The History of Maxwelton Farm, Baie D’Urfé
Talk by Henry B. Yates, Wed. Apr. 24/24 at 1:30PM
The numbers in round brackets "(#...)" refer to slide numbers.
Good Afternoon,
I am happy to return to this notable Historical Society founded in 1961, and be among friends and acquaintances.
It was my pleasure to be here in 2023.
My thanks indeed to Guido for his excellent introduction.
I am pleased that my wife and life partner, Melodie Yates, is with us.
As I prepared this talk, a flood of happy memories came to mind, that emphasized how fortunate I am to have grown up at Maxwelton Farm.
10,000 years ago humans began to practice agriculture in the middle east-a major event that created civilization. 10,000 years later Maxwelton Farm was established in Baie D’Urfé.
In 1908 my maternal grandfather, Edward Maxwell (1867-1923), a prominent Canadian architect living in Montreal, purchased 160 acres of land, some being farm land. This land extended from the Lakeshore Road north to Ste. Marie Road and was divided in half by the railroad tracks and the two lane Route 2, now Route 20. (#1)Edward Maxwell with his Jersey cows.
One might ask what events lead to Edward’s interest in farming. His maternal grandparents, William and Johan MacBean, owned land near Rougement, about 55 km east of Montreal and possibility farmed with the help of hired workers as they lived in Montreal. Oral family history suggests that Edward visited them as a young man and became exposed to farming.
Edward had designed country houses for several Montrealers in Senneville, not far from Baie D’Urfé, and presumably this is why he bought land in Baie D’Urfé.
Edward began building his large country residence for his family in 1908. It took two years to build, using field stones from his farm land. The design of the house included the curved arch over the front door, a slate roof and walls of fieldstone and was built on the summit of a sandy hill that commanded an excellent view of fields and Lake St. Louis. In addition he build two barns, one for cows and one for horses, other farm buildings and two houses for the farm workers. He hired a farm manager who hired farm workers.
At the entrance to the farm, Edward erected two eight foot stone pillars to support a pair of elaborate black wrought iron gates, that left no doubt as to where the farm entrance was located. Edward also built a small house for farm workers, near the gates, known as the gate lodge There was a half km winding driveway up the hill to his house from the Lakeshore Road with Macintosh apple trees on both sides of the driveway. The address was 20185 Lakeshore Road and these street numbers may have been first used about 1938. Before the use of street numbers, houses were identified by the name of the owner.
Edward bought Jersey cows but I do not know how he decided upon that breed. I am happy that was his choice, for the taste of the unpasteurized milk was delicious and the bottle top, being cream, was oh so good on my morning cereal.
Edward and his family lived for a short time at the farm, but his wife Elizabeth was happier living at their city house in Montreal and spending summers at their seaside house, named Tillietudlem, in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Thereafter Edward would spend some weekends at his farm, travelling by steam train to and from Montreal.
Edward’s love of nature, be it the land at Maxwelton or the sea at Tillietudlem most likely enhanced his architectural creativity. (#2 & 3) photos of Edward and Elizabeth.
Unfortunately Edward was diagnosed with cancer in 1921 and died in November 1923, age 55, at the height of his architectural career. His last design, with his brother William, an architect and partner in Edward’s firm, was the tower of the Chateau Frontenac Hotel in Quebec City.
My mother , Elizabeth, was born in 1908, the youngest of four children of Elizabeth and Edward. (#3a,3b.). Photos of my mother and father, Monty Yates.
My parents were married in 1934 at St. Mary’s Church, Beaconsfield, and the wedding reception was held at Maxwelton Farm, the place that my mother adored.
