Lance Pocock, Farm Manager, Lazy Pat Farm
Description
- Media Type
- Image
- Item Type
- Photographs
- Description
- In 1945, Joseph and Yvonne Piggott, of the Hamilton Piggott Construction family, bought two farms of 220 acres, which includes 3269 and 3271 Dundas Street, in the old Trafalgar Township, now Oakville, Ontario. Mrs. Piggott used the working farm as a summer home, visiting every Sunday and entertaining friends and business acquaintances.
In addition to its gardens, Mr. and Mrs. Piggott enjoyed their farm with its prize winning Guernsey cows (their Brookley Trix was the leading milker in Canada at one time), 60 pig stalls and 20 farrowing pens with 1,800 pigs as well as over 500 chickens, 200 turkeys, 6 fighting cocks - to increase the breast meat size, and the family horses. They grew wheat and oats on the original 220 acres (two farms with five houses) but on the smaller property now in 2014, soya and corn are grown.
Lance had been working as a young lad with John McDougall in his home area of Waterford Ontario. John got the job as farm manager on the Lazy Pat Farm and asked the 17 year old Lance to work for the summer. Sixty one years later, Lance and Vera still farm and tend the property.
Lance's first job was to look after the poultry. All four farm hands helped milk the 64 Guernsey cows twice a day. Mr. Piggott liked to invite his guests to view the herd on Sundays, so the men washed each tail in soapy water Saturday nights and dressed in white for the Sunday visit. They participated in Toronto's Royal Winter Fair each year.
In 1970, Lance took over as farm manager. One of his men enjoyed tractor work, another liked working with suckling and little pigs, and one fellow liked the older pigs so they had no trouble allocating work. Lance himself has been a representative and member of over fourty years for the Halton Pork Producers, talking to people about pigs at the CNE, Milton's Agricultural Fair, the Royal Winter Fair, etc.
The land is now owned by developers, bordered by Highway 407 to the north and new subdivisions to the south. Drivers roaring along Dundas now have no idea of the wonderful history of this property and its people hidden behind the lovely big, old garden trees.
Lance is photographed here with Trafalgar Township Historical Society volunteer and photographer, Ross Wark. Lance is on the right in the yellow shirt. The photograph was taken in August 2014. - Notes
- This is one in a series of records about the property known for many years as "Lazy Pat Farm". To view the collection of records, click on the Group of Related Records,"Lazy Pat Farm 3269 and 3271 Dundas Street West, Oakville".
- Subject(s)
- Personal Name(s)
- Lance Pocock. Vera Pocock. Joseph Piggott. Yvonne Piggott.
- Local identifier
- TTLVP000340
- Collection
- Trafalgar Township Historical Society
- Geographic Coverage
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Ontario, Canada
Latitude: 43.4261795194766 Longitude: -79.7908264233398
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- Copyright Statement
- Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Recommended Citation
- Lance Pocock, Farm Manager, Lazy Pat Farm
- Contact
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Trafalgar Township Historical Society Sponsor: Jeff Knoll, Local & Regional Councillor for Oakville Ward 5 – Town of Oakville/Regional Municipality of Halton
