Welcome!
Come One Come ALL! To the best town on earth 
Harriston – Minto Welcomes You,
Lets take a walk through the humbling rural setting of Harriston, Ontario. Take some time to visit local businesses and see my favorite places. Then maybe someday you will want to come for a visit and stay awhile.
Harriston-Minto Township:
Minto Township has been so great to all the local surrounding area. Making sure that everything is beautiful and in tip-top shape. Minto is constantly innovating and supporting the community that is belongs too. It is incredible to see how much effort they put into everything they do. Minto Township is trying to have you “Escape from the chaos of daily city life and discover why Minto is where your family belongs!”
What does Harriston have to offer that makes it so special? What is something everyone loves?
FOOD!
Looking for Canadian Fresh Produce? Visit Harriston!
Harriston is a town that can easily keep you happy and healthy. There are many local food options that you can choose from. A local favorite is the Minto Farmers Market where you an pick up local baked goods,meats , maple syrup, and canned goods. One of my personal favorites is ice-cream made by Mapleton’s Organic Dairy Farm. They put a lot of time and care into their products, especially their ice creams! Mmmm!
One of the local producers that is very close to my heart is Harriston Packing Company. It is a family owned and operated business that specializes in local meat production. Many meat choices are from local farmers within 100km and are more then likely hormone free! They make their meat straight from livestock from the pasture. All processing is done within the one building which makes 
sure the customer knows where their meat is coming from. I love this place so much because it just so happens to be ran by my family. My Opa started this meat plant in 1967 with the goal of creating fresh, local produce that people could enjoy. Sadly, my Opa passed away last year from the tight grip of cancer , but his goal still stands strong throughout the rest of the Oelschlagel family. I miss you Opa and hope that my goals from my Miss Teen Canada Trip make you proud.
Harriston is also home to a great home-town grocery store, The L&M. The L&M is a grocery store that supplies the town with many necessities, even though Harriston is fairly small.
Shopping Opportunities!
Shopping is a great boost to our community. Harriston has many different types of stores that can allow anyone to enjoy themselves. Some stores that truly stand out in our community are: Harriston Home Hardware, N.W CoOp and Acheson’s Pharmacy.
Acheson’s is a small Pharmacy on main street of Harriston that also sells many trendy items that are to die for. I was lucky enough to receive a purse from Acheson’s when I was chosen for The Harriston Fall Fair Ambassador.
John and Patty do a great job at running their establishment, Home Hardware. The make sure everyone is happy with their product and see that Harriston has a wide range out household supplies to choose from.
The North Wellington Co-Op always has great service ready to give you what you need on the farm.
Because we live in a rural community it is important to have that access.
Van Sickle Dentistry makes sure that our community gets the healthy smiles we need. As a family
owned and operated business the Van Sickles have always done a wonderful job with the communties dental hygiene.
Education!
I have spent my entire life within the boarders of Minto Township and Wellington County. I have only ever moved once; therefore, almost everyone I know from school I have known since kindergarten. I loved my years of elementary school that I spent at Minto-Clifford Public School. The name of my schools is a little off because it is named after a neighboring town, but is actually located in Harriston. I used to love to play imaginary farm during “little-kid school” as the high school kids of Norwell call it. I am proud to be a Norwell D.S.S Redman because we have such an outrageous school! We have a wide range a technology classes, 
the CELProgram ( see earlier posts to explain), great sports teams that are always making it to OFSAA ( Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association) and only about 800 count of students. Brenmar is the local busing company who takes care of all our school bus transportation. I would like to thank them for their patients with all of us kids because I know there were times you just wanted to park on the side of the road and yell at us, but you never did.
Scenery!
Wellington County has some of the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen! There are so many places to go see and visit or discover for yourself. A community favorite is the Greenway Trail System where you can bike, walk, horse-back ride and soak your feet in the Mighty Maitland River. The Gazebo park in Harriston is a is also a looker! Ever year is is reestablished by the CELP program to keep it looking naturally beautiful. If you are lucky Wellington is full of surprises! There are many different ponds and rivers that are hidden amongst the landscape. If you get lucky you will meet someone who will let you use it, like my grandma. Harriston and all of Wellington County is blooming all summer with the most gorgeous of gardens and flower beads because we love the environment so much.
Agriculture!
Wellington County is home to many farms around the area because there is so much fertile land. There are an abundance or dairy farms, a growing population of goat, and lamb farmers, many chicken and turkey farmers and never forgetting our beef and pork farmers. When taking photos I was allowed to spend time at a friends house playing with their baby bull (boy) calf which was a lot of fun. Equestrian farms are also seen within Wellington County which is what I am the most involved with.The feeling of being surrounded by things that are very natural and real can make anyone feel good.
Interesting Visiting Areas!
Some great places to see while being in Wellington is the train station located in Palmerston, Ontario. Palmerston was a great railroad town at one point and because of that many of the old buildings and equipment has been restored.
Committees!
Harriston and Minto have a wonderful set of volunteers who work hard to make our communities the way it is today. I would like to thank them for all their dedication within our community. From Fall Fairs to Flower Beds… From Playgrounds to Medical Centers.. We are Very lucky to have these individuals.
the list goes on and on because we have such a wonderful community!
Wellington County is a great place to live and grow. I would recommend anyone to have or visit even if just for the day. There are so many beautiful sights and sounds to experience. Thanks for touring with me. My next post will consist of more pictures throughout our journey.
Peace
JessOXO – Miss Teen Wellington County