They were living in Montreal at the Maxwelton Apartment Building, directly across from McGill University on Sherbrooke St. On April 19, 1935 at 2:30AM in the Royal Victoria Hospital, I was born and the doctor noticed that there was another baby and quickly returned to work. Ted was born 15 minutes later. It was a total surprise that identical twins had arrived. Ted and I were both 7.5 pounds and for the last week of my mother’s pregnancy, she rested in bed with the weight of two large babies. My father was then particularly busy buying extra baby accessories. At times in life one experiences happy and surprising events. (#3c the twins). One might ask how does one identify identical twins. When we were born the nurse put wrist bands on with no.1and no. 2. My face is wider than Ted’s and this was my way of identification when we were young. In 1943 my sister Mary was born.
The late 1930s marked the end of the depression and the beginning of World War II. My parents decided to move to Maxwelton Farm in the late summer of 1939, a rather courageous move. One of my earliest recollections, seated on the outdoor gallery at the farm, was when my father solemnly informed Ted and me that the war would most likely be a long and bitter one. He was realistic, having served in World War I from 1915 to 1916 working in France with the No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill). He was there because his father was second-in-command of this hospital. My father was 16.
In the summer of 1940 my father became manager of the farm, that was owned by the estate of Edward Maxwell. He knew nothing about farming but was a graduate in chemical engineering from McGill and had a knowledge of chemistry that was helpful in learning about soil science. He began reading books about agriculture and got to know several professors at near-by Macdonald College.
The farm required many improvements including building repairs, enhancement of the soil in the fields and improvement of animal husbandry, the study of animal breeding.(#4). This photo was taken about 1920 showing the house as it was built in 1910. As part of the house, there was a greenhouse near the garden. In the spring of 1940 my mother planted seeds in several wooden flats. She soon noticed that the plants in one flat were growing much more quickly than in the other flats. She contacted a friend who was a good gardener and was informed that the plants growing so well were weeds-nothing like learning from experience.
In the 1940s winters were longer and with much more snow than now. The half km driveway was cleared with two horses pulling a wooden snow scoop that dumped snow at the side of the driveway. This would take half a day of hard work. With a plowed driveway and a strong wind, attractive and large sculpted snowdrifts were formed on the driveway but required another snow ploughing. At times, nature can be persistent. (#5). Photo of house in winter.
The house was heated with a coal furnace and hot water, with a circulation pump that pumped water to the radiators. Hot water for use in the house was heated in a small coal furnace and there were no showers, just bath tubs. Every few hours these furnaces required coal to be added and ashes to be removed, but not during the night. Coal delivered in the autumn lasted all winter so we were never without heat even during a winter snow storm that could last for three or more days. However the house was not insulated and on cold days with the outside temperature at minus 30 degrees Celsius, the inside temperature was 16 C. The solution for warmth was to wear a heavy sweater or two and adapt to the coolness.
There was a wood burning stove for cooking in the small kitchen. I well remember coming to the cool kitchen and seeing the fire being lit in the stove for breakfast. The kitchen had a table with a metal top, a deep and thick ceramic sink and an unheated area next the kitchen with an icebox, cooled by blocks of ice. Initially there was a large pine wood copper lined tank in the attic. Water was supplied from a well and pumped to the attic and with gravity flowed to the house. I remember this tank but with no water in it. I do not know how the barns and other houses were supplied with water. By 1939 there was a large black metal tank in the basement connected to the 185 foot well near the house. This new well supplied water to the whole farm and never ran dry. Household sewage flowed by gravity through a 250 feet long pipe to the upper edge of a pasture and down a hill, being absorbed into the soil. A concrete septic tank and septic field were built in 1958. The phone system was one black telephone with a hand held receiver and a circular number dial with the number 466 and calling Montreal, 30 km away, was long distance. These systems were primitive but worked.
(#6) Notice the small circular stone walls that clearly indicate the path to the front door. At the left of the front door was a large bell, believed to have come from a monastery. When Ted and I were playing outside, our mother would ring this bell, informing us that lunch or dinner was ready.
