John Meyer — by Pat O’Connor — The Legendary Ginger Beer Bottle Guy

I believe that it was the people of the community that builtour history, and not politicians. Pat O’Connor told me a story on Old Ottawa And Bytown Pics and I believe it should be documented. Thank you Pat for telling me this story of people that matter and should not be forgotten.

By Pat O’Connor

My uncle John Meyer dodged railway cops and dug a tunnel 60 ft long by hand into the landfill under the CN tower and mined it for ginger beer bottles while it was being built in the 1970’s.

He drove down from Barrie every night snuck into the site and dug all night. The railway cops even took a shot at him. He was the number one trapper in all of Ontario, they built a monument to him at the Minesing Swamp when he died. He was a hell of a man. He started Scuba diving in the early 1960’s pirating wrecks in Georgian Bay and was probably part of the impetus to ban it. He used to drag me and my uncles out to dig dumps for crocks and bottles when I was 10. He taught me to search with a rod for outhouse holes on abandoned homesteads for bottles. He was a legendary ginger beer bottle guy.

Copy of a newspaper clipping from the Innisfil Scope in 1974 entitled: “Historical Society views antique bottles.” The article details a presentation made by John Meyer, a Barrie scuba diver and bottle collector, to the Innisfil Historical Society to discuss his collection. The article mentions how the members were intrigued to hear that soft drinks were made as early as 1835, often with cork or rubber stoppers. Also included is a photo of Mr. Meyer holding one of the bottles from his collection and talking to Mrs. Robert Kell of Gilford. The photo was taken by Society member Jean Saunter. click here.

Click here— Pat O’ConnorIt is a typo. His family was invited to the ceremony. The monument should have had the name of his brother Peter Meyer who died in 1962 in a car accident. He was the real legend who opened up the Minesing to trapping. John was his little brother.

Copy of a newspaper clipping from the Barrie Examiner in 1974 entitled: “Innisfil Group Views Display of Old Bottles.” Written by Brian Baker the article outlines a presentation made by John Meyer, a Barrie scuba diver and bottle collector, to the Innisfil Historical Society to discuss his collection of antique bottles recovered from Lake Simcoe. For his collection of more than a thousand bottles, it is noted that each bottle represents at least two or three dive attempts. The bottom of the article is unfortunately missing, but it does include a photo of Mr. Meyer (right) with Roger White, a fellow scuba diver, standing behind a portion of the bottle collection.Click here

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Ralph Barrie Son of Nettie and Harry Barrie Balderson

The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
29 Dec 1982, Wed  •  Page 3

Ralph Barrie isn’t your typical Lanark County farmer. Now heading into his fourth year as head of the 25,000-member Ontario Federation of Agriculture probably the most active farm lobby group in Canada and certainly the largest direct membership farm group Barrie feels he’s learned his trade as a farm leader. The 54-year-old dairy and beef farmer doesn’t mean he’ll try to hang on to the OFA presidency ” forever. When he was first elected president at the 1979 convention, he decided to plan on being president for three years. From now on, it is a year-by-year decision.

“Sometime before next November, I’ll have to decide whether or not there are things I can still do for the OFA,'” he said during an interview in the comfortable stone house on his farm near here.

Barrie said the OFA has made great strides in its credibility as lobbying group for the farm industry and in the strength of its membership base. While there haven’t been any dramatic breakthroughs, Barrie believes there’s been progress with the OFA’s two major concerns affordable credit and profitable pricing. “Progress comes a small step at a time. Events force issues,” he said. “The farm economy will force governments to look at better ways to ensure income and to provide a better long-term financing package than we have now.” He’s hopeful a national stabilization program will come out of federal-provincial discussions and Agriculture Minister Eugene Whelan will be successful in persuading his cabinet colleagues on the wisdom of agri-bonds a type of tax-free investment that would draw money into farm financing at much lower interest rates.

Barrie said it takes something like a depression to change public attitudes. “We should recognize the depression was a necessary evil to force us as farmers to look at the value of increased efficiency and productivity while making sure there’s the means to absorb that production at prices to compensate us adequately.” Farmers have been too involved in production and should have been more aware of the importance of the political side, Barrie believes. “We have to do both together. Farm specialists have learned how to use the tools of fertilizer, pesticides, machinery and genetics to improve production. “Now we need to learn to use the tools of lobbying and political action.” .Barrie said the controversy over Canagrex the proposed agricultural export corporation is n example of the politicians get-ling in the way of what the farmers want. He said Canagrex is necessary if Canadian agriculture is to take full advantage of the world marketplace but it’s being used as a partisan political issue.

Choosing the route of farm organization activist is not a decision Barrie regrets although he estimates he would be worth at least $100,000 more if he had stayed home and developed the farm. Barrie was born in a log house in Dalhousie Township north of Perth, youngest of four children of a poor dairy farmer. His father served in both world wars and bought the present Barrie farm under the Veterans’ Land Act in 1947. Ralph took it over when his father retired and has since added an adjoining farm. He enjoys weekends at home but being OFA president is pretty well a full-time job.

He spends most of every week in his Toronto office or on the road speaking at farm meetings, service clubs and other organizations. Sometimes wife Verna travels with him but more often she’s at home managing the farm. Two of the five Barrie children Brian, 23 and Doug, 28 help work the farm where there are 35 cows to milk and a heard of young steers and heifers being fattened for beef. Including some rented land, the Barrie family farms about 400 acres which produces all the feed for the dairy and beef operations.

