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Seven days a week for the Clarks Continued from page 11 ens, then for the next couple of hours they both collect eggs in large wire baskets and transfer them to a room in the barn where they will be tended to later. for a younger person, standing ona concrete floor for hours on end would take its Norine and Harlan work shoulder to shoulder every day grading and packaging their eggs for market. 14 FOCUS- MARCH 2008 toll, but it doesn’t seem to bother the Clarks who love what they are doing. Harlan and Norine work shoulder to shoulder every day sorting, washing, can- delling, grading and packaging thousands of eggs for market. The couple literally rub shoulders for hours on end in their small egg grading room. Harlan places the fresh eggs on a short conveyor with a light so they can check for cracks. The machine then sorts the eggs into five sizes ranging from jumbo to small. Norine, who two feet away, picks the eggs off the end of the machine and places them into the appropriate sized containers. It’s a ritual they go through hour after long hour, six days a week without com- plaint. And don’t for one minute think that the seventh day is a day of rest. On that day they’re up at midnight and heading off to Toronto by 1:30 a.m. After ar- riving they stock their booth at the St. Law- rence Market with fresh eggs and begin sell- ing to the public by 3 a.m. When all the eggs are gone, the weary couple climb into their truck and drive back to Prince Albert where they will rest for awhile before the process begins all over again at 5 a.m. the next morning. If Harlan has one concern it’s that the government will eventually force them and other small operators out of business. They don’t have all the new-fangled equip- ment being called for by government regula- tors these days, but they do have thousands of satisfied and happy customers. The Clarks still love going to market eve- ry week because they have so many good friends and they look after them. “We love to see them, they treat us like family,” Harlan says. After taking an hour out of their produc- tion time to talk it was apparent the Clarks were ready to return to work. Opening the door to leave, I asked Har- Jan what he’d do, if he wasn’t working in the barn. “If 1 wasn’t doing this, I think I'd go nuts,” he replied with a smile. Closing the barn door behind me, breath- ing in the cold winter air as | walked to the car I couldn’t help but glance back towards the barn. It was hard to believe that it would be another nine hours before that door opened again and Harlan and Norine would finally call it a day. Simply amazing!!! By J. Peter Hvidsten Focus on Scugog Hank's Pastries 204 Queen S , Port Perry, Ont. focus@observerpub.ca