Ice was needed for 12 months of the year. There was a wooden ice house about 20 feet wide and 50 feet long near the barns. Every winter we hired a contractor to cut ice on Lake St. Louis. With their truck on the lake, they used a long and large-toothed handsaw to saw large blocks of ice, measuring 2 feet wide, 4 feet long and the depth of the ice being about 2 feet. With a loaded truck they delivered the ice blocks to our ice house. The ice was covered with wood shavings for insulation obtained from E. J. Maxwell lumber company in Montreal. The ice was used in the domestic ice boxes and in the submerged cooling tank with 8 gallon milk cans. Later this tank was cooled with refrigeration equipment.
At times there was ice on the driveway. Ted and I built a bob sleigh and it took us 30 seconds to arrive at the Lakeshore Road and a little more time when snow was on the driveway and we skied. Mr. Pilon, a nice man who lived nearby, drove the school bus. It was an early 1930’s Ford truck with a canvas top, three benches inside and a wooden half door made of wooden slats. At each stop Mr. Pilon would untie the rope at the door and students would climb up a few steps into the cold bus. We knew nothing better and it was war time. Our destination was Macdonald High School on the Macdonald College campus, and it was probably one of the best public schools in Quebec. We had college professors who taught us physics and chemistry, the use of the college sports facilities, use of the large assembly hall, good teachers and an excellent Principal, Malcolm Davies, who was liked and respected at school and in the community.
Ted and I would cross country ski on the fields, build snow men and snow caves and play hockey. Using scrap lumber and steel screening, we build a six foot high by ten foot wide hockey screen so we could shoot the puck for hockey practice in the icy back yard. Our parents were relieved that we ceased shooting the puck at the garage doors.
On a cold day I licked my tongue on a metal hand pump, not realizing that it would be painful. When I extracted my tongue, a wee bit of skin remained on the pump. Experience is a good teacher and I only did that once.
On Lake St Louis we skated when there was little snow on the ice. What a sense of freedom skating on a huge "skating rink". Some men had built wooden sail boats for the ice. There was a triangular wooden base with an area for sitting and a large sail. I rode on one on a cold windy day and we must have been travelling at least 80 km per hour. This was a cold and dangerous ride that could have resulted in the boat tipping over. Fortunately it was a safe ride.
Milk was delivered daily in a truck to residential homes on the West Island and in Montreal. This required a man leaving in the wee hours of the morning with ice in the truck to keep the milk cool. A metal basket with 6 glass milk bottles was carried to each customer’s door. (#7). This milk truck of the early 1930s shows the phone number as 31and the man, I believe Mr. Poole, being well dressed.(#8) The next milk truck was a late 1930s Chevrolet, with a picture of a Jersey cow’s head on the door.
In 1942 my father decided that this way of delivering milk was too labour intensive. He arranged with Borden’s Dairy in Montreal to buy Maxwelton Jersey milk delivered in 8 gallon cans, each weighing 105 pounds full. The trip from the farm to the CNR railway station in Ste. Anne de Bellevue was 5 km. Milk cans were loaded into the baggage car of a passenger train pulled by a steam locomotive six mornings per week. Daily shipments would vary from 8 to12 cans of milk, being 64 to 96 gallons of milk.
During the War the family 1940 Plymouth car hauled the milk cans in an enclosed black trailer to the railway station in Ste. Annes. On one occasion the trailer attachment broke and the Lakeshore Road became a "milk road". On days during big snowstorms, milk was transported in a Molson Brewery sleigh, purchased for $15 from Molson’s, and pulled by 2 horses. At times the Lakeshore Road was not cleared of snow for some time. In 1945 the first large truck was purchased from E. J. Maxwell lumber company in Montreal, a 1933 Leyland truck made in England. This was a significant improvement over the car and trailer. In 1948 a new International truck was bought and the long wooden body from the Leyland truck was rebuilt at the farm and installed on the new truck. (#18, 19,20). (fast forward) Photos of this new truck, milk cans on the truck and my brother Ted and the steam train at the station and showing a man holding a wooden stick with a circle attached. The locomotive engineer put his arm through the circle that contained a message for him-a simple but effective way of communication.
