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Last updated:
March 08, 2004
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Darcy explored his community of Lot
16. Here's what he found out:
Introduction
I have lived in the community of Lot 16 for the past 7 years. It is located 15 km west of Summerside. When Prince Edward Island was discovered (by Europeans), it was broken down into 67 lots. Lot 16 is unique because it has kept its original name since that time while all of the other lots have received new names. It was originally owned by three different men by the names of John Tutle, Esq., David Forbes and John Hayter. The population of Lot 16 nowadays is approximately 624, while in the early 1800’s it was much lower at 100. Back in the 1800’s it was for the most part, Acadians and Highland Scots, while in 1881 it was Scottish for the most part and also a good number of British and Irish origins. The community has seen little change over the years and remains a community where the main income comes from farming and fishing. The following report will describe the various aspects of life in my community years ago and today.
The Early Settlers
The following section will touch on how life was for the early settlers and how different it was from now. The first settlers were primarily of Acadian origin. Some of the first homes were built with logs, and spaces left were occupied with peat moss and wood chips. IN the modern years houses were built from brick, wood and some are still made out of logs, but are much more extravagant than the old log homes. The process of building a house is also different in that period of time. Whenever a new house was built, the majority of men in the community would come by and assist them in creating the household, the women would also help out by preparing the meals.
The source of heat came from the fireplace which was also used for cooking their vittles. Two things that were very different back then were how people would get their soap and candles. Quite different than going to the store and buying it. As follows is the method of obtaining soap.
All of the women would save their fat and grease for the soap making day. On that day all of the fat and grease saved up over the year would be held in an immense pot which was held over the outdoor fireplace. Lye which was formed from soaking hardwood ashes in water, was also added to the pot. After the mixture of grease, fat and lye was dense enough, it would be deposited in tubs where it would be left to cool. Salt would be added to the mixture if it was hard soap they wanted. Then the soap would harden and then they would have their soap for the year. As you can see, a lot more effort was put into acquiring soap back in the days of the settlers.
Another thing that was unique to the settlers back then was the fact that they didn’t buy their clothes at a store - they made clothes for themselves. The clothing back then consisted mainly of sheep's’ wool that had to be woven before they were sewn into outfits. Sheep's’ wool was also used to make blankets. One particular occupation which you could call ‘extinct’ these days which thrived back then is the Blacksmith shop. In a blacksmith shop, things would be forged out of metals. The need for blacksmith shops came to an end with the increased use of tractors in farming. The main occupations in Lot 16 nowadays would be fishing and farming. So you see there were many different aspects of life back in the days of the settlers.
Farming
Farming was a very different experience back in the old days. It required much more manual labour and much less machinery. One of the very first crops were potatoes in Lot 16, which the Island is now well known for. The procedure for planting grain was also rather different way back then. A farmer would go around with a sack of grain hung over his/her shoulder, throwing seeds into the ground by hand. Now it is done with a grain drill and a tractor, making it much easier/faster for them. Early settlers would have cut their hay manually with a scythe. Then it was their job to gather it up into piles for storage, which would be done by horse (by hand), while today hay is also chopped with tractors, and brought to the barn by tractors. Then it is moved into place with yet another machine, this time the escalator does the job. Well that’s it for the agriculture section of this report.
Local Business
Lot 16 has always had several businesses in the community, both in the past and the present. Some of the businesses in Lot 16 include: post office, lobster factory, grist mill, saw mill, tannery, blacksmith shop and last, but not least, cheese factory. The very first lobster factory was located at the end of Ferry Road. This factory was burnt down in 1936. A new one was built in place of the burnt one in 1943. This one was in business until the later 1940’s. The new lobster factory canned lobster, clams and oysters. When work was busy, the employees would stay in the factory for the week because transportation was a problem.
In the late 1800’s the blacksmith’s shop was managed by Jack Thomas, the shop of course was located in Lot 16. Another blacksmiths shop was owned by James Manderson until 1973. His shop was closed due to the fact that tractors were used more than horses, thus taking away from his business.
Another factory located in Lot 16 was the good ol’ cheese factory, although at first it only sold butter. Two years after it opened it began to sell cheese. This was the second largest cheese factory on the Island. Unfortunately this cheese factory was closed down in 1930, due to lack of milk.
Some of the businesses in Lot 16 in modern days include: a sod farm (delivers sod in PEI, NB, NS and Newfoundland), Reeves Manufacturing (Building farming equipment), Well drilling (drills wells all over the Island). Heavy Equipment Mechanic, several crop farms, a few dairy and beef farms, Coughlin’s Transmissions, Arnold’s Custom Harvesting (harvest grass and corn silage) and last but not least, MacKinnon Fabricating (builds mini barns).
Local School and Churches
Lot 16 in the early years had a school and three different churches. Firstly I will talk about the Lot 16 School. It was built in 1917 but remained closed until 1918. It was rather a small school with just two rooms - the school ran from grades 1 - 12. Other schools were built in the communities of Miscouche and Summerside. Eventually the students attending the Lot 16 School were bussed over to those schools. The school was shut down in 1970, but today it has been remade into a home owned by Eugene and Camella Gallant, who make honey.
Next I will briefly cover the various (three of them) churches through Lot 16. One of these churches was the Methodist Church which was built in 1873. Unfortunately this church was blown down in 1874, and remained ruined until finally in 1881 it was rebuilt. Services were held within the church every second Sunday. Transportation was a problem for the minister who lived in Bideford and had no choice but to travel by horse and wagon. The Methodist Church was dismantled and taken away on July 6, 1954. Another church was built within Lot 16 was the United Church, which was built in 1867. The United Church still stands to this day and holds many groups. Some of these groups are Explorers, messengers, and the CGIT group. ON October 10, 1971 a service marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Presbyterian religion on PEI was held in Lot 16. Today there is also a Baptist Church located in Belmont Lot 16. That concludes my report on the school and churches of Lot 16.
Recreation
There were many recreational activities back in the old days and there still are many of them today, although most of the activities of the older days seemed to revolve around hockey. The first hockey team to actually compete against others in a competition was mainly organized by James MacGregor in the 1930’s. Prior to this event the men and boys would play a lot of pond hockey. Any interest in hockey was concluded during the years of the war. An outdoor rink was assembled behind the community hall in the 1950’s. This outdoor rink operated for a total of four years before it was demolished. After the outdoor rink was gone, the Lot 16 League would play in an old hangar that had been converted into a rink. This hangar/rink was located in Mount Pleasant. After that rink was done with the old Bedeque rink was used. That is the type of activity commonly used back then but today the most popular recreational area in Lot 16 is probably the Belmont Beach. This area obviously contains a beach - it also has a play set for younger kids. That is about all of the recreation that Lot 16 has.
The Community Hall
The Community Hall in Lot 16 was first purchased for the price of $80.00. It was hauled to Lot 16 from MacDougall Corner by horses. The hall was placed on land leased from Mr. William MacGregor. This lease dates back to April 27, 190 8. Since the hall was relocated to Lot 16, it has seen quite a few renovations which include - new kitchen, hot air furnace and a stage. The Hall is still used to this day for community meetings, church dinners, Remembrance Day ceremonies, picnics and even card parties. There isn’t very much else to say about our community hall.
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