Memories of Fr. Henry Carr Farm

e Blue Banner would love to hear om alumni with any memories of their time at the Farm along with photos. We encourage you to share your memories by emailing bluebanner@smcsmail.com.

e Fr. Henry Carr Farm was unlike any other experience. During the Kairos retreat, one morning on the Farm, a er a day of connecting with my classmates and connecting with God, I stood outside looking at the barn and the eld. ere was a thick fog that clouded the treelines. At that moment, I felt a sense of peace and serenity. e Farm created an atmosphere where nothing else ma ered, and everyone’s burdens were stripped away. “My teachings will come like the rain, like a mist falling to the ground, like a gentle rain on the so grass, like rain on the green plants.” Deuteronomy 32:2

Vito James Burdi ’18 anks for the article and update on the Fr. Henry Carr Farm! I visited the farm just before moving to the U.S. back in 2006.

I visited Fr. Henry Carr Farm with my classmate Andrew Chun ’00 in August 2006 as part of me making my rounds to say farewell to all my closest friends, family, and in uences before moving to the Paci c Northwest to start a new job at Microso . Fr. Mohan ’48, CSB, OSM was our Principal throughout our time at SMCS and we kept in regular, albeit sporadic

I suppose I procrastinated on responding to the open invitation until the last possible moment before I le the GTA and found a splendid sunny day to visit. It was great to take in some quietness outside of the city and re ect before embarking upon my career. Fr. Mohan was gracious to welcome us, take us around the property, celebrate Mass, and introduce us to the horses they kept there. We nished the day with a hearty meal full of great food and great conversation and I know he was very happy to hear about our future career prospects. I'm glad to know that there is a bright future for this property and that it's in fact a growing presence for future generations of students and alumni!

Lawrence Lam ’00

Fr. Henry Carr was a real person who inspired Fr. Ronan ’41, CSB to build this farm. On several occasions, Fr. Carr mentioned that he wished there was a place where the kids could go to learn about nature. It was as simple as that, and for some reason, it tweaked something in Fr. Ronan to say, ‘I think I might be able to pull that o .’ Father Ed had an idea about this place, which my dad (Fr. Ed’s brother), a legitimate farmer, thought was crazy. However, Judge Couture really supported his vision of a place where city boys could come to God’s country to learn about and experience the land and nature. He was a special person who knew the power of community. Having grown up in the area, Fr. Ronan would visit people in the local community to ask for their help and assistance by donating their services over time to the Farm. e students loved being at the farm and working, and Fr. Ronan was in his glory. One of the things that was very important to this place, other than the land and the farm was the chapel. Fr.’s vision was to have a spiritual aspect – there had to be prayer, there had to be thoughtfulness, there had to be re ection, and there had to be an understanding and appreciation for nature and what it can teach you.

Paul Ronan

’76 and sister, Mary Catherine e Farm had a wonderful and long-lasting in uence on my life. Fr. Ronan was a friend of the family, and he was very aware that ‘ e Farm’ would be good for me (and I hopefully for it). Well, that was Grade 9, and I faithfully went to ‘ e Farm’ as o en as I could, until I graduated in 1978. e Couture family made all the St. Mike’s city boys feel welcome and I have fond memories of taking in the straw or hay with the Judge. Or cultivating the elds, boiling maple sap, mucking out stables and if you look closely, you will nd my initials in a lot of the concrete of the original Fr. Ronan lodge. e news that the Couture home is to undergo renovations is grand news indeed. To see the house standing now empty and cold is such a dichotomy to what I remember. e house was always full of laughter and the noise of a busy happy family. I only hope that I might witness this transition.

I returned to ‘ e Farm’ irregularly a er graduating to visit with Fr. Ronan, Mrs. Couture, and later Fr. Mohan and see the slow but steady changes to the property, including the moving of the barn, moving of the bird run and most recently the renovation to the now retreat house which we called Fr. Ronan’s lodge.

I don’t think the Judge, Mrs. Couture, or Fr. Ronan truly had a true grasp of the in uence that they were to have on the students that came to ‘ e Farm’ to broaden their perspective on life. ey were most de nitely forward thinkers and outside the box is where they must have started. It was certainly a very in uential experience for this St. Michael’s grad.

Kerry Dupuis ’78

I rst came to the Farm in the 90s when Fr. Ronan had moved on, and Fathers Mohan and Higgins were the two principals running the farm. Fr. Higgins loved horses and was responsible for having horses on the Farm. I remember the scene of the urban cowboy out there with his hat on. When I was the chaplain at Holy Trinity Catholic High School, Bradford, I would bring classes to the Farm for retreats. Our walks on the land would follow indoor classes. Fr. Mohan and Fr. Higgins ’45 were very passionate men who loved God, loved education, and believed in character development. ey believed that goodness needed to be in all aspects of life and challenged you to be a be er person, not just academically. ough it may sound odd, they helped me discover the value of inner re ection, which was a good lesson for me as a young man.

Tom Eagan, friend of the Basilian Fathers