The Leyland truck remained at the farm. In the darkness of the evening, Ted and I would start this truck with a permanent crank and quietly drive around near the barns, hoping that no one would hear or see the truck - we were fortunate and enjoyed this event many times. Boys will be boys!
One of Borden’s Dairy selling attractions was Elsie the Jersey cow and her baby son, Beauregard, who traveled to various towns in a well-equipped truck.
To our surprise Borden’s contacted Maxwelton Farm and offered to have Elsie and Beauregard stay at the farm for a weekend in the late spring of 1950-what a pleasant surprise. A special truck and driver arrived with the celebrities, including many brushes and other items so that mummy and son looked their best. Numerous neighbours came to see Elsie and Beauregard and the weekend was a "smashing hit" with a fun time had by all with numerous photos taken.
There were 100 Jersey cattle on the farm, and the calves lived in the calf barn attached to the large cow barn. The heifers, between calves and grown cows, lived in the horse barn and a small barn.
Everywhere the cows lived in the barn, there was an individual water trough operated by each cow pushing her nose on a flat piece of metal in the trough causing water to flow. The bulls had the same arrangement.
There were 2 loose boxes, each 10 feet square, with wooden shavings on the concrete floor. This was the maternity ward where the mother gave birth and remained with her baby for several days.
From October to May the cows were in the barn living on a concrete floor covered with wood shavings and with a long steel loop around their necks. In front of them was a cement feeding trough, a manger, where they ate hay, grain, beet pulp with black strap molasses and stalks of corn cut into small pieces. There were 45 milking cows and milking was at 6AM and 4PM, taking 2 hours per milking with two men. Milking machines, and infrequent milking by hand of cows with udder problems, were used. The milk from each cow was carefully weighed, with production records meticulously kept. The Canadian Jersey Cattle Club awarded gold medals to some consistently prolific producers, that increased their sale value. The two bulls lived in luxury each in a loose box 10 feet square. Lime was placed on the cement barn floors as a disinfectant and government inspectors would come every three months, particularly to make sure the barn and dairy were clean. Even on very cold days with the temperature at minus 30 degrees Celsius , the heat from the cows’ bodies kept the barn at a comfortable temperature. Early to mid-May was the first day for the cows to be outside and they were like rambunctious children running around the barnyard and obviously happy with their new-found freedom. The two bulls were taken to their separate bull pens in the pasture not far from the barn. Two men, each holding a strong wooden poll that was attached to the copper ring permanently inserted in the bull’s nose, took the bulls to their bull pens near the barn.
During the summer the cows would be in different pastures eating grass. A cow has four chambers in its stomach and lies down after eating to further digest its food. Before milking, a farm employee would go to the pasture with a trained dog who was helpful in bringing the cows to the barn.(#9,10). Cows in the front and back pastures.
On some Sundays in the summer, a special ceremony took place. We would invite a neighbour’s family with their young child of six or seven years old, who’s task was to christen a young calf with water placed on the calf’s head and say the name of the calf. This was a popular event and the word soon spread in Baie D’Urfé.
Spring was a happy time for Ted and me. Low land behind the big cow barn would flood with the melting of much snow and form a swamp. Our parents bought us an 8 foot white rowboat and we enjoyed rowing on what was our little lake. At times the water was also on an adjacent field and good for rowing. Life on the farm lead to many varied and fun activities for 2 young twins full of energy.
Near our house stood a grove of birch trees in a low lying area that flooded each spring. Ted and I choose that area to build a wooden house 8 feet square with a door, two windows and an attic. We used scrap lumber from the farm, constructed the door and found 2 old windows on the farm. Two old beds with mattresses on top of metal wires as springs were available, but did not provide a good sleep. We built a small table between the beds. The grand inspection day arrived and our parents were happy with the new house. However they remarked that the house would be flooded each spring and that happened. The lesson learned was to never buy a house located on wet land.
