In the winter, men went to the woods with bucksaws and axes. Trees were felled, stripped of bark, cut into logs, hauled out by horse and sleigh. Some of the black spruce, hemlock, cedar and fir logs were cut into 16 inch blocks and then sliced into shingles with a hand fore and maul. Rough shingles were taken to a shaving bench. Finished with a draw-knife for use on exterior walls and roofs.
Gradually, this labor intensive technique was replaced by the mechanical shingle mills. Our 1915 model mill and adjoining edger, which was manufactured by Bruce Stewart & Co in Charlottetown, was powered by a 17-horse power engine. The mill sliced the shingles, the edger trimmed and squared them and they were bundled by a shingle packer ready for marker.
