His hobby comes in handy Milton man paints IPM signs fine of busiest Match in next will be George of Milton official sign for Ontario Innmin lilt inn I for the pist scars George tins spent two weeks doing sign work Ihe week of ihe and the preceding week Thntshls annual fall holiday II really Just ii hobby or me I m not in it for money much as IB hours a day and bin pay in the name as any director or stoffer110 George will have turned out over too signs There are street signs signs toilet signs and signs on the tractors tor alt the special classes students juniors directors press mayors wardens and queen of the furrow con testa all plow their fields with iraclor bearing one of George signs Saves nil year whin the match the signs arc packed In boxes and snipped to the of Ihe next years match where they wilt be repainted and re used George hales to throw anything out so he has standardized sign wordings and sizes so the boards can be used over and over again with Just a little touch up or a change of wording And if you d like in on a llttlesecrct he even uses sides of some of his signs The front may bear the name of mayoralty plowing race candidate and the back of the sign carry the name of a furrow queen It wax back In 1S53 George first went to the International as sign pointer He was working at Milton Milling Co and local Stan Hall wos on director A world match was being held in Ontario and someone was needed to make up signs for the contestants Stan knew George did some pilnting as a hobby so he spoke his employer and received permission lo borrow George for ihi week holiday That was first time 1 evtrgot holiday with pas grins lit had from scratch it and all signs for tin mulch hi workul all tatting for opening Those in kept in He keeps eoplc from wandering around in a dither said one newspaper account reviewing George s Some of his signs were by plowing champions and have travelled Willi to I for world mulches George feels proud to realize Place He always paints freehand first marking out the letters In pencil and then filling them In with paint He usually works in small booth at the rear of the headquarters building He calls his 1PM shop Place Born in he came to Canada in at he age of ID and worked for several years on a farm near Milton The farmer was a butcher and George first sign was done for the back of his car The fnrmcr ran a large feed bill at Milton I- lour Mills so In the winter when the farm work slowed down George would go to work in the feed milt to help pay off the count Most winters you could find him nut on the mill pond cutting Ice blocks and hauling off with a team of In he was hired to work the mill full time One day publicist his employer bought a asked George If he would paint name on door And ever since I vt hem busy pointing says St resident SUM work lie remained at the mill its name changed In Milling Co during the war and stayed on when Sunerswect reeds purchased the company from A Martin in 1900 In 1971 he transferred to Sherwood farms another division of ltobln Hood where he worked as an products salesman and serviceman Las he of retired flier with the mill but he Htlli does some part time work for the company They call George whenever they need him And he s still busy around Ontario with the Sherwood sound ear a company car outfitted wllh iKers and a public ad system visits Milton farmers Market fall fairs In the district horse shows garden parties and all kinds of public events where a sound car and recorded music are needed The car and PA syslcm ore also In big demand for parades Much of this work Is done grnlls speak MR SIGN MAN at the International Plowing Match for the years has been George Swann of Milton pictured with the Place sign he hangs over his workshop He all the signs for the George has told every about it tiny il Pott rborouch I hi buss for mm he had make up new Signs ire imparl If anyone In doesn know there a big plowing match George fault George a Milton resident well known for his sign painting work and his ravels with the Super sweet Farms sound car is chairman for this years International Plowing Match and is four yen As a matter of fact If II for George might not even be hosting match Apparently hack in IWi at Ihe local Hilton Plow Match awards George was silling at a table with director Jack lor and I m win iood old llu win champion Rob TimWs of kidding bul Rob was kidding around with us and said should be hosting the IPM one of these days says George Jack Taylor agreed it was a Rood idea So George wrote a quick note the Why cant we have the in and the chairman stood up and said George had just informed him should the milch from there things snowballed the Plowmen liked the for permission in the spring of to host the 1B74 in itch and won ip George as chairman has been usy telling people about the Sept event in Hills He and helpers have attended farm shows In Toronto London and Ottawa and miscellaneous public events throughout and its surroundings telling people in come to llalton In George and his committee bought special flacs bearing Ihe insignia restaurant place mats book matches lapel bodges pocket calendars signs bumper stickers promoting show They arranged dancing dtmonstrition it an tin Citizens renamed Sod busters when they travelled to events plugging the match At midnight Wherever I go I publicize says George A couple of weeks ago you might have seen him tacking up sign near at mid night by the light of his car If you visited the recent Steam In Milton everywhere you turned there sign meeting couple of weeks lie went in the parking lot and counted how mills workers had bumper slickers parking tot and only II of them have plowing match bumper stickers he old roup They re no good to as souvenirs gel I hem on your ears he scolded s beautiful farms arc even more beautiful this year thanks In farmstead and Improvement competition sponsored by the International Plowing Match committee Over 100 farms entered the competition where prires were awarded for mosi In the properly This contest has been held In the ye for the past ye and to did than nut farms lusi been be lutifnd in days lould ploy iK painter like to tiki of plowing ton and il blips if contestant has his name and home low pointed on a sign on the side of bis tractor The whole is for publicity he GeorRes signs art ilso important to tinted food samples nut the food build nig Well tin doesn promise anything quite so or filling but some yyill be giving tuns small samples One is feeds division of Hood which will have samples of meal pickles flour baked and frozen foods at its Buffalo on show Three buffalo irom llcRion Author ily famous local in rd w ill i see the Intern Plowing Match in Hills Only Ihtv II set it from in exhibit Company of an id muted has mil gin t 1 lull ill sfrim bill irowd display at match si exhibit J 1imb will be how lis stockade pant is can help the optrilorHKCAs buffalo will lie inside a steel slock are scheduled through It cits it 1 daily during next v plow inf much THE COMMITTEF has been busy Pictured in the booth are Halton Local Committee fhri promoting the 1974 International Plowing Match chairman Ross Segsworth sanitation committee be ft ilured was awarded the honor of chairman George Rcadhead publicity chairman hosting it back in booth Halton set up George Swann who did all the signs and Ontano at the ORFREDA show in Toronto last year Furrow Queen Sheila Armstrong