Gang Plow - Hythe Pioneer Park - Hythe, AB
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 55° 19.645 W 119° 33.090
11U E 338134 N 6134192
At 103rd Avenue and 100th Street, Hythe Pioneer Park is set in front of a large care home and a seniors' care home.
Waymark Code: WM116T5
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 08/26/2019
Views: 3
A small park, this is actually referred to on a plaque in the park as a garden. The centre of the park is defined by a circle of pavement surrounded by sections of grey pavers. In the centre of the circle is a circle of gravel, in which sits an old gang plow. On one of the operator's levers is a metal plaque with a dedication to one of the pioneers of the Hythe area, community builder and businessman, Merv Staggs.
With two shares and of very heavy construction, we doubt that this plow was intended to be horse drawn. More likely it may have been drawn by, first a steam traction engine, and later a gasoline or kerosene powered tractor. An innovative feature of this plow is an adjustable hitch, which may be moved from side to side. This likely enabled the operator to align the plow with previous furrows according to the width of the tractor pulling it. As to its manufacturer, we found no makers marks and it doesn't match any plows we are familiar with.
Behind the circle stands a windmill, representative of the homesteads which eventually surrounded the town, each one with at least one windmill pumping water for both home and livestock. The rest of the park is grassed with a couple of light standards at the paved circle and trees and shrubs arrayed about the park, plus a paved pathway winding from front to back. There were no benches or picnic tables in the park when we visited, but it appears that these are planned, as there are several unpopulated rectangular areas of pavers.
