Recreational Land Use: Perspectives on Its Evolution in Canada 9780773595637

Citation preview

Recreational Land Use: Perspectives on its Evolution in Canada

Edited by G. Wall and J. Marsh

CARLETON UNIVERSITY PRESS OTTAWA - CANADA 1982

THE CARLETON LIBRARY SERIES

A series of original works, reprints, and new collections of source material relating to Canada, issued under the supervision of the Editorial Board, Carleton University Press, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

GENERAL EDITOR Michael Gnarowski

EDITORIAL BOARD Marilyn J. Barber (History) Bruce Cox (Anthropology) David B. Knight (Geography) John de Vries (Sociology) T.K. Rymes (Economics) Maureen A. Molot (Political Science) Margaret H. Ogilvie (Law)

@

Carleton University Press Inc., 1982 Ottawa, Canada.

ISBN 0-88629-003-1 (paperback) Printed and bound in Canada. Distributed by: Oxford University Press Canad.. 70 Wynford Drive DON MILLS, Ontario. Canada M3C 1J9. (416) 441-2941

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title: Recreational land use (Carleton library series; no. 126) ISBN 0-88629-003-1 I. Recreation areas-Canada. 2. Land use-Canada. I. Wall, Geoffrey. II. Marsh, John, 1942III. Series: The Carleton Library ; no. 126. GVI91.44.R42

333.78'0971

C82-0901SS-S

Contents I.

INTRODUCTION

Themes in the investigation of the evolution of outdoor recreation - 1. Marsh and G. Wall I II.

RECREATION RESOURCE EVALUATION

Changing views of the land as a recreational resource G. Wall 15 III.

PIONEER RECREATIONS

Pioneer recreation and social life - E. Morgan IV.

27

PUBLIC PROVISION OF RURAL RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES

Canada's national parks: past, present and future J.G. Nelson 41 The evolution of recreation in Glacier National Park, British Columbia, 1880 to present - J. Marsh 62 Recreation and conservation: the struggle for balance in Point Pelee National Park - J. G. Battin and 1. G. Nelson 77 The evolution of the Ontario Provincial Park system K. Morrison 102 V.

PRIVATE PROVISION OF RURAL RECREATION OPPORTUNmES

The development of tourism in Nova Scotia -. CA. Moffatt 123 The changing patterns of tourism in Ontario R.I. Wolfe 133 Recreational land use in Muskoka - G. Wall

139

Northern Ontario's tourist frontier - J. Benidickson 155 The development of tourist accommodation in the Montreal Laurentians - J. Lundgren 175 A history of recreation on the Trent-Severn Waterway F. Helleiner 190 VI.

URBAN RESORTS

Banff townsite: an historical-geographical view of urban development in a Canadian national park - R. C. Scace 203 Mowat and a park policy for Niagara Falls, 1873-1887 G. Kilian 220 The fluctuating fortunes of water-based recreational places G. Wall 239

VII.

URBAN RECREATION

The beginning of municipal park systems E. McFarland 257 The development of supervised playgrounds E. McFarland 272 The Vancouver park system, 1886-1929: a product of local business - W. C. McKee 299 The Canadian National Exhibition: mirror of Canadian society G. Wall and N. Zalkind 3/l VIII.

ACTIVITY HISTORIES

Paddling for pleasure: recreational canoeing as a Canadian way of life - J. Benidickson 323 Camping for fun: a brief history of camping in North America G. Wall and R. Wallis 341 Tourism development, conservation and conflict: game laws for caribou protection in Newfoundland - J. Overton 354 The development of snowmobiles in Canada R. W. Butler 365 IX.

HISTORY AS A RECREATION RESOURCE

Historical artifacts as recreational resources V.A. Konrad 393 X.

CONCLUSION

Outdoor recreation and the Canadian identity G. Wall 419

Notes on contributors

435

Acknowledgements This book could not have been produced without the assistance of a large number of people. As a collection of papers. the volume is the work of a number of authors. Some contributors allowed us to reprint papers which had previously been published elsewhere. We are grateful to them and to their initial publishers for granting permission to use these materials which stand here as originally presented. The original sources are identified on the first page of each paper. Other authors prepared manuscripts specifically for this publication. We thank them for their diligence in preparing contributions in good time and apologize· for the delay in getting their efforts into print. Circumstances changed so frequently and so radically that their patience must have been sorely tried. David B. Knight. the geography editor of the Carleton Library Series. worked hard on our behalf. We are grateful for his continued encouragement and his behind-the-scenes efforts in situations which must frequently have been frustrating. The manuscript was prepared at the University of Waterloo. The Environmental Studies Cartographic Centre prepared the maps. The majority of the cartographic work was undertaken by Barry Levely, although Gerry Boulet also made a contribution. The typing of the final manuscript took place in the Geography Department, University of Waterloo. Jackie Rugwell completed most of the work and probably thought that the task would never end. Her skill and patience are very much appreciated. She was assisted at various times by Rosemary Ambrose, Susan Friesen. Anne-Marie leFort and Karen Steinfieldt. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada also contributed to the volume through the award of a research grant and leave fellowship to G. Wall. G. WALL J. MARSH

I. INTRODUCTION

Themes in the Investigation of the Evolution of Outdoor Recreation J. MARSH and G. WALL

Recreation is a state of mind. I Outdoor recreational experiences can be gained through participating in a wide variety of activities. In undertaking these activities, man interacts with his environment. Outdoor recreation is also a land use. It competes with agriculture, forestry, mining, housing, industry and a variety of other activities for the same scarce resources of land and water. The objective of this book is to describe, through examples, the evolution of recreational land use in Canada and to document changes in relationships between man and environment as revealed through outdoor recreation. The typical academic paper on outdoor recreation begins by reference to recent rapid growth in participation. This growth is attributed to the effects of such factors as increased income and discretionary time, improved personal mobility and urbanization. However, the magnitude of changes in these variables is seldom documented, particularly over long periods of time. Emphasis is generally placed upon recreation in the present. very recent past, or even future, and preceding situations are seldom given more than passing mention. Comparatively little attention has been given in Canada to recreation in past periods, or the evolution of present patterns of recreation and their associated landscapes. This book will demonstrate that recreation has a past, as well as a present and a futore. Futhermore, not only has recreation left °its mark on the landscape, many present management problems are due, in part, to past policies and conditions. For example, patterns of land use on many of our lakes are inherited and the limited public access to many lakes can be explained by past land use practices. Similarly, present problematic situations with respect to recreation in national parks are more easily comprehended with reference to the historical development of recreational activities and park policy. The purpose of this introduction is to set the scene for what follows. This will be done through a consideration of three topics. First. some of the trends in Canadian society which have had implications for outdoor recreation will be described and illustrated. Secondly, some of the major

2

J. MARSH AND G. WALL

themes in research on the evolution of outdoor recreation will be outlined. Thirdly, the organization of the remainder of the book will be presented and the various papers will be placed in context. TRENDS IN CANADIAN SOCIETY

One of the most significant trends contributing to changes in participation in outdoor recreation has been the increase in the population. 2 Canada entered the nineteenth century with a population of approximately 2.5 million. By 1871, this had increased to 3,689,257 and it continued to grow at a very fast rate: 17.23 per cent between 1871 and 1881; 11.76 per cent between 1881 and 1891; 11.13 per cent between 1891 and 1901; 34.17 per cent between 1901 and 1911; 21.95 per cent between 1911 and 1921; and 18.08 per cent between 1921 and 1931. In 1931 the population of Canada exceeded 10 million and by 1977 it has more than doubled to over 23 million. More people almost inevitably resulted in more demand for recreation and greater pressures on resources. Thus, for example, the popUlation density doubled from 0.6 to 1.2 per square kilometre between 1901 and 1931, and increased to 2.3. per square kilometre by 1971. These increases in population were accompanied by changes in the distribution of population. On a national scale the centre of gravity of the nation has shifted progressively westward: in 1931, Alberta and British Columbia were the homes of 13.7 per cent of the Canadian people; by 1951, this figure has risen to 15.0 per cent, and by 1971 to 18.9 per cent. At the same time the Canadian people have become increasingly ubanized. In 1891 the population was almost evenly divided between rural and rural residents, but by 1971 more than three-quarters of the population lived in an urban environment, although the degree of urbanization varied from 38.3 per cent in Prince Edward Island to 82.4 per cent in Ontario. By 1976, only 4.5 per cent of the population lived on farms and in excess of 29 per cent lived in the three cities of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. As the Canadian people became increasingly divorced from the wilderness and the farm as a residential environment, so the wilderness increased in importance as a national symbol and as a recreational environment. The personal characteristics of Canadians have also been changing. They have tended to increase in average age: in 1921 only 4.8 per cent of Canadians were aged 65 years or older but by 1971 this figure had risen to 8.1 per cent. Conversely, the proportion of the popUlation aged less than 15 years declined from 34.4 per cent to 29.6 per cent in the same time period. Life expectancy has increased and average family size has declined. Smaller families and an aging popUlation have considerable implications for participation in outdoor recreation. Although it is difficult to document the magnitude of the changes, ,it is

Introduction

3

clear that disposable incomes and discretionary time have tended to increase. If the time and money were not available it would not be possible to convert desires for increased participation in outdoor recreation into reality. Much work remains to be done on income and leisure availability for all but the most recent years of Canada's history. Between 1971 and 1976 the average weekly hours worked in manufacturing declined from 39.7 to 38.7 hours per week, whereas average hourly earnings increased from $3.38 to $5.76. However, at the same time, overtime, moonlighting and commuting have increased and inflation has 'reduced the real value of increases in income. All provinces now have annual vacation legislation which is applicable to most industries. The general requirement is two weeks paid vacation after one year of employment. Workers in Manitoba and the Northwest Territories are entitled to a minimum of three weeks vacation after five years of employment. Vacation pay is equivalent to 4 per cent of annual earnings in all provinces with the exception of Saskatchewan. Personal expenditures on recreation, entertainment, education and cultural services rose from 6.5 per cent to 10.6 per cent of incomes between 1951 and 1975. 3 However, it should be borne in mind that employment structures and standards of living vary considerably across the country. Outdoor recreation involves movement between the place of residence and the places of recreation and, therefore, the extension of transportation networks has been crucial to the growth of outdoor recreation. The horse and buggy, steamboats, railways, the automobile, and airplanes have all impacted outdoor rec.reation, and have enabled some locations to expand at the expense of others. Other views of the history of transportation in Canada can be found ·in the works of Guillet and Glazebrook. 4 Nevertheless, some figures will be provided here to illustrate the magnitude of these changes, although not all of the statistics relate solely to outdoor recreation. Between 1880 and 1950 railroad mileage, excluding sidings and switching yards, increased from a little over 7,500 miles (12,000 kilometres) to approximately 45,000 miles (72,000 kilometres). The rate of growth has levelled ofT and, although a slight peak was reached in 1973, railway mileage has remained between 40,000 and 50,000 miles (64,000 to 80,000 kilometres) since 1975. The number of passengers rose to a peak of 60.3 million in 1944, travelling 6,873,000 passenger miles, but business has now declined to approximately one-third of those figures. s One of the major reasons for the decline in railway travel has been increased use of the automobile. In 1905 there were only 553 automobiles in Canada but this had risen steadily to 8,870,307 in 1975. At the same time the length and quality of roads has improved. In 1935"there were 6,848 miles (10,956 kilometres) of paved highways compared with 85,098 (136,157 kilometres) in 1973. Expressways, which include divided, controlled-access highways with four or more lanes, were extended from

4

J. MARSH AND G. WALL

847 miles (1,355 kilometres) to 3,258 (5,213 kilometres) in 19756 • In recent years, there has been a shift from cars to planes for long distance travel and between 1966 and 1977 the proportion of people travelling to their vacation destination by plane increased from 10 per cent to 27 per cent.' The trends which have been described above increased and redirected the demand for outdoor'recreation. However, these demands could not have been realized if the supply of recreational opportunities had not also expanded. The number and scale of purpose-built recreational outlets has grown over the years and they have been provided by both the public and the private sector. However, the involvement of the public sector, at all levels, has become proportionately more important. In the early years of outdoor recreation in Canada there were few purpose-built facilities and, where they existed, private interests were dominant and governmental involvement was minimal. As the demand for recreation increased, and pressues on resources intensified, governments came to play a more active role. Three major components of governmental involvement can be indentified - regulation, public provision, and monitoring - and they tended to appear approximately in that sequence. In other words, regulation and the public provision of recreational opportunities often took place in the absence of a thorough inventory of recreational resources and their users. Among the earliest regulations affecting recreation were the hunting and fishing regulations which prescribed seasons, bag limits and later required participants to obtain Iicenses. s The function of regulation can also be seen in the use of zoning by-laws, the licensing of campgrounds, requirements for septic tank systems, and the registration of boats with motors in excess of ten horsepower. As the demand for access to recreational land and water has increased and because the opportunity for public access has been restricted by prior private purchase of recreational property, there has been an attempt to redress imbalances in access to outdoor recreation by the public provision of parks. Municipal, provincial and, to a lesser extent, national parks all aim to provide opportunities for the public to participate in outdoor recreation. Monitoring of recreational resources and their use is a more recent activity which has become especially important in the last twenty years. It is now recognized that accurate measures of supply and participation are prerequisite for the effective planning and management of outdoor recreation opportunities. The Canada Land Inventory was a pioneer attempt to measure the capability of Canadian lands for sustaining a number of activities, including recreation. 9 The major objective of the exercise was to estimate the quality, quantity and distribution of land resources, and it resulted, among other things, in the production of a large number of maps of recreation capabilities. Other examples of

Introduction

5

monitoring of supply can be seen in attempts to monitor water quality in recreational lakes and levels of contamination of sports fish.IO On the participation side, the Canadian Outdoor Recreation Demand Study provided detailed participation data for 1967, 1969 and 1972; most national and provincial parks survey their users periodically, and most provinces have detailed statistics on the activities of their residents. II Similarly, the Canadian Government Office of Tourists collects data on interprovicinal and international movements of travellers. 12 Thus, in the relatively short space of little more than a century, outdoor recreation has moved from a dominantly laissez-faire situation to one in which there is considerable governmental regulation and involvemt.

THEMES

In addition to the determinants of supply and demand which have just been discussed, a number of themes frequently recur in studies of the evolution of outdoor recreation places. All of the papers in this volume touch on one or more of these themes, sometimes in passing, but more often as a major focus of study. These trends also represent areas of possible research although some have received considerably more attention than others in the literature. Recreation and health have always been closely linked and participation in outdoor recreation and the promotion of resorts have often been related to the pursuit of health. The medical values of spa water, sea bathing and mountain air have all been extolled and the perception of such benefits has doubtless influenced the location, type and impact of recreation. The very word re-creation impiies the restoration of mind and body. Technological change has influenced, and continues to influence, outdoor recreation in many ways. The effects of technological change can be grouped into three categories: I. the effect on recreational activities; 2. the effect on accessibility to outdoor recreation areas; 3. the effect on conflicts within recreation, and between recreation and and other activities.

Technological change has directly influenced many recreational activities. For instance, fishing with fibreglass rods, fixed-spool spinning reels, nylon line, fish finders and downriggers must be rather different from what it was at the turn of the century. Watercraft are now produced in a greater variety of types from materials which are lighter, more durable, easier to transport and, therefore, more attractive to the non-specialist boater. The invention of the outboard motor not only revolutionized boating, it also made possible the development of new recreational activities such as water-skiing. The implications of techno-

6

J. MARSH AND G. WALL

logieal changes in camping equipment are discussed elsewhere in this volume. Technological changes in transportation are mentioned above and require no further discussion at this point. Transportation systems are identified as a significant influence on recreation in many of the papers. Technological change has also brought about increasing conflicts in outdoor recreation. Adherents of new forms of recreation clash with the old. The canoeist resents the power boater and the fisherman resents the water-skierY The potential for conflict is magnified by the speed and noise associated with mechanized recreations and their environmental impact tends to be greater. Furthermore, recreation often contlicts with other uses of resources. For example, water-based recreation may conflict with waste disposal, domestic and industrial water supply, and hydroelectric power, for technological changes in other sectors of the economy have increased their claims on water. This is not a new problem: since the turn of the century water has been diverted from the Niagara River above the Falls to turn turbines, and is returned to the river below the Falls. The flow of water over the Falls has been reduced, and there is now a man-induced diurnal flow pattern, the diversion of water being greatest at night when there are fewer people to see that it has gone. Recreation has often had a marked and cumulative impact on the landscape. Nelson and his associates have devoted considerable attention to landscape changes within parks and others have examined the distinctive recreational landscapes of urban resorts. I .. Often the longterm impact of recreation, and the significance of precedents, were not recognized initially. Institutional arrangements for recreational developments often appear to have been lacking or inadequate. Studies of resort landscapes have evolved to the state where attempts are being made to delimit resort cycles - that is, a sequence of stages through which resorts tend to pass. However, only a little of this work is Canadian. Recreation activities and loeational preferences have always been associated with the socioeconomic attributes of participants. There have always been the jet-set resorts, and places for the lower-income groups. Higher-class visitors often pioneer new activities and destinations and move on elsewhere when the exclusiveness and status of their haunts are threatened. This is the "mass follows class" phenomenon. Two seemingly contradictory aspects of demand have had a profound influence on the evolution of recreation. These are tradition and fashion. Together they influence the popularity of both recreational activities and areas. Wilderness activities such as canoeing and fishing, and to a lesser extent cottaging, are traditional in that they are activities with a long history, and also in the sense that they are associated with the Canadian identity and "the true north strong and free." The cottage

Introduction

7

is traditionally opened on 24 May (Victoria Day) and closed again on Thanksgiving, although winterization and the increasing popularity of winter sports are changing this. Muskoka and the Kawarthas are traditionally fashionable cottage areas but trends can change and areas can decline and be rejuvenated. ls For long Toronto turned its back on Lake Ontario and the city was cut off from the water by railways yards, roads, industry and warehouses. The waterfront is in the process of being made accessible again and is the location of fashionable hotels and restaurants. Even sunbathing is a fashion: it is less than a century since swimsuits left little to the radiation and beauty came in the form of a pale complexion. "Taking the waters" of spas is now much less popular than it once was. Thus traditional and fashion produce both continuity and change in outdoor recreation.

STRUCTURE OF VOLUME

The papers of this volume have been selected to illustrate the themes which have been discussed above. The choice of materials is constrained by the state of knowledge, existing published sources, and the willingness and ability of authors to prepare papers for this volume. Every effort has been made to include materials drawn from across the country; but inevitably, the spatial coverage is less even than we would have desired. In many cases, the gaps are areas where future research could be productive. Attitudes to the land have changed considerably over the years. The major recreation resource areas of Canada-have not always been viewed as attractive recreation destinations. The following section reviews the changing evaluations of the Canadian Shield and the mountains and speculates concerning changing evaluations of the Canadian north. A paper on pioneer recreations in Saskatchewan represents the recreations undertaken by the early settlers of Canada. 16 The recreations undertaken by the Saskatchewan pioneers could be found with little change in most other parts of the country. Many of these were indoor recreations and some outdoor recreations, such as working bees, represent communal attempts to overcome the difficulties of an untamed environment. For many pioneers, the land represented a potential Ii ve Iihood which could only be obtained after considerable hard, backbreaking work. Many of the gregarious recreations of the pioneers were a temporary respite from the taks of wresting a livelihood from the land. They provided mutual support and opportunities for social interaction among people who had few opportunities to partake of commercially provided recreations. In contrast to pioneer recreations, public provision of rural recreation opportunities created the chance for Candians to return to the land in recreation. Although not the only types of public recreational provision,

8

J. MARSH AND G. WALL

national and provincial parks are the most visible public recreation areas. The history of national parks, particularly western parks, is reasonably well documented}' In this volume, Nelson provides an overview of the history of national parks; and case studies of Glacier National Park, British Columbia, and Point Pelee National Park, Ontario, illustrate some of the mangement problems faced by the national park system. Provincial parks are less well documented than national parks and the definitions of provincial parks vary across the provinces. The provincial park systems of the Maritime provinces are of relatively recent origin and are not well documented. Ontario has the oldest, and in many ways the most extensive, developed system and Morrison provides a useful overview of the history of the system. Fafard and Gauthier have prepared theses on the evolution of the provincial park system of Quebec. 18 Little has been written on the parks of the prairie provinces, although Scace has undertaken a detailed study of the Cypress Hills which span the Alberta-Saskatchewan border.l 9 The early history of the Alberta park system is available in an unpublished manuscript in the Archives of Alberta, and Morrison is currently attempting to up-date this study.20 A thorough study of the provincial parks of British Columbia has been undertaken by Younds. 21 This thesis is particularly interesting in that it describes how the park system contracted in response to increased pressures for resource exploitation, before expanding again in recent years. Evidence on the use of recreation resources in private ownership is much more fragmentary than that on public reserves and studies of the topic are more limited. Moffatt and Wolfe contribute overviews of tourism in Nova Scotia and Ontario, respectively. Wall presents a detailed study of private recreational land use, particularly hotels and cottages, and Benidickson contributes a somewhat similar study of canoeing and camping, further north in the Temagami area. This is followed by an analysis of the changing distribution of hotels in the Laurentians in Quebec. Other histories of tourism in Quebec can be found in Briere and Rajotte. 22 These papers have a common theme of the influence of changing transportation networks on recreation patterns. This section is concluded with a paper by Helleiner which describes how one transportation route has become a recreational resource in its own right. Some communities become specialized in the provision of outdoor recreational opportunities. Two of the most noted resorts in Canada, Niagara Falls and Banff, are the subject of the next two papers. Other less famous resorts have received less academic attention and Wall provides some examples of less prestigious resorts and points out that urban resorts have been less prominent in Canada than in some other countries. Most Canadians now live in urban areas and this is where most of our leisure is spent. Facilities have long been provided to meet the recrea-

Introduction

9

tiona I needs of city dwellers and to enhance the quality of life in towns. Markham and Edgington claimed that the common in Halifax was the first park in Canada. 2l McFarland has investigated the evolution of municipal recreation in Canada and two components of her larger study, those on municipal parks and supervised playgrounds, are reproduced here. 24 McKee provides an interesting perspective on the Vancouver park system which is seen as a product of the actions of local businessmen. Detailed studies of the park systems of Toronto and Edmonton are available elsewhere. 25 In addition to relatively permanent facilities such as parks, urban areas are often the location of special events and the number of exhibitions and festivals has grown rapidly in recent years. Agricultural fairs have a long history.26 They usually took place in urban centres and they were the forerunners of the Canadian National Exhibition which is discussed in some detail. The history of many such events is quite short and few have been chronicled with any thoroughness. However, brief statements on the history of the Calgary Stampede, the Quebec Winter Carnival and Oktoberfest have been published. 27 To'ihis point in the book, emphasis is placed upon recreation resources and recreation places. A different perspective is provided through an analysis of particular recreational activities. Many recreations, especially sports, have recorded histories but emphasis is often placed upon professional participation, outstanding achievements, and records. 28 Informal recreations, which leave few artifacts or records, are poorly documented yet they may be of considerable importance. Fortunately, it is possible to include statements on the history of three traditional activities, canoeing, camping and hunting, and one more recent activity, snowmobiling. All of these activities have close links with the Canadian environment but the theme which unites this section is technological change. Thorough studies of the history of fishing and hunting have yet to be undertaken. Overton's examination of the game laws of Newfoundland indicates that such studies could provide interesting insights into resource exploitation and conflict. History not only helps us to understand the origins ofthe present and, by extension, possible futures; it is also a recreation resource. Konrad discusses the interest which Canadians have in their heritage and considers some of the difficulties of preserving that heritage and, at the same time, encouraging people to appreciate and enjoy it. This is a particular example of the more general preservation versus development dilemma which is also examined in the papers on national parks. The concluding paper is more speculative than its predecessors. It raises questions concerning relationships between outdoor recreation and the Canadian national identity. No conclusive answers to these questions are provided but it is hoped that sufficient evidence is marshalled, both in the paper itself and in preceding contributions, to stimu-

to

J. MARSH AND G. WALL

late the reader to ponder on the significance of outdoor recreation in Canadian life.

CONCLUSION

Outdoor recreation is one way in which man interacts with his environment. Alterations in the demand for outdoor recreation and the supply of opportunities have modified man-environment interrelationships. Through the use of examples, it will be demonstrated that outdoor recreation is characterized by continuity and change. Continuity is seen in the long-standing interest in traditional activities, many of which take place in locations with a long history of recreational land use. Even policies may remain unchanged for long periods of time and may differ very little from their predecessors. 29 Three aspects of change are emphasized in this volume: changes in participation, changes in technology, and changes in governmental involvement. These trends have contributed to an increase in the diversity of outdoor recreational activities, an increase in the intensity of use of recreational areas, an increase in the area harbouring outdoor recreation, and increasing conflicts both among recreational activities and between recreation and other users of land and water. The Canadian environment has both encouraged and discouraged participation in outdoor recreation. Its open spaces have attracted and repelled. The frontiersman has sought social interaction in gregarious activities. Some of these, such as hockey. are the recreations of a cold climate. Similarly, the worker on the mineral frontier may retreat to the bars and whorehouses of the city for his pleasures. lo On the other hand, the city dweller may relish his weekly treks to the cottage or promise himself that some day he will relive the lives of the voyageurs and take that back-to-~ature trip. "Hockey Night in Canada" and canoeing in the wilderness are in many ways antithetical, but they are both appropriate images of recreation in this country. NOTES I. B.L. Driver and S.R. Tocher. "Toward a behavioral interpretation of recreational engagements. with implications for planning," in B.L. Driver. ed., Elements of Outdoor Recreation Planning. (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 1974), pp. 9-31. 2. Unless otherwise stated statistics in this section are drawn from various editions of Statistics Canada. Canada Yeor Book. (Ottawa: Minister of Industry. Trade and Commerce. various dates). and Statistics Canada. Census of Canada (Ottawa: Ministry of Industry. Trade and Commerce. various dates). 3. Statistics Canada. Perspective Canada II, (Ottawa: Ministry of Industry. Trade and Commerce. 1977). p. 178. 4. E.C. Guillet. Pioneer Trovel in Upper Canado, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Introduction

II

1963); G.P. deT. Glazebrook. A History of Transportation in Canada. Carleton Library II and 12, (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1964). 5. Statistics Canada. Human Activity and the Environment, (Onawa: Ministry of Industry, Trade and Commerce, 1978). pp. 73, 93. 6. Ibid. 7. Canadian Government Office of Tourism, Vacation Travel by Canadians in 1977. (Ottawa: undated), p. 31. 8. See, for example, R.S. Lambert and P. Pross, Renewing Nature's Wealth, (Toronto: Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, 1967). 9. Department of Regional Economic Expansion, The Canada Land Inventory Lancl Capability Classification of Outdoor Recreation, The Canada Land Inventory Report. No.6 (Onawa: Queen's Printer. 1970). 10. See, for example. M.F.P. Michalski. M.G. Johnson and D.M. Veal, Muskika Lakes Water Quality Evaluation, Report No.3, Eutrophication of the Muskoka Lakes (Toronto: Ontario, Ministry of Environment, 1973). II. Parks Canada Staff and Consultants, Canadian Outdoor Recreation Demand Study (Waterloo: Ontario Research Council on Leisure. 1976); Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Planning Study Committee. Ontario Recreation Survey, 8 vols. (Toronto, 19741979). 12. See. for example, Canadian Government Office of Tourism, op. cit. 13. R. Lucas, "Wildnerss perception and use: the example of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area," Natural Resources Journal, 3, 3 (1964), pp. 394-41 J. 14. For examples see papers by Nelson, and Battin and Nelson in this volume. 15. J. Marsh and C. Moffatt, "The historical development of resorts and cottages in the Kawartha Lakes Area, Ontario" in J. Marsh, ed., Water-Based Recreation Problem.~ and Progress. Occasional Paper 8 (Peterborough: Department of Geography, Trent University. 1979), pp. 27-49. 16. See, for example. E.C. Guillet, Early Ufe in Upper Canada (Toronto: Ontario Publishing Company, 1933). 17. See, for example, J.G. Nelson, Canadian Parks in Perspective (Montreal: Harvest House. 1969): J.G. Nelson and R.C. Scace. The Canadian National Parks: Today and Tomorrow. Studies in Land Use History and Landscape Change, National Park Series No.3, (Calgary: The University of Calgary. 1969); W.F. Lothian, A History of Canada's National Parks (Ottawa:" Parks Canada, 1916 and 1977); J.S. Marsh. "Man, Landscape and Recreation in Glacier National Park, British Columbia. 1880 to Present" (Ph.D. thesis, University of Calgary, 1912); R.D. Turner. "A Comparison of National Parks Policy in Canada and the United States." (M.Sc. thesis, University of British Columbia, 1911); S.M. Van Kirk; "The Development of National Park Policy in Canada's Mountain National Parks 1885 to 1930" (M.A. thesis, University of Alberta, 1968); R.C. Johnson. "The Effect of Contemporary Thought upon Park Policy and Landscape Change in Canada's National Parks, 1885-1911" (Ph.D. thesis. University of Minnesota. 1972). 18. R. Fafard, "Les Parcs Provinciaux du Quebec" (These baccalaureat, Universite Laval, 1968): S. Gauthier, "Historique des Pares Provinciaux de la Province de Quebec" (These baccalaureat, Universite Laval, 1970). 19. R.C. Scace, "The management and Use of a Canadian Plains Oasis: The Cypress Hills" (Ph.D. thesis, University of Calgary, 1912). 20. P.A.A. Provincial Parks for Alberta, 1935, Ace. 71-212. 21. K. Youds. "A Park System as an Evolving Cultural Institution: A Cast Study of the British Columbia Provincial Park System, 1911-1976 (M.A. thesis, University of Waterloo, 1918).

12

J. MARSH AND G. WALL

22. R. Briere, "Geographie du Tourisme Au Quebec" (Ph.D. these: Universite de Montreal. 1967); F. Rajotte, "The Quebec City Recreational Hinterland" (Ph.D. thesis, McGill University, 1973. 23. S.E. Markham and C.R. Edgington, "The Common of Halifax Canada's first park," Recreation Canada (February 1979), pp. 12-17. 24. E. McFarland, The Development of Public Recreation ill Canada (Ottawa: Canadian Parks and Recreation Association, 1970). 25. G.M. Leshchyshyn, "The Development of parks in Toronto, from the time of its founding in 1793 to the 1880's" (B.A. thesis, York University, 1975); E.H. Dale, "The role of successive town and city councils in the evolution of Edmonton. Alberta, 1892-1966" (Ph.D. thesis, University of Alberta. 1969). 26. R.L. Jones, History of Agriculture in Ontario 16/3-/880 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1946); J.W.G. MacEwan, Agriculture on Parade: 77re Story of the Fairs and Exhibitions of Western Canada (Toronto: Nelson. 1950); Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies. The Story of Ontario Agricultural Fairs and Exhibitions 1792-/967 (Picton: Picton Gazette, 1967). 27. G. Weadick. "Origin of the Calgary Stampede," Alberta Historical ReView, 14 (Autumn 1966), pp. 20-24; F. Hulbert, "Le rayonnement et I'impact economique du carnaval de Quebec," Cahiers de Geographie de Quebec 34 (1971), pp. 77-104; J. Hutchinson and G. Wall, "Oktoberfest: anatomy of a festival," in G. Wall, Recreational lAnd Use in Southern Ontario, Publication Series No. 14 (Waterloo: Department of Geography, University of Waterloo, 1979), pp. 213-26. 28. For example, C.F. Whiting, Cricket in Eastf!rn Canada (Montreal: Colmur Co., 1963); B. McFarlane, Sixt), Years of Hockey (Toronto: McGraw-Hili Ryerson, 1976). 29. L. Seymour, "Tourism developments in Newfoundland: the past revisited," The Canadian Geographer, 24, I (1980), pp. 32-39. 30. J.H. Gray. Red lights on the Prairies (Toronto: Macmillan, 1971).

