5. Subjects


At Work



 

Alex Fowler in his Baldur store



Hartney's Victor Duchesneau, and his delivery cart

 


A harness maker in Lauder.


 

The first Lauder telephone office

 
Life on the Farm


As mentioned, outdoor photography presented special challenges. When the subject is on a farm, distance is also a factor. So it’s no surprise that a majority of the existing photos of a given community are set in town.

Such photos that do exist likely also came with a story, now long forgotten. Something brought the photographer to the site. Perhaps it was a request, or perhaps a noteworthy event.

In recording the daily lives of resident, the rural photographer was often drawn to harvesting scenes, but other tasks are represented as well.



This photo from the Archives of Canada is a high-quality print of a farmer plowing near Elgin.



This photo is also from the Elgin region. Building a new barn was always an event worth recording.





Harvesting scenes were popular. This image is notable for its quality and for the impeccably dressed observer.





Another high quality photo, this time from the Killarney area.  Erecting a barn of this style and size was indeed an enterprise. The historian is always happy to see that someone took the trouble to note details, especially names.






For a heavy load, oxen were slow but steady – sort of.