Daytripping Issue - Summer 2020

Remember to bring a large cooler, and fill it up at the farm markets along the way
A DISPUTED BOUNDARY
In the early days when Canada was
young and most of the land was called
‘Crown Land’ and was owned by the
government, two individuals purchased
farm land side by side. To establish a
boundary line between the properties, a
line fence was required by law. The cost
as well as the labour was to be divided
equally and so it began.
The two, Fred Mitchell and John
Barton decided to begin setting posts
halfway down the property, one working
towards the road, where the surveyors
pin was located, the other working
towards the back of the two properties.
When they were finished setting posts
and stringing wire, they stood back to
access the completed
task. John sighted down
the fence.
“It looks good to me
Fred.”
Fred eyed it up. He
stood back, not pleased
at all. “Maybe to you it
looks good”, he said,
“Not to me though.
As you set your posts
towards the back of the
place you moved about five or six feet
over onto my property and you’ll have
to move your half!”
John was livid with rage. “I set those
posts fair and square. I’m not moving
the fence and neither are you!”
And so, animosity set in. When it
was time to thresh grain, neither would
work at the other’s place, nor would they
even speak to each other. This went on
for many years until finally John Barton
sold his farm through a realtor.
The new neighbour had barely
moved in when over came Fred. He
C. W. Tiffin, Chatham
From Daytripping
March-April 2006
came right to the point. “Did the realtor
explain to you that there is a boundary
dispute over this place?” The newcomer
looked surprised. “No one said anything
to me. What’s the problem?”
“When John Barton put up his half
of the line fence years ago, he came
over on my property about six feet
at the back of the place. The old fool
stubbornly refused to move it and set it
right. I thought that perhaps you would
be more reasonable.”
The newcomer smiled and held out
his hand. “My name is Jacob Williams,
Jake for short. What’s your name
neighbour?”
“Fred, Fred Mitchell.”
“Well Fred lets have a
look at the fence”, and so
they did.
Jake quickly sized
up the situation as he
looked down the fence.
It looked all right to him
but it was hardly worth
fighting over. He smiled
and said; “Being good
neighbours is the most
important thing to me,
that more than anything else Fred. If
you think that the fence is in the wrong
place, go ahead and move it. Just put it
exactly where you think that it should
be. You’ll have no trouble with me.”
Fifteen years later the fence had
still not been moved. They went to
neighbouring threshing’s together,
helped each other both at harvest times
and then often just around each others
farms, like bringing in the hay. In all,
it just took a different approach to the
problem. Sometimes words said in
anger leaves a wound that never heals.
Brydges Vintage
& Collectibles
Over
100
Vendors
1255 Brydges Street, London • 519-453-8993
OPEN DAILY 10 AM - 6 PM
Visit one of Canada’s largest secondhand bookstores
BOOKS MAPS PRINTS POSTCARDS CURIOSITIES
Welcome to Attic Books - one of Canada’s largest antiquarian and secondhand
bookstores. You can fi nd us on London’s new fl ex street, Dundas
Place, a few doors west of Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery, Canada’s largest
ceramic gallery. We have three fl oors of books, maps, prints, paper collectibles,
(ephemera and postcards) and all sorts of curiosities that appeal to readers,
scholars and seasoned collectors alike. The atmosphere is spacious, bright,
relaxed and professional, not to mention architecturally beautiful, with its original
tin ceilings, hardwood maple fl oors and all the charisma of a century building.
This, along with the help of our friendly and knowledgeable staff, will ensure that
every visit to Attic Books will be memorable.
240 DUNDAS STREET, LONDON, ONTARIO, N6A 1H3
519-432-7277
Check out our website
to browse through some
of our rare and
quirkier stock and to fi nd
out about new arrivals,
store sales and events.
WWW.ATTICBOOKS.CA
our new print gallery on second
fl oor near the art sections
NEW HOURS
Monday to Saturday
10 A.M. TO 5 P.M.
Closed Sundays
COVID-19 REGULATIONS
• Limit of 10 customers in the store
• Please use provided hand sanitizer
when you arrive and hand baskets
when shopping
• Please respect each other’s right
to browse safely and stay 2
metres apart
• Frequently touched surfaces are
sanitized by staff regularly.
• The bathroom is available to the
public, depending on staff being
able to clean between uses.
Let’s be book buddies!
Follow us at @atticbooksca
SUMMER 2020 “When preparing to travel, lay out your clothes & money. Take half the clothes, twice the money.” — Susan Heller Page 41