Urba n Resorts "The Horse Shoe from a bove, Niagara, Ontario. no date" (Credit: C939 1/ Public Arch ives Ca nada )

Recreation Resource Evalumion"Kinn ey Lake and Mou nt Whitehorn, Robso n Park, B.C" no datc" (Crcdit: PA49870/ Public Arc hives Ca nada)

II. RECREATION RESOURCE EVALUATION

Changing Views of the Land as a Recreational Resource G. WALL

INTRODUCTION

"The geography of a place results from how we see it as much as from what may be seen there,"1 Watson thus began a study of the role of illusion in North American geography. He argued that: Not all geography derives from the earth itself; some of it springs from our idea [sic] of the earth. This geography within the mind can at times be the effective geography to which men adjust and thus be more important than the supposedly real geography of the earth.2

Geographies of the mind are not fixed and immutable, although they may be slow to change, even in the face of seemingly overwhelming evidence that the conventional wisdom may be a myth. Man's evaluations of the potential of an area reflect both his goals and aspirations, and the technology available to interact with and modify the environment. As goals and technology change, so the potential of an environment will receive a different evaluation.) To quote Watson again: "As far as the settlement of Canada is concerned, it was man's notion about the land that affected the course of events as much as the land itself."4 The earliest settlers of Canada were not evaluating the land primarily on the basis of its potential for sustaining outdoor recreation. In the first instance, they were looking for places which might provide them with a livelihood for themselves and their families. Many of the currently popular recreational areas of Canada received other evaluations and uses before they became resort areas. Some were initially regarded as being among the last places to which one would go by choice for fun. The purpose of this paper is to describe changing attitudes to the lands and resources of Canada. Following a consideration of some of the sources which might be employed in such a task, some general observations are made concerning changing attitudes to nature and the environment. More detail is then provided for three areas of Canada: the Shield, the Rockies, and the North; and examples of recent recrea15

16

G. WALL

tional evaluation procedures are presented.

INFORMATION SOURCES

In his classic study, Glacken examined relationships between nature and culture in western thought from ancient times to the end of the eighteenth century.s In the United States, Huth and Nash have provided detailed examinations of changing attitudes to nature. 6 These authors employ a great diversity of sources of information including novels, poetry, art, legislation, letters and the public statements of prominent people. The strength of these studies is in the breadth of their sources and in the sensitivity with which they have been drawn together. Unfortunately, a definitive work of this type on man-nature relationships in Canada has yet to be written; nor can the American studies be applied to Canada without modification. 7 However, Canadian authors are beginning to rise to the challenge. Examples of such studies include those of Dahl, Lucas and Theberge on literature, and Cook and Rees on art.8 More general statements can be found in the works of Altmeyer, Davies and Kline. 9 Discussion of attitudes to specific aspects of the environment are presented in Foster's work on wildlife, Aird's paper on nature reserves, Nelson's study of Canada's wildlands, Haig-Brown's article on wilderness, and Scace's reports on the history of conservation. lo It is writings such as these which constitute the source of much of the information in the following section. CHANGING ATTITUDES TO NATURE

Davies has argued that North American relationships with the land have been based on two myths: progress and overabundance. I I The former refers to North America's conception of progress as meaning increased material production at virtually any cost. The latter is based on the premise that the resources of the continent were inexhaustible, that vast areas of wilderness existed and would continue to do so without any conscious effort towards preservation. Both situations encouraged the conquest of wilderness and this provided a measure of the degree to which man could assess his progress in his efforts to attain a "civilized" status. The early American symbol of progress was that of the advancing frontier pushing back the wifderness. However, unlike the United States, "Canada began as a group of small, outpost communities set amidst a menacing continent which could be penetrated, but, unlike the American example, could not be pushed back."12 The wilderness was also a place to be feared. It was the unknown, the home of wild beasts and savage men; a place to be avoided. Forced always to cling to the mother country for security, nature became, for

Recreation Resource Evaluation

17

Canadians, the evil antithesis of all they most cherished in European society: order, security, and above all, civilization. According to Frye, because Canadians did not make the psychological break with Europe through revolution, they could not face the harsh realities of North American nature with the same positive attitude as the Americans. J3 However, there is ample evidence to suggest that early residents of the United States also feared the wilderness. Turner has suggested that in American folklore, in addition to tales of sudden attack and capture, "The only other equally horrifying occurrence was to vanish utterly into the huge maw of the wilderness, leaving no single trace, to be thus lost forever to history."14 At a time when such sentiments abounded the wilderness was not a place to which one would resort for pleasure. According to Davies, an appreciation of wilderness did not begin in the wilderness itself, but rather in the more densely populated centres. IS The wilderness was more likely to be viewed with favour when it was not ever-present; it would only be protected when the myth of abundance was displaced, and wilderness was seen to have a scarcity value. Appreciation of wilderness was partly a reaction against urban living which has been the lot of increasing proportions of Canadians. The artificiality and pressures of city life spawned an informal "back-to-nature" movement. From the mid-1890s to the First World War: One facet of the Canadian attitude towards Nature was positive ... [and] involved the ideas of Nature as a Benevolent Mother capable of soothing city-worn nerves and restoring health. of rejuvenating a phsycially deteriorating race and of teaching lessons no book learning could give; as a Limited Storehouse whose treasures must in the future be treated with greater respect; and as a Temple where one could again find and communicate with Deity.'6

Altmeyer argued that the impetus for the Canadian back-to-nature movement came from three sources: first, from a reaction against urban industrial life; secondly, from the influence of the movement in the United States; and thirdly (and this is highly speculative), from a desire on the part of some eastern urban Canadians to share in some limited way with the national excitement accompanying the opening up of the Canadian West. 17 Thus, it is argued that in response to the changed social and environmental situations in which Canadians found themselves, attitudes towards the wilderness evolved from being dominantly negative to being largely positive in character. These changed attitudes stimulated increase interest and participation in outdoor recreation. Two additional comments are in order concerning attitudes to nature. The two perspectives which have been presented above are generalizations, even stereotypes. They represent dominant perceptions at particular periods of time. In reality, there was considerable variation in views and a gradual change in emphasis between the two. Thus, for instance,

18

G. WALL

Dahl examined the writing of a number of early nineteenth-century authors and identified the existence of both antipathy and appreciation. He suggested that such a feeling of ambivalence is to be expected in a period when attitudes to wilderness were in a state of flux. IS Such changes in attitudes should not be viewed simply as modifications which were indigenous to North America. Rather, they reflected prevailing European attitudes. The first immigrants to North American bought their social, economic and political heritage with them. They had preconceived ideas about nature. Their Judeo-Christian tradition identified wilderness as a wasteland. The story of the Garden of Eden embedded the idea in Western thought that wilderness and paradise were physical and spiritual opposites. Man, as the highest being in the creation, had the privilege and responsibility to use nature for his own ends and improve on its natural state. Taming the wilderness gave purpose and pride to life. As Nash explained: "The driving impulse was always to carve a garden from the wilds; to make an island of spiritual light in the surrounding darkness."19 The stimulus towards wilderness appreciation was primarily an intellectual one with its principal roots in Europe. Romanticism, and associated changes in landscape art, promoted the positive appreciation of wild lands, and gave a fashionable, intellectual base for the appreciation of wilderness. These trends in Europe have been described by Hussey and Moir, and their importation to North America has been examined by Shepard and Nash. 20 The interested reader is referred to these sources for a more detailed examination of the topic.

THE CANADIAN SHIELD

The Shield was among the first Canadian landscapes to be encountered by- Europeans. Although, on its southern margins, it now contains a number of the most noted recreational areas of Canada, it is only relatively recently that tourism and outdoor recreation have become major land uses. Even now it is only the lake margins of the more accessible areas which receive intensive recreational use. The resources of the Canadian Shield were viewed very differently in the past. 21 For the early explorers looking for a route to Cathay, the Shield proved to be an insurmountable barrier. For the Hudson Bay and the Northwest Companies, the Shield provided a rich source offurs and a variety of water routes to facilitate the extension of their operations further to the west. Among over-optimistic governments in both Lower and Upper Canada, who were encouraged by favourable reports by explorers and surveyors,- the Shield represented a vast area of land with agricultural potential with which to attract settlers. Many settlers came with high hopes but soon found that the agricultural potential of the land was not what they had been led to believe. At the same time,

Recreation Resource Evaluation

19

lumbermen were exploiting the timber resources of the area, and at a later date, minerals were taken from part of the Shield, and water power was used to generate electricity. The majority of these resources were exploited prior to the development of the area for recreation, and prevailing attitudes were ones of conquering nature rather than conserving it. The Shield, particularly on its southern margins, was not a true wilderness when it was opened up for recreation, although it could perhaps be regarded as a wilderness in contrast to the cities of the south from which most of the visitors came. However, it is as a wilderness that the Shield has captured the imagination of Canadian artists, particularly the Group of Seven, and the Canadian pUblic. It is a wilderness with considerable recreational potential which is depicted, particularly as traversed by canoe; rather than the modified cottage and resort country which is frequented by most visitors. Nevertheless, the Shield landscape, which formed the primary subject matter of the Group of Seven in their attempt to create a "form of art expression that sincerely interprets the spirit of a nation's growth," was familiar to the majority of Canadians who were resident in Eastern Canada. 22 Milne summed up, in rather abrasive fashion, the link between the Canadian Shield, Tom Thomson and outdoor recreation, when he wrote that: Tom Thomson isn't popular for what aesthetic qualities he showed, but because his work is close enough to representation to get by the average man; besides, his subjects are ones that have pleasant associations for most of us, holidays. rest. recreation. Pleasant associations, beautiful subject, good painting.2J

However, such views may represent a predominantly southern as opposed to a northern perspective. For residents of the southern cities, the Shield is a recreational environment, even a wilderness, which is threatened and which should be retained and conserved. On the other hand, for many residents of the Shield it is primarily a work environment, and only secondarily a recreational environment. [tmay be called by the derogatory term "bush," which is present in abundance, and should be developed. Evaluations of the Shield, therefore, have not only changed through time, they still vary across space.

THE ROCKIES

Sadler has pointed out that what is seen in a landscape depends partly on what is there, partly on who is looking and partly on how the observers interact with the landscape. The psychological reactions we associate with mountains are neither permanent nor universal. 2. The present taste for mountains has only been acquired in the last few centuries and. like the appreciation of wilderness in general. it owes a great deal to the importation of romanticis°m from Europe. A brief

20

G. WALL

history of the European appreciation of mountains has been written by Hyde, and Clark has produced a more wide-ranging history of mountaineering. 2s In the modern popular image, plains are monotonous and unattractive whereas mountains are spectacular and beautiful. However, thoughts and feelings about mountains vary with personal inclination and experience. Each individual has his own characteristic way of looking at and responding to mountains. No two people see the same scenery even when they are standing in the same location; for scenery, strictly defined, is a result of interaction between the observer and the landscape. Some images are shared, others are purely personal and private, and this is true even of landscapes that are buried deep in the collective consciousness. 26 Perception of the landscape varies with location and activity. For example, out on the plains the Rockes provide an abrupt and marked contrast to the seemingly endless prairies; but within the Rockies, perspectives can change rapidly. Much tourist activity in the mountain national parks consist of looking at the landscape from on or near the roadside, whereas the mountaineer interacts with the mountains at a more intimate leveJ.27 However, even though mountaineers are a group with a long-standing interest in the mountains, their r:elationships to the environment have not remained constant. Part of the change in man-mountain interrelationships has resulted from a changing physical environment. For example, the introduction of new roads has given a different configuration to mountaineering possibilties. At the same time, the preferences and attitudes of mountaineers in the Canadian Rockies have been altered by external influences from such cradles of technical and psychic innovation as the European Alps and Yosemite. Modern mountaineering has been characterized by increasingly hard new routes, and old routes climbed under difficult conditions. Gardner has suggested that this has created a tension in the Alpine Club of Canada between those interested primarily in technical climbing and those more interested in understanding and appreciating the environment. He wrote as follows: Serious mountaineering and an empathy with flowers have been incompatible! Within the Club, we have, in microcosm, one of the major paradoxes in values and altitudes that mark the times. Conservation with respect to the physical environment, as characterized by the Canadian Rockies, is regarded as good, whereas conservatism in one's own altitudes and values, in this case with respect to the practice of mountaineering, may be frowned upon. 28

In summary, mountains constitute another landscape which was formerly viewed with fear and now is viewed with favour. At the same time, the history of the Rockes as viewed by mountaineers, indicates that the recreational poten~ial of mountains is assessed differently, even among

Recreation Resource Evaluation

21

members of the same activity group.

THE NORTH

The North is not usually regarded as one of Canada's major tourist destinations although each year a small but increasing number of travellers visit the area. 29 Today, even though tourism is the second most important industry in the North, fewer visitors patronize Nahanni or Kluane National Parks in a year than can be found in a large urban park on a hot sunny afternoon. Originally seen as an inaccessible and hostile part of Canada, tourism was negligible until exploration and development of the North's natural resources created a new awareness of the area. As in the Shield and the Rockies, tourism in the North was preceded by other resource activities and it still depends upon other forms of development to create tourism possibilities in new communities or recently accessed areas. The early visitors were members of the elite who could afford the time and money for the long journey North, but, with the opening of the Alaska Highway in 1948 to unregulated public use, the number of tourists has been steadily increasing. By 1956 they were sufficient in number to warrant the establishment of the Yukon Visitors' Association. In 1962, the Travel and Publicity Branch (later to become the Tourism and Information Branch) of the Yukon Territorial Government took over the functions of promotion. coordination and development of local events. In 1962, the Yukon Territory attracted 40,016 visitors and by 1975 this had risen to 340,108. Visitor expenditures increased from $2,046,258 to $27,338,000 in the same period. Fewer visitors are attracted to the Northwest Territories. In 1962, the number of visitors was approximately 2,200 but this figure had more than tripled by 1970. With the establishment of Kluane, Nahanni and Auyuittuq National Parks in 1972, the Territorial governments felt that the North now had three additional sites with which to attract tourists. However, the economically-based goals of the tourist agencies are not compatible with the objectives of national parks, and recent reports of these agencies have tended to ignore the. potential contribution of the parks to tourism. The Inuit Tapirisat have expressed an interest in the possibilities. of tourism. Bulter produced an excellent review of the range of activities which the Inuit might encourage, and indicated the magnitude of potential impacts of these activities on the environment and on Inuit Iifestyles. 30 Butler made no recommendations but saw his task as providing information to aid the Inuit in their selection of objectives and appropriate means of achieving them. It is worth noting that the native peoples hold very different attitudes to the land from those of the white man and, as in the case of other resources, the exploitation of tourist resour-

22

O. WALL

ces will be impeded until land claims are settled. By 1974, the rate of iQcrease of tourists in the North had slowed, and by 1976, numbers had even declined slightly. Nevertheless, tourism is still being actively promoted. A recent flier of the Ontario Chapter of the Soil Conservation Society of America encouraged members to visit Frobisher Bay for a "day" trip. Participants were to leave Ottawa at 7:00 p.m. and be back by 7:00 a.m. the next morning. They were assured that: During the three hour flight, you'll savour Arctic hospitality; an Arctic char dinner with wine and complimentary drinks ... You'll walk on the tundra and see delicate Arctic flowers. You'll see icebergs and Inuit life in a modem Arctic community. Social, economic and environmental problems will be described to you and you will be free to ask questions. It will be an educational tour. There will be plenty of time, however, for shopping for such items as soapstone and ivory carvings, embroidered hats and mitts, slippers, parkas and wallhangings. The whole tour takes place in the middle of the night, taking advantage of the 24 hours of daylight during the Arctic summer.)1

It remains to be seen if such trips continue to be rare events, or if they become commonplace as tourism becomes more firmly established.

