(submitted by the Hogervorst family)
Matteus (Mathew) Hogervorst (1931–1997) was born in Delft, the Netherlands. He arrived in Quebec in 1950. After working for a year for the dairy farmer who had sponsored him, Mathew moved to London, Ont. where he worked in construction. It was there he met his wife-to-be, Mary (Maria) Straatman, also a new immigrant from Holland. Mathew and Mary married in 1954 and Mathew started working as a herdsman for a dairy farmer in Dorchester. Soon they purchased twenty-five acres in Thorndale for $4,000 and Mathew worked for Master Feeds for two years.
In 1963 they came to Warwick Twp. and purchased the farm the Straatman family had first been on, at Lot 16, Con. 1 SER. Anthony Straatman Sr., Mary’s father, had moved to another farm on the north side of the Egremont Rd. When Mathew and Mary made the move, they hired a large transport from Cundicks and put the furniture in the back plus six cattle, farm equipment and ten pigs. Mathew drove the Ford 9N tractor on the highway from Thorndale to Watford. At their new place they increased the number of stalls to milk 30 purebred Holstein-Friesens. Along with the standard crops they grew two acres of strawberries. They also did some work in the seed quota business. They called their farm “Berryhill”.
Mathew and Mary were very involved in community activities. Mathew was busy with 4‑H and Rotary; Mary with the Catholic Women’s League. They sold the farm to their son Tony in 1978 and built a new house further east on the Egremont Rd., where Mary still lives. They raised four children. Tony married Joanne Dortmans from Middlesex County; Pat married Jim Vafiades, son of Nick Vafiades of the former Bluebird Restaurant in Watford; Frank married Lori Mariran of Avon; and Ben married Jenny Goethyn of Dresden.
Only Tony remained in Warwick Twp. He had met his wife, Joanne, at the University of Guelph. They were married in 1981. Tony worked in Guelph managing horticulture programs until 1984 while his brother Frank managed the farm. Joanne and Tony came home every weekend. They finally decided to quit their city jobs and pursue farming full time, going into the vegetable business. They raised five children: Amy, Eric, John, Simon and Mary Ann.
The Hogervorsts now produce, pack and market 300 acres of vegetables for London, Toronto and Detroit markets. Some of their crops are sweet corn, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli and squash. Berryhill Farms also manages 400 acres of cash crops.
They were the first farmers in Warwick to employ Mexican seasonal workers and they continue to do so.
During the 1991 International Plowing Match Tony joined with Bryan Aitken of Warwick Twp. and Len McMurphy of Edy’s Mills to form a band called “Corn, Beef and Cabbage” which featured light-hearted music, and they continued to entertain at other events over the years. Tony is a strong supporter of Rotary. Joanne is very involved in the Catholic Women’s League in Watford.
Chapter 24 of 25 - Hogervorst Family
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