In our large garden near our house, grew many vegetables-turnips, potatoes, squash, asparagus, carrots, beets, lettuce, peas, beans, tomatoes and pear trees, grape vines and red McIntosh apples next the driveway. School began in September and returning home I would enjoy apples, grapes and pears. What a delectable after-school snack. In the basement a large cold cellar was built with cement blocks, an insulated door and a hole in the foundation covered with a small door for cold air. We were privileged to eat fresh vegetables and fruit all winter. Unpasteurized Jersey milk was available every day and during 30 years I never got sick once. At times we would make butter and ice cream. The ice cream was made in a round metal container one foot high and turned by a crank and placed in a wooden container filled with ice and salt spread on the ice to hasten cooling. At times berries were added to the cream.
We supplemented our food supply by shopping in Ste. Anne de Bellevue at the A and P store, A and P meaning Atlantic and Pacific. Prior to 1940 one shopped at specific stores such as the baker, dairy store, butcher etc.
Every spring we took about 30 heifers, the teenagers, to the back 80 acres of the farm. My job was to hold up my hand on the two lane highway, then Route2, and to my amazement the traffic stopped. The cows were lead across the highway and the train tracks, making certain that no trains were in sight. In hind sight this was a risky venture. The big Leyland truck was bought in 1945 and was ready in 1946 to transport the heifers to the back pasture. Part of this land was a forest where red foxes lived and a small stream provided drinking water for the cows and the foxes. I walked in the forest enjoying nature and its tranquility.
In 1945, there were four work horses--two Clydesdales of Scottish breed and two Percherons of French breed (France). One of these horses was blind but amazingly was able to work equally with his mate. After the War two were sold and the other two were kept until 1953 and then sold. These horses and some heifers, being teenage cows, were housed in the horse barn. (#11, 12,13). These photos show the horses in front of the horse barn, the large cow barn with the calf barn in the foreground and our house and garden in relation to the large cow barn.
In 1939 there was one old tractor with steel wheels. I remember the horses pulling this tractor to start it but the result was total failure. Soon a new 1940 bright red Massey Harris tractor was purchased with yellow wheels, rubber tires and 10 horsepower on the drawbar—the latest in design and a durable and useful tractor. With my father driving in the fields collecting hay, I would often sit on the wide rear fender with my foot on the pulley wheel. Some years later I enjoyed driving this tractor pulling a harrow in the fields—what a feeling of freedom, with fresh air, sunshine, fertile soil and beautiful trees. A new grey 1952 Ford tractor was purchased with the latest in technology, being a three point hydraulic lift at the rear that allowed farm implements to be lifted and moved and a power take off rotating shaft at the rear to operate farm implements. These major improvements were designed by an Irishman, Harry Ferguson. This tractor replaced a 1950 Ford tractor with no rear hydraulics. With highly specialized farming machinery, including tractors, farming was transformed from back breaking labour to a highly efficient agricultural operation.
Gas was rationed during World War II, but we could purchase ample amounts of purple-coloured gas for use only in the farm tractors. We had a Texaco gas pump near the garage and gas was hand pumped from the underground storage tank to a glass container about ten feet above the ground on top of the pumping apparatus. Gas flowed by gravity from the glass container to the tractors. Texaco filled the underground tank with gas and then added the purple dye.