Youngest son Paul, 20, lives at home but works at Balderson Cheese Co. Eldest daughter Shirley, 29, also works at the cheese company while daughter Diana, 24, lives in Perth. Barrie says there are a lot of people farming simply because they fell into it when their farmer-parents passed on or because it’s the only lifestyle they know. The farm leader has always had interests outside the farm. He served on the local fair board, on the board of stewards of his church and as president of Balderson. In the early ’70s, he turned his interest to the OFA first as Lanark County director, followed by two years as second vice-president and three years as first vice-president. He felt ready to move into the presidency in 1979 when Peter Hannam stepped down. A factor Barrie says could influence his decision concerning the OFA presidency next fall will be provincial and federal elections. “I’ve never been a card-carrying member of any party. I’m flexible. But I feel like a winner. I want to go where I’m needed.” He recognizes the two members now representing his area Paul Dick in Ottawa and Doug Wiseman at Queen’s Park are secure as long as they want to stay. “I’m not a constituency man. I’m more interested in policy development.” Barrie isn’t attracted by the possibility of becoming president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture or of getting involved in the International Federation of Agricultural Producers. “The structure of those organization limits what you can achieve.”

Barrie, Ralph James
Ralph passed away in Perth, on Tuesday, December 20th, 2016 at the age of 88 years. He was the beloved husband for 18 ½ years of the late Denyse Marion-Barrie (2012) and loved father of Shirley (Barry) Armstrong, Douglas Barrie, Diana (Norm) Dobbie, Brian (Jean) Barrie and Paul (Cathy) Barrie and step-father of Denyse’s sons Martin and Mathieu Lacroix. Ralph was the fond grandpa Dan (Currie) Armstrong, Lucas (Steph) Armstrong, Krista (Jon) Dobbie-McFarlane, Dustin (Brooke) Dobbie, Craig Dobbie, Angela (Jonathan) Tooley, Ashley (Adam) Barrie, Samantha (Eddy) Barrie and Hannah Barrie and great-grandfather of Aidan, Arianna, Noah and Zackary McFarlane, Reid, Ethan and Chase Tooley and soon to join the family, baby Barrie-Rayner. Ralph was predeceased by his parents Henry and Nettie (Davidson) Barrie, sisters Evelyn Gemmill and Eva Spence and by his children’s mother and former spouse Verna Barrie. He will be sadly missed by his brother Gordon Barrie and Denyse’s siblings and their families, his numerous nieces, nephews, friends and extended family. Ralph spent his adult life in the field of agriculture, first as a dairy farmer, when he took over the family farm near Balderson, Ontario, then becoming involved in local farm organizations, and eventually rising through the ranks of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) becoming its president for several years, during which time he travelled across Canada and abroad as a spokesperson. Afterwards he worked with government marketing boards, until his retirement when he continued to enjoy travel with Denyse, along with skiing, biking, swimming and his beloved golf. Ralph remained a “country boy” at heart, always content to watch and enjoy nature

Henry & Nettie Barrie —Sarah More — Balderson

A Love Story

In 1857, Edward Prince, watchmaker, married Elizabeth Matthews in Southampton, England. They had three sons and three daughters when Elizabeth died in 1871. Her second daughter, Gertrude, was only 4 years old. On 28 December 1881, young Gertrude, then a home child, left Liverpool, England bound for Quebec.

Sometime before 8 October 1890, James Barrie, a farmer’s son from near Balderson, Ontario, fell in love with Gertrude and her 1-year-old son, George, who later adopted the Barrie name. James & Gertrude were the happy parents of ten children including Henry. George & Henry grew up learning to care for animals and the land on the family farm.

Both volunteered to serve in World War 1. Henry was accepted and kept a highly illegal diary of his experiences, including at Vimy Ridge. Perhaps his mother had employed the same method in order to strengthen her faith when separated from her family? Henry was raised in a Christian home and took his faith seriously.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the day before The Canadians took Vimy Ridge was Easter Sunday. It is a special day for Christians. It marks the commemoration of Christ’s death on a cross for our sins, His descent into Hell, and, three days later, His resurrection. His sacrifice means we are free to glorify and enjoy God; knowing, at death, we will be welcomed into eternity with Him. As thousands of soldiers prepared to meet God face-to-face the next day, what comfort they must have found in God’s means of grace, including The Bible and The Sacraments.

The Allied Forces had made six attempts to take Vimy Ridge; learning from each attempt. The German guns had the advantage of height and deep mud. On the seventh attempt, The Canadians successfully laid a path of plywood, gaining 1/8^th of an inch of ground for every casualty.    

Henry returned home and married his beloved Nettie. He died in 1959 and his mother followed in 1962, having been a widow for 30 years. George also married and lived a long life. Henry and family were just some of the humble, hard-working people of faith who comprised the soul of Lanark County.

In 2017, Rob More published the children’s book, “Henry Barrie: Vimy Ridge Survivor” now available on Amazon. On Rob’s website http://henrybarrie.weebly.com/, you are welcome to explore more about Henry. Included are free school lesson plans which teach about the war from a uniquely, compassionate Canadian perspective.    

About the authors

Rob More is a Canadian WWI Historian. His sister, Sarah, is honoured to serve as the Historical Researcher for the Municipality of Mississippi Mills, (although not representing them in this instance.) Their father, the late Rev. Dr. Robert More, Jr. was a pastor, author, and historian. Their mother is a sixth-generation resident of Ramsay Township.  

Like their father, Rob and Sarah received their Bachelor of Arts degrees in the United States. The family later returned to their Lanark County roots where they proudly share a role in telling Canada’s story. 

Henry George Barrie
BIRTH
1896
DEATH
1959 (aged 62–63)
BURIAL
Saint Andrew’s Cemetery
Watson’s Corners, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada

Nettie Davidson Barrie
BIRTH
12 Feb 1899Ontario, Canada
DEATH
1972 (aged 72–73)
BURIAL
Saint Andrew’s Cemetery
Watson’s Corners, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada