McIntyre and his Windmills

James McIntyre, Oxford County's "Cheese Poet".

By Liz Dommasch, County Archivist

James McIntyre was a Scottish poet who immigrated to Canada in 1851. He would eventually settle in Ingersoll, Ontario where he worked as a cabinet-maker, a furniture and coffin dealer, as well as an undertaker on King Street. He was also a driving force for the first public library in town and a passionate writer of poetry that highlighted rural life and the natural beauty of the outdoors. Although criticized for his lack of literary skills, he is often referred to as the Cheese Poet, as cheese was a recurring theme in many of his poems.

I’m sure James would be surprised yet delighted to see that his following poem, has taken on a whole new meaning across Oxford County’s dairy landscape:

‘Tis charming for to view windmill,

Picturesque in vale or hill,

Forcing up a sparkling rill

And cows enjoy with right good will

Clear water brewed in nature’s still,

And of it they do drink their fill.

No wonder they can make with ease

In Oxford world renowned cheese,

For cows enjoy the clear pure stream

With rich, sweet grass makes best of cream.

Cow, you must treat her as a queen,

When grass is dry cut her feed green,

Its benefits will quick be seen

For she is a grand milk machine;

The system it is called soiling,

But it repays for extra toiling.

For those interested in reading more of McIntyre’s works, the Oxford County Library has a few of books available for loan: https://www.ocl.net/

Poem Credit: McIntyre’s Poems. Ingersoll: The Chronicle, 1889.