Today, everybody wants more health care, shorter work days and weeks, better roads, and less taxes. There once was a sign in an auto repair shop that said, “everybody wants their car repairs faster, better, and cheaper!” We all know that we cannot get all three.
Last Saturday night, some old-timers got talking about how grandpa paid his municipal taxes. Seventy-five years ago, money was tight and taxes were lower, but many farmers paid off part of their municipal tax bill by doing a little road work each year. All roads need some constant repairs. There was always some brush to be cut and removed from roadways and ditches every year and there were no chain saws then either. Every creek that flows into the river needs a culvert or bridge everywhere that it flows under a road. If they could afford it, the township would hire a foreman to oversee the bridge construction, but often it was some strong farmers who helped build the bridge.
Before backhoes were invented in the late 50s, most digging was done by hand. Seventy-five years ago, even small loaders to load manure or gravel were very scarce. If you ever looked at some soil maps of Pontiac County prepared by the department of energy, mines, and resources, you would think that they were just an abstract painting with a thousand different colours of paint. Each soil type had a different name and colour. Soils varied from gravelly, sandy, loamy, clay, and blends of two or more. Some were well drained, and others were very wet. Sub-soils were also marked on those soil maps.
That soil survey and maps were made over a hundred years ago when some minerals like mica, molybdite, and iron were in demand for wartime needs. When railroads were built, much gravel ballast was needed to make a roadbed for the tracks and to fill in between the ties. Most rail lines were built close to a large gravel deposit so it could easily be transported by rail. Later on, those large gravel deposits were crushed and shipped by train to cities and cement plants where there was a huge demand. The little town of Shawville was started because there were many very clear and clean springs just east of the main part of town. Two hundred years later, Shawville still relies on those springs to supply water to the town.
There also is a ridge of gravel just north of main street in town. This gravel ridge runs from three miles west of Shawville to two miles east of town. Both large and small gravel pits in that ridge have supplied gravel for roads and construction for over 200 years, too. I can just remember Grandpa and Dad supplying gravel, a team of horses and a wagon to bring gravel to close by road repairs as part payment of municipal taxes. The hay rack was removed from the steel-wheeled wagon and the empty running gear was covered with wood planks and another plank on each side giving an area about three feet wide by 10 feet long to shovel gravel by hand from a small gravel pit onto that little wooden box which also had a short eight-inch plank blocking each end so gravel could be filled to the end. The planks on the bottom and ends were not nailed so when the horse-drawn-wagon load of gravel arrived at the needed place on the road, the bottom planks of different lengths could be turned up on edge one at a time by two strong men, one at each end. That allowed the gravel to fall between the flipped-up planks onto the road. By doing that, men didn’t have to shovel the gravel off the wagon.
It was always a challenge to see who had the best team of horses to pull the heavy wagon load of gravel up the steep grade out of the gravel pit. There would be about a cubic yard of gravel on each wagon. Any stones too big to slip between the flipped-up planks on the wagon were not loaded onto the wagon but were set aside to later be taken to the next concrete wall to be built for a barn, so less of that expensive cement would be needed.
Since most of the rail traffic has now been replaced by huge busses and tractor trailers, todays roadbeds and bridges must be much better built and roadways either cemented or paved. That’s where that road-tax on gas and diesel is spent. There are still many side lines and country concessions that do not cross a creek or small river because our grandparents on council thought it was too expensive to build and maintain another bridge. There once were many semi-permanent jobs that were tendered every year or two like the mail men, the road workers, etc.. There were always people who figured out a less expensive way to do a good job. Yes, the taxes go up a little each year but not everybody wants to shovel gravel, cut brush, dig ditches, or help build bridges to help pay their taxes. No, I don’t want to do many of those jobs either but a little hard work brings us closer to reality and we could appreciate the good life we have for what it costs.
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations.
