KAWARTHA LAKES-In the early to mid twentieth century, Maryboro Lodge (now Museum) was a tourist lodge operated by the Abbott Sisters with the village’s tourist camp (now Garnet Graham Park) located on the opposite side of the railway tracks (now rail trail). In this era, not everyone had an automobile, but for those who did, it was fashionable to go on a drive to the park. Swimming was a popular activity, though bathing suits for men and women were wool and provided much more coverage than the designs that are popular today.
In towns all along the Trent-Severn Waterway, swimming in the locks was discouraged by Canal staff (though it was an activity that many youth nonetheless indulged in), but swimming in the canal was common. If a boat came along, bathers would just paddle out of the way. Visitors would sit on the docks and chat, go for a swim, launch a canoe or watch boats pass.
As the children of this era grew up, it became less socially acceptable for adults to swim in the canal. Fenelon Falls’ beach park moved north to the shore of Cameron Lake at the foot of Bond Street, which was lovingly called ‘Sawdust Bottom’—because bathers would literally be wading in submerged sawdust from a former sawmill. Over the years, the Rotary Club improved the park, bringing in sand for a beach. But adventurous local youth continue to jump off the train bridge, though the water is scarcely deep enough for boats to pass. Did you see that backflip?
Swimming in Canal
This story is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum and was written by Glenn Walker.
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