Alex
The information regarding Del O’Brien being the 1st inductee to the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame from Renfrew County is not correct. My father Delmer Bennett was inducted in 1981. It appears there was no place of origin regarding Dad on the ON Agricultural Hall of Fame’s website which has since been corrected by my cousin Joanne Olivero.
Thank you
Gwen Bennett
Editor’s Note: Checking the Hall of Fame’s website, this is true. Delmer W. Bennet is listed as inducted in 1981 and being from Renfrew County. Sorry for the oversight.
The website reads as such for Mr. Bennet, who was born in 1925 and died in 1976:
“A self-made progressive farmer and community leader in Renfrew County, Delmer Bennett was a strong advocate of a single farmers’ organization in Ontario. First active in the Ontario Farmers’ Union, he helped plan the 1967 farmers’ march on Ottawa. When the 1968 “General Farm Organization” vote failed, he became a director and executive member of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. He worked for many years with farmers in all parts of Ontario to further his goal of a strong united general farm organization on a voluntary basis. As a farmer, Mr. Bennett was an innovator with one of the first tractors and first bulk milk systems in his district. He was active in the Holstein-Friesian and Milk Producers’ Associations. His modem bam was a model of efficiency. At his death he was a member of the Advisory Committee to the Canadian Livestock Feed Board. A natural leader, Delmer Bennett served as a school trustee on the district high school board, was a county grand master Loyal Orange Lodge and a member of the Royal Canadian legion.”
Site: https://www.oahf.on.ca/inductee/delmer-w-bennett/
