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Yes, personal skills rehed to tools such as wrenches, hammers, saws and screw- drivers are pitiable, even pathetic. For example, should a tire go flat, I call a tow truck Should a tap spring a leak. I call a plumber. Should a base- ment fuse blow, I call an elec- tn'ciarL Should a clothesline collapse, I call my wife. I even needed a neighbox’s help to install aluminum squirrel repellants on my bind feeders. My abilities, associated with repairs, are intolerably The same goes for items to be assembled. I'm beat before Imagine then, an interview with someone so accom- plished in work with wood and metal, he can construct mingsxangingfrom miniature steam engines to grandiose gmndfafllerclocks Suchwasthechallenge Friâ€" day, when I visited the home of Elmer Farthing, long-time Stoufiville resident and master mechanic. Mr. Farthing. 81, was born on the Markham-Picker- ing Townline, north of Green River, the son of Arthur and Marion Farthing. At age five, his parents moved to Stouffville. He attended what is now Sumâ€" mitview Public School. For more thanBOyears, his father worked at Schell Inm- ber Ltd., on Edward Street, only a short distance from where the Farthing family lived. Elmer later resided on Charles Street, then, in 1950, moved to Rupert Avenue. Mechanic’s handiwork nears perfection He and wife, Doris, marked their Slst wedding anniver- sary Aug. 2. They have a son, Bill, in Uxbridge, a daughter. Lois, at Musselman’s Lake, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Mr. Farthing says as long as he can remember, he has enjoyed working with machinery. This interest, plus his father's association with wood, led to a life-long career. “There's a connection between the he says. It was only natural that, at 15, he joined the stafi of Bar- key Bros, machine shop oper- ators north of Main Street. Isaac Barkey saw in his young floorâ€"sweeper, a skill that would eventually make him a shop foreman, a posi- tion he held for 23 years. An additional step up the success ladder was assured the day he first sounded the firm's noon-hour whistle, a signal heard round the town. " Mr. Farthing remained with Barkey Bros, later Stouffville hen it comes to mechanics, IrateanEThe F stands for Machine and Tool, for 45 years, netiringin 1987. However, ietirement wasn’t the end of an ambition. Mr; Farthing would soon build his own shop, a size- able structure containing two lathes, a drill press, air com- pressor, grinder and hacksaw. That was the production side. Nearby, on the perfor- mance side, he hand-built two steam engines, two gas engines, a drag saw, sawmill and planer. Whatmadethesemachines so amazing was the fact none was built from ‘a model or a plan, but out of the builder’s quite finished." ' “IfI was ever done, them’d be nothing else for me to do.” Each ehgine is beautifully hand-painted and runs like a top. In the winter, he moves the entire operation into the base- ment of his home and trans- forms the performance side of the shop into a garage to accommodate the car. Roaming Around While lathes, saws and engines typify Elmer Farthing the machinist, his skill doesn’t begin and end in a back yard shop. There’s more. Against a wall of the recreâ€" ation room stands a grandfa- ther’s clock, the equal of which you will never see. It’s made entirely of wood, including the gears. Even the bob, suspended from a wood stem, is white pine. This magnificent time- piece took two winters to complete. To keep it ticking, double weights are pulled up onceaweek Mr. Farthing has also craft- ed more than 25 wall clocks, most of which he's given Everything’s madeâ€"t0- measure. away. Also unique is a TV table, built from the remains of the former Canadian National Railway station. Elmer Farthing: machinist turned hobbyist; convention- alist tumed perfectionist. lim Thomas is a Stoujfizille resident who has written fnr anea newspapers for mom than 50 years. “I’m continually changing ngs,” he says. “I’m never with [im Thomas rBilli‘é’kfi‘lhlss We’ll have our buckrlbe'onule t’fiisweek atthe meatcounterâ€"andhgpefullywe havcmoudl. I say.this because weve run out of the meat feature a bit early the last couple of weeks. Whatmakuombackdbsmgoolemgwebuy nicely marbled pork â€"â€" that streakiness makes them more tender and juicy. Secondly, we don’t have that insipid little tail the An;- “A II'AII nmIIll' non." “APO I' vnll one end (you would 'y full prize 51' it if you shopped elsewhere). M, our pork is not ‘seasoned’, which means that it’s not cut from pork loins which have been injected with water and phosphate to make them juicier (just imagine the thinking behind that); and lastly, our price is very competitive because we cut our own pork. Sothinkribsthisweek~perhapswithou Montgomery Inn Sauce â€"â€" or any other. We have lots to choose from! They’ll be good! . 