OIL SPRINGS, Ont. — It’s hard not to be impressed by the scene. Two large tractors work a large field with cultivators and packers just east of this village of 702 in Lambton County, small clouds of dust following.
“It’s one heck of a lot different than it was,” elderly Walt Robinson says from his pickup as he watches his two sons.
“There isn’t the people out here. They’ve all moved to town.”
The Robinsons farm hundreds of acres. To the west, another operator works thousands. Where scores of farm families once thrived, only a handful remain.
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Oil Springs mayor Ian Veen said farmers are appreciated, but it’s difficult to keep municipal taxes at a reasonable level and maintain the infrastructure.
Residents need to bring cash or a cheque to pay their taxes in the village office. Debt and credit card transactions cost money, the village clerk said.
Still, Veen believes Oil Springs is fortunate. Young families with jobs in nearby Sarnia are buying property. There’s also some industrial taxation from the century-old, jigger-line oil wells within the village boundaries.
As well, a few small businesses persist, such as Randy’s TV and Basement Boss. Along the highway, there’s a restaurant, open until noon, a gas station, a few dry goods and liquor store.
An hour away in the former town of Rodney, population 1,000 and falling, the community is in trouble. Businesses are closing their doors and the last family doctor just retired.
“The grocery store left about a year ago and now there’s not even a place to get gas here,” said Ron Wilkins, manager of one of the few thriving businesses in the community.
Rodney Building and Metal Products, on the edge of town, serves a wide swath of southwestern Ontario. The region’s remaining farmers make up a large part of its clientele.
It’s more difficult on main street, where Danyce Molengraaf operates a flower and gift shop among the empty store fronts. The store has managed to build a modest clientele over the past four years, but business is down now that the grocery store and gas station are closed.
Her partner looks to sell, and Molengraaf, who also works as a paramedic, cannot continue on her own.
Rodney is distant from larger communities by Ontario standards. That, combined with the loss of basic services, makes it difficult to attract new residents.
