Introduction "Dufferin County is this hidden gem in Ontario''s heartland. It''s the rolling green hills in spring and summer. It''s the mature beech, oak and maple trees in splendid fall colours. It''s the crisp clear winter days when the only sound is the whisper of your skis on the snow. It is people who are as connected with their rural past as they are to maintaining the countryside today. It''s my home." -- Bernadette Hardaker resident of Orangeville. "I''ve learned to like it.

I wasn''t sure I would, but I did." -- Mary Lazier, potter, lives on land in Violet Hill inherited from her mother. Ask a dozen people from Dufferin County where they live and they will specify Mono or Shelburne, Orangeville or Melancthon. If they''ve been in the Hockley Valley long enough, they might say they''re from the "Huckley," but "Dufferin County" passes few lips. I suppose this shouldn''t be a surprise. After all, I would never describe my home as Peel Region even though I grew up in Caledon Township and reside in the hamlet of Belfountain. But somehow it''s different in Dufferin County. There''s something about the pride in people''s voices when they respond to my query, something about the pinpoint precision of their response -- a woman from Camilla told me she lives in a suburb of Gooseville -- that makes it sound as if residents delight in avoiding the term Dufferin County.

So I investigated this idiosyncrasy and discovered that even though it came together as a county over 120 years ago, the borders separating Dufferin''s towns and townships have not disappeared. Dufferin is, and maybe always will be, a collection of villagers, townspeople and rural folk who co-exist in their communities in relative harmony. most of the time. When challenged, citizens of Dufferin County haven''t always pulled together to "battle the foe." Instead, such events have accentuated the differences among communities, and between rural and urban interests. This fierce protection of local values, it turns out, goes back a long way, all the way. in fact, to Dufferin''s very beginnings. Before Dufferin, Ontario''s youngest and smallest county, was finally formed in 1881, its towns and townships were affiliated with well-established counties: Melancthon and Shelburne were part of Grey County; Luther, East Garafraxa, Amaranth and Orangeville hailed from Wellington; and both Mono and Mulmur were in Simcoe.

But Orangeville had grand aspirations. Since it would become the seat of government in a new county, this ambitious town had much to gain by leaving Wellington County. Urged on by town elders, residents voted 572 to 2 for the new union. The northern townships, by contrast, didn''t share Orangeville''s enthusiasm. People living in Mulmur voted 635 to 1 against making a move, while those who supported amalgamation in Melancthon were outnumbered by a margin of 435 to 57. And centrally located Shelburne, jealous of Orangeville''s rising star, also voted against joining forces. Given this history. it''s no wonder that even though there is no one alive today who was around back in 1881, residents remain loyal to their village, town or township.

This characteristic remained clearly evident more than a century later, in 1999. That year, what can only be described as a furor erupted when, at the provincial government''s bidding, politicians in Orangeville and Shelburne put forward a proposal to tear down the borders between townships and convert the county into a seamless, modern-day City of Dufferin. Compounding citizens'' concerns that the proposal meant they would have to give up their towns and townships was a clash between rural and urban values. While Dufferin''s warden, at the time, promoted a new governance model that fostered a change from the county''s historical rural, agricultural-based economy to a more urban, industrial-based one, Mono''s mayor countered by championing local values. He dismissed the City of Dufferin model because it failed to recognize the differences between communities. In the end, the provincial government backed off on its push to have municipalities haul down their internal borders, and Dufferin''s restructuring battle subsided. But the event illustrated that respecting local values was more important than promises of economic gain achieved though homogenization. After the next municipal election, Mono''s pro-local mayor became Dufferin''s warden.

Throughout its history, agriculture has been the mainstay of Dufferin''s economy. Once its marketable trees had been cut down, and after concrete and bricks diminished the demand for the sandstone quarried in the Hockley Valley, only agriculture remained. Today. agriculture is still Dufferin''s largest economic sector. But the farmers that inspired author Dan Needles to poke fun at the relations between old timers and incoming city folk in his Wingfield series of plays are a disappearing breed in Dufferin County. The 100- or 200-acre mixed farm run by a husband, wife, their kids and a couple of hired hands has given way to some new forms of agriculture. Many farms, especially in Mono and Mulmur where the rocky soil makes farming difficult, have been sold to weekenders who might lease the land back to the farmer. But they might also turn them into horse farms or re-establish the forests that once characterized the landscape.

At the same time, especially in Dufferin''s best agricultural area, where one finds prized Honeywood silt loam, agri-business has replaced mixed farming. If you have any doubts about this agricultural trend, visit a potato farm north of Shelburne and witness a $300,000, climate-controlled building where over five million spuds can be stored, or look across a feedlot that handles 1,000 or more cattle. Alternatively. some farmers are returning to the age-old practice of farm-gate sales. They''re finding that selling vegetables, chicken, beef and fruit pies directly to customers supplements their other farm income quite nicely. Orangeville has matured into a vibrant town. Young families fill its neighbourhoods. Its residents frequent interesting restaurants, athletic facilities, parks and playgrounds.

The light manufacturing plants that now fill the industrial lands on the outskirts of town provide much-needed jobs. The farmers'' market that takes place each Saturday morning from May through October sets up behind the Opera House on Broadway at the same spot that farmers visited almost 100 years ago to buy cattle. Dufferin today is a richly textured community of communities Alongside farmers, weekenders from Bay Street and young urban families, thrive citizens with an amazing array of talents and interests. The number and quality of artists who are inspired by the high hills and have made them home is amazing. Jim Lorriman, for example, is am accomplished wood turner. Some of the wood he uses comes from the trees that grow on his Mulmur property. With it he crafts polished bowls so beautiful it''s impossible to resist picking them up to study the grain and stroke the silky finish. Theatre and music abound.

If Theatre Orangeville isn''t performing in the Opera House on Broadway, it may have e a jazz, classical or folk concert in progress. A glance at any back issue of In the Hills magazine arrests to the depth of interesting and talented people who''ve settled in and around the high county. And anyone who believes Dufferin County is a backward place populated by parochial-minded folk has to reconsider their point of view after visiting the Dufferin County Museum and Archives. While communities reputed to be more sophisticated and worldly continue to convert historic buildings into community archives and museums only to find they are too small and not well suited to the purpose, Dufferin built a brand spanking new, 26,000-square-foot, fully climate-controlled "barn" and put the historic buildings inside. The contrast between the size and scope of this amazing facility a.