RECREATIONAL RESOURCE EVALUATION

Rational planning of recreational facilities requires a knowledge of the landscape preferences of potential participants and the ability of areas to sustain use on a long term basis. For much of the history of recreational planning, lands have been designated for recreation in the absence of such knowledge. Recent trends in research on recreation have attempted to remedy these deficiences through efforts to develop explicit, and preferably objective, criteria for the assessment of recreational potential. Two of the more prominent research thrusts are landscape evaluation - that is, the measurement of the quality of scenery and carrying capacity - the assessment of the ability of an area to sustain recreational use without an unacceptable alteration in the environment or a deterioration in the quality of the .recreational experience. Mitchell has reviewed the voluminous literature on both of these topics. 22 Marsh produced a useful bibliography on the evaluation of scenery, and a compendium of papers has recently been published on the topic by the United States Department of Agriculture. 33 An annotated bibliography on carrying capacity has been compiled by Stankey and Lime. l4 This is not the place to provide a detailed assessment of the large and growing number of studies on these topics. It is sufficient to state that academic papers and methodologies have proliferated and that widely accepted means of evaluating scenery or carrying capacity have yet to be

Recreation Resource Evaluation

23

devised. This should not be surprising when, as has been shown above, attitudes to the land have changed through time, vary across space, and even differ among participants in the same activity.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper has demonstrated that views of the land of Canada have changed considerably over time. Some of today's major recreational areas, such as the Shield and the Rockies, did not always entice Canadians for recreation but were viewed with fear, as hostile environments to be conquered. They were not places to which one would resort by choice for recreation. It is possible that the Canadian North is currently undergoing a somewhat similar re-evaluation. While it is possible to generalize concerning prevailing attitudes to the land, it should be remembered that people interact with the land as individuals or small groups. Just as one can recognize temporal changes in attitudes towards the land, so sub-groups of the popUlation may have distinctive perspectives. This has been illustrated by reference to differences in orientation among mountaineers, and between residents of the north and south. Such variations make it difficult to derive objective measures of the ability of an area to provide a quality recreational experience or the merits of its secnery. Positive appreciation of wilderness is a relatively recent phenomenon in the history of western civilization and of Canada. At a time when so many people are convinced of the importance of wilderness, it is sobering to think that wilderness appreciation could be little more than the latest fashion in landscape taste! NOTES I. J. W. Watson, "The role of illusion in North American geography: a note on the geography of North American settlement," The Canadian Geographer, 13, I (1969), p. 10. 2. Ibid. 3. E.W. Zimmerman (H.l. Hunker, ed.), Introduction to World Resources (New York: Harper and Row, 1964). 4. Watson, op. cit., p. 14. 5. C.J. Glacken, Traces in the Rhodian Shore (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967). 6. H. Huth, Nature and the American: Three Centuries of Changing Altitudes (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972); R. Nash, Wilderness and the American Mind (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967). 7. R. Nash, "Wilderness and man in North America," in J.G. Nelson and R.C. Scace, eds., The Canadian National Parks: Today and Tomorrow, Studies in Land Use History and Landscape Change, National Park Series No.3 (Calgary: University of Calgary, 1969), pp.66-93.

24

G. WALL

8. E.H. Dahl, Mid forests Wild: A Study of the Concept of Wildnerness in the Writings of Susanna Moodie, J. w'D. ~oodie, Catherine Parr Trai/l and Samuel Strickland, c. 18301855, History Division Paper No.3 (Ottawa: National Museum of Man, 1973); A. Lucas, "Nature writers and the animal story," in C.F. Klinck, ed., Literary History of Canada: Canada's Literature in English, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1965), pp. 364-88; E. Theberge, "The untrodden earth: early nature writing in Canada," Noture Canada, 3, 2 (1974), pp. 30-36; R. Cook, "Landscape painting and national sentiment in Canada," Historical Reflections, 1,2 (1974), pp. 263-83; R. Rees, "Images of the Prairie: landscape painting and perception in the western interior of Canada," Canadian Geogropher, 20, 3 (1974), pp. 259-78; "Landscape in art," in K.W. Butzer,ed. Dimensions of Human Geography: Essays on Some Familiar and Neglected Themes, Research paper 186 (Chicago: Department of Geography, University of Chicago, 1978), pp.48-68. 9. G. Altmeyer, "Three ideas of nature in Canada, 1893-1914." Journal of Canadian Studies, II (1976), pp. 21-36: E. Davies. "The Wilderness Myth" (M.A. thesis, University of British Columbia, 1972); M.B. Kline. View of Nature in Canada and the United States (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1970). 10. J. Foster, Working for Wildlife: The Beginning of Preservation in Canada (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1978): P.L. Aird, "Canada's changing policy of creating nature reserves," in United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Papers Presented to the Symposium on Forests and Wood: Their role in the Environment (Geneva, 1976), pp. 99-109, (supplement 4 to volume 28 of the "Timber Bulletin for Europe"); J.G. Nelson, Canada's Wildlands, Working Paper No.4 (Waterloo: School of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Waterloo, 1979); R. Haig-Brown, "Man tames the wilderness," The Atlantic, 214, 3 (1964), pp. 149-57; R.C. Scace, "The management and use of a Canadian plains oasis: the Cypress Hills public reserves" (Ph.D. thesis, University of Calgary, 1972), Ch. 3; "Western Canadian antecedents to northern conservation reserves," Contact: Journal of Urban and Environmental AI/airs, 8, 4 (1976), p. 3-29. II. Davies, op. cit., p. I. 12. Altmeyer, op. cit., p. 21 13. Frye in ibid. 14. F. Turner, "The terror of wilderness," American Heritage, 28 2 (1977), pp. 59-65. 15. Davies, op. cit., p. 18. 16. Altmeyer, op. cit., p. 22. 17. Ibid., p. 27. 18. Dahl, op. cit., p. 46. 19. Nash, op. cit. 20. Hussey, The Picturesque, Studies in a Point of View, (London: Putman, 1927); E. Moir, The Discovery of Britain: The English Tourists, 1540-J840(London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1964); P. Shepard, Man in the Landscape: A Historic View of the Esthetics ofNature (New York: Ballentine, 1967); Nash, op. cit. 21. For detailed studies of changing attitudes to parts of the Shield, see G. Wall, "Land Use Interrelationships in Nineteenth Century Muskoka" (M.A. thesis, University of Toronto, 1968); "Pioneer settlement in Muskoka," Agricultural History, 44 (1970), pp. 393-400; B. Osborne, "Frontier settlement in Eastern Ontario in the nineteenth century: a study of changing perceptions of land and opportunity," and G. Wall, "Nineteenth century land use and settlement on the Canadian Shield frontier," in D.H. Miller and J.O. Steffen, eds., The Frontier: Comparative Studies (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1977), pp. 201-41; H.E. Parson, "Settlement policy and land evaluation at the turn of the twentieth century in Quebec," Area, 9, 4 (1977), pp. 290-92.

Recreation Resource Evaluation

25

22. G. Woodcock, "There are no universal landscapes," Arts Canada, 222-23 (1978), pp. 37-42. 23. D. Milne, quoted in R. Cook, "Landscape painting and national sentiment in Canada," Historical Reflections, I, 2 (1974), pp. 263-83. 24. B. Sadler, "Mountains as scenery," Canadian Alpine Journal, 57 (1974), pp. 51-53. 25. W. W. Hyde, "The development of the appreciation of mountain scenery in modem times," Geographical Review, 3, 2 (1917), pp. 107-18; R.W. Clark, Men. Myths and Mountains (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1976). 26. Sadler, op. cit. 27. Ibid. 28. J. Gardner, "Environments of change," Canadian Alpine Journal, 55 (1972), pp. 61-62. 29. Much of the information in this section is taken from B. Smale, The Development of Tourism and Its Potential Futures in Canada North of 60 degrees. with Implications for National Parks and Related Reserves, Working Paper No. I (Waterloo: President's Committee on Northern Studies. Univeristy of Waterloo. 1978). 30. R. Butler, The Development of Tourism in the North and Implicationsfor the InUit, Renewable Resources Project Volume 9 (Ottawa: Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, 1975). 31. Soil Conservation Society of America, advertisement, 1979. 32. B. Mitchell, Geography and Resource Analysis (London: Longman, 1979), pp. 144-200. 33. J. Marsh, Scenery Evaluation and Londscape Perception: A bibliography, Exchange Bibliography 304 (Monticello, Illinois: Council of Planning Librarians, 1972); G. Elsner and R.C. Smardon, Our National Londscape. Proceedings of a Conference on Applied Techniques for AnalysiS and Management of the Visual Resource, General Technical Report PSW-35 (Berkeley: Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, United States Department of Agriculture, 1979). 34. G.H. Stankey and D. W. Lime. Recreational Ca"ying Capacity: An Annotated Bibliography, General Technical Report INT-3 (Ogden. Utah: Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. United States Department of Agriculture. 1973).

III. PIONEER RECREATIONS

Pioneer Recreation and Social Life E.C. MORGAN

Beginning in 1951, the Saskatchewan Archives distributed a series of questionnaires to pioneers who settled in the Saskatchewan area prior to, and in a brief period following, the formation of the province. The questionnaire dealing with pioneer recreation and social life, completed by 287 of these early settlers, provides us with an insighi into the means used to offset the hardship and loneliness which faced them. From their replies it is evident that the pioneers did not neglect to seek diversions from the drudgery of pioneer existence. "They seemed," writes William R. Allin of Eigenheim, I "to keep the saying in mind 'If work interferes with pleasure, cut out the work'." When Charles Davis settled in Whitewood in 1882, there were perhaps twelve homes within a radius of six miles, and out of these, six were homes of bachelors. Clarence D. Zeller writes that on his arrival in the Keithville district, in the Swift Current area, there were only four homes near enough for him to visit, one being that of a bachelor settler. Thus, in such sparsely settled communities, it is not surprising that visitors were always welcome. Visiting habits, of course, varied with the individual. John Laidlaw of Grenfell reports that he did not visit often, while Robert Sanderson of Indian Head says that his family hardly ever visited in the summer, and about every two weeks in the winter. Still others visited on the average of once a week. Formality was at a minimum in the early days, and stranger and friend alike were trusted. Doors were always left unlatched and often, if the caller found no one at home, he would light a fire and prepare a meal from the homeowner's supplies. People did not wait for invitations, and although visits may have been infrequent, callers were, according to Frank Wright of the Keithville district, welcome at "anytime." Sunday does seem to have been the favourite day for visiting although some, like Mrs. Marion Anderson of Moosomin, were not allowed to visit on Sunday, as her Methodist mother disapproved of it, This paper was previously published in Saskatchewan History. 18. 2 (1965), pp. 41-54.

27

28

E. MORGAN

though "Mother could· go to visit the sick on the Lord's Day." The pioneer was not one to stand on ceremony. "People never invited anyone," states Mrs. Richard Miles of Edenwold. Perhaps the informality was due in part to the lack of telephone communication. As Mrs. Marion Anderson says, ..It wasn't easy to send word." If you were visiting when mealtime rolled around it was then taken for granted that you would stay, according to Victor C. McCurdy, a Moosomin pioneer, and according to John McCloy of Prince Albert, "to refuse was considered an insult." The variety in wording an invitation to a meal is interesting. In her home at McGuire, Mrs. John C. Knaus says it was "Sit down and have a snack," while their American neighbours would say, "Have some dinner," and the English settlers would say "Do have some tea with us." A familiar expression to many of our informants was "take potluck," while just as many said that they had never heard it used in pioneer days. The invitation to "sit in" was very common, as was "pull up your chair." In Mrs. Crista I Fern Hackett's home at Gainsborough a visitor would be welcomed by "I'm glad you came in time to get your name in the pot," while in mock apology Mrs. D.A. Moorhouse of Wallard, might have said, "Stay for dinner, if we can stand it all the time, surely you can stand it once." A bachelor, on the other hand, might have apologized by issuing the challenge to "sit up and don't pass your opinion on the tack," according to Charles Davis of North Battleford. In between meals there was always the "inevitable" cup of tea and a bite of something to eat, reports Mrs. J. Keys of Wolseley, while according to James McGuirl of Moosomin, coffee made from roasted wheat would sometimes be substituted for tea. However, Alfred Mann of Venn states that if no meal were served, there was just "a water pail." Hospitality was widespread in the early days. Mrs. H.J. Kenyon of Pheasant Forks says that "come anytime you can was the motto of the times." and C. Evans Sargent of Garfield demonstrates the truth of this in describing a personal experience: ""I recollect," writes Mr. Sargent, "as Secretary-Treasurer of the rural municipality, having to make a seizure and attach nearly everything a man had on the place. As I finished putting up the notice he came out. "We are just sitting down to supper - you better come in and have a bite to eat with us." I knew if I refused I would otTend him far more than by making the seizure, and we had a perfectly happy meal." The friendly spirit exhibited around the table was shown in all other areas of early pioneer life. Whenever work needing extra help had to be done, the pioneers helped one another. Houses and barns were raised. quilts made, and wells dug by means of "bees." A bee was also a social event, for it presented the women with the much-relished opportunity of "getting together, no less than it did the men. While the men worked. the ladies would not be idle, for there were quilts to be sewn, and meals to

Pioneer Recreations

29

be prepared. Often a bee would be organized to a~sist a sick neighbour by sowing or harvesting his crop, and there was almost always a bee for building a settler's first small sod, log, or frame shack or barn. In addition to these more familiar purposes, bees were also held for soapmaking, states Clarence D. Zeller, for logging, writes George Hartwell of Pheasant Forks and for buzz-sawing wood, according to Mrs. Percy Hansford of Mullingar. When a log building was being raised, Lawrence Kelly, a Rocanville pioneer, informs us that "good corner men were in demand, and there was rivalry to ~ee who could put up the best corner." When time permitted, card parties and dances helped to break the monotony of pioneer life. Pedro, five hundred rummy, euchre, and cribbage were the most popular card games, while old maid and snap were played by those who would not use the standard playing cards. Waltzes, squares, one step, two step, circle two step, three step, seven step, polkas, lancers and the quadrille were the dances favoured in all communities, while in the Ukrainian settlement at Fenwood, the waltz, koloneyko and kozaks were also popular.2 Typically, dances were held in whichever home was large enough to accommodate the crowd. In most districts no formal schedule was adhered to, but Louis Demay of St. Brieux tells us that "there was a tacit turn-about, but nothing on schedule." The surprise party was a favourite. "There was no definite time," writes Mrs. H.J. Kenyon of Pheasant Forks, "but we had a party about once a month, the family chosen was not told we were coming. . . . Everybody went, old and young, no age limit." Because of a shortage of women, dances sometimes took on a special character. David H. Maginnes of Baldwinton remembers going to one dance about 1908 when there were thirty men present and only three women .. "We danced," he says, "until the women got tired," and Charles Vavra of Scott recalls many dances at which there were only four or five women at the dance and from twenty to thirty men. There were, Mr. Vavra says, "lots of men dancing together." In many communities, religious beliefs helped determine the type of entertainment. Dancing and card playing were enjoyed by most families, yet many shunned them. The Baptists and the Methodists frowned on either activity. C. Evans Sargent writes: "I spent a winter around Fiske where the community was split on the subject of dancing. To the Methodists it was anathema; Presbyterians danced and Anglican clergy joined in the dance with their congregations." According to Mrs. George Brown Jameson of Melfort, "It was frowned upon by those of the Methodist faith. The Presbyterians tolerated it, and the Anglicans enjoyed their card games." Generally, those who did not wish to dance or play cards would stay away, or sit it out and visit, and arguments would be avoided. Occasionally, however, differing beliefs would bring open conflict, as in the

