Farrington, 1866, Factory System.

        The farmers they now all make rich
        Since Farrington went to Norwich,
        And the system first there began
        Of making cheese on factory plan;
        He came from Herkimer county,
        To Canada he was a bounty;
        Norwich village moved but slow,
        Till railways made it quickly grow,
        And industries here now take root,
        The township's famous for its fruit.

James McIntyre

James McIntyre was a Canadian poet, most notable for his poetry concerning cheese, cheese-making, dairying, and dairy products. Often referred to as 'The Cheese Poet,' McIntyre's work is celebrated for its earnestness and unintentional humor, making him both a beloved and an infamous figure in literary circles. He emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1851 and settled in Ingersoll, Ontario, where he became a successful businessman and community leader.

James McIntyre

Shelly.

James McIntyre, Simple Poetry

The Gates Ajar.

James McIntyre, Simple Poetry

Credit Valley Trip.

James McIntyre, Simple Poetry

Robert Fleming Gourley.

James McIntyre, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

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Lines Read at a Parsonage Opening at the Village where Ranney had once flourished, 1883.

        Some do boast of their pedigrees,
        But Salford's parent of the cheese,
        Ranney, industrious and wise,
        Here started this great enterprise.

        He did work on the dairy plan,
        While Farrington was factoryman,
        Both of these men it well did please
        To hear of progress making cheese.

        The farmers are in cheerful mood,
        For harvest all it has been good,
        And all the grain was sown this spring
        An abundant yield will bring.

        And you can scarcely stow away
        The yield of barley, oats and hay,
        Such pasture it is seldom seen,
        E'en now it is so fresh and green.

        This beauteous colour nature decks,
        While it insures yo...

James McIntyre

Ingersoll.

Ex-Mayor Thomas Brown may be considered the father of the town, he projected the first roads and bridges.

        The Thames and tributary rills,
        Here they do drive numerous mills,
        Enabling millers to compete
        To pay high price for oats and wheat.
        Here streams do drive many a wheel
        For to grind both flour and oatmeal,
        And town will extend its boundaries
        With its enterprising foundries.
        For fine pianos town is famed
        And highest rank for them is claimed,
        And brighter days for it yet dawns
        With its grand mansions and fine lawns,
        And it has now the title grand
        The capital of dairyland.

James McIntyre

Father Ranney, The Cheese Pioneer.

This is our earliest cheese ode. The Ingersoll factory has been removed to Thamesford.

        When Father Ranney left the States,
        In Canada to try the fates,
        He settled down in Dereham,
        Then no dairyman lived near him;
        He was the first there to squeeze
        His cows' milk into good cheese,
        And at each Provincial show
        His famed cheese was all the go.

        Then long life to Father Ranney
        May he wealth and honour gain aye.

        He always took the first prize
        Both for quality and size,
        But many of his neighbors
        Now profit by his labors,
        And the ladies dress in silk
        From the proceeds of the milk,
        But those who buy their butter,

James McIntyre

Ranney, 1856, Dairy System.


        Ranney began with just two cows,
        Which he in winter fed on browse,
        And now he hath got mighty herds
        Numerous as flock of birds,
        May he long live our hearts to cheer
        This great and useful pioneer.

James McIntyre

Fertile Lands And Mammoth Cheese.

        In barren district you may meet
        Small fertile spot doth grow fine wheat,
        There you may find the choicest fruits,
        And great, round, smooth and solid roots.

        But in conditions such as these
        You cannot make a mammoth cheese,
        Which will weigh eight thousand pounds,
        But where large fertile farms abounds.

        Big cheese is synonymous name,
        With fertile district of the Thame,
        Here dairy system's understood,
        And they are made both large and good.

James McIntyre

Embro.

        O'er various counties of the north,
        When cruel order did go forth,
        For to destroy many a home,
        So that the wild deer free might roam;
        The men of Sutherland and Ross,
        The broad Atlantic they did cross,
        Each seeking for a fertile farm,
        These rolling lands for them had charm;
        They ne'er desired again to roam,
        Each happy in his woodland home,
        Where middle branch of Thames doth flow
        They built the village of Embro,
        And it the hill tops now doth crown
        Like its grand namesake Edina Town,
        And good flour mills you here do find
        And oats also they here do grind.

James McIntyre