DONALD

Greg Donald and his wife Rebecca purchased the Best home, across from the former school. After Greg completed his University studies, he was appointed Manager of the Malpeque Fertilizers, West Isle Farm Supply, & Island Fertilizers in Kensington and Summerside. Rebecca has completed her studies in landscaping and is presently employed by Schurman’s.

Greg b. Dec. 21, 1967 son of Clifford and Frances Donald, Burlington m. June 22, 1991 to Rebecca Roberts b. Oct. 18, 1967 daughter of Laurie Roberts, of Saint John, New Brunswick.

GUNN WILLIAM GUNN (1893-1961) son of George and Catherine Corbett Gunn of North Granville.

William Gunn came to Stanley Bridge in 1936 when he purchased property from A.J. MacLeod’s family. It was formerly owned and occupied by the late James Cole. William Gunn’s forge was located between the Stanley Coles home and Jake Best homes on the New London Road.

In many rural communities could be found individuals whose innate aptitude and self taught manual skills were indispensable in the farming operation. One such individual was William Gunn, commonly known as Billie Gunn. Billie Gunn was a blacksmith, a mechanic, a welder, carpenter and master inventor. He loved his work, and perhaps because of that, he attached lit- tle monetary importance to what he did. His fee was always modest, and if what he was asking was too much, he was quick to take less. Billie would shoe horses which entailed the removal of the shoes, the horses’ feet trimmed, the shoes corked or sharpened and replaced. All of this cost $0.75. If new shoes had to be forged to fit the horses’ feet, then the process would be more

costly.

Farmers would testify that if Billie Gunn welded a broken hay mower or a binder knife, it held. He would heat the broken piece of metal in the forge until the metal was white hot, then pour acid to thoroughly clean the iron, after which a hammer was used to pound or weld the pieces together — no acetylene torch in those days.

When the iron rim of a cart or truck wagon would become wobbly and crooked, Billie would build a round fire outside, and heat the iron rim in the fire. The heat would expand the rim and also make it malleable so it could be reshaped. The rim could then be fitted over the wooden wheel and the iron when cooled contracted making a snug fit.

In the work shop Billie had a system of belts, pull-ups and levers operated by a gasoline engine, Belts were shifted on different pull-ups by means of the levers and these operations would power a planer, a band-saw, or a drill. All these labour saving devices he invented himself. In the porch of his house, Billie Gunn used a small engine to pump water, by means of an old milk separator rigged up as a pump jack with the spear rod hooked to the pump handle.

As a carpenter Billie made sleighs and carts, and for a farmer built two large boxes mounted on the tractor three point hitch. One box completely closed in with doors at the back, was used when the clay roads were passable only for a tractor, to take grist to the mill or transport children to school. The second box was used in cleaning the stables and the manure was dumped using the hydraulic hoist. Billie Gunn loved the challenge of inventing or repairing broken machinery

which took skill and ability, he evidently possessed both.

A modest quiet individual, Billie Gunn, was a man of few words. One day as he sat in his rock— ing chair reading the morning newspaper, he was stricken With a fatal heart attack.

Characteristically, his death was so peaceful the newspaper did not slip from his hands. {see Rattenbury Road}

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