A refurbished sleigh brings a piece of the past to Fortune, P.E.I.

For Bill Cameron, it doesn't get much better than being out on a country road in a horse-drawn sleigh.

Over the last two decades, Cameronsays he has restored around 20 sleighs and wagons, dating back to the early 20th century.

"I just started playing with it," said Cameron. "And then, of course, I got a horse to go along with it, and it goes on and on."

He's now completed a project he says will be his last. He has refurbished a sleigh built by the Francis familyof Fortune, P.E.I..

He estimates the sleigh is about 100 years old.

'They're never very pretty'

Cameron recently bought the sleigh from a friend for $200and spent several weeks and close to $800 in supplies working to restore it to its original condition.

The seat needed to be re-upholstered, there were broken boards on the dashboardand the sleigh had to be painted. He says this sleigh was in better condition that many others he's seen over the years.

"They're never very pretty," said Cameron. "A lot of them were just [thrown] outside and just rotted away. But this one was saved."

With the work complete, he decided to bring the sleigh "back to where it started out." On Saturday, he travelled from Stratford to Fortune, wherehe hitched up his horse, Lacey, to the sleigh,and showcased his handiwork to passersby, even taking some for a ride.

A personal connection

There was one person for whom a ride in the sleigh was particularly special.

Delbert Francis has a keen interest in his family's history as craftsmen.His father, grandfatherand great-grandfather all built sleighs for the Francis's sleigh company.

So when he heard Cameron was in Fortune with a refurbished sleigh, Francis couldn't wait to see it, and was even more excited when he got to take a ride.

"The first time I've ever been in a sleigh that was made by my family, and it was very exciting, it was just something that, there's no description of how exciting, or what it meant for me," Francis said.

"It was just like, 'Wow, you're back in history.'"

'A real treasure'

As Cameron sat in the sleigh, donning a fur coat and hat, a number of curious passersby stopped to say hello, and find out what was going on.

"I had to pull in, I had to stop, I had to get a picture for sure," said GailMacInnis, who lives just up the road from the original Francis workshop. "The Francis's were all very good friends of my parents, and we all grew up together here in Fortune, and we knew them very very well.

"I've heard about the Francis sleighs since I was a little girl."

She says she'd once seen another Francis sleigh, but it wasn't in nearly as good condition.

"That's beautiful, that's a real treasure. A treasure for sure."

His last one

Cameron says he plans to sell the sleigh to an interested member of the Francis family. He says it's time to move on from refurbishing sleighs, and this will be his last. He also admits he's said that "too many times" before.

And there may be some trying to convince him to continue on. Delbert Francis says he and his brother have an old Francis sleigh in their barnand it is in need of restoration.

"Makes you want to get this gentleman here to restore it."

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