By Gary Fife
The following is a poem written by Gary Fife, the Great-Great Grandson of David Fife. This is part one of three.
Introduction
This is the story of David Fife
And how he developed the staff of life
Searching for a solution
To agricultural pollution
Wheat crops ravaged by frost and rust
Finding a better grain was a must
He searched in Canada and Scotland too
He obtained some seeds from a friend he
knew
A new strain of wheat from a ship docked
in Glasgow
Save some for the spring, plant the rest
now
The fall planting did not survive
The spring planting did indeed thrive
In 1842, David Fife developed Red Fife
Wheat
For 50 years, Red Fife reigned supreme
and could not be beat
The wheat known as Red Fife
Has a renewed shelf life
In 2003, Slow Food Canada nominated Red
Fife for the Ark of Taste
Renowned for its nutty and robust
flavor, it should not go to waste
Organic farmers consider it the best
heritage wheat
Discriminating consumers consider it a
nutritious treat
Artisan bakers use a slow wild yeast
fermentation
To develop a richer and fuller wheat
taste sensation
Chefs discovered its hearty flavor
And diners have bread they can savor
Red Fife has been rediscovered; it is a
revival
Red Fife’s place in history is more than
archival
Red Fife is a story of myth and legend
and mystery
Who is David Fife and where is his place
in history
And what about Jane, his wife
Who played a key role in developing Red
Fife
There is much to tell and the tale
should be told
Children should know it before they grow
old
Without David Fife, who knows what might
have been
The story begins with David at age
fifteen.
Section I – From Scotland to Canada
Riding a white horse, his father, John,
rode through each town
Announcing the news with a bugle,
Napoleon was down
In Scotland, there was not that much to
do
After the Battle of Waterloo
In 1820, David and John and the rest of
the clan
It was a dull day in May when they set
sail
On a ship called Hope, how could they
fail
In mid September, they came to the
village of Port Hope
Arriving via ferry drawn by horses on
shore with a rope
In the township of Otonabee
David settled there with his family
Lot 23, Concession 4
200 acres, a log cabin and more
Indian River runs through the north end
To a place where it takes a bend
On its way to the village of Lang
Where meetings were held with rest of
the gang
David met Jane Beckett one day
Marriage plans were quickly underway
In 1825, they were wed
A bright future lay ahead
As the daughter of a seed merchant
Jane knew a thing or two and had a
penchant
For seeking a better way
She was sure to have her say
David and Jane kept a watchful eye
For new grains they could try
There had to be something that would
beat
The tired and troublesome Siberian Wheat
Planting wheat in the soil
Involves much blood, sweat and toil
Reaping the wheat harvest
Weather permitting is hardest
Using a scythe to cut a swath to make a
sheath
Stooking sheaves to prevent moisture
underneath
Modern technology brought the threshing
machine
With the combine, operations became lean
and mean
Section II – Red Fife Wheat developed in
1842
Early in the 19th century
Settlers faced a climate of hostile fury
Plant diseases such as rust, mould and
rot
And in case it should be forgot
There were pests and floods and storms
And rapid temperature changes beyond
norms
Farmers dreamed of rejoicing and
bringing in the sheaves
Growing wheat for export is an idea no
one believes
In 1812, the Selkirk settlers came [2]
From Lord Selkirk they got their name
In Canada, he received a land grant
Providing these Scottish fishermen a
place to plant
The first crop of wheat of record on
Canadian soil
With no proper tools, they used a hoe to
toil
Seeds planted too late did not survive
In 1818, wheat crops were eaten alive
It was a severe and devastating attack
The grasshopper plague turned the sky
black
Wheat harvesting conditions would become
less severe
In his search for seed, David Fife did
persevere
His friend, Will Struthers, in Glasgow
Should be able to help somehow
Will sent samples of wheat to Port Hope
After winter storage they were taken
from the envelope
The wheat was sown
Nothing was grown
David sent word to his friend, Will
To be on the lookout still
Down by the docks, Will took a trip
He spotted some grain from a Polish ship
From the Ukraine, direct from Danzig
The freighter was a mighty rig
He scooped up a sample and put it in the
mail
Not realizing the puzzle it would entail
Not knowing whether to plant in spring
or fall
David decided not to plant it all
He sowed half in the fall and it did not
survive
He sowed half in the spring and five
stalks did thrive
When David was not in the field with the
horse and plows
He tended to chores with the pigs and
chickens and cows
While David was working under the hot
summer sky
Jane worked in the house always keeping
a watchful eye
The five stalks of grain were growing
well
Jane looked through the window and let
out a yell
Two oxen had broken loose
She chased them and made them vamoose
They had munched on the new strains of
wheat
Jane caught them in time to limit their
treat
Of the five stalks, Jane saved three
More care was needed, it was plain to
see
Jane took special charge of the
experimental plot
Reaping three stalks of grain did not
yield a lot
The wheat was hung on the kitchen
rafters with care
In hopes that a bountiful yield would
soon be there
Every year yielded more of this rust
free variety
And soon the Fifes provided wheat to all
of Otonabee
By 1848, they had 260 bushels to provide [3]
They were very gracious, it could not be
denied
No patents, no desire for personal gain
Everyone should try this new strain
Section III – Red Fife Wheat spreads to
the West
By 1851, its popularity had spread
Farmers were keen to get this wheat that
was red
Through Ontario and into Illinois, Ohio and
Wisconsin [4]
Red Fife was sown, grown and stockpiled
in the wheat bin
This sturdy, high-yielding red wheat
Rust resistant, it could not be beat
With its superior quality of flour, it
met the test
These qualities led to its adoption throughout
the West
In the prairie soil, Red Fife seeds
produced great yields
Across the United States and Canada were
golden wheat fields
Section IV – Red Fife’s Origins
Where did Red Fife originate
It is a subject of great debate
Some believe it came from the Ukraine
Where it was a very hardy strain
This strain was known as the Halychanka
variety [5]
With records dating back to the 12th
century
It is unique and valuable due to its
stability
Cultivated over centuries with great
ability
By Ukrainian peasants
Using basic common sense
This variety was not grown on
experimental fields
By a plant breeder or geneticist to
increase yields
Halychanka also known as the Galician
variety
Stems from Galicia, an historical region
of Ukrainian society
Located between Poland and Ukraine
In old folk songs there was a refrain
Of ‘dear spring wheat’
It was known as a treat
Of happiness and prosperity
The truth will be known to posterity
Stay tuned for part 2 next Tuesday, August 4!
[1] The Peterborough Evening Examiner, January 30, 1909; The
Peterborough Weekly Examiner, July 15, 1920
[2] Buller, A.H.R., Essays on
Wheat (New York, 1919) Chapter 1, section 1 – 5.
[3] Old Farmer’s Almanac, 2001:
The Day Jane Fife Saved Canada’s Wheat Crop.
[4] Old Farmer’s Almanac, 2001.
[5] From a single seed: Tracing
the Marquis wheat success story in Canada to its roots in the Ukraine, by
Stephan Symko, a Web Publication of Research Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada, 1999.
Gary Fife is the Great-Great Grandson of David Fife, founder of Red Fife Wheat, and a guest writer for the Museum. Gary grew up on the Fife Family Farm. With a background in corporate finance and entrepreneurial management, Gary shares David Fife's passion for innovation and entrepreneurship. He has spent the last few years researching David Fife and Red Fife Wheat. In the past 25 years, there has been a renewed interest in Red Fife Wheat by artisan bakers and organic farmers. Gary has been instrumental in contacting several of the key people involved in this Red Fife revival.
