ILDERTON and area Villager
89 Years of the Ilderton Fair
William (Bill) Thirlwall has at- tended the Ilderton Fair in each of his 89 years! This year, he was named the 2025 Ilderton Fair Golden Ambassador! “I got to ride in the parade and wave to the crowd. It was quite the day,” he smiles. Bill’s ancestors settled on the Thirlwall farm just west of Il- derton after emigrating to Ca- nada from northern England 186 years ago. Seven genera- tions have lived there since.
William and Sylvia (Drake) Thirlwall in 1962 and in 2025. They still reside on the family farm (bottom photo) that has been in the Thirlwall family for 186 years.
Bill recalls that his family raised crops, along with chickens, pork, sheep and cattle. “Before modern abattoirs and home refrigeration was common, local farm families butchered their own meat and rented a locker from a cold storage facility in Ilderton to store it,” Bill recalls. “We’d go into town every week or two to bring supplies home.” A grandson currently manages the farm that focuses now on raising sheep and growing crops of wheat, soybeans and corn. Bill and Sylvia are pleased that the fair, after all these years, still celebrates achievements in agriculture, creative arts and the rural lifestyle, with exhibits of farm animals, produce, flowers and eggs, crafts, baking, a tractor pull, horse show, and especially the cattle show and sale. A midway and vendors round out the experience. The couple recalls when, before modern concerns of liability, children attendees had more access to handling the farm animals. “Kids then had an opportunity to cuddle a baby lamb or learn to shear a sheep,” said Sylvia. In a contest titled ‘Mutton Busting’, children rode a sheep until they were thrown off! “Sheep are low to the ground, so there was little risk to the children. The practice was discontinued more out of concern expressed for the sheep,” explained Bill. Another popular event was the ‘Calf Scramble’. “Teens aged 15 to 18 were each given a halter. Twenty or more young calves were released into a fenced area. Each teen who caught a calf won $100, to help pay for a calf that they would raise to exhibit at the following year’s fair,” recalled Bill.
Bill (right) at the Ilderton Fair, about 1975.
Demonstrating sheep shearing (left) and presenting an award of a lambskin rug to a winner of the sheep show.
Celebrating the area’s rural roots, the Ilderton Fair exhibits and awards ribbons for best produce and other farm products. Left: Bill’s first prize ribbon for his corn. Learn more about the Ilderton Agricultural Society and Ilderton Fair at ildertonfair.ca.
Page 4 Ilderton and Area Villager • December 2025
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