Gypsies, Preachers, and Big White Bears: One Hundred Years on Country Roads

From forest trails to paved highways⁰́₄Gypsies, Preachers & Big White Bears traces the history of the roads of Lanark County from the first surveyor's stake to the advent of cars. Horses pulling wagons or sleighs plodded the Lanark roads for a hundred years. Gypsies spirited away small children. Tramps begged meals and a dry place to sleep. Highwaymen robbed the toll houses. Courting couples wrestled with cars stuck in the mud. Illustrations, portraits, and old family photographs depicting the changing times and changing uses of the roads illuminate this lively informal history.;""Cover""; ""Title""; ""Copyright""; ""Dedication""; ""Contents""; ""Introduction""; ""Chapter 1: Breaking Trail""; ""Chapter 2: Over the River and Through the Woods""; ""Chapter 3: Entrepreneurs and Rogues of the Road""; ""Chapter 4: “Needlies and Pinniesâ€? Was the Pedlarâ€?s Cry""; ""Chapter 5: From Farm to Farm""; ""Chapter 6: Hither and Yon""; ""Chapter 7: The Art of Neighbouring""; ""Chapter 8: All the Roadâ€?s a Stage""; ""Chapter 9: Were There Ever Such People?""; ""Chapter 10: From Horseshoes to Hubcaps""; ""Postscript""; ""Bibliography""; ""Biographical Note""