1 Reg. $8.95 lb What we've got here are the family-size trays of blueberries from British Columbia which, ' «em-ding to my wife (and Blueberry critic) are "Just like the ones we used to get at Turkey Point", which, if you know Southern Ontario, is just down ‘ theroadfromourcom farmerinScodand. 99 TheseareaZIb. size m ofnice, swectblues! m l We use some of Paul Prudhomme's spice to spark these up. I really enjoy the large amount of flavour with not too much hat. Reg. 3.99 lb. m1: These sweet little nuggets of flavour are now not just local, but field grown (as opposed to hydroponic). The r flavour is good, the oolour(s) are good and the price is right! CONTAINER From Ontario. . The local blues are good, the com is amazing, melons are real sweet, peaches and nectarines are in mid-season form, beans are good (French ones too), potatoes are coming along nicely, local tomatoes are progressing as well as lettuce. It's all good! Wild blues are still a bit dear and fresh blackberries are sweet. ‘ -â€"â€"- FRESH â€"â€" LUEBERRIES SOUR CA \ AUSA ES We're introducing another new item in our selection of frozen entrees. It's called 'Hoisin Beef, and it's made with sirloin slices which have been marinated in hoisin, then browned and slow~cooked with Shiitake mushrooms. % Reg. 17.95 z 51;,“ Serves 3-4 mm" Piifiifiiéii.’ OMATOES c' OTHER HAPPENING GRAPE CHERRY mu Amnu n FRESH Ofikmfifimfi! 11 you feel our next couple of ads are a bit outside the box, it would be because the usual scribe (me) is on holidays and our son THOMAS is the designated scribe. This could be interesting! The first few fall items are arriving, to be followed lgy immy more! You'll find some neat coconut orchid hangers (Greg is an orchid nut), lots of rudbeckia, the first of many grasses and peppers, some autumn planters and we've (finally) got a great display of We'll be making a few of our 'bounty bar cakes' this week. They're made ,with coconut sponge cake, chocolate of course, a chewy moist coconut filling and a buried layer of toasted coconut meringue. I mommnm O Sounds good to me SPECIALS IN EFFECT UNTIL CLOSING SUNDAY AUGUST 10' lNDEPENDENI GROCER CA Hours: Mon. 11:00-7:00 ~ Tucs.â€"Thurs. 9:00-7:00 ~ Fri. 9:00â€"8:00 EVENING STROLLP The Lionfl food is now open Monday to Thursday at Crosby Park in the evenings. If you‘ve got time onyourhandsand the Jays aren‘t in town, come and OUT FOR game and grab a bite of V.G. fare. The profits go to help others. 'cA C‘le BY M24; Sat. 9:00-6:00 ~ Sun. 10:00-13:00 548 Carlton Road, Unionville www.mcvillagegrocer. com B SMOKE LACIEC 01; Hope you enj ed your halibut last week, I certainly di Since we've got a shi t offresh blaekcodthisweekin efish area, we'll have some cut: to make Doreen's beautiful fish chowder â€"â€" something that you don't see too often. It will be available in the full containers (about 1 litre) and the half-size as well. I\ It's a real treat. Next, we'll be We’ll be making some of this amazing amoked fish on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. It’s a really delicate and richly flavoured fish. Unlike our salmon, the bones are we difficult to remove, so you’ll have to work around them - but it’s well worth the trouble. A bit ofa twist is that we’ll have some ofthis in the Fresh Counter as well; something that we don’t normally do. It’s in season right now, so it’s the best time totrythisout-andasusu‘al,.therewillbea n 'â€" available to berg out. 53:12: to serve with it? A Ch: lis or a Fumé Blane - or best of all, a bottle of Byrrowing our ue chi¢en wings for your -home ' ent â€" and on Friday and turday we'll have some of our smoked caiun ' as a bonus. . In the section, we'll be making our spicy chick-pea couscous _ â€" something to spark-up any meal. The wings and salad . on: will be featured at $53: Owl, which is an butstanding Okanogah W'mc available onlinc. 3:310:21 Fresh: WHAT'S ? O BAKING THIS WEEK It's peach week in our bakery this week, and we'll be making PEACH 3110mm - These are tripleâ€" deckers of fluffy white cake, fresh peach slices and of course, whipped cream. We make two sizes, .......... $16.95 and $2835 ea. mm W SQUARES - These are made in the 8"x5" pans with a shortbread base, a layer of almond frangipane and a la er of fresh-cut peaches, all lovingly bakedtofl L er until it‘s sublime. ................... 1.1.. Reg. $995 ea. amen-men CW - These are made in a d ’ flan pan with a shortbread crust, our amazing eesecake filling and diced peaches which have been seasoned with candied ginger and cinnamon. We'll have two sizes ........ $14.95 and $22.95 ea. PEACH CUM CAKES - These are coffee cakes which seem to improve with age, so buy the bigger size so you'll have leftovers (if you eat it all, don‘t worry, we'll have more). It‘s got peaches and custard baked in. Two sizes ........................ $15.95 and $24.95 ca. 0831' 0188 PEACH PIES . These are the jumbo size full of peaches. They travel well if you're going north, as long as they're kept out of reach ........................................... Reg. $17.95 ea. All these items will be featured at a E % 940-1770 AT THE DELI Ltkstwcchl otashi t xkin cfish cutxtomahe WEEK