Monday we were free in Stratford, so we took a tour of Perth County with Marty and Hope. Hope found some intriguing locations in a Perth County brochure, which did not disappoint us. We ranged from Millbank to Mitchell to Russeldale, and found all the cheese, beer, and animals we could desire.
The Millbank Furniture Company could have been on the edge of any town in the U.S., with its solid maple, oak, walnut, ash desks, tables, and coffee tables in living room sets, spread around an immense barn-like room. We gawked and dreamed a little, but came only with Marty and Hope’s maple-ringed charcuterie board.
The search for Black Donnelly’s Brewing company was truly circuitous up and down the lines (42-64) and the roads (42-72) of western Perth County. It was truly in the middle of nowhere, but it had a small restaurant offering pizza and some of their draught and canned beers. The Milk Stout was a pleasure, and the pizza was crisp and spicy.
Apparently the Black Donnelly’s were a family of eight that had squatted on local farmland to claim it legally, if the residents did not return for seven years, according to law at that time. (“Black” is a designation for “blackfeet Irish,” not a racial description.) The owners sold the land to Patrick Farrell who did actually return, but James Donnelly beat Patrick badly, so he could not reclaim the property. Even a visit from the local authorities did not move them from their squatter’s rights. They developed a local reputation for violence. Here’s the climax of the story according to https://www.black-donnellys.com/the-story/
In 1857, at a barn raising bee, tensions came to a head. Farrell and James Donnelly, like the rest of the men there, had been drinking all day. Some words were exchanged and soon the men were throwing punches. Farrell was big, much taller and heavier than James, but James was tough as cured leather. Their drunken brawl came to an end quickly, with James driving a hand-spike through Farrell’s head, killing him instantly.
The vat where the Stout beer was cured.
After hearing this part my enthusiasm for buying the T-shirt dampened a little, so I bought two 16 oz. glasses in stead.
TLC Alpaca Farm [https://www.foodbevg.com/CA/Mitchell/569863353050875/TLC-AlpacaFred-and-Faye-Glauser] was just as hard to find as Black Donnelly’s, but was more of a heart-warming story. Fred and Faye Glauser were charming hosts, happy to show us around the farm and shearing area for no charge, although we did buy quite a few socks and mittens among the four of us. We met a variety of farm animals–donkeys, ponies, a dog named Duke– as well as a herd of ten or so alpacas.
The alpacas are curious and friendly and approached us cautiously after drifting into the pasture. They had already entertained some children, who had walked them around the pasture by bridles and leads earlier in the day. Fred said they would have done the same for us, except their social bank was a little depleted from their morning’s activity.
Alpacas are well-adapted to the Canadian winters and can even negotiate snow drifts, as light-footed as they are. They get sheared once a year on the shearing machine pictured here. The machine is so quiet and smooth in its operation that the alpacas don’t mind the process at all, according to Fred. They get strapped to the belt, which turns them over, once they have been sheared on one side.
Fred said he brought in local alpaca farmers and sheared their animals for little charge. He made money on traveling around to farms across Ontario and shearing their alpacas.
We saw a large hamper of alpaca fur and were invited to take some strands as souvenirs, but we moved on to the display of products, mittens, socks, hats and toys made out of fur. We moved on after substantial purchasing and thanking the Glausers for their hospitality. (Some gratuities included).
Returning to Stratford, we finished a fascinating day with Marty and Hope with an early repast at Bentley’s, a popular watering hole.
