April 12 thru April 13, 1894

If you follow Bert's diary regularly, you can skip this paragraph. I will not be transcribing each entry since most of Bert's diary is pretty clear. You can read the original more easily by clicking on the image above to view a larger version. I will be including this paragraph, or something similar in each entry so that new readers will know they can click the image to enlarge it for easier reading. Also, there will be some links to the right of the page with relevant information that may be of interest. My notes will include the basics of what Bert talks about each day, along with my own personal thoughts, research, information gleaned from past or future entries, etc. If you have information or suggestions that may help my research, please e-mail me.

Thursday, April 12, 1894 --- Chores and snow. Bert does a lot of shoveling. Shoveled some paths, cleaned snow out of the wood shed, and the barn. He also cleared a place for the buggys. Russell hitched up and "broke out the road". Bert washed Russell's cutter, and "buggy pole" - The buggy pole is the long pole that goes from the front of the buggy between the horses. Not sure why it would need washing? Thawed all day.

Friday, April 13, 1894 --- Wind in the north and thawed all day. Russell and Bert take a load of shingle bolts down to Hiler's shingle mill. Shingle making was a common activity in the area. Not sure if they were supplying wood to Hiler as a raw material for making shingles for sale, or if Hiler was making shingles for their use on the farm?
Bolt: Section of a log sized for processing in a shingle brake. A section is usually one-eighth to one-sixteenth section of the log. The picture below shows the making of shingle bolts on a larger scale.
From my research, it appears a tree is sliced into cylindrical slices whose height is the length of the shingle. The slice is then split up into smaller "bolts" that are then split into shingles.

Click here for a nice summary of shingle making from start to finish.

Bert then went to R.G. Phillips and got his sleighs for some reason. Then Bert notes that B. J. Potter came for supper and "a beggin for the church".