Community Life

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Argyle Shore was traditionally a farming community consisting of up to two dozen farms at one point in time. Farmers and agriculture were the mainstay of the community, economy and social life. Many of these farms were in the family for generations which resulted in great pride of ownership and great responsibility and dedication to the land and the way oflife it provided. The farms were usually mixed farms meaning that they were made up ofa variety offarm operations and commodities. Some had beef and/or dairy cattle and possibly hogs, sheep and poultry. Every farm also had work horses and one or more driving horses. Crops grown were mixed grains, hay, potatoes, turnips, mangels (for animal feed) and garden vegetables.

Speciality was an early aspect of agriculture on “The Shore”. During the 20’s and 30’s, Walter lVlacPhail ran a substantial fox ranch along with his other farm operations. In later years, Dr. Carl Brown raised both foxes and purebred sheep and Doug Jameson also had foxes. In the late 70‘s, Gary lV’IacPhail purchased a small herd of purebred Scottish Highland cattle from his neighbour, Wilmer Brandt, when Wilmer moved back to Vermont. These cattle were mainly breed stock and were sold to other parts of Atlantic Canada. They were also photogenic to local passers—by and tourists! Potatoes were grown on Argyle Shore farms beginning in the early 19005. Some varieties grown over the years included: Blues, Irish Cobbler, Kennebec, Sebago, Russet Burbank and Superior. Elite seed was first grown here by Fred lVlacPhail in the 1960's when the Fox Island Seed

Farm started. The variety grown was Irish Cobbler. Later on Doug,

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