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~ Page 12., _ Backtrack Ah yes, the good ol' days. Here's Russell shortly after the turn of the century -- peaceful, serene, seemingly waiting to be discovered. This panorama was photographed from the steeple of the Methodist church, corner of Concession Road and Church Street. The church burned to the ground several years ago. On the left is a woolen mill with its dam and behind it, to the right of the United Church, is the old Russell Con- tinuation School. On the right is the main street with its buildings, some still standing, others long gone. All in all, a scene of less hectic times. Driving down to St. Isidore Ken Clark, a well-known Cana- dian journalist, formerly with Canadian Press, now with Agriculture Canada, a con- noisseur of things old and true, recently made a foray into the Eastern Ontario countryside. This is his story of the trip. Recently, I drove down to St. Isidore de Prescott to buy a desk and in so doing added a new layer of meaning to my relationship with this country and its people. I wasn't going to -Eaton's or The. Bay, or some assembly-line mer- chandiser to buy my desk. In- stead, I loaded my wife and two daughters in the family car and embarked on an adventure to St. Isidore an hour's drive from my home in Ottawa. The trip was triggered by a telephone call from Fleurent Villeneuve, who lives a mile out of St. Isidore (pop. 700) with his wife and three vibrant kids, ranging down from eight years,-in an oldish, white-painted frame far- mhouse with a weathered barn and big tin shed in the rear. I met the Villeneuves at.a flea market where they were selling old furniture which they had col- lected, stripped and refurbished. Some of it, according to mildly snobbish standards, was cer- tifiably antique, some just old. I bought a few articles from them and later went to their home which gleams with the same im- maculate intensity as the snowy countryside around. The Villeneuves remembered I was looking for an oak desk to replace a piece of veneer junk I had own- ed and was uncomfortable with for years. On one of their collec- ting forays, they found a suitable specimen. It was a blustery winter day and we were stopped by heavy drif- ting, 500 yards from the Villeneuve house ona concession road, a 1980s reminder that trees make the best snowfences and don't need to be put up and taken down. We left the car and walked, en- joying the modest challenge, lean- had restored to their original beauty. The desk was nothing spectacular; but it was almost luminescent as we brought it out of the shadows into the sunlight, dark oak, in very good condition. It had clean, simple lines, with a touch of rectangular puritan elegance, worth every cent of $80. 613-821-2893 METCALFE: ONTARIO KOA 2PO Farm Equipment Dealers MENT ' Hill and services of Carse 'at our place Miscellaneous Implements Planters Sprayers Fertilizer Spreaders Grinder Mixers Snow Blowers Elevators Blades Swathers Plows Combines New Idea Power Unit Combine, grain head Cockshutt 428, Self-Propelled Combine, grain head Semi-Mount Plows Back to the kitchen. Drink and conversation. The little girl read to my 17-year-old daughter from an English text. At eight, she is perfectly bilingual. We talk about the Villeneuve's upcoming trip to Pennsylvania for antiques. They' ll do the trip, all five in the family truck, making a living out of our ETCALFE ERVICE ENTRE commencing at 10 a.m. sharp gigantic 1980 Mere Approximately 50 Used Tractors White 2-105, cab, 900 hours International 434, diesel, hydraulic loader Cockshutt 35 Allis Chalmers D17 International 240 Leyland 270 International W4 Discs Rotovators Cultivators Seed Drills Stone Pickers Ford 9N Auctioneers Carson Hill 821-2946 Stewart James 821-2784 Nuffield 10-60, hydraulic loader society's reaching out to the past. Villeneuve and I drive down to my car in his truck and then I drive back to the house and pick up my family. Carefully, wrapped in blankets to prevent damage, we load the desk into the truck. We feel that we have obtained something of value and at the things (Photo courtesy Alex and Mabel Little) same time made a discovery. It's all out there, waiting, just beyond the city's periphery. Think about like quality and neighborliness, reaching out to Canada's past, the Canada that we lost somewhere along the line and that everybody would like to get back. "Non-Consignment" FARM MACHINERY New Idea Power Unit New Idea Power Unit Uni Systems Shetler, 3 row corn head Husking Bed, 3 row corn head 1 New Idea Diesel Power Unit ~33=ab New Idea Power Unit Harvester, pickup Ss Ch h y uper Chopper, corn head SA ES (#8 Oliver 66 E Minneapolis Moline 670 Zetor 6745, 4 wheel drive Leyland 270 Zetor 8045, 4 wheel drive, cab Allis Chalmers 200, cab International B275, excellent Case 730 David Brown 950 Trail Mowers Rakes Stookers Balers Forage Boxes Leyland 384, hydraulic loader from 20°h.p. to 120 h.p. Farmall C, plow, cultivator Leyland 270 International WD9 Nuffield 4, hydraulic loader Cockshutt 35 Ford 600, cab Zetor 12045, 4 wheel drive, cab Nuffield 4-65 Leyland 270 Zetor 6911, hydraulic loader Hay, Forage, Etc. Terms of Sale Massey 27, Self-Propelled Combine, grain : Wagons Mower Conditioners Forage Harvesters Flail Choppers Forage Blowers Corn Pickers Manure Spreaders Loaders Miscellaneous ing into the wind gusting across head the fields and occasionally turning our backs to the blast. Halfway there, Fleurent spotted us from: =» the house and came out in his pickup to drive us the rest of the way. We warmed up in the huge kit- chen, five Villeneuves and four Clarks, dulling hunger pangs with superbly made local cheese and * hot chocolate. Our conversation was a mixture of French and English, with the Villeneuves, of course, providing the bridge over the language barrier; Canada functioning in the kitchen. "We went out into the wind and the grey barn: in the shadows were ~ the old dressers, chairs, tables and sideboards .that . the . Villeneuves . . Cash -- Cheque or a 10% Down Payment will hold purchase Ve for 10 days only. Financing Available On The Spot Massey Clipper Pull-Type Combine Lunches and Refreshments are available on the premises % ; ILD - ne 'Ls 7 Many, Many Other Unlisted Items District Lions Club -- All Machinery Listed Subject to Prior Sale Metcalfe Service Centre Support your service clubs. TWP. OSGOODE, 12 MILES SOUTH-EAST OF OTTAWA 1 MILE WEST OF METCALFE Delivery Can Be Arranged All Articles Sold and Left Over 14 Days Will Be Forfeited Unless Other Arrangements Are Made GEHL. FARM EQUIPMENT