In the early 1940s, Christmas would always start early on Folly Mountain, about the middle of November, usually before the first snowfall, when the “Christmas tree men” would arrive to cut down Christmas trees and tie them in bunches, all by hand.  This was before all this modern machinery that we have today.

 

In those days, there would be approximately six men boarding at our house.  I am not sure where we put them all.  When the tree cutting came to an end, they would have my mother cook a goose (more grease than goose) and have an early Christmas get-together.  My mother always had a neighbour lady come and help her.  Mother said having an early Christmas was so much work and she was too tired to enjoy Christmas with the family.

 

I remember watching these “Christmas tree men”, and noticing one man who had only one hand, with a hook on the other hand but, boy, could he tie those trees.  It was amazing to see him work.  My older brother tells me they would then haul the trees by horses and wagon to Londonderry Station and load them onto a boxcar to be shipped by train, usually to Boston, Mass.  That was in the days before we had all these artificial trees (green, white and pink), even musical trees.

 

Our house and barn was then at the road leading to Londonderry, which is now called Base Line Road.  As a result of the new TransCanada highway being built in1956, most of the buildings were torn down.  In the days before the TransCanada highway, the main road went by way of Parrsboro.  That road was gravel and used by a lumber company.  In the winter, bulldozers kept the road open.

 

So this was the excitement me and my brother looked forward to every November, when we would watch the “Christmas tree men” cut down the trees, and watch the bulldozers plow the road, all in the days before TV and the other forms of entertainment.

 

Leslie Jobb