During the First World War, young women harvesting vital crops were known as the Land Girls and they were the predecessors of the Farmerettes in the Second World War. (CWM COLLECTION)
By Bonnie Sitter
In 1945 Betty-Lou Denton left Sault Ste. Marie with her girlfriends to become a Farmerette. Now at age 93 she still loves to talk about her experience.
You needed to be 16 years old, have good grades in school and have parental consent to qualify. We all qualified for the first two criteria. Since we were going to be working with other girls on farms, would be living in a communal setting with a “camp mother” and strict rules to obey, our parents gave their permission for us to go. None of the patriotic rhetoric was meaningful to me.
I was getting out of writing my chemistry exam and escaping the watchful eye of my mother. The train ride with all my pals from the Soo to St. Catharines was great fun. We were looking forward to a spring and summer sharing this exciting new adventure. Instead we were all sent to different locations. I ended up at Camp Gregory, up on a cliff overlooking Lake Ontario knowing no one. My fellow Farmerettes came from far and wide and were formed into teams; each team was picked up by a farmer and driven to our work site each day.
Our team worked for Horace Troupe. He had a wife who tended to her chores and kept a watchful eye on three little ones.
In 1941 Barbara “Billie” (Wilson) Murray posed with her “tent mates” for the photo that was chosen for the cover of Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz. Their summer home was dubbed “Joyful Junkhouse” and was at Pioneer Camp at RR 3 St Catharines, ON. Note the mattress and cot springs at their feet. L to R: Jeanette West, Barbara “Billie” Wilson, Muriel “Torchy” Blair and Peggy Burt.
Arthur was the oldest, about 4. I can still hear Mrs. Troupe hollering across the field: “Arthur git out of them thar strawburries, they aint no good if thur squished!”
Our first crop to harvest was long rows of asparagus. It was back-breaking work in the sun with no letup until noon when Mrs. Troupe came out with a pail of cold water from their well; we all shared the dipper for a welcome drink along with our lunch which we had prepared after breakfast. Our lunches were in brown paper bags and had been lying beside the field. I seem to remember my sandwiches were peanut butter or cheese with a piece of fruit for dessert. Meat was never an option as there was no refrigeration. After lunch it was back to the row upon row of asparagus with all of us working in unison each on our own row but working parallel to each other. We all got along well with no arguments or complaints; we were too busy thinking of when 5:00 would come.
After the strawberries were over we went to another farmer’s fields to work. As usual he came to pick us up with his truck which had no back or sides so we had to hang on as best we could. I sat at the back with my feet dangling until he hit a pothole and I went flying up and off the truck hitting the road with my head! Apparently I spent a couple of days asking repeatedly “What happened?” My mother came down from Sault Ste. Marie very determined to take me home so I could recover from the concussion. Somehow I succeeded in convincing her that I was fine and wanted to finish the job I had been contracted to do. I stayed at camp for the rest of the season.
This certificate was presented to Rita in 1944 for volunteering, serving and assisting in vital food production so essential to Canada’s war effort.
Holding tins of canned fruit in the back of a truck that was their transportation to the orchards, fields and canning factories owned by D’Arcy Cropp is Doreen MacKichan in 1947 at St.Davids where she was a “Peach Fuzz” girl. The previous summer she was a Farmerette at Huttonville where she was an “Onion Skins” girl.
The day the war ended, a farmer pulled into Camp Gregory with his huge stake truck, meaning no gate on the back, and announced that as many as could fit while standing up, could climb aboard and he’d take us into town for the parade. I remember feeling the thrill of knowing my Dad would be coming home! As we rode along the street people were cheering and waving and we had a good feeling that we had contributed to the war effort. Being a Farmerette was time well spent.
Rita (Coyne) Christensen left Capreol by train in early June 1944 with her six girlfriends to “Lend A Hand.” She had her 96th birthday last October.
Their destination was Jordan Station with a change of trains in Toronto. She recalled that excitement reigned supreme. No one got much sleep. The view of the acres and acres of orchards and grape vines certainly was like nothing like they had ever seen in Northern Ontario. They were met by a camp counsellor and she hustled them into the back of a truck for a 20 minute ride to Vineland Farm Service Depot where they were introduced to their summer home, a bunkhouse in a farmer’s field which had six sets of bunk beds. They chose their bed and investigated the surroundings and discovered they would be having their meals in an old farmhouse that had been converted into an eating area and kitchen. There was an area in the basement that served as a recreation room where Monopoly and Chinese checkers and magazines were available for leisure time.
The next morning, everyone was awakened at six thirty and when breakfast was eaten and lunches were made from the bread and fixings set out for them, the Farmerettes were picked up by the farmers and off to work. Mrs. Hammond, the cook, reminded us to take a salt pill each day and be sure to cover our heads.
With thirty six girls arriving back at camp at the end of the day the first thing on their minds was getting cleaned up. Shower and washroom facilities were basic but adequate. A building known as a lean-to, had 3 open shower stalls and no privacy, 4 sinks and 3 toilet stalls.
The planks on the floor were well spaced to handle the over- flow. There was no time for primping in the bathhouse, hence not a mirror in sight. Two galvanized tubs and a scrub board served as laundry facilities. As you can imagine hot water was at a premium.
For the first week Rita recalls they could barely find the strength to shower and eat before flaking out on their bunks. They developed muscles they didn’t know existed.
This OFSF Pledge and Poem from Pioneer Camp First Brigade was signed in 1941 by Barbara Wilson, a young girl from Simcoe, ON. Her father encouraged to volunteer and she took his advice that summer and again in 1942. Her photo album, pledge, badge and Farmerette pin are in the War Museum in Ottawa.
Rita was assigned to a farmer named Rittenhouse whose farm was situated on a bluff overlooking Lake Ontario. His farm had a large peach orchard and acres of tomatoes, strawberries and celery. She recalled that noon hour swims were impossible because the icy water of Lake Ontario was a far cry from the small spring fed lakes they swam in near Capreol.
When the strawberry crop had been picked they planted celery and had black muck up to their elbows. Thinning the peaches resulted in the unbearable itchy peach fuzz clinging to their arms and necks. The resulting rash was miserable and sometimes required a visit to the doctor. Some girls had to be assigned to other jobs in canning factories.
Payday was Friday and when the pay packets were handed out the Farmerettes were expected to pay their room and board.
Rita recalls hitchhiking with friends to Niagara Falls and St. Catharines on the weekends for a movie or a gooey sundae at a restaurant called Diana Sweets.
They kept their pledge. They ensured food production would help win the war. They laughed, moaned, shared secrets and wrote letters to family and boyfriends. Rita recalled it as a won- derful experience, a great time to be young! These ladies were definitely members of the greatest generation.
