Document Archives | "Are We There Yet?" Highway-Based Tourism In Kawartha Lakes

Greetings From Rosedale

This postcard captures the essence of what it was like to drive into the natural beauty of northwestern Kawartha Lakes.

Tourists Enjoy Branson’s Gallery in Rosedale

In 1952, the Lindsay Daily Post ran an editorial which urged every town or hamlet in the municipality to open a small museum or other roadside tourist attraction. […]

Building Tourism and Enhancing Hospitality With the Kawartha Lakes Tourist Association

The Kawartha Lakes Tourist Association ran this advertisement in the Lindsay Daily Post throughout the summer of 1965 to help citizens, politicians, members of the hospitality industry, and […]

Information Sheet, “This Abandoned Car Is On The Road To Recovery,” Ontario Ministry of the Environment, 1975

By the 1970s many of the thousands of cars which took to the open road between the 1930s and 1950s had been traded in, scrapped, or parked in […]

The Dangers of Excessive Speed: Ontario Department of Highways Advertisement

This dramatic advertisement was developed by the Ontario Department of Highways in 1957 to warn motorists about the dangers of excessive speed. The ad was unique in that […]

Working Together for Safer Roads: Victoria Branch Garage Operators’ Association Safety Check Advertisement

The Victoria Branch of the Garage Operators’ Association organized yearly Safety Checks through the 1950s. Motorists who lived in Victoria County (now Kawartha Lakes) were encouraged to have […]

Safety First: The Ontario Department of Highways Urged Drivers to “Try Courtesy” During the Summer of 1937

The Ontario Department of Highways ran a series of newspaper advertisements over the summer of 1937 to raise awareness about responsible driving. The ads used the slogan “Try […]

Business Card Issued by Graham Beach Camp Grounds, Cottages, and Cabins

Chester Graham operated a private campground on Lake Dalrymple, about 20 kilometres northwest of Kirkfield. In addition to camping, Graham offered cottages, cabins, and boats for rent as […]

Roadside Tourist Camp, Norland

Roadside “tourist camps” began to appear in northwestern Kawartha Lakes during the 1920s and 1930s. Sometimes called “motor camps,” they were informal affairs – often consisting of little […]

Before GPS and Google Maps, Tourists Depended on the Ontario Motor League Road Book

Travellers making their way into northwestern Kawartha Lakes during the 1950s benefited from publications issued by the Ontario Motor League. These booklets, complete with maps, showed drivers the […]

Places to Go, Things to See: The Kawartha Lakes Tourism Association’s “Travel Vacation Guide”

The Kawartha Lakes Tourist Association (KLTA) was “comprised of representatives of businesses large and small in the Counties of Peterborough and Victoria, as well as the municipal councils […]

Mealtime on Mitchell Lake: The Shallamar Diner

Famed aerial photographer Harry S. Oakman took this image of the Shallamar Diner around 1969. Operated by Ted and Wally Polomski in the late 1960s, Shallamar incorporated a […]