When 21 year-old Lloyd Leaver persuaded his father George to purchase 48 acres (19.4 ha) on the Second Line East, what is now Stanfield Road, back in 1922 to start Leaverleigh Farms, growers of fine garden vegetables, the move didn’t sit too well with the rest of his family.
But Lloyd, who had just graduated from the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC), knew that the light sandy soil only required fertilizer and humus to produce profitable crops. Little did he realize that he had just planted the seed for what was to become one of Canada’s most recognizable names in mushroom producers.
George Leaver was born on Henley On Thames, England in 1863 and when he was just 19 years of age he emigrated to Canada on a cattle boat. He arrived penniless but found his way to Toronto where relatives helped him start a grocery store.
By the turn of the century George Leaver was married and he owned and operated two grocery stores. He had two sons and one daughter, Charles, Frank and Grace. Lloyd was born in 1901 while Ross was yet to be born.
The birth of Leaverleigh Farms, some 20 years later, necessitated the use of manure and in his brand new 1922 Rainier truck, Lloyd started calling on bread and dairy stables to pick up the much needed manure.
It was at this time that Lloyd was to meet his future wife Amy Clarkson, whose family owned a dairy farm on the south side of Dundas Street in Summerville, located just west of what is now Highway 27. There were a number of Clarksons who farmed in Summerville. The courting began and Lloyd made frequent visits to the Clarkson farm.
Amy’s father, George Clarkson, had a very interesting hobby. He was growing mushrooms in his barn. He had become interested in mushrooms while visiting the Canadian National Exhibition where he had seen mushroom brick spawn from England and decided to try growing them.
Spawns are used to grow mushrooms the same way seeds are used to grow plants The quality of spawns determines the quality of the mushrooms produced. So even if growth conditions are exactly as they should be, the product won’t be good if the spawns are poor in quality.