30

E. MORGAN

Roseray district where, according to Mrs. Robert Thompson, "A couple of 'them' tried to stop a dance one night by getting into the school and barricading the door," but she continues, "it didn't work." While at Togo, states Sidney Stewart May, "the German Lutherans objected to both, and would burn any cards taken into their homes." After the school was built, it usually replaced the home as the centre of social life. According to Mrs. D.A. Moorhouse, the school at Wallard was used for "Dances, box socials (how I remember them and the first old relic I drew as a partner when I was 14), fowl suppers, plays, public debates, picnics, Christmas trees, Church and Sunday School, funerals, and public meetings." However, in isolated instances the school was not used for such activities. Mrs. James S. Entwhistle of Wauchope writes that "School was for the children to be taught in, not for playing," Mrs. Richard Miles of Edenwold states that "All of our social life continued to emanate from our church," and sometimes, as in the case of the largely Methodist community of Hillburn, the trustees, according to Mr. William Evans, did not allow the school to be used for dances or card parties. With the advent of community halls, the school was usually replaced by the hall as the focal point of social life. This was, however, not always the case. If the hall was located in a village or town, distance would often dictate that the rural school remain the scene of most social activites. Most of the community halls were of log or frame construction, but a surprising number were built of brick, the latter being a feature of some of the larger towns. The town of Estevan erected a brick hall, measuring 90 x 40 feet about 1912,3 and the town of Arcola built a brick hall with a seating capacity of over three hundred in 1905. 4 Funds for building a hall were usually raised by the sale of shares or from contributions. The Grain Growers at Red Deer Hill, sold shares to members at $5.00 each, to construct in 1916 a frame hall measuring 24 x 30 feet. s The Orangemen built a 24 x 50 frame hall at Summerberry in 1888, and this hall was also financed by selling shares. 6 At Ladstock, the settlers organized a bee, in 1915, to construct a log hall measuring 20 x 40 feet.' As we have noted, there was little attempt at formality in the early days. "Swank" was even less prevalent, and what there was of it was looked down on. As Frank Baines of Crescent Lake put it, "Any who attempted to introduce such follies were laughed to death in the early stages of the disease." Harry Bate states that there was the odd "swanker" in-the Belle Plaine district, and Mrs. John Cameron says that in the village of Findlater, "Just one lady swanked, and she was a headache and a heartache to the rest of us." Charles Davis stated that it existed in North Battleford to some extent and explained its presence by saying that "such ailments always hit the weakest." Swank was prevalent for a time in the Rocanville district according to Robert W. Widdess.

Pioneer Recreations

31

"Calling cards especially," writes Mr. Widdess, "Two were left, one for the husband, whether he was there or not, and one for the wife." It apparently did not exist in the Venn district at all, for Alfred Mann writes that there, "Gloves were only used to spare blisters." One of the more popular diversions in many communities was the charivari. Indeed, in most communities it was the rare couple who were not "shivareed." The usual procedure was for a crowd to gather in a body at a nearby rendezvous with every noise-making device they could think of. Then, when the lights had gone out, the fun-makers would surround the house, banging on pots and pans, ringing cowbells, and firing off guns until the newly-weds would awaken and invite them in. Lunch would then be served, and dancing, card playing, or other games would last until the small hours of the morning. Often, however, the fun-makers would get carried away, and the party would get a little rough. "Sometimes," according to Clarence D. Zeller, "the groom had to ride the rail, or was put into a pig crate," while at another, "Pigs were put into the kitchen and the groom shot at the people who had gathered," states Mrs. Eva L. Mitchell of Weyburn. Incidents such as these caused the charivari to lose favour in many communities. Indeed, according to Mrs. Whyte, one charivari in the Indian Head district "almost proved fatal when the old mother of the groom shot the collar button off of one man's shirt, nicking his throat." Needless to say, the crowd soon got out of there. On occasion, however, the charivari served a useful purpose as is demonstrated by the description of one attended by Mrs. P.H. Bailey of Turner: "We had one, an English bride on a homestead far from neighbours. A sleigh load went taking lunch for a party afterwards. This bride was on the point ofleaving owing to loneliness, but after one visit she decided to stay." Still, in other communities the charivari was not indulged in at all. Mrs. James Stilborne of Pheasant Forks writes, "I never heard the word, until I went to Regina to school in 1899," and D.H. Maginnes of Baldwinton states that "This did not arise in our community and would have been severely frowned upon if anyone had tried it." As settelment grew, social activities began to become organized on a more formal basis. Social, fraternal, and self-help organizations began to come to the fore in every community. An early organization in Maple Creek was the Royal Templars, dedicated to social and temperance work, which made its appearance in 1895. 8 The Patrons of Industry, having as its aim the "finding of better marketing conditions for the farmers' produce," was the first organization in the district of Pheasant Forks. 9 The Epworth League was organized at Gainsborough in 1910 to provide "a social hour and religious training;"'O while at St. Brieux, a branch of the Association Catholique Franco Canadienne de la Saskatchewan was formed in 1914 to promote the incorporation of the French language into the school curriculum. I I Political enthusiasts were also

32

E. MORGAN

active in pioneer days. Victor C. McCurdy tells us that the first organization at Moosomin was the Conservative Association, which was formed Uto keep Sir John A. Macdonald in power," while at Rocanville, according to Robert W. Widdess, the Liberal Association was formed in 1896, "to whip the Tories." Another early organization to be found in many communities was the Homemakers' Club. The activities of the Mantario and Kelvinhurst clubs are representative of all branches. uThe Mantario Homemakers' Club," according to C. Evans Sargent, "was organized March 5, 1913, and claims to be the oldest continuous such club in the province. There were nine charter members. Its efforts included a library, picnics, Red Cross work, school fairs and contributions to worthy organizations." Mrs. P. Reesor writes that the Kelvinhurst club formed in 1915, with a membership of 15, had as its aims, "helping the unfortunate and adopting new ways and plans whereby homemaking could be improved." Many other organizations such as the Orange Lodge, Masons, Oddfellows, Rebeccas, Eastern Star, agricultural and literary societies also made early appearances. The means by which these organizations raised money are quite familiar. Fowl suppers, collection~, plays, dances, lodge fees, tea parties, bazaars, concerts, raffles, box. oecials, and sports days were all resorted to, but the most common met! "Jd, according to Robert Roycroft of Shaunavon, was to "dig down in the blue jeans, and cough up." On occasion, the community would be treated to magic lantern shows, general information lectures, and speeches by some of the more prominent politicians of the day. Lantern slides, showing scenes of California and the Souih Seas, are still vividly remembered by Robert W. Widdess. Earl Prosser of Amelia, states that magic lantern shows dealing with Biblical lands and missionary work were frequent there about 1918, and were shown by the Methodist miniser; while Herbert C. Gallaway of Estevan recalls the Saskatchewan Grain Elevators holding magic lantern shows on grain handling, about 1892. Mrs. Marion Anderson of Moosomin remembers the crowds flocking to hear Nicholas Flood Davin and Nellie McClung, while William R. Allin mentions the visits of politicians such as "Charlie" Dunning, J.T.M. Anderson, John Bracken, and "Jimmy" Gardiner. From the answers of our informants, it is evident that the summer games of the young fry have altered little over the years. The boys favoured baseball, football, marbles, kites, tug-of-war, hide-and-goseek, and horseshoes, the latter perhaps being a victim of progress. The girls enjoyed skipping rope, playing house, dolls, tag, hop scotch, and ring around the rosy. In the winter, most of the recreational activity centred within the home. Many of our respondents stated that the winters were usually too severe for outside sports, although some families like that of Frank

Pioneer Recreations

33

Baines, "gave much attention to trapping and hunting for skins." When games were played outside, snowballs, fox and hounds, skating, toboganning held the spotlight. In some homes, the whole family would join in such well-known games as authors, flinch, snap, checkers, chess, crokinole, old maid, nations, tiddley winks, and dominoes. Often, however, the parents would leave games to the children, for, as Mrs. E.M. Johns of Henribourg put it, "Mother and father had exercise enough." The big event of the year was the picnic, and the sports day which superseded it in many instances; church picnic, school picnic, lodge picnic, community picnic - all were well attended. The favourite sports were baseball, association football, horse races, tug-of-war, horseshoes, wrestling, and a variety of foot races. Most of the pioneers had no difficulty in recalling outstanding features of the first or other early picnic they attended. At the first community picnic in Golden Valley, now Eyre, in 1912, the big event was the ox-race with fifteen entrants. "It took some time," writes C. Evans Sargent, "to mount the riders and get them in line for starting. At first the oxen would hardly move. Then a couple of gadflies interested themselves in the proceedings, and the whole bunch bolted and disappeared in a cloud of dust over the hills ... nowhere near the finish line." John McChesney of Lintlaw, in recalling the first bronco-busting contest he had ever seen, says that as a lover of horses he thought it a cruel sport. However, he continued, "shortly we were in the saddle ourselves shouting yippie-ie-ia, and enjoying the sport immensely, when we didn't come down to pull grass." For Mr. Richard H. Loyns, a Lac Vert pioneer, the most vivid recollection was the football game delayed for an hour, after the hatpin of a woman spectator punctured the ball, which had come in contact with her head. In recalling the first picnic that he attended, on July I, 1909, David H. Maginnes tells us that "the only band was the prairie land (frogs) with mosquitoes taking the high notes." Norman McDonald of Earlswood remembers that "there was always a procession of Orangemen, led by an old-timer representing King William, riding his white horse," while Mrs. George S. Tucker of Craik recalls as being unforgettable the "two rude little girls, with arms locked, running around singing, 'Swedie, Swedie, such a straw, can't say anything but yah, yah, yah''', and the "two very embarrassed Swedish lads in the picnic group." C. Evans Sargent recalls another humorous incident at one of the early picnics he attended. "When," Mr. Sargent writes, "the national anthem was struck-up at the close, the Americans quite innocently sang 'My Country Tis of Thee," while Britishers put all they had into 'God Save the King.' As the last note died away a stentorian Lancashire voice announced, 'dead heat'!" Charles Davis of North Battleford took a nostalgic look at the past to describe what to him remains the outstanding feature of the early picnic. "It was," Mr. Davis says, "the fortitude of the people. Their neighbourliness, comradeship, and initiative. . ..

34

E. MORGAN

Again and again, that promise of next year, trusting in Providence. Those were invincible features written on the tablets of the hearts of those picnickers of long ago. Impressive? Yes!" Lemonade, tea, coffee, sandwiches, cake, cookies, cold meats, salads and sometimes fried chicken were typical items on the picnic bill offare. But it was apparently feast or famine, for according to Clarence D. Zeller, "in one tough year, we all brought gophers' fried hind legs." The most popular team sports in the early days were cricket, lacrosse, association football, and hockey. The first team organized for intercommunity rivalry in Preece ville, says Wellwood S. Rattray, was for cricket, which however died out in a few years. At Tyner it was for football, the team winning the territorial championship about 1898. 12 In most communities, however, football seems to have yielded to baseball by the end of World War One, and according to Fred Baines, baseball held sway in the Crescent Lake district from the 1890's on. In the winter months curling and hockey predominated. Whitewood had an indoor rink, which served for both curling and hockey as early as 1901,13 while Moosomin replaced its outdoor rink, which had been constructed in 1887, with an indoor rink for skating and hockey in 1890. 14 Dr. Roy Brownridge tells us that the first indoor rink in Broadview was built in 1908, but as it had posts down the middle it could not be used for hockey, but for skating only. Few of the old-timers claimed fame for local athletes, but when they did, hockey players were those most frequently mentioned. Mrs. Ellen W. Hubbard states that Brian Hextall, who distinguished himself with the New York Rangers, was a Grenfell boy; Richard H. Loynes of Lac Vert, cited Bill and Bun Cook, the famous brothers of the New York Rangers. Elmer Lach, the Montreal Canadians star was mentioned by Mrs. Samuel Stoltz of Nokomis, and Mrs. Eva Howlett of Milestone listed Garth Boesch, who went on from the 1941 Allan Cup winners, the Regina Rangers, to play defence for the Toronto Maple Leafs. On the distaff side, Mrs. Edmund McKenzie of Swift Current mentions Dorothy McKenzie Walton, who held the world's badminton and the Canadian tennis championships. To most pioneers, almost any kind of reading material was greatly prized. A few of them stated they could not afford to bring any reading material, but the majority of these settlers brought at least a few books with them, and a few brought quite extensive libraries. All those who said they brought books listed the Bible. Among other titles often recurring in the questionnaires were Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and works of Shakespeare, Dickens and Scott, Macaulay's History of England, and the Book of Common Prayer. In explaining why he had not brought any reading material Robert Roycroft said, "I had all I could do to bring myself," while to some people other matters were more important than reading. William Kennedy of Fort Qu'Appelle

Pioneer Recreations

35

writes that "knowing where a drink could be had was a more important item, with many. Prohibition was on the statute books, and the country was supposed to be so dry that the poor toads came nearly forgetting how to swim:' Personal libraries were supplemented by newspapers and magazines. The Family Herald and Weekly Star, the Farmer's Advocate, the Nor' West Farmer, and Grain Growers Guide, the latter two merging into the Country Guide, could be found in most homes, while foreign-language publications such as Der Courier and Le Patriote de rouest were in demand in such communities as Edenwold and St. Brieux. The Winnipeg Free Press and the Montreal Witness were also widely read; and in addition, people would often receive bundles of outdated newspapers from the "Old Country" or Eastern Canada. As time passed many changes were made in SUbscriptions. Magazines and periodicals such as Maclean's, Reader's Digest, Chatelaine, and the Ladies Home Journal gained wide circulation, and daily newspapers such as the Regina Leader and the Saskatoon Phoenix superseded many of the weeklies, as people became more prosperous. But such stand-bys as the Family Herald and Weekly Star continued in popularity. Often there was a special reason for dropping a subscription. Charles Vavra of Scott stopped subscribing to United States papers because "they did not favour Saskatchewan as a land of opportunity." Miss Gladys Saloway of Halyconia said her father discontinued the Winnipeg Free Press "for its attitude to the Grain Growers." Richard H. Loyns also stopped the Free Press because "its rank politics offered nothing for the farmer," and Nick Korpach of Fenwood changed to the Ukrainian Voice because of the lower subscription rate. The majority of pioneers found the lack of reading material a definite hardship. Mrs. Russell E. Purdy, a Wascana pioneer, says that her family often wished for quicker news during such incidents as the Riel Rebellion and "Chinese" Gordon's campaign in Egypt, while Tom Evans of Lashburn says that an insufficiency of reading material made Eaton's catalogue the most frequently read book of them all. However, some settlers did not miss reading at all .• George Pocklington of Foam Lake stated that he had "too little time to read during the day, and was far too tired at night." Victor C. McCurdy, Moosomin pioneer, just wanted to play baseball and hockey, while William Kennedy says "never. It is not the amount of reading that counts so much as the amount of thinking." In many communities, personal libraries and subscribed material were further supplemented by travelling, school, or public libraries. After 1915, writes Mrs. Kathleen Roth of Cressman, the Travelling Library was located in Poplar Park School, while in Paynton, the Homemakers' Club had the Travelling Library books for years, following 1913. John Evans tells us that a school library was established in the

