Queen of Cheese
by George Stock

"We have seen the Queen of cheese,
Laying quietly at your ease,
Gently fanned by evening breeze --
Thy fair form no flies dare seize.
-- James McIntyre, 1827 -1906

Does art imitate life or does life imitate art?

For close to a century and a half, Oxford has earned the title of "dairy capital of Canada" by being the country's top milk producing region. But it is very close to losing that position to Perth County. Perth currently tops the country in numbers of both dairy farms and dairy cows and is within 3,000 kilolitres of Oxford's annual production of 219,000 kilolitres.

Commercial dairy farming found its genesis in Oxford not because of opportunity but rather because wheat monoculture in the mid-1800's was rapidly depleting soil fertility resulting in declining yields.

As early as 1850, the Ranney family of Salford was reported to be milking 100 cows and marketing cheese in Hamilton and Guelph. However, the real breakthrough was in 1864 when Harvey Farrington of Norwich established the first cooperative cheese factory in Canada.

By 1881, there were 84 such factories in the county, the rapid growth propelled by aggressive and creative marketing which opened markets in the US and Britain. Perhaps the most significant promotional event was the making of a "Mammoth Cheese" at Ingersoll in 1866 by a group of gutsy cheesemakers led by James Harris at the site of the current Elmhurst Inn. The cheese weighed some 7,300 pounds and was sent to be an attraction first at the New York World's Fair and then at various locations in Britain.

The British market opened by the big cheese lasted until after World War II and as it declined the dairy industry in Oxford evolved to take advantage of new technologies and new marketing opportunities. Oxford became the home to the first condensed milk factory and later the first milk powder plant in Canada.

The effects of the industry were not confined to factories alone. The countryside is dotted with current and former dairy barns. Herman Bollert of Cassel is recognized as one of Canada's first Holstein promoters and the breeder of two cows which eventually formed the genetic foundation of the majority of Canada's Holsteins.

Local manufacturers such as Noxons in Ingeroll and Eureka in Woodstock built equipment for dairy farms and factories. Box factories and other dairy supply businesses were commonplace. Tavistock boasted a dairy school.

The dairy industry had a profound impact on Oxford's culture. A life-sized statue in Woodstock commemorates Springbank Snow Countess, record-holding lifetime butterfat producing cow. A number of local museums celebrate the material heritage of the dairy industry. Books have been written to record local dairy history.

And if that was not enough, Oxford was home to the cheese poet. Dubbed the "best of Canada's worst poets", James McIntyre was a poet for the common man. He published two volumes of poetry on a variety of subjects but he is best known for "Ode on the Mammoth Cheese" quoted at the head of this article.

Rosemary Lewis, a librarian at the Ingersoll Public Library revived the spirit of Oxford's famous poet five years ago by organizing the James McIntyre Poetry Contest for residents of Oxford and area. This year the Online Dairy Ode Contest has been added, inviting submissions from anyone. Check both contests out at http://www.ocl.net.

With Oxford's title as dairy capital in jeopardy, James McIntyre's legacy takes on an enhanced significance in honouring the county's dairy heritage. His art was a product of his time and locale and not only lingers but thrives to remind us of it.