Born in 1929, David B. Reid of Sardis chronologically covers the
evolution of local plowing, from horses to tractors, as well as the
annual plowing contests of the 88-years-young Chilliwack Plowing
Society, in Fields of Seams and Dreams: Plowing in the Valley.
Tractors were first allowed to compete in 1940. Now there are nine
tractor classes, from “junior” to “antique.”
“Straightness isn’t always the best, and crookedness isn’t always
the worst,” Reid told the Chilliwack Progress in an
interview. David Reid and his brothers were plowing fields on their
own by age ten, as taught by their Scottish-born father. Also an
expert at rebuilding plows, Reid competed in his first plowing
competition in 1939. He won 37 out of 38 plowing matches from 1987
to 2003, thanks to Queen and Mindy, a team of Belgian-Percheron
cross grades.