36

E. MORGAN

Evansdale School near Floral in 1893, and Mrs. Ellen W. Hubbard states that a school library was opened in Grenfell in 1908. Sometimes the parents would read the books from the school library, as well as their children's text books. According to George Shepherd of Stalwart, "some parents improved their English by doing just that," and Mrs. John R. Cameron, Findlater pioneer, believes that "in a good many cases the school children educated their parents." The town of Estevan opened its public library in 1916 1s and the Swift Current library began operation in 1918.'6 In many of the smaller communities, elevator companies operated public libraries for a time, as in Kelvinhurst where the Western Grain company kept a library in the agent's office}? Another favourite diversion in pioneer life was music. The range of musical instruments brought west is astounding, and most of these homes had an instrument of one kind or another. Accordions, violins, mandolins, pianos, organs, cornets, autoharps, zithers, harmonicas, banjoes, concertinas, and flutes were mentioned, and most of the pioneers purchased additional instruments following their arrival. Singing and instrumental music played a prominent part in both home and community life. According to Arthur J. Wheeler, a Ladstock pioneer, "most of the music was at dances, most of the singing at prayer meetings." Margaret G.M. Smith states that in Prince Albert "there were lots of musical concerts, sacred concerts, group singing, and instrumentals at parties and community gatherings." The picture was much the same in every community. Hymns, including those ofSanky and Moody, were a feature of Sunday evenings in many homes. In the secular field all of Stephen Foster's hits were great favourites, and other titles which recur in the questionnaire include "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree," "When You and I were Young, Maggie," "When You Wore a Tulip," "Home on the Range," "The Miner's Dream of Home," and such Scotch favourites as "Annie Laurie," "[ Love a Lassie," "Bonnie Doon," and "The Bonnie, Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond." Folk songs were popular in isolated instances. French songs were popular in the community of S1. Antoine,ls and Ukrainian songs were favoured in the Ukrainian community at Fenwood.'9 Novelty songs such as "Please Don't Throw the Lamp Out Mother, You Will Only Waste the Oil," "I Wish I Were Single Again," "Old Macdonald Had a Farm," "We've Reached the Land of Frozen Wheat, Where Nothing Grows for Man to Eat," "The Grasshopper Song" sung to the tune of "John Brown's Body," and the "How do You Do Song" were also widely sung. Original songs and parodies on old tunes were sometimes made up as a joke on a particular individual. Miss Gladys M. Saloway says that she did not make up songs about anyone, but that she knew someone who did and, "they got into lots of trouble." Another vehicle for musical talent was the local band. Parades were popular, and bands were in demand at lodge and political meetings,

Pioneer Recreations

37

fairs, and picnics. Mrs. Eliza Jane Hales says that a band organized at Moose Mountain in 190 I played at most of the important civic functions. In Rocanville, according to Lawrence V. Kelly, the Reverend J.J. Martin organized a band which continued for many years. This band was equipped with all the wind instruments and drums, and dressed in uniform, it played once a week from an open-air bandstand. As to the relative importance of music in the community, then and now, the old-timers were very definitely split. Those who said it was less important now, blamed the decline on the radio, the phonograph, the automobile, and the theatre. Just as many thought it was more important, and credited the growing interest to the increase of musical activity in the church and the school, and the availability of more and bettertrained instructors. Wilfred S. Fawell of Girvin probably comes closest to the truth in saying that "music is about the same, but there was more singing in the early days." A few of the old timers found time to pursue a hobby of one kind or another. Some, like Frank Baines, collected hammers, scrapers, knives and stone axes which they found while working the land, while like many other prairie folk, Mrs. D.A. Moorhouse collected old licence plates. W.F. Hargarten of Bruno collected stamps, giving as his reason that he got an education from the "history and geography depicted on these little squares of paper." A few people kept diaries or made notes on the arrival of birds, or on the weather. John Woodward of Hinchliffe kept records on weather for forty-one years, but says "My partner pertinently remarks, 'I never made any difference to the weather by all that writing'" However, many pioneers were not inclined to take up a hobby. David H. Maginnes says that he never saw anything on the prairie to collect and adds the following anecdote: "Met a bunch of Indians once, who asked me where I lived. I told them all about it. Comment: 'White man damn fool." They were just about right." Alfred Mann of Venn listed his special interest as "just survival," while William H. Gange of Red Deer Hill says that his hobby for many years was "grubbing out trees and clearing land." The old-timers who completed this questionnaire are representative of the pioneers who, with steadfastness, integrity, and courage conquered this "last, best west." Despite a feeling of nostalgia their answers reflect their confidence in the country's future. C. Evans Sargent seems to speak for all of them when he writes: "While old-timers regret the disappearance of the happy community good-fellowship of the pioneer days, it would be unfair and unwise to overlook the many advantages now available that the pioneer did not have ... what has gone is the feeling of general equality; of belonging to one another ... the sociability which we have exchanged for a fuller but more commercialized life."

38

E. MORGAN

NOTES I. In this and all other references the address given is the pioneer address of the contributor.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Mr. Nick Korpach. Fenwood. Mr. Herbert G. Gallaway. Estevan. Mrs. Peter McLellan. Clare. Mr. William H. Gange. Red Deer Hill. Mr. John Laidlaw. Grenfell. Mr. Arthur J. Wheeler. Ladstock. It Mr. Alfred Lyman Dixon. Maple Creek. 9. Mrs. James Stilborne. Pheasant Forks. 10. Mrs. Cristal Fern Hackett. Gainsborough. II. Mr. Louis Demay. St. Brieux. 12.. Mrs. John W. Thomas. Tyner. 13. Mr. Charles Davis. Whitewood. 14. Mr. James McGuirl. Moosomin. 15. Mr. Herbert G. Gallaway. Estevan. 16. Mrs. Maud Brunyee. Saskatchewan landing. 17. Mrs. Elizabeth McLuhan. Kelvinhurst. 18. Mrs. Jean B. Paradis. St. Antoine. 19. Mr. Nick Korpach. Fenwood.

, "Canoein g in Banff Nationa l Pa rk duri ng the 1923 nood" (C redit: Peter a nd Ca th a rine Whyte Foundation. Archives of the Canlldian Rockies. Banff, Alberta)

Public Provision of Rural Recreation Oppo rtunities "TIle Ba sins. Sulphur . Springs. Banff. circa 1900" (Credit: PA3 l557/ Public Archives Ca na dn)

IV. PUBLIC PROVISION OF RURAL RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES

Canada's National Parks: Past, Present and Future J.G. NELSON

The land use ideas, policies and practices embodied in the concept of the national park are complex and difficult to define readily. Moreover, they have changed through time and even now are in flux among administrators, planners, politicians, conservationists and other citizens. Studies of land-use history and landscape change in the Canadian national parks therefore seem useful and timely as a means of improving general understanding, identifying important trends or forces for change, and assessing their implications for the future. Such studies also can lead to recommendations which will reduce the loss of land-use options and flexibility so important for the needs of tomorrow. Much of the present sutdy is based on information pertaining to the western Canadian national parks, little scholarly attention having been paid to those in the east.

DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL PARKS

The idea of the national park originated in the United States where the first park, Yellowstone, was established in 1872. Since that time similar public reserves have been established in most countries of the world. Several basic threads have led to their development, particularly in North America, these being an interest, first, in the preservation and protection of nature or wilderness; second, in planning for the recreational and aesthetic needs of the people; and third, in income from businesses associated with the national parks. We can begin with the last two threads or influences as these were especially important up to about the first decade of the twentieth century in both the United States and Canada, as well as other countries such as New Zealand.

This paper was previously published in Canadian Geographical Journal, 86 ( 1973), pp. 69-89.

41

42

J.G. NELSON

INFLUENCE OF THE ARCHITECT AND PLANNER

In his book Nature and the American, Hans Huth traces the influence of the landscape architect and urban or regional planner on recreation and parks in general. Huth points out that early recreation in North American cities was a rather haphazard affair at least as far as the provision of public land was concerned. For most citizens access to the countryside by foot or carriage apparently was not too difficult. Many people lived close to the fringe of the relatively small cities and towns. Others found their recreation in yards, courts, or commons, or picnicked or walked along river banks or the wide boulevards built to beautify cities such as Philadelphia or Washington, to make them rivals of distant envied places such as Paris. As early cities grew to include thousands of people, and as over the years these folk died, it became necessary to consolidate many small scattered burial plots into large urban cemeteries, precursors of those we are familiar with today. These early cemeteries were often well landscaped and maintained, presenting expanses of green lawn, bush and trees, that became the focus of various kinds of recreation. Thousands of people used such sites, spring, summer and fall, in the eastern United States in the 1830s and I 840s. New York appears to have been one of the first of the large cities to concern itself with the specific provision of public land for recreational or park purposes. The term, park, seems to have been derived from England and the Old World where it was used to refer to the faunal and floral reserves of the nobles. In New York architects such as Frederic Law Olmstead began to plan and promote similar parks, although without much apparent emphasis on deer or other animals, but rather more on greenery for the people. The fight for such parks was not an easy one, apparently being fought with uneven success throughout the I 820s, 1830s and 1840s against those interested in more commercial land uses. Similar efforts presumably were made in Canadian cities such as Toronto, but little research seems to have been done on these and we know little about them. Eventually the efforts in New York and other eastern North American cities resulted in some success, an example being Central Park. Olmstead later moved to San Francisco where he and others worked on the idea of large regional parks which would have roads, picnic sites, campsites and other facilities for citizens of growing urban areas such as San Francico, but where large natural areas would give vegetation, animals and landscape some protection against lumbering, fire, extensive sheep grazing and other cultural activities, that were changing the face of the foothills and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In 1862 this interest in regional parks culminated in the establishment of Yosemite Park, a State of California recreation and conservation reserve that foreshadowed many of the concepts embodied in the first

Canada's National Parks

43

national parks, and eventually became one later in the century. In ensuing years many architects and planners, as well as citizens in general, worked to promote and protect Yosemite as a park in this sense and also to encourage the development of similar parks elsewhere. But it is probably fair to say that in "these early efforts, and to a large extent in later ones, the architects have been chiefly interested in the vista, the image, the view, the scenery. Their emphasis has been on a landscape appealing to the eye rather more than the ear, the nose or other senses. And, unlike many so-called conservationists, they have not been adverse to manipulating the trees and the hills, to create the image that they wanted: that indeed being the purpose and practice of their profession. This led to less concern about indigenous vegetation or the protection of "pristine" environments than was later true with the more spiritually or biologically oriented preservationists or conservationists.

INFLUENCE OF THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF NATIONAL PARKS

The second major thread leading to national parks was an economic one which became much more important after the construction of the transcontinental railroads in western North America in the 1860s, 1870s, 1880s and 1890s. These routes crossed vast areas with very low populations, yielding little income to the often precarious treasuries of the railroads. The companies therefore searched vigorously for resources that would raise funds from "empty areas." They soon seized on the scenery, the mountains, the forests, the great rivers, and the hot springs. When parks such as Yellowstone and Glacier began to emerge in the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s, the railroads built lines to them and constructed hotels and other facilities in and near them. They attempted to attract tourists from all over the world, sometimes to their embarrassment, as, for example, when a group of Yellowstone visitors were surprised by hundreds of Nez Perce Indians being pursued by an American army wishing to force the natives into a reserve. Image-building and advertising began early and has remained a vibrant part of railroad and other business operations related to the parks. Today one hears of package ski tours to Banff and Jasper. In the early days the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) hired photographers such as Thompson of Vancouver to portray the grandeur of the mountains. Post cards of the 1890s and early 1900s, in the British Columbia Archives in Victoria, show burned forests whose bleached and blackened spars have been tinted red or yellow, in an attmept to create a more attractive scene. Interest in Banff Park appears to have begun with the discovery of the hot springs which were seen as potentially offering great "sanitary" or health advantages to people. The CPR and the federal government

44

J.O. NELSON

entered a kind of partnership designed to develop the hot springs area and attract visitors to the Canadian west. The original 1885 reserve at Banff was ten square miles, but by about 1900 the government had extended the boundaries to the Rocky Mountain foothills, encompassing an area greater than the present park, the size later being cut down to its present approximately 2,600 square miles to allow for the development of limestone mining and other economic enterprises. Banff townsite itself, contrary to common opinion, did not develop from an early pre-park railway siding but was a planned community, a spa in the European tradition, providing amenities to persons taking the hot baths or enjoying the mountains. Glacier National Park originally was·a forest reserve on the rail route through the difficult Rogers Pass across the high Selkirk Mountains of B.C. The summit of the pass is set amidst high mountains aDd glaciers, rich in snow much of the year, and an avalanche spawning ground then and now. The Selkirks were particularly attractive to climbers and alpinists whose visits encouraged the establishment of trails, alpine huts and other facilities - and vice versa. Many more sedentary tourists simply stayed a day or so in the now moribund hotel near the summit of the pass, watching a chained grizzly bear, strolling in the gardens, or walking a few miles along paths close to the lodge. The writings of many of these visitors refer to the mountains in religious or pseudo-religious tones. The peaks were inspiring, dangerous, close to God and a reminder of His power and achievements. The interest of the railways has continued to the present, although the activities of the CPR and other companies seem to have peaked in the years 1910 to about 1930. The automobile became increasingly important after 1910, bringing visitors to Banff and other parks from nearby centres such as Calgary, and with time, from more distant North American cities; an extensive road network was built in many of the parks, the route across the Vermillion Pass and the main ranges of the Rockies being finished in the early 1920s and others such as the north-south Banff-Jasper scenic route in 1939. More entrepreneurs began to move into the parks to promote recreation and derive a living from the trade. Government continued to assist by paying for or subsidizing a variety of services including water supply facilities, garbage disposal, police and the like, in order to develop the national parks and protect businessmen from the seasonal vagaries of tourism which were quite strong in early days. INFLUENCE OF INTEREST IN PRESERVATION OR PROTECTION OF NATURE OR WILDNERNESS

The third basic thread behind the national parks is interest in preservation or protection of nature or wilderness, where the latter term embo-

Canada's National Parks

45

dies a concern for the land as it was before the coming of Eurpean culture and technology. The wilderness idea developed earlier in the United States than Canada, where it seemingly appeared only rarely and then usually in the contained and conservative way that has been typical of Canadian reaction to romantic or aesthetic ideas. Not so in the United State where, according to Nash in his Wilderness and the American Mind, the wilderness idea became a nineteenth-century American attempt to establish identity vis-A-vis Europe. The Old World had cities and culture. America had the grandeur of the untrammelled land, the wilderness. Early proponents of wild America spread their message with voice, pen and brush. Travellers and artists such as the former Philadelphia lawyer, George Catlin, saw the Indian, the animals and the landscape as part of a worthy and desirable whole, and called for their preservation and protection in a public reserve as early as the 1830s. Imagine them, he wrote, "as they might in future be seen (by some great protecting policy of government), preserved in their pristine beauty and wildness, in a magnificent park, when the world could see for ages to come, the native Indian in his classic attire, galloping his wild horse, with sinewy bow, and shield and lance, amid the fleeting herds of elk and buffaloes. What a beautiful and thrilling specimen for America to preserve and hold up to the view of her refined citizens and the world, in future ages. A nation's Park containing man and beast in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty." Clearly the conservational thinking of early wilderness proponents such as Catlin was based on the romantic and aesthetic rather than on scientific grounds. It did not derive from an informed appreciation of wild animals and their ecology, or rocks and their geology. This latter type of formulation was not to emerge full-blown until decades later after the publication and dissemination of the ideas of Darwin, Lyell and other scientific thinkers. . But, although the scientific basis for wilderness protection and national parks has developed slowly, and has always had an aesthetic or romantic thread as its handmaiden, scientific analysis of the impact of man on environment, and of the need for careful management of the land, did appear at a relatively early date. About 1860 John Perkins Marsh published the first comprehensive study of man's effects on landscape - Man and Nature: Or. Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action. Marsh was a learned New Englander, highly skilled in a number of languages, who served for many years as American ambassador to Italy. He therefore had the opportunity to read about and to observe first hand the results of centuries of wood-cutting, charcoal-burning, lumbering, sheep and goat grazing and other cultural practices on the formerly green-cloaked but now largely eroded dry slopes of the Mediterranean lands. He also lived in New England at a time when lumbering, clearing

