Stratford Perth Museum Announces 2026 Agricultural Wall of Fame Inductees
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Stratford, ON – The Stratford Perth Museum is proud to announce the 2026 inductees to the Agricultural Wall of Fame: Richard and Jean Smelski and Harvey William Ische (posthumous).
Each year, the Agricultural Wall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made meaningful contributions to agriculture in Perth County. As one committee member reflected this year, the honour is not simply about extraordinary people, it is about ordinary people who do extraordinary things. The 2026 inductees exemplify this spirit in deeply impactful and distinct ways.
Richard and Jean Smelski are widely recognized not only for their lifelong commitment to agriculture, but for their remarkable service to community. Through their farm and their well-loved pumpkin patch, they created a place of connection and generosity- quietly donating the equivalent of its proceeds to local causes, including sponsoring a room in the cancer ward at Stratford General Hospital and supporting numerous community initiatives.
Professionally, Richard’s decades-long work advancing the swine industry across Perth County and beyond has left a lasting legacy. Through hands-on farm visits, education, and leadership within organizations such as the Ontario Pork Congress, he helped shape modern agricultural practices and supported generations of producers.
Jean’s contributions have been equally significant. In addition to her role in coordinating the Ontario Pork Congress for nearly four decades, she has served as a dedicated community volunteer, including her ongoing work with the Stratford Hospital Foundation. Her leadership, commitment to service, and ability to bring people together have had a lasting impact across both agricultural and community life.
In fact, when the nomination was brought forward, it was clear that this recognition belonged to them both- reflecting a shared life’s work built in equal measure.
The late Harvey William Ische, a Jersey farmer and widely read columnist under the pen name “Rusticus,” is being honoured posthumously for his unique and enduring contribution to agricultural thought and rural life. Writing from the 1920s through the 1960s, Ische captured the rhythms, challenges, and quiet wisdom of farm life with clarity and insight.
In one of his columns, he observed the way farmers can sometimes overlook the natural world around them, writing of birds on the farm that, “we take for granted,” even as they play an essential role in the balance of rural life. His writing consistently bridged the practical and the philosophical, reminding readers that agriculture is not only an industry, but a way of seeing and understanding the world.
Beyond his writing, Ische was a working farmer, community leader, and innovator- adopting new technologies, supporting rural education, and sustaining his family and community through some of the most challenging decades in modern history.
The Committee shared:
“The strength of agriculture in our region has always come from people like these, people who contribute in ways both visible and unseen, and whose impact is felt across generations.”
The 2026 inductees will be formally recognized at the annual Rural Urban Dinner, a long-standing tradition that brings together members of the agricultural and urban communities in celebration of shared understanding and connection.
For more information about the Agricultural Wall of Fame, visit
www.stratfordperthmuseum.ca
Tickets:
https://rotarystratford.com/sitepage/rural-urban-dinner/welcome
Media Contact:
Kelly McIntosh
Stratford Perth Museum
519-393-5312
kelly@stratfordperthmuseum.ca