THE MCKAY HORSELESS CARRIAGE

The age of the horseless carriage was late arriving on Prince Edward Island. It is a matter of record, though, that Father G.A. Belcourt drove the first carriage through Rustico, in 1866, to the dismay of those who were attending the annual St. Jean Baptiste Day picnic. This was not, as yet, an accepted way to travel on this Island. The horse was the number one animal on the farm and in the city. It is said that the horse received the best of the food from the harvested crops, even to the neglect of the cow.

The horseless carriage became a topic of interest about the turn of the century. Gradually an occasional one made an appearance in the country. The roads were little more than trails. Selected areas only would permit slow—moving travel, Legend says that some auto owners would insist upon turning off the motor, and coast down a hill in order to conserve gas. Many an auto owner had to have the neighbours help push the horseless carriage to the ‘few and far between’ gas outlets. Worse still, the auto was hauled with a team of horses. Rather an embar— rassment for the owner!

Before World War I began, A.J. McLeod, Storekeeper, East of the bridge, was asked by a Wholesaler from Charlottetown if he would take his beautiful black driving horse to live in Stanley Bridge. It was uncontrollable on the city streets when the ‘noisy’ cars rumbled by. This horse later became part of his team used in the funeral busi- ness. It was said that Mr. McLeod’s daughters spent many hours training the horse so it would not be scared of the automobile. The work paid off as the animal was later placed with other hors- es used in the McLeod Funeral business.

However, the age of the auto was at hand and one must ‘modernize’ to keep up with change. Very grudgingly the New Automobile Act was passed in 1913. This would permit the horse— less carriage to travel on certain country roads on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Loosening of restrictions occurred in the same year that car production in America outnum— bered the horse carriages. There were, however, some energetic blacksmiths, carriage workerS, or naturally endowed mechanical workers, who realized that this ‘modern’ vehicle was part of the wave of the future and wished to contribute their knowledge and ability to its production. One such group was the Laughlin McKay family. Laughlin was born in Stanley Bridge, son of William and Christy Ann (McLeod) McKay. He worked as a carriage builder and blacksmith in the area close to the present hall.

Three of his sons, namely, Jack, Daniel and Stan, moved from Prince Edward Island to Kentville, Nova Scotia. Here they developed the “McKay Automobile”, under the name of the Nova Scotia Carriage C0.

Some facts on this auto state that it is a 30 hp. roadster with a detachable windShield, hand- buffed leather upholstery, and equipped with a self-starter. It was priced at $1450.00; F.O,B. factory. Two of their first three McKay cars came to the Island, in 1913, when the roads were opened to automobile traffic. Their early Charlottetown agency was Richard Grant Farm Machinery, located on the corner of Queen and Sydney Street.

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