Page 47

The factory was built and owned by Harvey MacEwen, St. Peters. His brother, Ben, worked with him. Potatoes were hauled in those days by team and truck wagon. The loads of potatoes were weighed on the factory scales. The weighed load included the weight of the wagon which was weighed alone after being unloaded, then the balance in weight would be the potatoes. They were

ground into starch and the starch was dried, bagged and shipped by railway to Montreal.

The factory was steam powered by 70 or 80 horse power, steam engines. Source of water for this purpose was the mill dam, and by damming a small brook near it. The work and buildings were later taken over by Robert William Dixon, East Baltic; G. Elliot Full, Charlottetown; and Roy MacLean, Souris.

A grist mill was located near the starch factory. It was owned and operated by a John MacNeil, and his adopted son, Joe. This mill, too, received water power from the mill dam.

Later the mill was taken over by the MacAulay Bros., Daniel and Sylvanus, and Michael MacDonald, East Baltic. Mike,

as he was more familiarly known, worked in a mill, at Lazarus White's, Gowan Brae, before this time.

The noon hour was a bright spot for the pupils in the East Baltic School during these years, when they raced down the hill, carrying their lunches, picked up their bottles of milk from a brook in which they were tied to a twig or stick to keep the milk cool, then into the mill yard where they climbed to the top of the lumber piles and sat there to eat their lunches. This, of course, was during the summer months; then, later in the season when the dam became frozen, the children and sometimes the teacher headed for it, to slide, skate, or pull one another on sleds, but this time, they were to remain beside the dam until Mike came

down from his dinner and tested the ice to make sure that it was safe to go on.

So many now, who recall this grand old gentleman who passed away in February 1972 at the age of 95 years, marvel at the patience he must have had. His daily rest hour at noon always seemed to be spent with the children from the school.

R. W. Dixon operated a steam mill part way between East Baltic and Fountain Head in 1912-13 and later purchased one at

East Baltic from Joe MacNeill and Jack Holland. After his death,

the mill was taken over by his son, Walter and it is at present powered by diesel.

The East Baltic mail was left at Red Point P.O. picked up by Bernard (Berno) Holland, and taken to the home of Kerah Holland or Joe Moran, depending on which Government was in power.