46

J.G. NELSON

for agriculture, and other enthusiasms of early settlement were damaging or destroying forests, soil and wildlife. Marsh put many of these proceses and their unwanted effects forward in his book and called for careful husbandry and an end to excess. But Marsh does not seem to have been very aware of the thoughts of men like Catlin about the setting aside of public reserves for the protection of landscapes or environments. However, although he apparently was not particularly sensitive to the idea of the national park, his writings were said to have been influential in the establishment of a U.S. Department of Forestry and in other land-use improvements in the 18705, 1880s and 18905. Not only did the ideas of the nature protection or preservation school play a relatively minor part in the establishment of the national parks, they also played a negligible role within them for decades. For many years after its establishment in 1872 Yellowstone National Park was the scene of much hunting and trapping, with beaver, elk, sheep, bear and other animals being attacked. Visitors to the park were careless and forest fires and destruction of trees and of wildlife habitat were common. A similar state of affairs later existed in Canadian national parks such as Banff, Waterton and Glacier. Hunting within the parks was widespread both for subsistence and sporting purposes. Dynamite was employed to obtain large quantities of fish from streams and lakes. Timber berths were allowed and considerable cutting of Douglas fir and other trees carried out. Prospectors and surveyors deliberately or carelessly burned the park. Railway construction and operation caused many fires. Coal and other mining was carried out within Banff, with certain park superintendents and other observers perceiving the growth of coal-mining communities as desirable rather than paradoxical within their boundaries. It was not until the early 1900s in Canada, after such policies and practices had had a rather profound effect on the animals, the forests, and the experiences to be enjoyed in the parks, that a serious attempt began to protect the landscape. Some funds and a few wardens were provided in national parks at this time but these measures were only marginally effective. A more important change came with the establishment of the Dominion Parks Branch as an overall mangement unit for parks that previously had been established and run as separate units. These changes were influenced to an unknown degree by further developments in the resource mangement field in the United States. At the turn of the twentieth century Teddy Roosevelt emerged as a president with a real concern for land. Aided and abetted by foresters and professionals such as Gifford Pinchot, he became the leader of land-use improvements and of a body of thought and action that came to be called the Conservation Movement. Roosevelt and his colleagues worked with others in Canada and Mexico and many of their ideas diffused, sometimes in somewhat ~odified form, to these nations. Canada estab-

Canada's National Parks

47

lished a Commission of Conservation in the early 1900s, under the leadership of the former Minister of the Interior, Clifford Sifton. Forest reserves also were established to control fires, protect forests, improve watershed management, and reduce floods and erosion in many parts of the west. Basically these early landscape managers were utilitarian in outlook. Like Pinchot in the United States, they favoured the multiple-use concept of resource management, the controlled cutting of trees, and the harvesting of resources in a co-ordinated manner, on a sustained yield basis. In this regard they were unlike Americans such as John Muir, the wanderer of the California high Sierras, who was a champion of the preservationist school of conservation, who favoured elimination of heavy grazing and other extractive practices and the strict management of areas such as Yosemite Park. Muir and Pinchot were principals in the battle over the proposal to build a reservoir in scenic Hetch-Hetchy Valley in Yosemite during the 1890s and early 1900s. Eventually Muir and his supporters lost, and the Valley was flooded to provide a reservoir for water for San Francisco. This issue led to the establishment of the Sierra Club and to the beginnings of a vigorous and increasing American citizen commitment to conservation. J.B. Harkin was appointed as first Commissioner of the Canadian National Parks in 191 I and in the twenty-five years or so of his tenure, this little-known man left a deep imprint on the Canadian landscape. He appears to have been a devotee of the idea and the value of wilderness. He also was interested in developing recreation in the parks, in part perhaps because of a strong belief in the activity, in part because as a pragmatic and effective administrator he saw that this activity would provide the interest and the funds needed to develop the Canadian national park system. In the 1920s and 1930s Harkin and his colleagues slowly promoted protection of the park landscapes. Strict fire control policies were introduced at an early date and continue to the present time, with the result that much burned and denuded forest, brush and grassland was returned or is returning to tree cover. This has had certain negative effects on the kind and number of animals in the parks. The protection of animals was also encouraged although not uniformly. Elk and other ungulates were perceived as unice" or desirable animals. In contrast, predators were seen as noxious animals or pests, dangerous to man or beast. Elk, deer, sheep and other wildlife populations were, of course, seriously reduced by 1910. In fac;t, it was considered necessary to re-introduce elk into Banff National Park from Yellowstone in 1917. These animals mUltiplied rapidly in the next twenty years. By the early 1940s they were so plentiful that they competed vigorously with deer and other wildlife for available forage, stripping bark from many aspen stands in Banff and Jasper National Parks. Elk control programmes were introduced at about that time and these

48

J.G. NELSON

continue today. The wolf, the coyote, the cougar and the grizzly received less favourable treatment than the ungulates although "the great white bear" was apparently subject to more official protection than the others. Even today the predators are subject to an ambivalent attitude. As scientific knowledge of their concentration on the hunting of old, young and infirm animals has increased, and ideas on their value in maintaining healthy herds of herbivores have spread, they have been viewed much more favourably. But old attitudes die hard and coyotes have been killed recently in Banff as a result of complaints about their number and their prowling. The wolf population apparently was building up in Banff in the 1940s but some reportedly were killed as possible disease carriers during a rabies outbreak in Alberta in the early 1950s. The grizzly was often observed by early explorers and traders in the plains country, east of the Rockies. The animal frequently was seen near rivers such as the Missouri, the Red Deer and the South Saskatchewan, where it fed on berries, roots and other vegetation, as well as on some fresh meat and carrion. On the other hand, the animal rarely seems to have been seen in the mountains, since at least the coming of the white man, so that its numbers are difficult to estimate there for any time period. In the early 1800s traders who travelled in the Rockies, such as Alexander Henry the Younger, made little reference to the grizzly. However, scores of its skins are recorded in the fur returns from trading establishments such as Piegan Post, which was located on the Bow River, the foothills, about forty miles west of present-day Calgary during the early 1830s. Some of these pelts could have been obtained in the mountains. But many also could have been secured from the nearby plains and foothills. Travellers in the mid-nineteenth century also rarely saw the bear, although the Earl of Southesk did refer to much sign of the animals in the Athabaska and South Saskatchewan River Valleys in 1859. Whatever its original population in the mountains, the assault of the fur traders, prospectors, surveyors, railway men and early settlers reduced the grizzly to a low level in the west by the 1880s and it was perceived as a grave threat to livestock by about 1890. The grizzly appears to have become more numerous in the foothills and mountains after 1910, in part no doubt because of the slow introduction of protectionist measures. Some references to the presence of the animal were made in Banff Park in the 1920s and these increased in the 1930s when at least two encounters with the bear resulted in injuries to humans. The grizzly were numerous enough to merit the suggestion that an English earl be allowed to hunt and kill one in Banff National Park during the 1930s. However, J.B. Harkin refused permission for this venture on the grounds that it was contrary to the protectionist policy. On the other hand, Harkin did allow permits to museums and

Canada's National Parks

49

others wishing to obtain specimens for scientific and ~elated purposes. Nor did the protective regulations excIuce the carrying of guns on the grounds that they might be needed by visitors or administrators for defence. It is not known how many animals have been killed in the national parks of Canada because of such real or apparent danger. During the I 930s and 1940s many grizzly bears began to change their behaviour patterns as a result of human interference with the park ecosystem; for example they began to feed upon garbage and spoil around campsites and townsites. In the 1950s and 1960s tourists wishing to see grizzlies drove to the Banff dump, where the animals could be approached and photographed - at some risk of personal safety. With the increase in bears and especially in hikers and recreationists generally after World War Two, encounters between man and the bear have gone up rather sharply, although the number of incidents and injuries appears to be much lower in Canada than in American parks. Data for the Canadian parks are difficult to secure, but in Yellowstone National Park in recent summers scores of injuries have been attributed to bears. As a result, the U.S. National Park Service has sponsored several detailed studies of grizzly ecology and is introducing a series of measures designed to take the animal away from garbage and man, to make it more self-reliant and so probably reduce unfortunate encounters between grizzly and humans.

THE TURNING POINT ABOUT WORLD WAR TWO

World War Two marked a turning point in the history and geography of Banff and other national parks. By this time the elk, sheep and other animals had increased substantially in numbers from their low ebb about 1900. And the animals were causing over-grazing and other problems in various parts of the parks. A series of wildlife studies consequently were approved, with biologists such as Cowan, Green and Banfield being encouraged to do research on the elk, wolf and other species in an attempt to understand their ecology for park management purposes. These really were the first serious attempts to administer the parks on a scientific basis, and therefore constitute a landmark in the evolution of national park policy and practice. During and after the war Canada and other western countries entered a period of very rapid population, economic and technical growth which had strong effects on the national parks of the country. The "baby boom" of the 1940s and 1950s really began in the fear of uncertainties of the war and resulted, along with immigration, in millions more Canadians in the next twenty years. This growth was accompanied by a strong trend to urbanization, a continuing process which promises to place much of our population in urban extensions of Montreal, Toronto and

50

J.G. NELSON

Vancouver by the year 2000. Population growth and urbanization, in turn, were associated with an increase in the kind and number of Canadian industries as well as in jobs, income and, overall, in Gross National Product. The introduction of the methodology of operations research, of the computer and other new technologies, also reduced labour requirements, ushering in the process known as automation. Transport also improved substantially, with the automobile and the airplane greatly increasing mobility, notably in the middle and upper income groups. Unions and other agencies pressed for labour's share of productivity increases, one result being more holidays, longer vacations, and greater leisure generally for Canadians and other North Americans. . These increases in population, income, mobility, leisure and other factors combined to put more and more pressure on recreational land and opportunities in Canada and the United States in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. More and more Calgarians began to visit nearby parks such as Banff during these years. More easterners and Americans began to come to the western parks each summer, especially in the months of July and August, crowding the existing roads, campsites and other facilities.

THE AMERICAN RESPONSE TO POSTWAR CHANGES

As usual in North America, the United States led in recognizing the problems and the opportunities presented by these post war changes. The U.S. government established the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission (ORRRC) which utilized engineering, economic, geographic, sociological and other expertise to predict the nature and the quantity of future recreational demand and so either provided the basis for or made recommendations designed to meet the challenge as the Commission perceived it. The ORRRC studies indicated that sightseeing, touring and other auto-oriented activities led the recreation list, with other more natureoriented activities, such as backpacking, ranking much lower in level. ORRRC estimated that recreational demand of all kinds would more than triple in the United States by the year 2000. The departments and agencies of the U.S. government responded with considerable vigour to the ORRRC challenge. Under the label Mission 66, the U.S. National Park Service approached Congress for funds to provide the new roads, trails, campsites and other facilities seen as necessary to meet the projected recreational growth. Funds also were requested for buying more land and establishing new parks. A zoning system was also developed to allocate land to different use classes according to the nature and intensity of demand and land character.

Canada's National Parks

51

A Federal Bureau of Outdoor Recreation was established to work with the state governments and other federal agencies in co-ordinating effort to meet anticipated needs. The U.S. Forest Service and other agencies traditionally interested in lumbering and other productionoriented activities also began to respond to the new recreational challenge, in part because of criticism by public officials and citizens, and in part because some foresters saw it as the thing to do. In the early and middle I 960s, as the complexity of recreational demand became more apparent, the response became more diverse. For example, an act was passed in the United States in 1964 which enabled major public land agencies to designate areas within their holdings as wilderness, where this was defined as country showing relatively little sign of the workings of man, areas that man might visit for a time, but where he did not remain. This Wilderness Act was a response to the increasing demands of back-country hikers and campers, photo-hunters, bird-watchers and other naturalists, vigorously expressed through agencies such as the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society. Many areas have been set aside under the Wilderness Act in the last five years, principally in the wildlife refuges and forest reserves. Relatively few have been established by the National Park Service, which seems to have become more interested in providing a variety of recreational opportunities for many people in America who are not wilderness buffs. An almost bewildering array of different types of parks and land use have been developed, including national recreation areas; national shorelines; wild and scenic rivers; architectural monuments such as the great arch in St. Louis; historic parks dedicated to former presidents, early canals and railroads; and educational parks or landmarks intended for use at all levels in the school system. The desirability of this complex classification of parks has, however, been questioned in a recent report on The Future of the National Parks by the Conservation Foundation. Although it is not possible to discuss all the responses of the U.S. National Park Service to the recreational challenge of recent years, mention must be made of the introduction of a public hearings system designed to provide for public participation in master planning for national parks. Under this programme plans are prepared for a national park, indicating proposed zoning, location of new roads, campsites, interpretation centres and the like. The plans are prepared on the basis of detailed scientific studies of the flora, fauna, and natural and cultural characteristics of the park. A Scientific Advisory Board of informed and interested non-government persons is attached to the National Park Service to assist with this and related scientific work. Upon completion, proposed master plans are published and comments and criticisms are invited at a public hearing. Any submissions are studied by the National Park Service and the plans ate changed as considered necessary or desirable.

52

J.O. NELSON

THE CANADIAN RESPONSE TO THE POSTWAR CHANGES

What has been the response of Canada to the recreational challenge of the I940s, 1950s and 1960s1 Although some important advances have been made, the Canadian effort has not equalled that of the United States in imagination or achievement. The Canadian National and Historic Parks Branch undertook various relevant studies and actions in the early and middle 1950s. For example, consultants were asked to make recommendations on the future of Banff townsite. Among other things it was suggested that this community of about four thousand should be limited in size and zoned into commercial, residential and other use classes. This arrangement was envisioned as setting the stage for greater land-use control by the government, eventually permitting removal of some older houses and tourist cabins, making it possible to introduce modern motels and high-rise structures, and to achieve a higher population and tourist density in Banff National Park, without much further urban sprawl. A series of service centres were also recommended for development at places such as Lake Louise in Banff, as well as in other national parks. The service centres were not conceived of as townsites of the size and complexity of Banff or Jasper but as areas where some motels, gas stations, and other so-called essential services would be provided for park visitors. In the 1950s and 1960s the Canadian National Park Service also began to work on a winter recreation programme. Traditionally, Canadian national parks have received relatively little use in winter, even though Banff, Jasper and others have excellent skiing terrain. A policy was developed which designated certain downhill ski and winter sports areas in some of the western parks; for example, in Banff the three areas are Mt. Norquay near the townsite, Sunshine about fifteen miles to the north and Whitehorn near Lake Louise. No other areas within the national parks were to be used for downhill skiing or related services such as road, parking lots, restaurants and apres-ski facilities. The exact boundaries of the ski areas are, however, not well known and little thought has apparently been given to the type and density of development permissible in these winter sports areas. In other words, what do the zones or areas mean in terms of land use development? This question was basic to the recent conflict over the proposed Village Lake Louise in Banff National Park. Indeed, the Visitor Service Centre idea and the winter sports programme came together in the proposed plan for Lake Louise. In essence, the older settlement on the Bow Valley floor was to be renovated and modernized. In addition, on a high terrace facing west into the winter sun, a new project, village Lake Louise, was to be constructed consisting of hotels, possibly as high as twelve stories, general and

