Social History Archives | Page 3 of 6 | "Are We There Yet?" Highway-Based Tourism In Kawartha Lakes

An Early Motorist Goes Camping at Coboconk

It didn’t take long for outdoor enthusiasts to embrace the automobile! By the 1920s, when this picture was taken in Coboconk, campers were tying canoes to their cars […]

The Station Wagon: A Very Versatile Vehicle!

The versatile nature of station wagons made them synonymous with road trips through the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. They could accommodate several passengers with plenty of room to […]

Kim Tuckett Remembers the Trip to Falcon Lodge

Recorded at the Kirkfield Museum, February 12, 2022 Interviewer: Ian McKechnie Videography: Ekaterine Alexakis Duration: 1:29 Kim Tuckett sitting in front of white wall. Text on screen reads: […]

“Bingo! I Spy a Hardtop Cadillac!” Car Games Kept Kids Entertained

Games such as Magnetic Car Bingo, manufactured by the Norbert Specialty Corporation, kept young travellers occupied on long road trips. Players were to look out the window of […]

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 […]

Fun & Frivolity: Coboconk’s Wonderland Dance Hall

Many a Saturday night road trip in northwestern Kawartha Lakes ended at the famous (or infamous!) Wonderland Dance Hall on Highway 46. Opened in 1939 by Nate and […]

Say Cheese! The Oliver Family Poses for the Camera

The Sunday afternoon drive was a popular activity from the 1920s through the 1960s. Families like the Olivers of Rosedale would make an occasion out of their jaunt, […]

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 […]

Stopping for Gas at the Club Balsam Snack Bar, Rosedale

The Club Balsam Snack Bar was located on the west side of Highway 35 in the village of Rosedale. With its log construction, the snack bar evoked the […]

Ready to Hit the Road Again With Full Stomachs, Courtesy of Kirkfield’s Alexander Restaurant

The Alexander Restaurant, pictured here in the mid-1950s, was located just west of downtown Kirkfield and served both locals and tourists making their way east and west along […]

Motorists Stop in Downtown Coboconk for a Bite to Eat at the Kawartha Tea Room & Restaurant

The Kawartha Tea Room catered to both locals and tourists travelling through Coboconk on Highway 35 in the 1950s. It sold full-course meals, cheeseburgers and hamburgers, soft drinks, […]