_. " I‘r ' i" Cardigan Craft Centre (sketch by Henry Purdy).

The station house, which housed the station agent, was built when Wil- liam Flynn was the agent between the late 1890’s and the early 1900’s. Noel Wilson was the last station agent in Cardigan and he purchased the station

house for his home after the station closed.

The station agent played an important role in the affairs of the commun- ity, receiving by telegraph the first news of major events. For example, station agent Lou Douglas was the first person in Cardigan to hear that the First World War had ended.

Harold Brothers, Alban Brothers’ father, was the station agent in Cardi- gan for 33 years. He recalled a great deal of freight passing through the station. The supplies for stores in the surrounding areas were picked up at the station by horse and wagon and taken to their destinations. Mr. Broth- ers specifically remembered the large number of smelts being shipped by local fishermen.

Cardigan Station Agents

Malcolm McLeod 1880 - 1881 J .A. MacEachem 1882 - 1883 RA. Hughes 1883 - 1888 Francis Greeham 1889 William M. Flynn 1890 - 1913 Lou Douglas 1913 - 1920 Harold Brothers 1920 - 1953 Roy Gallant 1953 - 1955 Benny Matheson 1955 - 1960 Noel Wilson 1960 - 1972

Over the years, many people were employed by the railroad in the Cardi- gan area. Maintaining the tracks required a large number of employees. The railway had to be cleaned of snow in winter. At times the drifts were well over the workers’ heads. The foremen from Cardigan in charge of these workers included: Charles Bradley, Fred Craswell, Wes Buchanan, Al- phonsus McPhee, Peter MacAulay and Mike Egan.

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