cktimes.ca Archives for Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
Ken Thompson – A local hero concerned with preserving the past
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
His voice is soft, his smile is winning and, if one had to describe him in a word, that word would be – "earnest". I cannot remember the first time I met him but I do know that every time I have come into contact with him since, I have been impressed and inspired.He's not a big man nor does he have a loud booming voice that demands your attention. In fact, this soft voice is almost apologetic. At times, he seems shy and hesitant as if what he has to say may not be that interesting. However, when he speaks I always listen and his comments have never been anything but insightful, thoughtful and exciting.
Ken Thompson is a seventy-something farmer from the Cedar Springs area who has spent his entire life being involved with his community and trying to save remnants of that community for future generations. While you and I may save a few postcards, an antique or two and reminisce about what grandma or grandpa used to own, Ken puts a whole new meaning into preserving the past.
Ken has amassed a collection of antique farm machinery and miscellaneous items that literally takes your breath away. Most of the items have some kind of local connection and are stored in various spots scattered around his farm. The bigger items are outside and others are tastefully and carefully displayed in former chicken coops and pig barns.
These items range from a large vertical saw that was once used at the Robert Read Saw Mill in the former Harwich Township (circa 1842) to a coffin that a former Raleigh Township farmer (Albert Sullivan) constructed for himself but didn't use because of a design fault – it opened on the wrong side!
Thompson calls his refuge for things lost, discarded and forgotten by time, "Times Gone By" and this passion, which must at times border on the deliriously obsessive, has all been done by Ken out of his own pocket. He also steadfastly refuses to charge a cent for anyone wishing to come and visit this remarkable collection. His payment instead comes from the pleasure, amazement and wonder that he must see in his visitors' eyes and expressions.
Having a keen interest in drainage, among many other local concerns, Ken's collection includes a cement tile maker from the Farmer's Cement Tile Company (Walkerville, Ontario). This early machine (patented in 1910) would produce 1,352 cement tiles for every acre that was to be drained by tile.
You cannot visit "Times Gone By" without asking yourself how in the world did this man ever got started in this venture. Once you've considered this, you then contemplate how does he maintain this interest in collecting so many unbelievably large and interesting items that must have him not only a great deal of money but an even larger and infinitely more vast treasure of his time and effort!
If you are bold enough to ask Ken Thompson this question, he will simply flash an innocent, youthful smile, look a bit apologetic and almost embarrassed and then tell you that he "simply started collecting a little bit here and there.....and before I knew it.....it just happened"!
As usual, Ken Thompson is a master of understatement when it comes to his achievements and accomplishments. The truth of the matter is that Ken Thompson is one of those rare individuals who believes so strongly in the preservation of our local past that he will make sacrifices and go to lengths that most of us have not even considered.
If one is looking for a local hero, then you need to look no further afield than a charming farm yard near Cedar Springs where a man has made a pastime into a passion and we are all the better for his amazing ability to collect, preserve and replicate.
Jim and Lisa Gilbert are local, national and international award winning educators and historians.
