Shine OnOntario’s 83-year-old ‘Garlic Man’ passes away
The eccentric yet much-beloved Ontario man known as "Garlic Man" died Monday after a stroke at the age of 83.
Prince Edward County garlic farmer Ted Maczka was known for wearing a baseball cap with garlic bulbs and drove a car with a giant, homemade bulb on top.
He spent four decades on a mission to elevate the humble allium to revere-worthy status by driving across the province spreading the gospel of its health benefits.
"This was something that got under his skin and, man, he ran with it and never looked back," his daughter, Barbara Campbell, tells The Toronto Star.
While Maczka had no formal agriculture or botany training, he spent the latter part of his life growing and researching various types of garlic on his farm.
"My grandfather believed in it so much, it was contagious," says granddaughter Alley Adams. "You wanted to listen to him, read his articles, even taste his garlic fudge (I don't recommend). It wasn't logical but his passion for his craft was mesmerizing and what made him so unique."
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Eventually, he became known in agricultural circles as an advocate for local, organic Canadian garlic after making appearances as the Royal Winter Fair, Canadian Garlic Festival, and other Canadian farm fests.
"He really believed in his product, thought Canadian garlic was the best garlic in the world, that it was easy to grow here, and that we shouldn't be getting it anywhere else," says Campbell.
Despite snickers and stares from strangers who would sometimes chuckle at Maczka's eccentric garlic ways, he remained unfazed.
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"I see people trying not to laugh until they pass," Maczka told a local news outlet in 2007. "I don't mind if people laugh, that means they're happy. If you're happy, you're healthy."
Originally from Tarnow, Poland, he survived two years in a labour camp during World War II.
When Maczka first arrived in Canada in 1952, he owned and ran a European food shop with his wife for many years. They would import European food products and distribute it across Southern Ontario.
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It wasn't until he read a news article about how Canada was importing large amounts of garlic from China that he discovered his life-long calling and bought a farm near Picton, ON in the early 1970s.
"I'm spreading the garlic gospel," Maczka said back in 2007. "That's probably the purpose of my life, to awaken humanity to the goodness of garlic...Garlic is a natural medicine, just have one to three cloves a week."
