The secret to a long life? Listen to your mom, and drink milk

By Anna Nocente

The Haldimand Press

HAGERSVILLE/CALEDONIA—Born in Hagersville in 1919, Harry Fearman has lived in Haldimand County his entire life. On July 26, 2019 Fearman, now a resident of Caledonia, turned 100.

When asked what his secret is, he said, “I drink a lot of milk, ever since I can remember I’ve always liked milk. I drink at least two glasses a day.”

The eldest boy of seven children, he grew up on his parent’s farm on Third Line in Oneida Township. He is the only surviving sibling, but his family has a history of longevity with his grandfather living to 98 and his dad to over 90.

Fearman and his siblings went to a one-room school house on Highway 6 at Third Line just a mile down the road from his family’s farm. “I could run it in five minutes,” he said, laughing as he remembered going to school as a young boy.

“I didn’t go to high school,” he continued. “Dad asked me if I wanted to go to high school or work on the farm. What 14-year-old boy wants to go to school?”

Fearman started to work on the farm, including driving the trucks around: “I drove around the farm for years. I went to Hagersville to take my driver’s test when I was about 17. I drove not even one block and the instructor said that would be enough, he’d seen me drive on my parent’s farm and he gave me my licence.”

He went on to be a professional driver and drove animal feed from Woodstock to Haldimand County for Hunter’s Farm Supply for many years. He continued driving a car until he turned 96.