".....k.....:«: ■M I^K&; —H 1 J ; S : S #SiiiF;?:- still' 5K': Walters Plow: operated by Reg Thomas, this chain driven four wheel drive truck plow carried a load of drums of gasoline in a box positioned over the back wheels for fuel and weight. The possibility of an explosion was an ongoing concern to the operators. Vi Thomas collection. got stuck in Miscouche and horses and sleighs had to be summoned to transport the officials back to St. Eleanors in time to return to Ottawa. The officials, in their white shirts and ties, suits, top coats and light footwear, were not dressed for a sleigh ride and were fortunate that they did not suffer any serious effects from the trip. It took over one hundred men, shovelling several days in front of the plow, to open the road back to Summerside . Shovel handles and sticks had to be used to locate the cars in the snow before the plow could proceed. Automobiles and trucks came into general use after the war. Better roads were needed to carry the heavier and faster moving vehicles. Roads were widened, low spots built up with shale, and gravel was used to surface these highways and provide a harder surface. Road construc¬ tion and upgrading became a priority with the signing of the Develop ment Plan in 1966 between the provincial and the federal governments. Prince Edward Island roads are built on sandstone or shale which breaks apart in the frost. Very little gravel is available on Prince Edward Island , making road building a very expensive proposition. Most of the gravel used for surfacing roads in North Tryon was hauled by local trucks from Humphrey's pit at Stanchel , but some was brought by railroad cars to Albany and distributed from there by trucks. The constant increase in heavier traffic and the great amount of dust created by faster traffic on the clay roads brought a demand for paving. Roads were again widened and graded. Paving plants were set up at 83