Garnet Baker Rickard (1916 – June 23, 1994) was a Canadian politician who served as the first mayor of the Town of Newcastle from 1974 to 1985. Garnet was well known for his endeavours in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and would later become a leader in the field, being active in societies and education.

Personal life

Rickard was born in 1916 on a 100-acre farm near

Bowmanville Bowmanville is a town of approximately 40,000 people located in the Municipality of Clarington, Ontario, Clarington, Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately east of Toronto, and east of Oshawa along ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. From a young age, Rickard had interest in seed growing. He began judging seeds for the Junior Farmers' Club. This lead him to establishing a seed-cleaning and fertilizer-blending operation at his farm in 1940. Later that year, he took first place at the CNE in a seed competition at the age of 24. He also received awards for his oats, winning a reserve championship at the Chicago International Show in 1946, and the Royal Winter Fair in 1948. Rickard was active in several local agriculture organizations, including the

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

County Agricultural Society and the Durham County Federation of Agriculture. He served as president of the Soil and Crop Improvement Association in 1945, and the county association in 1950. With the help of his sons, Jim and Don, they operated the Ceresmore farms, in the Village of Newcastle. They specialized in purebred cattle,

pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

, wheat, oats, barley, soybeans, white beans, pumpkins, cash crops and an apple orchard. He married Annabelle Erskine Hendry, on September 6, 1941, at the United Church, in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. Rickard was an active

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

. He received the ranks of Worshipful Master (1952), Grand Junior Warden (1968-1969), and member of the Board of General Purposes (1973-1978). He was also active in the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

of Bowmanville. He was chairman of the Skate '88 committee, a group to raise money for a new recreation Centre in Bowmanville, going on to raise 1.8 million dollars. Rickard passed away on June 23, 1994 at the age of 79. Funeral services were held at the Newcastle United Church. The Bowmanville Recreation Complex, which he had helped raise money for, was renamed in his honour in a ceremony held October 28, 1994, to the Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex.

Politics

Rickard was first appointed as Darlington councillor in 1949. He was elected as Deputy

Reeve Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents *Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord *High-reeve, a title taken by some Englis ...

of Darlington Township in 1953, winning with 761 votes over 571 against Harold Skinner. In 1957, he ran for the position of Warden for United Counties of Northumberland and Durham. In 1959, he was elected as

for Darlington Township, defeating the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

Roy Nichols. Rickard was re-elected by acclamation, in 1960 and 1961. In 1963, he left his position as Reeve to run for Member of Parliament for Durham, but ultimately lost to Russell Honey. He ran again in 1965, but was yet again unsuccessful. Rickard returned to municipal politics in 1970, when he was elected Deputy

of Darlington Township. In 1972 he was elected

for Darlington Township, defeating the

Carl Down. He held this postition for one year, until he was appointed

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of the newly established

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

of Town of Newcastle, in January 1974. On December 20, 1982, he was invested into the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. He was appointed to the order on April 20, 1983 by

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Ed Schreyer Edward Richard Schreyer (born December 21, 1935) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 22nd since Canadian Confederation. Schreyer was born and educated in Manitoba, and was first electe ...

, for his contributions to agriculture.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rickard, Garnet People from Clarington Members of the Order of Canada Canadian agriculturalists