In the 1940s and 1950s, farming was labour-intensive. There were four men hired full-time and in the summer two extra men were needed to help with harvesting the crops. Marcel Mailloux grew up in Cacouna, near Rivière-du-Loup. He caddied for my father at the Cacouna Golf Club and in June 1941 came to Maxwelton to work for a few months, but he worked and lived at the farm for 67 years. His starting salary was $30 per month, being $500 in 2024, including room and board and holidays were 7 days after one year, 10 days after 2 years and 14 days after 3 years, all being quite generous. By 1946 my father had recognized Marcel’s ability, versatility and hard work and made him the herdsman and my father’s right-hand man. He lived in the boarding house. Mrs. Sweet was the cook and housekeeper and looked after three men in winter and five men in summer, in a kindly and effective manner. Everybody liked Mrs. Sweet. There was one small bathtub in the basement for the men’s weekly baths.
Marcel informed my father that he would be marrying Jocelyn Charette of Ste. Anne de Bellevue in 1947. A house attached to the boarding house was built for them. The farm employees and my father did much of the work. A metal scoop pulled by one horse dug out the sandy soil. A small portable cement mixer produced the concrete that was transported by wheelbarrow to the wooden forms that made space for the foundation walls. Once the wooden walls and roof were completed, a carpenter, electrician and plumber were hired. These construction methods were simple but effective and the house is still lived in in the twenty first century This was the home of Jocelyne and Marcel for 61 years until September 2008, when Marcel, age 85, made the wise decision to move with Jocelyne to their daughter’s house nearby
In June 1943, Gordon Sanders came to Maxwelton with his wife Jessie and their two sons. He had grown up on a dairy farm near Lennoxville in the Eastern Townships. They moved into the gate lodge near the Lakeshore Road and in 1954 they moved to the boarding house, which was considerably larger than the gate lodge and lived at the farm for 56 years.
In September 1950, Arie Ruitenberg arrived in Canada from the Netherlands and began working at Maxwelton. His aunt had contacts in Quebec, including Maxwelton Farm. After high school, Arie studied at a Dutch agricultural college for two years. He and my father frequently discussed agricultural subjects. I remember talking with him about the German V-2 rockets flying over his home and describing the shrill noise they created. The rockets landed in England in 1944 and 1945 and were one of the last offensive actions in England by the Germans. Arie left Maxwelton in October 1951, realizing that Baie D’Urfé was being transformed from a rural to an urban area. Maxwelton would not survive as a farm for long. He was right and the cows were sold in 1953. I lost touch with Arie until 2016 when he contacted me in Montreal. For several years Ted and I would visit him and his wife in New Brunswick and what happy times we had. Arie died in 2023 at age 93.
Soon after the war, Willie Werchola from Saskatchewan worked on the farm during one summer. He had served on merchant ships during the war, crossing the North Atlantic. One night while on watch on the open bridge and wearing a life jacket, the cargo ship took a direct hit from a torpedo fired by a German submarine. He landed in the cold ocean water, unconscious. His next recollection was being in bed on a destroyer, but not seriously injured. Wartime work was indeed hazardous, and sometimes a matter of luck.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown ran the boarding house, some-time after Mrs. Sweet retired. He was from Scotland and in good weather near sunset he would walk in nearby fields and play his bagpipes and this was pleasure to my ears.
Accidents were few on the farm. Jersey bulls were strong and at times fast moving with their heads and long horns. One bull raised his head quickly and with his horn under the chin of a farm employee, raised him a foot or two. Some medical attention was required. A wrong turn with the tractor pulling the corn harvester rendered a large tractor tire useless. Some metal tools were inadvertently placed on the moving conveyor of the corn cutter resulting in a loud screeching noise when the quickly moving sharp metal blades made contact with the tools. This was an expensive accident.
(#14) A photo of Marcel’s house on the left and the boarding house on the right.
Ted and I worked on the farm for part of each summer in the early 1950s, gaining valuable practical experience for life. We came to realize that effective results could be achieved with a combination of ability, hard work and team effort. Throughout our growing years, we observed daily the ingenuity and versatility required to operate a farm successfully Conditions change frequently, especially the weather. Our father did not pay us but said he would pay all our college expenses, which he did.
