sort of thing.”
The inception of any Ag. Society always begins with the desire to promote the local farm industry, but it also tends to foster the development of a close-knit social network, as all members begin working together to put on a great event that coincides with one of the busiest times of the year for farmers - the harvest season. That timing is no coincidence - fall is the perfect time to hold a fair. Beyond the obvious fact that autumn is a time when the fields of Huron County are overflowing with competition-ready produce and livestock in need of judging, those feeling the extreme effort and strain that comes along with feeding a nation often find themselves in need of some kind of relief from the pressure. And perhaps that is where the true energy behind a rural agricultural fair comes from - a kind of blowing-off-steam power. In the early days of agricultural societies, the annual exhibitions were born of an inherent desire on the part of rural farmers who have the urge to compete in a friendly fashion against their neighbours.
Without the BAS, there would have never been such a successful, long-standing fair in Brussels. In its early days, all the festivities were held in the open air of Victoria Park, and all inside exhibits were housed within the Armstrong Hotel on Turnberry Street. That was back in the 1860s, when rural fairs were really starting to spread all across Southwestern Ontario.
While humanity has been holding harvest ‘faires’ for almost as long as there has been farming, the concept of the modern agricultural fair was first imported from Europe by way of the Maritime provinces, in the early 1800s. When innovative, impressive venues like England’s ‘Crystal Palace’ in Hyde Park were constructed specifically to highlight the quality of farm fresh products, it inspired farmers to engage in friendly competition against each other. It also elevated the profile of farming as a vital industry amongst a new sector of the population that found themselves less and less connected to the processes that put food on tables.
In 1875, community support of the local farming industry in Brussels led to the construction of a new Agricultural Hall, which cost $600. At that point in history, there were also agricultural societies working with Morris and Grey Townships that contributed to the success of what was then called the East Huron Agricultural Society. The fair expanded in 1891, when the township purchased 10 acres from local developer John Leckie in order to bring horse racing to the event. In 1895, there was the first Field Crop Competition. The crops were to be turnips (or rutabagas, depending on where one hails from) and mangels, a type of beet prized for its nutrient-rich greens and roots.
In 1900, a Friday night concert was introduced to the fair line-up, which was held at the Town Hall. It was estimated that, around this time, the little village of Brussels was hosting a fair with an estimated attendance of over 5,000 visitors. In order to handle the large number of exhibition entries, it became traditional for women to assist in setting up and displaying exhibits.
Contests for children were also introduced around this time, and soon, there was no end to the creative contest concepts. Apple naming, soap nail planking and potato racing have all been offered over the years. In 1906, Brussels unveiled its own “Crystal Palace” - a show hall that was built for a cost of $3,263. The space was the pride of Brussels for many years, before it was eventually replaced with the new Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre on the other side of town, where the fair is held to this day.
A name that would frequently appear under the “winning” column was Murray Cardiff - a local farmer, politician, and tireless BAS supporter. The Cardiff family has been an essential part of the agricultural scene in Brussels for as long as immigrants have been settling in the area. The first Cardiffs came to Huron County from Ireland in the early 1800s, and set about taming the land for agricultural use.
The family thrived in the area, and members began to extend their advocacy for agriculture into the wild world of politics. From 1932 to 1940, Lewis Elston Cardiff was Reeve of Ontario's Morris Township. He entered federal politics in the 1940 general election, becoming a member of Parliament in 1940. Lewis Elston was re-elected to successive Parliament terms in 1945 and 1949 then re-elected in the Huron riding in 1953, 1957, 1958, 1962 and 1963, serving as Party Whip in 1957 and 1958, and he also served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture.
Later, Murray Cardiff served as a Member of Parliament for Huron-Bruce, during which he was a tireless advocate for agriculture. Murray was known to travel home to Brussels from Ottawa every weekend, where he would hold impromptu question periods with local residents in the hopes of keeping the lines of communication open between politicians and the people that feed them. Murray was dedicated to the well-being of farmers, and his belief that agricultural fairs are one of the best ways to show appreciation for the agricultural industry inspired a whole new generation of young people to join the BAS and clubs like 4-H. In fact, to this day, the most prestigious award handed out by Huron 4-H is the Murray Cardiff Citizenship Award, often presented by a family member, like Matt Cardiff, Murray's grandson, in recent years.
Vinnicombe believes that the modern homecraft section of the Brussels Fall Fair just might have a category for everybody, no matter what their secret passion might be. “It gives a lot of people the opportunity to show off exhibits from their various areas of interest, and showcase what they’ve done for the year; quilting, field crops, a Junior Section, baking... all different types. Pretty much any interest that somebody has, there’s probably something that they could showcase in the fair, and be recognized for it,” Vinnicombe said. Of course, there’s still room in Brussels for the most traditional of fair competitions - livestock judging. “We do have a 4-H show for the Brussels Belgrave Beef Club, and an open Sheep Show.”
Many decades have passed since the first-ever Brussels Fall Fair, and in that time, a variety of new activities have been added to the festivities in order to broaden its appeal to the people of Brussels. This year, the BAS is hosting a Family Fun Fair in the spring, with the hopes of familiarizing some of the town’s newcomers with the ins and outs of the fair’s judging system. “It’ll give you a chance to come and submit something,” explained Vinnicombe. “And it’ll be judged. The judges will explain what they’re looking for, so exhibitors can see how they can improve for the fall.”
Past BAS President Dorothy Cummings still takes pride in the fair that she has helped to bring to fruition so many times over the years. When she first joined the team, Cummings had recently returned to the area, having just moved to town from Peterborough with her husband. “I grew up just north of Brussels, and my dad was president in 1981. He was still part of the Ag. Society, so when I moved back here, the other members thought it was an opportunity to ask me to join. So I did! I was recruited in 1992, and I became president for the first time from 1995 to 2001, which was a long presidency! And then I was president again from 2009 to 2010, and then again in 2018 to 2019.”
Cummings believes the fair’s strength comes straight from the efforts of the local exhibitors who contribute their entries to the competition every year.
In 1980, the first Queen of the Fair Competition was held in 1980, which was replaced in 1995 with the Ambassador Competition. Nicole Lowe, 2002 winner, can’t say enough good things about the public speaking competition for young people. “It’s a wonderful program for youth!” she exclaimed. “Public speaking is the number one thing people don’t like to do.”
Every year, the fair has a different theme - this year, it’s “Pork and Beans”, which really plays to some of the core agricultural strengths of the county - Hensall is, after all, the White Bean Capital of Canada, and, as anybody who has ever tasted the heavenly peameal bacon that comes from Seaforth’s 5 Chicks and a Farmer will attest, it’s a region that knows its hogs.
The BAS hopes that this tasty theme and the excitement surrounding the fair will draw in some of the town’s more curious newcomers, as it has so many times in the past, because, despite how much has changed, some things always stay the same. Year after year, the people of Brussels and its neighbouring communities have gathered together for their fair, and this year will be no different. And, with good weather, it’s sure to be a real humdinger!