KAWARTHA LAKES-Until the advent of trucks and then tractors with loaders, the mechanized removal of snow was not practical. In the 1930s, buying a truck was a significant investment, but they were becoming common for businesses that involved moving bulky items—for instance logging. Early trucks were fitted up with plows, but they were not always large or heavy enough to push their way through drifts—in that era, winters tended to be colder and snowier than they are today. By the 1940s, bulldozers were being used to level land for construction, but could also be used to clear snow from roads, if they were becoming impassable. Tractors with hydraulic loaders did not become common until after the Second World War. Until hydraulic equipment became available, practically all snow would sit not very far from where it fell until it melted.
In villages like Fenelon Falls, shopkeepers kept the sidewalks clear in front of their store. When a snowstorm dumped a huge quantity of snow, it was time for everyone to get out the shovels! In the early twentieth century, snow was typically cleared with steel square-mouthed shovels and it took a lot of digging to clear a snow drift. Snow was piled on the edge of the street and over the course of a winter huge mounds could build up. In town, passageways were cut through the mounds to facilitate access to the (wooden) sidewalks. At times, sleighing down the main street of Fenelon Falls could be like travelling through a tunnel.
Up to the mid twentieth century, even the main street of town had a tendency to be muddy when it rained, so having the ground freeze with a bit of snow made travel easier. The snow covered all the ruts, tree stumps and stones. It was easier for a horse to pull a sleigh than a wagon or buggy of the same weight because there was less resistance gliding over an ice-packed surface. When there had been a significant snowfall or significant drifting, roads could become impassible to sleighs, and travellers would have to travel across farm fields to get through. This might entail stopping to take down a rail fence to make a way through, and then putting the rail fence back up. It was also cold travelling in a sleigh, so many farm families did not make it to town as often in winter as in other seasons.
The original photograph was taken in front of Alvin Gould’s drugstore. This shop has been a drug store since W.T. Junkin opened it in 1888. Alvin Gould was encouraged to become a pharmacist as a young man to help his father’s medical practice. He was the pharmacist in this location 1911 until he drowned after falling through the ice crossing the Fenelon River on his way to his home at 29 Oak Street in 1946. Today the MacArthur Drug Store is operated by Raafat and Sherif Ibrahim.
This story is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum and was written by Glenn Walker.
If you want to make a donation to the museum, you can e-transfer to:Â [email protected] or mail a cheque to :
Maryboro Lodge Museum
Box 179
50 Oak Street
Fenelon Falls, ON
K0M 1N0
