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FACES IN THE NEWS NH W, N E 5 2,53 Mk WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9,1999 + 11 A. Islander an insurance pioneer A. Bruce Canghey enters Agriculture Hall of Fame LIVING LEGEND -- A. Bruce Caughey, a dri- ving force behind insurance company. By Anne Craig W MHERST Island farmer A. Bruce Caughey was inducted 'nto the Agricultural Hall of » Fame Monday night for his work with the Mutual Fire Insurance Company. The Beaver talked with his son, Bruce, as the senior Caughey remains hospitalized due to recent ill health. "He's very honoured by this award," Bruce Jr. says, "and very humbled." His father, born Jan. 22, 1910, is a fourth-generation farmer living on Amherst Island Where the family still lives today. He was, Bruce Jr. explains, the driving force behind the Fire Mutuals Guarantee Fund which links all Ontario Farmer's Mutuals together and allowed them to become one of the most financially secure insurance providers in the world. Bruce Jr. adds his dad was a direc- tor of the Amherst Island Mutual Fire Insurance Company for 51 years, the majority as the chair. He also repre- sented the Ontario Mutual Insurance Association for the area between Toronto and Prescott. "My dad never realized a buck from any of his (community) work. Dairy farming was his main source of income" -- BRUCE CA UGHEY, JR. He remains an honourary director. "This company is now one of the most financially secure insurance sys-- tems in the world. And my dad never realized a buck from any of his work. Dairy farming was his main source of income." The rest of Bruce Sr.'s work shows just how busy he was while running a farm and raising three children. In 1933, he was the secretary/trea- surer of Amherst Island Township school board and in 1948 was involved in building the Amherst Island consol- idated school which accepted students from Grades 1 through 12. In 1938, his father saw hydro come to the island and he married his Wife, Helen. From 1950 to 1964 he was the secretary/treasurer of the municipal telephone system and has been a mem- ber of what is now the Loyalist 'Ibwnship cemetery committee since 1950. In 1948, Bruce Jr. says his dad drove the only school bus on the island and in the winter, another gentleman helped him pick up the students by horse and sleigh. "All the income from the winter months went to the other man. Financial gain didn't mean any- thing to him." All the work on various commit- tees required his dad had to travel in a small boat to the mainland where he left his car. It wasn't until 1964 that the ferry began evening runs and made Bruce Sr.'s job a little easier. "We are very proud of him," Bruce Jr. says, referring to his siblings Allen and Beth. "We really think it's nice he's being recognized. My dad must have been well thought of."