Friday 26 February 2010

Floating on Chemong Lake



This was taken in about 1930 with something like a Box Brownie, and has been slightly enhanced using Photoshop. There is the car seen in other photos (what sort is it?) which is parked opposite an overtaking point, even though there seems to be no other traffic.

It is one of the less interesting images in the Rippingale album - you can't make out the faces - but apparently, according to Brampton historian Gina Martin, it is of great significance, because it shows the old floating bridge of Ennismore. Her email reads:

This is a picture of the old floating bridge which went across Chemong Lake between the villages of Bridgenorth and Ennismore just outside of Peterborough.  Several local folk songs have been written about this bridge including one very popular one entitled "The Floating Bridge of Ennismore".  The bridge was replaced in 1949 by a permanent cement causeway .........there are few photos of the old bridge and the ones that I have seen are not very clear.  This is the best shot I have ever seen!  I sent it to one of my colleagues at the Trent Valley Archives who was most impressed.  We have made a blowup copy of this photo for our archives. 

You can find the words of the song, which involves whisky smuggling, right here at Tanglefoot Music.

More news from Ontario soon, we hope.

Paul Lantz from Moosonee writes:

This photo ( see below ) was probably taken early 1930s. The woman in the centre is my stepmother, Jean née Wilson, who was born in 1913. It does not show as much of the bridge as your posted photo but shows the structure quite well I think.



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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I believe the car is a 1929 chandler that was owned by the bakers from selwyn