BLACKSMITHS, HAIRCUTS & COURTHOUSES In the days when horses were the sole means of transportation and were especially valuable to farmers, the blacksmith shops also proved to be important centers within communities. The era of shipbuilding that took place within St. Peters , Midgell , and Cable Head , also kept the local blacksmiths busy. Some of the Blacksmith shops that have existed and their owners: St. Peters Bay : Simon McLaren L.P. Doyle Peter D. MacKinnon Emery McNeill John Sommers Ambrose Sommers Walter Waye Ambrose Hynes Frank Jay Selkirk: Hugh MacPhee Midgell : Duncan McMullin John D. Jay Greenwich: George MacKenzie Monticello: J. Fleming Joseph MacKinnon Joseph MacDonald Lawrence Doyle, in addition to writing songs, was also a well- known blacksmith in his day. According to George Mclnnis , Doyle "had his forge at the foot of the hill as you turn east along the shoe toward the Co-op store; he was a good smith, and when I was a boy, I think he had more work than the others." (76) Mclnnis described John Sommers as "the more versatile smith." John's son Ambrose was also a blacksmith whose shop was located "right near the bridge," according to his daughter Marie Maclsaac . (77) In addition to his blacksmith talents, Ambrose is also remembered for his artistic talent in the backdrop that he painted, at the request of Father Gillis, which hung as a backdrop in Anderson's Hall. C. C. Pratt described this mural as "seven feet high by eighteen feet wide representing a rural scene...the color was true and natural and the perspective worthy of a trained and inspired artist," (78) Peter MacKinnon was located on the beside Charles Waye the Carriage Builder . Peter, in his day, was considered to be the strongest man in all the vicinity of St. Peters Bay . According to Glendon, Walter Waye , in addition to building wagons, also had a blacksmith shop. Ambrose Hynes had a shop on the north side of the bay where the Co-op was located, and Frank Jay was located at the base of the hill. (79) Hugh McPhee 's shop in Selkirk was located in the , and according to Father Wendell Maclntyre , McPhee "was a very 136