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Bauke Vogelzang, Hellyer Ginseng, St. Williams Forestry Station inducted into Norfolk County Agricultural Hall of Fame

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Bauke Vogelzang is well-recognized as an innovator and farmer but for some people it's his commitment to community over six decades that makes him one of Norfolk County's leading citizens.

“I know he has a well-deserved reputation as a farmer and as an innovator,” Norfolk County Mayor Charlie Luke said Sunday. “I understand that, but I think it's also important for people to understand the importance of the leadership he has shown over the years and his community work.

“He ran his own operation but he was interested in the collective good. He wants everyone to be successful.”

Luke made the comments after Vogelzang, 84, had been inducted into the Norfolk County Agriculture Hall of Fame at a Sunday ceremony held at the Waterford Heritage and Agricultural Museum. Hellyer Ginseng and the St. Williams Forestry Station were also inducted during the ceremony.

Born in 1933 on dairy farm in Schargouton, Holland, Vogelzang and his wife Nelly came to Canada in 1960. After working on local dairy farms, they bought their first farm in 1964 and farmed for the next 60 years.

Vogelzang is a past president of the Norfolk Federation of Agriculture, the Norfolk Wheat Producers and Norfolk Pork Producers. A founding member of the Norfolk Woodlot Owners' Association, Vogelzang served as its first chairperson and as co-chair of the Norfolk chapter of the Alternative Land Use Services organizing committee.

“You know I look back at all of this and wonder 'how did this all happen?'” Vogelzang said when asked if he could have ever foreseen an agricultural hall of fame induction.

“When we left Holland we had goals and we worked hard to reach them. I think we reached most of them.”

The hall of fame honours outstanding contributions to agriculture and promotes the importance of the achievements. The 2017-18 hall of fame committee members included Rob Adlam, Catherine Caughell, James Christison, Melissa Collver and Sharon Petheram.

The ceremony attracted more than 50 people and Vogelzang was accompanied by his son Bob and daughter Lisa.

“In a word 'awesome',” Vogelzang said with a smile when asked about his hall of fame moment.

Hellyer Ginseng began in the 1890s when brothers Clarence and Albert Hellyer began cultivating seed from wild root discovered in Norfolk. The strain they developed is still in use today.

Subsequent generations of the Hellyer family continued growing ginseng and have made tremendous strides in cultivation, marking and exporting their product.

Ginseng has grown into a major agricultural commodity grown in Norfolk and is popular in the Far East because of its quality, Luke said.

“They (Clarence and Albert) were the pioneers,” Luke said. “They laid the groundwork for what has become a huge industry.”

The St. Williams Forestry Station was established in 1908 and was the first reforestation project in Canada. Its goal, at the time of its founding, was to convert the blow sands of Norfolk back into woodlots. Its development was due, in large part, to the efforts of Lt. Col. Arthur C. Pratt, Walter F. McCall and Dr. Edmund J. Zavitz. They convinced the provincial government of the day that soil conservation was critical to successful farming and could be achieved through reforestation.

Exhibits honouring the latest inductees will remain on display at the museum for the next year. They will then be removed to another part of the museum to make way for the 2019 inductees.

 

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