From mid-June to the end of August was hay making time and one of the busiest times of the year. This explains why farmers did not take holidays in the summer.
The hay was cut by a mower, being a horizontal cutting bar about 6 feet long with many blades quickly moving back and forth. The mower was attached to the rear of the Ford tractor and powered by the power take off. rotating shaft. .… Soon after cutting the hay, a tedder with several moving forks dispersed the hay into small bundles that enabled aerating of the hay to speed up drying. Then dry hay was placed into windrows with a side rake, both these farm implements being pulled by two horses or a tractor. A tractor pulled a wagon with a hay loader attached to the back of the wagon and placed the windrows of hay in the field onto the wagon. Two men arranged the hay on the wagon until the hay was stacked about 8 feet high. The wagon was taken to the barn by a tractor and the hay was unloaded into the hayloft of the barn using a steel cable attached to a large "U" shaped metal fork and pulled by a tractor. One of the hottest jobs I ever encountered was placing the hay in the appropriate place in the barn-much water was drunken.
Once the hay was cut farmers hoped for dry weather. We worked six days per week and until 6PM. During the war weather forecasts were not broadcast on the radio. However my father made an arrangement with the weather bureau at the Dorval Airport, phoning to get the latest forecast during haying season. (#15,16,17) showing the side rake, the hay loader with wagon and hay entering the barn.
September was corn harvesting time. In a ten acre field corn grew 7 feet high and was cut by a corn harvester pulled by a tractor. Bundles of corn were tied with strong string and ejected onto the ground, then placed onto a wagon by hand, pulled by a tractor and taken 1 km to the silo next the cow barn. These bundles were moved by hand from the wagon and placed on the metal conveyor of the corn cutter. A 25 feet long belt connected the power wheel on the tractor to the wheel on the corn cutter. Large sharp blades on this fast rotating wheel on the corn cutter, cut the corn stalks into pieces 2 inches long and forced them up a 6 inch diameter pipe to the top of the silo, 50 feet high creating a loud noise. Harvesting corn was quite a complex task.
In the autumn some fields were plowed with a plow and tractor into furrows and then a tractor pulled harrow broke up the furrows into small pieces of soil. The next spring fields were seeded with grass and legumes, such as alfalfa. Other fields were seeded with buckwheat and in the autumn plowed and harrowed to replenish the soil.
All the cattle food was grown on the farm except grain that was bought in western Canada. Our 160 acres of land were not enough to grow the grain.
In the early 1950s Ted and I enjoyed our own "private cowboy game", unbeknown to our parents. During summer evenings we would go to the pasture where some heifers grazed, and being about one year old they had developed horns. We used a stopwatch to determine the time it took to grab a heifer by the horns and wrestle it to the ground. The winner had the shortest time.
Our house had two fireplaces that were used frequently in winter. There were many trees on the farm and Marcel and Gordon cut logs into firewood using the Ford tractor powering a saw. (#25)
Dorval Airport was 10 miles east of Maxwelton Farm. Europe desperately needed
4 engine bombers laden with bombs. These bombers would fly west to gain. altitude, turn east and fly to Gander, Newfoundland for fuel and on to Reykjavik, Iceland again for fuel and then to England. Many of these bombers flying together and creating much noise was an exciting even for Ted and me. On one occasion some parts from a bomber landed in one of our fields and we young boys had a "field day" dismantling the parts.
In December 1950 a geodesic dome was erected in a field about 500 feet north of our house. This dome was 50 feet in diameter and 25 feet high at the centre of the dome. Pieces of aluminium tubing 30 inches in length and 1.5 inches in diameter were attached together and formed the structure on the dome. Different materials were fastened to the interior of the dome to determine their durability during the 4 seasons of the year.
