| Tantramar
farmers involved in the hay economy used some form of hay press to
process their hay in preparation for market. During the second half
of the 19th-century, the earliest versions of these devices were large
structures permanently installed in a barn dedicated to this purpose.
However by the early decades of the 20th-century, local men were constructing
smaller portable hay presses that could be pulled by horses into the
field so that large 100 pound wire tied bales could be made there during
the haying season. This one belonged to the late Albert Anderson. It
probably dates to the period before World War II and would be one of
the last of this generation of machines to be used. It was abandoned
on the marsh and fell into progressive decline. Today it is barely
visible from the Trans-Canada Highway – its decay and destruction
almost complete. Today farmers use a newer technology to make very
large “round bales,” many of which are then wrapped in
plastic to protect them from the weather. This permits the bale to
remain in the field until required thereby removing the need for storage
barns, a factor that has hastened the further decline and disappearance
of these once numerous and characteristic marsh icons. For more on
this hay press go to Albert Anderson’s oral history recording.
 Albert
Anderson’s oral history recording |
