Disclaimer: To respect the core value of humility held by members of the old order mennonite community in Desbarats, CBC News has agreed not to use the full name of the people interviewed in this story. 

October 29 started off as an ordinary day for Edwin, a member of the old order Mennonite community near Desbarats. 

He was heading to a farm about a kilometer away from his home to help fellow Mennonites build a barn. It’s a trip he does every other week, one that involves travelling by horse and buggy on Highway 17. 

That morning he enlisted the help of 4-year-old Sparky, a “gentle, willing and quiet-natured” horse raised by him and his family. 

Mennonites typically use the shoulder of the highway when they travel this way, but snow, guardrails and wet soil sometimes push them into part of a paved lane. 

That’s what happened to Edwin that morning. 

To “make it easier on his horse,” he used part of one of the two eastbound paved lanes.

He says he was looking in his rearview mirror constantly to swerve back on shoulder if a vehicle was to come up behind him. But next thing he knows, he’s waking up on the side of a ditch, blood streaks coming down his face.

“I must not have been keeping a sharp eye,” he said. “I have no memory of seeing a car coming behind me.”

In the aftermath of the collision, he remembers seeing pieces of his buggy scattered everywhere, and his horse lying injured further down in the ditch. 

Fellow Mennonites describe feeling shock, trauma

Community members nearby remember hearing the crash, and rushing to the scene. 

Edwin’s buggy was in much worse condition than that of Eli’s, a 29-year-old from a neighbouring Amish community who died in a horse and buggy accident on that same stretch of highway exactly one year ago today.

A community member says he felt sick to his stomach seeing pieces of the buggy scattered around, and that the shock of seeing this accident drained his energy for days. 

Friends and family were fearing the worst, but Edwin was lucky. Save for stitches on his head, bruises, a broken clavicle, a fractured left fibula and an elevated heart rate, he was okay.

Sparky’s injuries, however, were too serious – and the Mennonites had to put him down. 

It was an emotional and financial loss for the family, one that won’t be compensated for through the typical court or insurance claim processes, as these systems don’t align with the way the community practices their faith.

A police investigation later blamed the “inattentive” pick-up truck driver for causing the collision, but Edwin insists the accident was his fault.

“We belong on the shoulders. I don’t blame him for anything. I shouldn’t have been on the paved road,” he said. 

Gratitude above all else

Throughout the interview with CBC, Edwin and his fellow community members repeatedly speak of their gratitude for being allowed to use the highway. 

“We know it’s an inconvenience for others, we’re thankful for their patience,” he said. 

The Amish and the Mennonites contribute to the creation and maintenance of the highway through their taxes, but those who spoke to CBC said they considered it a privilege to use the road, and not a right. 

The overall feeling is one of gratitude, but still, stories of loss make their way to the surface. 

Jesse, one of the community leaders, lost his son in a horse and buggy accident 12 years ago, and lost his son-in-law in the same way in 2021. 

That more recent death means his daughter is a widow raising four very young children. 

When someone dies suddenly like this among the Desbarats Mennonites, there is no life insurance or claims to help those left behind – it’s up to the community to step up and offer support. 

“When our son was killed the OPP brought the person responsible to our community. We sat around the table, and he broke down and cried,” said Jesse. 

“How could you ever take someone like that to court? It is not our way.” 

Horse and buggy as a cherished way of life

The community members tell CBC they’ve all experienced moments of fear on the highway, but that the horse and buggy remains the preferred method of travel. 

Trying to explain this to someone outside of the community is difficult, says a community leader. 

“This is a value inherited from previous generations that we treasure,” he said. “They believed modern technology is not conducive to a quiet and peaceful life of faith.” 

He added motorized vehicles are very useful, especially when there is an emergency or a need to travel long distances. However, these engines also take people far away from their communities and families. 

For everyday activities, the Desbarats Mennonites and other anabaptist communities throughout Ontario prefer the horse and buggy.

“It brings a totally different lifestyle than being involved in this fast-paced world,” said Jesse.

Exploring solutions to make the road a safer place for all

Besides, the animals occupy a special place in the community – especially for the youth who develop a strong bond with them during training.

No matter how much they are trained, though, the horses remain unpredictable. 

Community member Abraham said his horse can panic at the sight of a floating plastic bag or a tree stump, but won’t bat an eye at an 18-wheel commercial transport truck. 

In the same vein, some horses get more “fussy” at the sight of a lone car on a backroad than they do in traffic on the highway. 

It can be hard to assess how a horse will react in an unexpected situation, said Abraham. 

While they would want to wait for the horse to be ready before taking them in a riskier place, “there has to be a first time for everything,” said Abraham. 

The recent collisions have led East Algoma OPP to work with the leadership in the community to install battery-powered lights on the buggies to improve their visibility on the highway. 

That solution might be easier for Mennonites than it is for the Amish, who prefer to use lanterns. 

The community also hopes to speak with the local snowplow operators about keeping the shoulder of the highway clearer for travel by horse and buggy. 

Problem elsewhere throughout the north

Over in the Temiskaming area close to the Quebec border, there have been at least two collisions involving Amish travelling by horse and buggy since September. 

One of the accidents resulted in a young girl sustaining severe injuries. 

Lenny Farrow is a commercial truck driver who travels the 80 kilometer stretch between Englehart and Elk Lake regularly. 

He says he’s witnessed several close calls between trucks and buggies over the years, and is deeply concerned for the safety of the local Amish community. 

“It’s not them, it’s the careless drivers out there,” he said, adding that he regularly communicates with other drivers to warn them of the horses on the roads. 

He would like to see more large warning signs installed, and mandatory lights on buggies.