Nine-Year-Old Farmer Hard At Work Building Birdhouses To Earn Enough Money To Buy A Cow Of His Own

Cameron Ormiston, 9, has been busy this summer building and selling birdhouses with hopes to soon be able to buy his own cow.

Cameron lives with his family on their beef farm in Omemee and raise charlets, shorthorns, sheep and ducks.

The nine-year-old grew up going to cattle shows with his parents and has recently started showing cows himself at local fairs.

He began saving up money from birthdays and Christmas and doing chores for his parents and grandparents last year with plans to buy a cow of his own.

This year he planted some corn an planned to sell it, but with the drought that didn’t pan out so it was back to the drawing board.

“Birdhouses seemed like a good idea,” said Jennie, his mom. “We had some spare lumber laying around so we got to work.”

Making the bird houses is a team effort at the farm.

“I do the sanding and the painting,” said Cameron. “Mom helps me staple the pieces together and I drill the hole for the bird.”

Jennie says working hard and using tools like this is nothing new for Cameron.

“Cameron has always worked hard,” she said. “He learned to drive the excavator when he was seven, he’s used to being around tools and equipment. Dad is big on safety and he’s grown up doing it.”

So far Cameron estimates that he has sold about 40 birdhouses, and he has close to 20 pre-made.

Birdhouses sell for $15 each and can be purchased at the stand located on their family farm at 297 Lilac Rd., Omemee.

At the stand there is a notebook for customers to leave comments.

“He’s gotten a crazy amount of support, people have left notes that are from as far as Oshawa and Toronto,” said Jennie. “He’s had people offer to send him money if they’re not close, just a lot of support.”

Cameron plans to save around $2,000 for a calf that he can halter break and Jennie says he’s close to halfway there.

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Omemee Man Becomes $75,000 Richer With Instant Scratch Ticket Win

One scratch ticket later and Omemee’s Robert Kimmerly finds himself $75,000 richer after scratching off an INSTANT XWORDS winning the top prize.

Photo Courtesy of OLG.

Kimmerly was officially paid last Friday according to the Ontario Lottery Gaming’s website.

The ticket was purchased at a Mister Convenience on King Street East in Omemee.

INSTANT XWORDS scratch-and-win tickets are available for $3 each with the grand prize at $75,000. The odds of winning any prize are 1 in 3.55.

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Omemee Shirt Purchased For Neil Young From PTBO Northern Originals In Peterborough

Mike Watt, owner of PTBO Northern Originals, a heritage-based clothing brand focused on local pride in Peterborough and the Kawarthas, was ecstatic when a member of Neil Young's crew dropped in to purchase his Omemee shirt on Friday (December 1st).

"An assistant came in and grabbed them for Neil and Daryl [Hannah, his partner] on Friday," Watt tells PTBOCanada of his T-shirt line, which is available online and at his store Flavour Fashion in downtown Peterborough.

"We actually hid an 'N Y' in the design—his initials—as a tribute to him," Watt tells PTBOCanada.

Neil Young's show in Omemee

Young may not have worn the Tee for his special concert Friday night in his home town of Omemee, but it was a cool moment the entrepreneur Watt won't soon forget.

"I have to be honest—when we developed the design for the shirt we always hoped to get one to Neil," he says. "We're huge fans and want to pay tribute in some small way. This was special."

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Imagining If Neil Young Rocks Omemee

There is much speculation—some of it courtesy of hints from Neil Young himself—that his December 1st acoustic concert to be broadcast on CTV, streamed online on CTV.ca and live streamed on Facebook may well be coming to us from Omemee, Ont., near Peterborough, the place Young spent some of his formative years as a child.

Toronto, Pickering, Winnipeg and Omemee—all places Young lived as a kid—are on the shortlist of where Young is expected to play from. But the small town of Omemee, with its historic Coronation Hall—the very hall Young posted a video in front of a couple months ago (more on that below)—would be the perfect choice for him to play coinciding with the release of his new album, The Visitor.

Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada.com

Not only did Young spend some of his adolescent years there—below is a Grade 1 class photo at Omemee Public School (1951-52) where he is standing in the back row, third from the left—but for many years a volunteer run museum, the Youngtown Rock & Roll Museum, was based out of Omemee until 2014 that was dedicated to the rock legend.

The old Youngtown museum in Omemee

His iconic "Helpless"—with its lyrics "There is a town in North Ontario, with dream comfort, memory to spare"—was written as an ode to his Omemee childhood home.

And his Facebook post (see below) saying "I will be going to my town"—not city—further fuelled the notion that he would pick Omemee, though one could interpret him using "town" colloquially, yes.

As well, back on September 24th, Young made a stop in Omemee in front of where he's rumoured to be playing and mentioned "the Visitor" in a tweet that is now carrying extra weight...

I'm Canadian by the way, and I love the USA... - the Visitor 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/LemTEfKcic

— Neil Young (@Neilyoung) September 23, 2017

Ryan Lalonde is a co-producer of an upcoming documentary The Radius Project that looks at the wealth of famous musicians who come from the area in and around Peterborough, such as Young, Thousand Foot Crutch, Three Days Grace, My Darkest Days, I Mother Earth, Ronnie Hawkins, The Leahys (and Natalie McMaster), producers Greg and Rob Wells, and Serena Ryder.

"For Neil Young to play a show here in town and to document it for people to watch forever, it'd be huge," Lalonde tells PTBOCanada. "And it's a testament to not forgetting where you come from."

Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada.com

"If it's Omemee he chooses—and I still think it's a BIG 'if'—it really brings him full circle," adds Lalonde. "This would be a phenomenal gift to the town, even if for one night only. It gives them a legitimate claim to their favourite son. Everyone has an opinion where his home town is, and this might just put the argument to bed."

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Neil Young Returns To Childhood Home Of Omemee For Visit, Posts Video

Neil Young spent his formative years in Omemee, Ontario near Peterborough.

Here he is in Grade 1 at Omemee Public School (1951-52), standing in the back row, third from the left...

Neil Young, third from left, standing in the back row

Well the rock star just returned there for a visit and posted this video to Twitter in front of Omemee Hall, to remind people of his roots...

I'm Canadian by the way, and I love the USA... - the Visitor 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/LemTEfKcic

— Neil Young (@Neilyoung) September 23, 2017

He also posted the video to Facebook...

Young, 71, who now lives in Northern California, was back in Canada to be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at a ceremony at Massey Hall in Toronto.

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Neil Young In Grade 1 At Omemee Public School

Neil Young spent many of his formative years in Omemee, Ontario near Peterborough—and a museum, Youngtown Rock & Roll Museum, dedicated to the rock legend was there for many years before relocating to nearby Lindsay.

An awesome photo (see below) was posted to the Vintage Peterborough, Lindsay and the Kawartha Region Facebook page of Young in a Grade 1 class photo at Omemee Public School (1951-52). Neil is standing in the back row, third from the left (with that distinct Neil Young facial expression).

Neil Young, third from left, standing in the back row

Young's "Helpless"—with its lyrics "There is a town in North Ontario, with dream comfort, memory to spare"—was written as an ode to his Omemee childhood home.

© 2012 WMG

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Watch Courageous 14-Year-Old Tessa Smith Kick Cancer's Butt

Fourteen-year-old Emily Township teenager Tessa Smith, who lives near Omemee, has had battles with cancer since she was a baby. MyKawartha did a great story on her last fall and the fight she's putting up with the help of family, friends, doctors and nurses at The Hospital for Sick Children. Tessa made this video below she just posted to YouTube documenting her amazing spirit and fight...

[YouTube via @reynolds_mary; MyKawartha]

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Neil Young Returns To Omemee In Upcoming Documentary

[YouTube via @mr_kearnsy]

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