Provisional Officers* Directors
President—Treasurer: C. E. Pratt Hon. J. D. Maclnnis Merchant, St. Peters Bay, PEI Dealer, St. Peters Bay Vice President: R. D. McLauchlin, M.D. Charles Waye
St. Peters Bay, PEI Manufacturer Secretary: Frank Gillis Crawford Hayden Importer and Dealer, St. Peters Bay Farmer, St. Peters Bay
John Steele
Farmer, St. Peters Bay
Alfred O’Hanley Lobster Packer, St. Peters Bay
Alexander Robertson Merchant, Red Point, PEI
In the midst of the 19205 boom, C. E. Pratt & Son Ltd. purchased six pairs of silver foxes. The pelts sold for an average $100.00. When the bottom fell out of the market in the 19408 and the price per pelt was less than the cost for feeding, Chester killed the animals and sold the pelts for what he could get. (51) According to Frank Ledwell, two of the last large scale—fox farmers in St. Peters were Colin MacDonald and Bert MacCallum. (52)
Amidst the boom of the fox industry, farms in the St. Peters area continued to be self—sufficient. Cows were milked by hand. Horses to a large extent were still being used. Roddie Pratt’s family had four teams of horses with the machinery to go with it and according to Roddie “If you were lucky enough to get a harrow with a seat on it, you could sit on it, if not you had to walk behind.” (53)
Most farms grew potatoes at one time or another and no one grew more than ten acres. Potatoes were planted by hand in the spring of the year and according to Gertie Yorston, all of the family members helped out with this process;
In the fall of the year, the potatoes were dug. The potatoes were turned out with a beater and a digger, which were pulled by a team of horses. The potatoes were picked by hand and put into baskets. The baskets were then dumped into carts, which would be pulled back to the house with horses. (54)
A certain amount of potatoes were kept at home to be used by the family. SOme were taken to the local starch factory in St. Peters Bay. For Art Sanderson’s family in Greenwich, it was quicker for them to take a sleigh fun of potatoes across the frozen Bay ice in the wintertime to Dingwell and Rossiter’s store in Morell than up to St. Peters. (55)
\— The Provisional Officers and Directors as listed in the 1914 pamphlet.
103