Charlie Ballantyne was married to Gordon's Aunt Alice. Charlie and Alice who farmed on Lot 21 Concession 3 in Downie Township close to the McEwan farm had no children and they were reputed to be wealthy. In April 1918 Charlie purchased his first motor vehicle, a Dodge Chevrolet Touring car which he ordered through Kalfleisch Brothers dealership in Stratford. Built at the Dodge Brothers factory in Detroit, Charlie's new car was to be delivered a month after being ordered. The company offered a 90 day warranty on defective parts. However, the warranty would only be honoured if the owner prepaid the transportation charges and if the vehicle had not be driven at a "speed exceeding the factory rated speed, or loaded beyond the factory rated load capacity." Furthermore the company offered "no warranty whatever in respect to tires, rims, ignition apparatus, horns or other signaling devices, starting devices, generators, batteries, speedometers, or other trade accessories". It is not clear how much Charlie paid for his new Chevrolet. There are two order forms: on the first form the price is listed as $1290.00 plus $20.00 freight charges, whereas on the second order form (which I have attached) the price appears to be $840.00. There is also a receipt dated May 21, 1918 for the amount of $1267.28 which may have been the final negotiated price. Regardless, I am sure that Charlie was proud of his new purchase and, equally important, the Ballantyne car was much admired in the community. Here is a photograph taken at the Peter Smith farm of Alice and Charlie with their new car. Underneath the photo Alice has written "Alice and Charlie Ballantyne. Our first car."
Charlie Ballantyne was married to Gordon's Aunt Alice. Charlie and Alice who farmed on Lot 21 Concession 3 in Downie Township close to the McEwan farm had no children and they were reputed to be wealthy. In April 1918 Charlie purchased his first motor vehicle, a Dodge Chevrolet Touring car which he ordered through Kalfleisch Brothers dealership in Stratford. Built at the Dodge Brothers factory in Detroit, Charlie's new car was to be delivered a month after being ordered. The company offered a 90 day warranty on defective parts. However, the warranty would only be honoured if the owner prepaid the transportation charges and if the vehicle had not be driven at a "speed exceeding the factory rated speed, or loaded beyond the factory rated load capacity." Furthermore the company offered "no warranty whatever in respect to tires, rims, ignition apparatus, horns or other signaling devices, starting devices, generators, batteries, speedometers, or other trade accessories". It is not clear how much Charlie paid for his new Chevrolet. There are two order forms: on the first form the price is listed as $1290.00 plus $20.00 freight charges, whereas on the second order form (which I have attached) the price appears to be $840.00. There is also a receipt dated May 21, 1918 for the amount of $1267.28 which may have been the final negotiated price. Regardless, I am sure that Charlie was proud of his new purchase and, equally important, the Ballantyne car was much admired in the community. Here is a photograph taken at the Peter Smith farm of Alice and Charlie with their new car. Underneath the photo Alice has written "Alice and Charlie Ballantyne. Our first car."
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