The song says that “life on the farm is kinda laid back,” but someone should have mentioned that to the Hewitt family, as they’ve had an eventful few weeks.
Three weeks ago, a tornado damaged some Hewitts Farm produce stands and on Monday afternoon, a pick-up truck plowed through a stand located at a plaza at Grove St. and Duckworth St.
No one at the stand was hurt, however Curtis Hewitt, owner and operator of the Barrie stands, said it was a frantic call to get.
“The shed was a complete write-off and we’ll have to replace that which will cost about $3,000,” said Hewitt. “Ironically, most of the product was OK because he missed the tables by less than a foot, maybe. I think one jar broke and we lost a couple cucumbers and onions.”
The incident happened at around 1:30 p.m. when a driver who had collided with another vehicle in the parking lot of the plaza attempted to flee the scene but instead collided with the produce stand.
The teenaged worker was unharmed and Hewitt said she wanted to get back to work right away to help clean up.
“She was great but we had to send her home, obviously,” said Hewitt. “She kept messaging asking when she could get back to work, such a trooper. There isn’t much to do anyway until we get it all set up again, which is hopefully sometime this afternoon (Tuesday).”
The driver of the pick-up truck was charged with two counts of failure to stop after an accident and dangerous operation of a vehicle. He was held for a bail hearing at a later date.
During the Barrie tornado on July 15, two of Hewitt’s produce stands were damaged on the south end.
The location near Costco and the one by Canadian Tire on Mapleview Dr. W. were damaged and once again, hit Hewitt financially pretty hard.
“I roughly figured it was about $2,000 or $3,000 in damage and losses,” said Hewitt. “We lost some canopies and then of course the produce was gone. You add to that also the sheer amount of labour lost and lost sales, too. It was an expensive day.”
It was extra stressful for Hewitt as his wife had just received her second COVID shot and was feeling some side effects so he had stayed home to watch the kids.
“Then I get a call that we were hit hard and I have to go. It was a hectic day for both of us but thankfully no one was hurt,” said Hewitt. “But I guess it's been a crazy few weeks for us.”
The Hewitts Farm Market in Warminster has been around for 45 years and while still known for corn on the cob, sells a wide variety of produce.
“With our family, there are five seasons,” said Hewitt. “One of them is corn season.”
Hewitt admits that being a farming family, weather is always something for which they try to be prepared. While many have said he overdoes it with the amount of cinder blocks he uses to hold down his produce tents, Hewitt always tries to be prepared and finish the day.
“We deal with rain and strong winds every year. We couldn’t have been ready for the strength of the tornado, but we have to be ready for everything else,” said Hewitt. “At the end of the day, the work has to get done and you have to get to it.”
To find out more about the Hewitts Farm Market and to find a produce stand near you, head to the website here.
