It’s Wayback Wednesday, sponsored by Pharmasave Huntsville!
What do you recognize in this view of Huntsville’s Main Street? Do you know the year it was taken? (Photo: Baker Collection, Muskoka Heritage Place)
Last week we shared this photo:
Remember the days when we could gather in crowds? We hope to get back to fun events soon. In the meantime, do you know what’s happening here? Or when? We’ve learned that Percy Wagg is the man sitting in the boat. Do you recognize any others? (Photo courtesy of the Baker Collection at Muskoka Heritage Place)
Here are two additional photos provided by Doppler readers:
Former fire chief Ross Payne rolls the log (courtesy of Courtney Payne)
Percy Wagg (standing) watches an unknown man roll the log (courtesy of Jean Wagg)
And Allen Markle offered up these details:
“Seems to me that photo must be the ’70s or later. Doesn’t feel like that long ago but the the one fiberglass hull looks like that era and the aluminum hull in the photo is still common today. The big pointer work boat, with forward mounted engine and the rear tow stanchion is a bit older.
‘Log rolling’ is somewhat romanticized in this area, because our mills harvested a lot of hardwood logs and unless they are prepared, they barely float let alone allow a man stand on them. Mills like Bethune Pulp and Lumber and Muskoka Wood employed men to peel the hardwood logs, allowing them to dry a bit and even then they would have to go back for ‘sinkers’ when the spring flood subsided and the drive ended.
Softwood logs such as pine and cedar would float and the log in the photo might be cedar.
Rivermen wore ‘corked boots’ (boots with metal studs in them like a snow tire) to allow them to work on rafted and boomed logs. On big rivers like the Chaudiere and the Ottawa there were log rafts large enough for raft crews to live on. But I’m sure that if you tried riding a half ton of peeled maple log over any rapids on our Big East River, you will quickly be able to drink standing up.”
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In the photo of Ross Payne log rolling I see Cole Coon, Rick Withers and Jack Beattie in the crowd. They are all in their bathing suits, so maybe competitors or perhaps helpers. I would guess this to be the late 60’s.
I think the movie theatre was on the right side of the photo. 1945????