A 50-acre farm situated southwest of Centennial Rd. and Lawson was bought in 1921 by Cecil Watson and his wife Beatrice Acheson. They called their property Cherrydale Farm, but it was known in the community as Watson’s Orchard. Their son, John Cameron Watson, was born there on November 24, 1922. Cameron tended the orchard until his death in 2004.
Farming is always at the mercy of the elements and the Watsons certainly had their share of hard times. During the Depression, the severe winter of 1933 took a devastating toll on the farm’s apple trees. Since the orchards had to be replanted, the family needed to diversify until the new trees could bear fruit, so root vegetables along with rhubarb, strawberries, currants and raspberries were cultivated. A long-term contract to supply apples to Dominion Stores Ltd. started in the late 1940s, which gave considerable financial security to the farm.
Many children growing up in Centennial had their first employment picking berries at the farm in the summer. One resident said she picked red and white currants as well as raspberries in the mid-60s to early ’70s. “The basket had to be filled to a certain level or Granny Watson would send you back to pick more,” she said. “I think we got 25 cents for a small basket.” She also remembers eating more than she picked!
The Watsons operated an apple stall at the St. Lawrence Market every Saturday beginning in 1922, the same year Cameron was born. From the time he was an infant until declining health forced him to retire in 1997, you could find him every Saturday in the north corner of the market.
Cameron had a full-time work-hand named Ross Regele, who was employed by the Watsons for more than 47 years. Ross lived in a tiny trailer on site even though he was offered accommodation in the Watson family home. Cameron and Ross would arrive at the St. Lawrence Market at 3 a.m. to ready their display for the Saturday crowds.
Cameron built a new house facing Acheson Blvd. for his mother and himself. She was to live on the main floor and Cameron in the lower level walkout. But with her death in 1970, the main floor of the house was never used, and Cameron was forced to sell off a major part of the orchard to cover hefty estate taxes. He kept four acres where his home and the orchard buildings were located, which he continued to tend until he died in 2004. After that, the property was sold to a developer and new houses replaced the orchard.
Keeping the memory of the Watson family alive in Centennial, three of the streets in the new subdivision are named Cameron Watson Cres. after Cameron, Acheson Blvd. after his mother, and Cherrydale Court after their farm.
Edited version of a piece written by Don Allen for Centennial News in June 2020.