Braekevelt

(submitted by Mary-Jo Podolinsky)

Lorne Braekevelt purchased his 100 acre farm at 7805 Egremont Rd. from the Bill Tanner estate in 1968. It was not in very good shape, as it had been let go to pasture. I remember helping Dad clear many a thorn tree so as to make the ground workable. Dad built a workshop to work on machinery and did a lot of fabricating (welding) for himself and others in the community.

Dad owned his own crane business, Elgin Cranes, and needed space in which to park the crane. Dad always wanted to own his own farm and give me the opportunity of experiencing farm life. He was one of five children raised on a farm at Blackwell and MacGregor Sideroads in Sarnia Twp. His parents Remi and Martha Braekevelt emigrated from Belgium in the 1920s. His mother spoke five languages, Flemish, French, German, English and Dutch.

Dad also raised white Embden geese that were purchased from the Brethren Farms in Bright, Ontario. They were sold as fatted geese to the community. As there wasn't any one else doing this, we were usually sold out by Christmas. Dad also had incubators in the workshop for hatching the goose eggs. A daily routine was turning the eggs. When the new water tower was built in Watford, the existing tower went to Dad's farm and was used for storing feed for his cattle.

The farm house is a two story red brick which had been empty for a number of years when Dad bought the farm. Dad renovated it to include indoor plumbing and he added a bathroom. He and I had moved from Elgin Street in Sarnia where we were used to such amenities. All the woodwork was stripped down to its original wood and refinished.

Dad sold the land to Luke and Sandra Van Aert. He kept the house and buildings. The Lorne Braekevelt place is easily identified with the water tower in the yard, its ivy-covered house and the “whoa” sign on the gate in the winter. A Tennessee Walker horse and foal can also been seen in the front pasture.

I married a farmer, Steve Podolinsky, in 1975 and moved to Brooke Twp.

Chapter 24 of 25 - Braekevelt Family

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