Rural Heritage June/July 2025

Surrey with the Fringe on Top. As in the song from Oklahoma! , “The wheels are yellow and the upholstery’s brown.”

in this area. Made in Eastern Ontario, Canada, any buggy or sleigh with an original McLaughlin name plate on it is highly valued by modern collectors. Not all the vehicles in this collection needed repairs. One such example was a new addition to the collection since our last visit there – a spring-shaft Meadowbrook Cart which had belonged to one of our club members, the late Gerry Piché. He had used this cart in competition at local fall fairs. His hat with a feather in the band and his competition number are on the seat. I confess that I was a bit misty-eyed,

seeing this reminder of a kind, gentle and skilled horseman, and valued friend. This cart is special in other ways, too. It was made by Keith Donnelly of the Brockville area, some 40 or so miles to the south. He made fewer than 30 of these carts. As the name would suggest, the back end of the shaft is attached to a single leaf spring which buffers the up-and-down movement of the horse. I have had the pleasure of riding in one – though not this one – and it was indeed quite smooth. Entry to the cart is via the rear, where the passenger seat flips

June/July 2025

43