Skip to main page content
Kent Agricultural Hall of Fame Logo
In 1988, the Kent Agricultural Hall of Fame was created to honour those that demonstrated unselfish achievement within the realm of agriculture and service to the rural community.
Photo image of G. Harry Wilson

Wilson, G. Harry*

- 1989
1887-1982

Inducted: November 29, 1989

G. Harry Wilson was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire during World War II, just one of the expressions of gratitude for his contributions to agriculture in war and peace.

Mr. Wilson was born in Harwich Township near Charing Cross, and lived to see farming change from horsepower to a mechanized and computerized industry, not as a witness but as a full participant. When people called him a "master farmer", they were acknowledging his hard work and dedication as a farmer and as a man determined to see that farmers received their fair share of the national income.

Mr. Wilson was instrumental in organizing the Howard Fraleigh Grass Club, the forerunner of the Ontario Pasture Research Committee. The results of this organization could be seen in improved pastures in many parts of Ontario.

Mr. Wilson promoted the livestock business, and was a founder of the Ontario Red Triangle Baby Beef Association, which marketed premium quality beef to selected markets for over 20 years. He was a Director of the Kent County Livestock Improvement Association, Director and President of the Kent County Swine Producers' Association and Director of the Kent County Milk Producers' Association during its peak years.

Mr. Wilson was active in the Ontario Sugar Beet Growers' Marketing Board and the Canadian Sugar Beet Association. He was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Ontario Stockyards in 1958. Two years later, he was named its Chairman, a post he held until his 1969 retirement.

It was during this period that auction selling was instituted and office facilities were built.

Mr. Wilson was inducted, posthumously, into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1985. He received a certificate from the Meat Packers' Council of Canada in 1965, a tribute to his contributions to the industry. He was the first recipient of the Agriculturalist of the Year Award from the Chatham & District Chamber of Commerce in 1976. The Kent Federation of Agriculture honoured him with its second Meritorious Award in 1978.