Walking into Kim O’Neil’s barn is like walking into the set of a Canadian Pickers television show. Some people have stuff – he has STUFF.
O’Neil has transformed the interior of the barn, built by his grandfather Thomas, into a tribute to a rural way of life largely gone now.
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He’s opening up the barn and his Stewart Line property north of Wallaceburg for his 11th annual free Mini Farm Show Sept. 6.
The two-storey structure built in 1942 is segmented into various areas depicting farm family life through the decades, as well as impressive collections of everything from pedal tractors to vintage tools to Christmas decorations.
“You name it, we have it,” he said with a laugh during a recent tour.
In fact O’Neil’s collection is so vast that even those who return to the tour from one year to the next find something new to look at.
“Even some of the people who help me put the displays together will look at something and ask when I got it,” he said. “I tell them I’ve had it for years, I just brought it out for this year’s show.”
O’Neil, owner of O’Neil Tire and Battery in Wallaceburg, credits his wife Carol and friends for making sure the displays look fresh each year.
O’Neil has been a collector of everything farm related for years.
“I get some from auctions and some things just come from people who don’t want them anymore and want to make sure the items are taken care of.”
One item he’s particularly proud of is a portrait of his grandfather, which was painted by his grandmother Ann.
It hangs near what used to be the trap door from the hayloft when the structure was a working barn.
The O’Neils’ farmed the property for a century, once having 200 acres.
“I looked at buying some property next door a few years ago but I had just started the business and with farming these days you either have to go big or go home, so we sold the land and kept an acre here.”
The show, which lasts from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. attracts between 800 and 1,000 visitors each year.
“We’ve had people from all across southwestern Ontario,” he said.
“I try to keep a book to have people sign where they’re from but I don’t insist on it.”
Many visitors spend several hours touring the property, taking in the collection of vintage tractors and cars. This year there will be an old-style plowing demonstration across the road from his property.
Although staging the show takes some work, O’Neil said he does it because he loves to.
“I love to see the expression on people’s faces when they see something they remember from years ago or children who are seeing this stuff for the first time,” he said. “If the time came when I didn’t love it, I guess I’d just get rid of it all, but I don’t see that happening.”
O’Neil said people need to be reminded that earlier generations weren’t one dimensional.
“If you were a farmer, you weren’t just a farmer. You also had your hobbies, the kids had their toys, and families had all the things that they needed. The displays really show that life back in those days was a lot of fun.”
O’Neil’s property is located at 6477 Stewart Line.