The Lindsay and Yates families knew each other. Geoffrey Lindsay was a Montreal designer who specialized in geodesic dome structures. This structure at Maxwelton Farm represented a major advancement in dome construction and was the first practical application of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome theory. He was an American engineer, architect and futurist, known as "one of the most original thinkers of the second half of the 20th century". His most popular dome was the 1967 American Exhibition Dome at Expo 67 in Montreal. There are few of these domes in use now. In any endeavour, progress over time produces new knowledge that replaces former knowledge.(#26)
Fortunately my bedroom faced the calf barn for I was anxious to have a radio. I strung a 100 foot copper wire from my window to the calf barn that was the ariel. I bought a simple radio with a copper coil inside a cardboard box and a small crystal on top of the box and with a small piece of metal attached to a handle. To connect to a radio station I moved the small piece of metal on the crystal until I heard the sound of a radio station. Ear phones conveyed the sound to my ears. Too my surprise, there was a clear sound of voice and music. This simple radio worked.
Ted’s and my most surprising Christmas present was in 1942. Our father did not allow us to enter a room that was not used. On the floor he set up a model train with the track attached to soft balsa wood and with a station, a locomotive, passenger and freight cars and other accessories. This train had been owned by our older cousin and was an early1930s model, built by the Ives company that made good trains. Unfortunate this company went out of business in 1938. Ted and I placed this train on the ping pong table in the basement where it was the scene of countless happy hours.
In 1950 Alcan Aluminium Company in Montreal were manufacturing 4 inch diameter aluminium pipes with water sprinklers for irrigation of farmer’s fields. My father wanted to enhance his crop yields with irrigation of 4 fields totalling 30 acres. Government permission was sought and granted to use water from Lake St. Upon a 16 foot wide piece of land purchased from a neighbour, was built a small wooden pump house at Lake’s edge for a powerful electric motor and large capacity pump. I remember moving the pipes every 4 hours in the fields. Crop yields were significantly improved but the irrigation system only operated for 4 summers and then the cows were sold in September 1953.
Since 1939 my parents, Elizabeth and Monty, were so happy living at Maxwelton Farm. After World War II, Baie D’Urfé rapidly developed into a residential community and by 1953 Maxwelton was the last operating farm. Neighbouring boys were running in the pastures chasing the cows. September 1953 was a sad month at Maxwelton as we sold the cattle at auction at the farm. It was too difficult to part with all the cows, so 2 were kept and produced that delicious unpasteurized Jersey milk until 1970 for three families, my parents Marcel Mailloux and Gordon Sanders and their wives, who had been a part of the farm since the early 1940s. My parents agreed that these 2 families would have lifetime residency in their farm houses. In 1954 75 acres of land were sold and in 1962 the back 80 acres were sold. My parents in 1954 kept 5 acres of land, their house, 2 houses where the Mailloux and Sanders families were living and several barns and garages. At times one must accept reality no matter how harsh it may be.
Their new life was also a happy one until my mother died of cancer in 1969. In 1971 my father sold 4.5 acres of land and married again and moved to Vancouver where Ted and his wife Barbara were living. He died in 1984.
Marcel and Gordon and their wives continued to live in their houses but by 2008 they had died and left. I sold this half acre and the 2 houses in 2008, exactly 100 years after Edward Maxwell initially bought land that became Maxwelton Farm.
To be successful in any endeavour, determination, perseverance, hard work, a team effort and time are required. In 1940 Maxwelton Farm was in need of much "tender care". My mother was so supportive of my father’s progress in improving the farm in so many areas. Ten years later results were achieved that were indeed impressive. The Canadian Jersey Breeder of July 1950, a respected magazine, had on its front page: "Maxwelton Farm ... One of Quebec’s Best". Also was said; "one of the best Jersey herds in all of Canada and "one of the larger herds in Quebec". I shall end with the last quote: "Maxwelton... is one of the most attractive farms in Quebec. And Monty and Elizabeth Yates are most delightful hosts."
And so the history of Maxwelton Farm draws to a close.
This document has been made availble by Henry B. Yates under the creative commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0).