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Vol. 10, Issue 36
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
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Ag Society offers new option for ‘Big Tomato’
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LEAMINGTON – A new possibility has surfaced for residents seeing red over the proposed dismantling of a Leamington landmark. The Leamington and District Agricultural Society (LDAS) has stepped forward to offer a new home for what was the community’s most well known resource for tourist and visitor information literature. The Big Tomato at the corner of Mill Street West and Talbot Street West is being considered for demolition by council, pending approval for the creation of a newer, more modern-looking replacement that would not serve as a tourism information booth. The structure’s future became the focal point of indepth discussion and a study/ report by R.C. Spencer Associates after the spring of this year, when it was deemed unsafe for the Leamington and District Chamber of Commerce’s volunteer ambassadors to occupy. Council agreed during a September 10 meeting that tourism and visitor information would be better dispersed through a series of kiosks, online resources and trained ambassadors. It was the Big Tomato itself, however, that caught the attention of Agricultural Society members, who want to see the 58-year-old building restored rather than demolished. “I feel that it’s a part of our history,” explained LDAS president Tammy Wiper. “We’ve had nothing but great feedback from people over the idea of saving it.” Wiper noted that the Agricultural Society has seen numerous volunteers step forward with the ability and
September means apples
LEAMINGTON – ABOVE: Craig Charron offers some leverage for daughter Myla to pick an apple for fellow family members including sister Adalyn and mother Amy while perusing the rows of trees at Thiessen’s Apple Orchards Saturday, Sept. 21. Thiessen’s, at 400 Talbot Road East, welcomes the arrival of autumn with seven-days-a-week hours from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., where customers can pick their own apples from a selection of MacIntosh, Gala, Honeycrisp and Empire varieties. Orchards across Essex County have a bounty of apples for sale. RIGHT: Sisters Adalyn (right) and Myla Charron (left) sink their teeth into their selections of apples. (Southpoint Sun Photos)
desire to relocate the landmark to a position near the south entrance of the Leamington Fairgrounds on Erie Street North. The report from R.C. Spencer Associates indicated that transport of the Big Tomato could exceed $20,000 and carry with it the risk of permanent damage to the structure. Wiper, however, was confident that the building could be moved to the Fairgrounds — a distance of approximately one kilometre — safely and successfully. “We’ve got farmers and truck drivers who are willing
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to do it who’ve moved bigger things than that,” she said. “It would be a perfect fit for us. We’ve got room for it and people who are ready to fix it up. We’d bring it back to its former glory and preserve it.” The report from R.C. Spencer indicated that black mould would have to be removed from the interior of the tomato, which also has a rusty and leaking door and window, as well as surface materials that are crumbling in some places. “We know that some changes will have to happen,” admitted Wiper. “This
would be a great community project. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Wiper had not heard a response from the municipality in regards to a letter she sent to council requesting that the Agricultural Society take possession of and relocate the Big Tomato. “We haven’t made that decision yet,” Mayor Hilda MacDonald said on whether or not the 1961-built tomato would be demolished. “Ultimately, it’s going to be council’s decision. We still need more information.” MacDonald also explained
that she hasn’t heard anything more from the Agricultural Society on the proposal to have the tomato moved to the Leamington Fairgrounds beyond the letter sent to council. The mayor noted that if the Big Tomato is relocated with municipal funding, it will be to a municipally owned property. When asked if the landmark could potentially be handed over to the LDAS if that group absorbs the costs involved with a relocation, MacDonald said the matter would first have to be discussed by council during a future meeting.