The harvest train: When Maritimers worked in the Canadian West, 1890-1928

by A.A. MacKenzie

One of Canada's great adventure stories, when young men went west to work on the booming grain farms of the Prairies. Here are some of the stories and tales

165 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jack Beaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but repetitive.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Between 1890 and 1930, harvest excursions were a major autumn event on the Canadian prairies. The Canadian Pacific Railway offered cheap train fares for easterners, $15 to Winnipeg, to work the harvest. Men largely from the Maritime provinces http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritimes would be met by agents in Winnipeg and taken to specific locations across western Canada. The workers were essential to bring in the millions of acres of wheat that gave Canada its reputation as "the breadbasket of the world." Two things brought the excursions to an end; (1) the Depression when the wheat market collapsed and (2) the development of efficient combine harvesters that reduced the need for a massive labor force. Mackenzie provides an unvarnished look at these yearly treks from the perspective of harvesters. (lj)