down the road.” (23) Most people still used horses for their main method of transportation and farm work and, for this reason, they were considered a valuable commodity. Horses were terrified of cars. The early automobiles were loud and also smelled terribly. Agitation against cars was everywhere. In 1908, cars were banned on the Island. Anyone caught driving a car was sentenced six months in jail, or a fine of $500. (24)

In 1913, attitudes toward automobiles began to change and an Automobile Act was passed in that year, allowing cars to operate on roads three days of the week: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. By 1918, another automobile act passed allowing cars to operate on all roads seven days a week. (25) Until 1924, cars drove on the left—hand side of the road on PEI. This change was still being stressed almost 10 years later by the Prince Edward Island Motor League: (26)

CODE OF A GOOD DRIVER

A Good Driver will —

1. Always drive on the Right Side of the Road.

2. Learn and Observe he rules of the road.

3. Always sound the horn before attempting to pass anything or anybody on the road.

4. Always signal before leaving sidewalk or about to stop or turn.

5. Never attempt to pass anything or anybody on a grade or at a bend in the road.

6. Always remember there are other cars on the road, and respect their rights.

Unlike today, cars were at one time considered a novelty. Many people within the community recall the first time they saw an automobile. William Anderson recalled that “around 1915, the first automobile was driven to St. Peters by the late Claude MacEwen of Morell.” (27) It is difficult to say who exactly owned the very first car in the St. Peters Bay area but around this time. Many residents recall that Dr. MacLaughlin might have been the one who first had the first car. Frank Ledwell recalled that “Angus Young John of the North Side came home from the Klondike and bought a Chevy car,” which also may have been the first car. (28) Chester Pratt after purchasing his first car, a Baby Grand Chevy, installed gas tanks in front of Pratt’s store. (29) Freeman Leslie recalled in his diary entry for February 16th, 1927, that the “telephone men went through with a car today.” (30) Geraldine MacDonald recalled her mother, who grew up on the Cardigan Road Werlt to her Great Aunt’s house on the Fortune Road one Tuesday to see “the car" which was passing through on its way into Souris, Tuesdays being the day it went to Souris. (31)

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