This image from the Amagansett Historical Association’s Carleton Kelsey Collection shows Emil Gardell (1876-1962) driving a Boston Cutter sleigh through the snow.
Boston or Portland Cutters, one or two-person sleds designed to be light and fast, were one of the fastest ways to traverse snowy ground before snowplows came into use. Light enough to be pulled by a single horse, they were so quick that they were sometimes used in races. The curved front of the sleigh helped keep snow kicked up by the team of horses off the driver.
Gardell was born in Sweden, the youngest of three brothers. His father, an undertaker, died shortly after Gardell’s birth because of a fall from a wagon. His mother remarried, and, finding himself at odds with his new stepfather, Gardell and his two brothers emigrated to America to start new lives.
Gardell, who lived in Amagansett, was best known here for his work with horses. He was responsible for transporting coal from trains for use at the Montauk Point Lighthouse. This task would take over two weeks per train car, and Gardell would carry the coal down to the basement of the building a basketful at a time.
By the 1950s, he was one of the last people to hire out a horse team for general labor, and his horses could often be seen giving children hayrides at various birthday parties around town. He was a frequent presence at fairs, like the one given by the Amagansett Village Improvement Society in 1953, and he and his horses also made appearances at parades, including the parade for the 1936 Long Island Tercentenary Celebration, at which Gardell drove the wagon for a float representing his church, the Amagansett Presbyterian Church.
Emil continued to give hayrides until at least July of 1961. He died the following year.
Julia Tyson is a librarian and archivist in the East Hampton Library’s Long Island Collection.