Canada's National Parks

53

specialty shops. a hospital and other services necessary to meet the needs of thousands of visitors. particularly skiers. as well as about twenty-five hundred support staff. For many observers the proposed development far exceeded the Visitor Service Centre concept and carried such a high technological load that it was viewed as likely to cause much unwanted landscape and scenic change in the park. A citizens' group. the National and Provincial Parks Association, pushed for public hearings on the project and the ensuing expression of public opinion caused the government to reject the project. During the )960s the Canadian National and Historic Sites Branch also developed a zoning system for the national parks. At first a threepart scheme was envisioned wherein land would be designated as wilderness, semi-wilderness and intensive use. However, the branch is now using a five-part scheme patterned on the American example. The Canadian National and Historical Sites Branch also instituted a series of public hearings on proposed master pians in the late 1960s. Up to the present, however, the proposed plans are not based on the same quality and quantity of scientific information as the American. For example. the plans for Banff. Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho were developed largely in the early 1960s and represent the planners response to anticipated rapid increases in auto traffic, as projected by ORRRC in the United States. Many new roads were to be built. including some through relatively untouched valleys. The proposed zoning was largely based on a study of topography and engineering and economic considerations, although it is very doubtful if even a rudimentary benefit-cost analysis of the proposed roads was undertaken as a guide in decisionmaking. Certainly the proposed roads, campsites and other facilities were not based on any significant studies of flora, fauna and other environmental or cultural features of the park, or on the way that their character or quality would be changed by the introduction of the facilities and large numbers of tourists. Fortunately the National and Historical Sites Branch had a chance to adjust to this deficiency by using information from the submissions made at the public hearings on four mountain national parks in the spring of 1971, and the branch has since cancelled the proposed road programme. Recently the National and Historic Parks Branch has expanded its planning and resource inventory sections so that the quality of background information and planning proposals can be expected to rise in future. Furthermore, under the leadership of the Honourable Jean Chretien, then Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Canada has recently made unparalleled additions to its national park system. In the last few years eleven new national parks have been established as part of a network that is envisioned as incorporating examples of all the major ecosystems in Canada. Among'the new parks are the first two ever to be established in Quebec: La Mauricie and Forillon. A number, including

54

J.G. NELSON

Kejimkujik and Gros Morne, have been created in the Maritimes, where they are economically attractive, although the federal government policy of removing residents and many traditional types of land use upon establishment of a park is now causing negative reactions in these eastern provinces. It has been more difficult to acquire land elsewhere, for example on the Pacific Rim on western Vancouver Island or in Kluane or Nahanni in the north, where opposition from lumbering, mining and other commercial interests has always been strong. Under Chretien substantial changes were also made in the level of federal contributions to the cost of park acquistion. Formerly, the costs were entirely borne by the provinces which then turned the land over to Canada 'free of all encumbrances. " Some difficulties. are being experienced in agreeing on the new park boundaries, these being a subject of much controversy among all interest groups. Final resolution may take years but hopefully will result in parks at least equivalent to, if not higher in quality than the expectations generally created at the time the original announcements were made. Moreover, there are many potential national park areas, known for years, which have not been established because of industrial or other opposition. The recent addition of Kluane came after about thirty years of waiting, approximately 10,000 square miles having been placed in park reserve in 1942. A major obstacle was the presence of potentially valuable gold, copper and other minerals, which have been mined sporadically but at relatively little economic gain. Nevertheless, their presence has influenced the exclusion of about 2,000 square miles of the original reserve from the park. The omitted land is the Kluane Lake and Valley country on the northern fringe of the park, which although relatively small in area, is recognized as unusually important for caribou, wolf, Dall sheep and other wildlife. The Artillery Lake area, near Great Slave Lake, was proposed for a national park more than ten years ago. At that time the opposition of mining interests was substantial. Indians also have lived and hunted in the area for centuries. Under current national park practice they would be largely excluded from any national park and they therefore are very concerned about loss of traditional rights of livelihood. Another very important innovation in federal park practice has also occurred recently. In October (1973), just prior to the federal election the Liberal government announced that it had acquired developed land on Toronto harbour which would be turned into a large urban park. The entry of the federal government into the urban park field is long overdue, for that is where very heavy recreational and open space problems lie and financing is difficult. But whether direct federal ownership and operation of urban parks is desirable or not is debatable. Many people favour meeting the need for urban parks through some type of joint municipal, provincial and federal system of financing and manage-

Canada's National Parks

55

ment. The sudden announcement of the Toronto urban park also brought complaints of "secrecy" and "failure to consult" from city and provincial officials. This is a common problem, however, the government of Ontario having received many complaints in the past year or so over its quiet acquisition of thousands of acres of potential recreation land in the Bruce Peninsula area. On the other hand, there are models of federal-provincial cooperation available, for example, the CORTS arrangement for the planning and management of the Rideau-Trent Canal system in Ontario. Persons from many agencies and levels of government are participating in committees and study teams on this project. In sum, demands on national parks in Canada have accelerated greatly since World War Two. The three basic threads of nature or wilderness preservation and protection, planning for the recreational and aesthetic needs of the people, and the opportunity of deriving income from the parks, are still at work, modifying and expanding the national park system. But they are acting in a much more complicated and interrelated way. This is the age when the scope and intensity of environmental change has been recognized as a basic problem which man is largely responsible for and which he has great difficulty in controlling. The call for the protection and preservation of nature is therefore growing stronger, emanating chiefly from a vocal literate minority representing many walks and ways of life: science, business, education and the arts. Moreover, the call for nature protection and management increasingly is based on scientific and economic considerations. Thus biologists, economists and others talk of the value of the gene pools in the plants and animals of national parks and related reserves. These pools are seen as constituting reservoirs for the possible derivation of the new forms of elk, or wheat, or pine, of utility to the hunter, the agriculturalist or the forester. Certain economists have stressed that the economically unassessable but great value of the scarce California tule elk, lies in the fact that these animals provide the potential for new animal types, the utility and value of which we will never know if they become extinct. Aesthetic or romantic arguments for wilderness protection have however, certainly not disappeared. There are many people - scientists, administrators and laymen - who argue for nature protection on the grounds that animals and other life simply have the right to exist independent of man. These people depart from the anthropocentric view that an organism's existence must be related to its present or potential usefulness to man. Such people also argue that plants, animals and wild areas do not need to be visited to be worthy of protection. They can serve simply by being there, as objects for thought and contemplation. The planning thread in the development of national parks has become increasingly frayed and diffuse. Thus the parks are often thought of as

56

J.G. NELSON

single-use areas, designed and managed for recreational purposes. Yet from an early stage this view has been difficult to uphold, because the protection of animals and other natural elements of the park landscapes have often been in conflict with and administered in ways not always clearly related to major objectives of recreational use and planning. The grizzly is a good example. In situations where dangerous encounters are increasing, what should be sacrificed, the animal or certain recreational opportunities? Today the number of uses of national parks is so complex that, as the United States example shows, new land-use categories and arrangements are needed to reconcile the different types and levels of use. Thus the U.S. National Recreation Areas are not intended to provide large un trammelled wilderness areas, more or less compatible with the protection and management of animals such as the grizzly or the mountain sheep, but rather as complexes of trees, grass, landforms, water and other elements useful for large-scale camping, boating or other more intensive recreational activities. Many recreational areas in the United States are simply water reservoirs constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for irrigation, hydro-electric power or other purposes. The great usefulness of national parks and related reserves for education and other cultural purposes is also becoming more apparent each year. Indeed, the U.S. National Park Service has co-operated with many school boards in providing facilities and services for outdoor and environmental education. Over seventy National Education Benchmarks are now available for use, with the Parks Service providing personnel to assist teachers and students with their studies in these areas. The Park Service also has led in the development of imaginative, integrative teaching methods, the basic idea being to have a general teaching model or framework useful to many disciplines and so encourage interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary work, and a total or "real" view of the world. The model which has been developed is built around the following organizational themes or "strands": similarities and differences, patterns, interaction and independence, changes and continuity, adaptation and evolution. These threads are thought of as part of a process rather than a programme. They are intended, like precursors in the United Kingdom, to eliminate academic, class scheduling, and other barriers and bring many types of training and many points of view, whether geographic, biological, or mathematical, together in a common forum and/or area. This coming together may be for a day, several days, or even a week, in a national park or benchmark. The third thread influencing national parks and related reserves, their economic value, has been widely recognized recently. More and more businessmen are now interested in locating in the parks because seasonal demand brings fewer problems than a decade or more ago. Winter recreation programmes are rising to balance ~raditional summer tour-

Canada's National Parks

57

ism and recreation in Canada, providing the entrepreneur with a more stable annual return on his investment. Commercial interest is also rising in recreation opportunities outside but close to the national parks. But this trend is not as pronounced in Canada as the United States. One reason is that far fewer facilities are allowed in national parks in the United States: townsites, downhill ski areas and similar developments generally being required to be located outside the parks. Also, in the Canadian national parks, particularly Banff and Jasper, the government subsidizes entrepreneurs by constructing roads, trails, campsites, sewage disposal plants and other facilities, and by continuing to assist with warden, waste disposal and other services. Given this support, which is not unique to Canada, and growing demand, businessmen are increasingly interested in the opportunity of developing ski runs, motels, hotels, and other facilities within the national parks. Furthermore, the interest and investment of the federal government is generally not balanced by that of the provinces. This might be understandable in areas with relatively low incomes such as the Maritimes. However, rich provinces such as Alberta and British Columbia have parks and extensive forest reserves near the national parks; but they have not done much to develop them for recreation. The forest reserves in Alberta have been managed primarily for watershed protection, with some lumbering, grazing and other activities permitted or encouraged on a multiple-use basis. At the moment, interest in the production of minerals and particularly in the strip mining of coal, is very high in Alberta and British Columbia. As a result, public service boundaries have been shifted or are being re-examined in accordance with mining and other commercial prospects. In the early days, as we have seen, there was considerable lumbering, mining, and other extractive industry in the Canadian national parks. Over the years these industries have either suffered economic failure, been phased out by the national park authorities, or both. Some commercial leases or freehold lands are still held in certain national parks. But the tendency is for the government to purchase such holdings. For example, within the last ten years a major lumbering lease in Glacier National Park apparently was on the verge of being activated and Canada purchased it from the company to prevent cutting within the park. Thus, although there is still the possibility of lumbering, mining, or other extractive industry in the provincial parks, this is unlikely in the national parks. The main threat there is recreation, formerly the handmaiden of protectionism but now increasingly incompatible with it. This statement does not apply, of course, to all forms of recreation, although the large and growing number of people "interested in even the less popular activities such as backpacking and wilderness camping eventually will necessi-

58

J.G. NELSON

tate rationing and control of entry because of effects on vegetation, wildlife, scenery, and the wilderness experiences desired by other people. Litter is becoming a major problem, even in back-country areas. Litter collections sponsored by the National and Provincial Parks Association and the Canadian National Parks Branch have yielded tons of waste in Banff. But the major problem arises from what may be called facilitiesoriented recreation, i.e., activities that depend heavily on the buildings, machines and constructs of man rather than upon the resources or environment of a park. Automobile touring is very much a facilitiesoriented activity, with its requirements of roads, gas stations and parking lots, as is downhill skiing with its cleared runs, tows, lifts, parking lots, and apres-ski facilities. On the other hand hiking, back-country packing, cross-country skiing, and similar forms of recreation require few facilities and have correspondingly less impact on the landscape. An ecologically and technologically sensitive classification of recreational activities is basic to any future management of national park landscapes, if they are to aim at providing recreation based on the vegetation, animals and other resources within them, and at the same time, maintain those resources for recreational and other uses such as education and scientific research. The impact of different recreational activities and volumes must be monitored and studied, and used as the basis for deciding on the kind and level of use that is sustainable in part or all of a park. The setting of such carrying capacities will prove very difficult, being largely a function of perceptions and values, but is required to protect recreational and other uses of the parks. Those uses or activities placing heavy reliance on facilities or machines are the ones requiring most careful watch. One need only look at the effects of the automobile to see how often unforeseen changes can amplify from a technological introduction. In the western Canadian national parks, the automobile is responsible for much of the basic character and size of Banff and other townsites, for the increase in size, volume and complexity of the roads, for the gravel mining, and other cultural processes that are carried on within park boundaries, for the development of downhill skiing, and the rapid increase in tourism and in back-country use. The snowmobile and other all-terrain vehicles could have similar effects in the national parks. SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT TRENDS OR CHANGES

Major historical trends in national park development and management are now clear. Three prime threads, wilderness or nature protection, an interest in planning for the recreational and aesthetic needs of the people, and an interest in income from commerce associated with national parks, have interacted:

Canada's National Parks

59

1) to help reduce extractive industries such as lumbering and mining, although large-scale aggregate mining for road and other construction has occurred in parks such as Banff since about 1960; 2) to provide for the regrowth of forests and other vegetation in large burned-over areas created in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; 3) to increase the kind and number of animals from a low ebb in the early 1900s, although pre-Caucasian species such as bison and wolf are still very rare in parks such as Banff; 4) to make the national park landscapes and ecosystems increasingly attractive to scientists and educators interested in environmental research and teaching, especially in areas relatively little disturbed by man, where long-term monitoring of physical processes may be possible without much human interruption; 5) to increase the kind and volume of recreational use in the national parks, notably in the last ten years, with the emphasis on auto and facilities-oriented recreation and tourism; and 6) to produce increasing conflict between recreational land use and environmental or resource conservation. These trends have been paralleled by a tendency for the provincial governments to neglect their park systems until recent decades. Since the early 1950s, Ontario has greatly improved the quality and increased the number of its parks, but other provinces such as Alberta have looked upon national parks as the prime place for regional recreation and the development of tourism. Indeed, the national parks in Alberta have been an important form of federal recreational, environmental and economic subsidy. Alberta governments have tended to push for more of the same, rather than investing in a provincial or regional park system.

RECOMMENDA TIONS

If we wish to change these trends, we must develop a parks or countryside policy in Canada that includes the following elements: I) Increase the kind and amount of public land in Canada: there is a need for more and better-managed provincial parks, and also for the introduction of new institutional arrangements like those recently developed in the United States and elsewhere; for example, national recreation areas, national seashores, wild and scenic rivers, educational reserves and the like. The white paper on Byways and Special Places indicates that the national parks people are thinking in this direction, but much remains to be done from the standpoint of finances, intergovernmental cooperation, and the securing of a public reaction to the proposed programme, especially in sensitive areas such as the Maritimes.

60

J.G. NELSON

2) Increase the quality and the quantity of informed advice reaching the civil service and government by establishing scientific and citizens' advisory committees at various points and levels in the system. Such arrangements have been very successful in countries such as the United States and New Zealand. but have been resisted or ignored in Canada in spite of recommendations to government by organizations such as the National and Provincial Parks Association of Canada. What is involved here is the whole question of more effective public participation in management. 3) Increase. the kind and amount of recreational and related social services in Canada. preferably in cooperation with those responsible for public land management. For example, the federal government should extend financial and technical assistance to towns and cities where resource levels or incomes are low or where there are other barriers against achieving a reasonable level of recreation and related activites; in this regard there is an urgent need to develop an effective and widely available environmental education programme and relate it to the national parks and other public land now or potentially available in this country. 4) Increase the kind and amount of regional planning in Canada: more effective coordination is required to avoid errors and inefficiencies; the CORTS arrangement in Ontario involves joint federal-provincial planning of the Rideau and Trent River systems; this model could be applied in the Canmore corridor and other areas east of Banff where the federal and provincial governments seem to be proceeding independ- . ently with plans and, in the opinion of many observers, incompatibly and badly, especially on the provincial side. 5) Increase the amount of research on economic, social, geographical, biological and other topics relating to public land use and management in Canada to the end that more is known about the national parks and related reserves, and better decisions are made in administering them. 6) Detailed environmental impact statements should be prepared and made available to advisory committees and the public for criticism and response prior to any major technological or land use change in the national parks. Such statements are now widely used in the United States and should present as much information as possible on the impact of a change on safety, social conditions and the national park landscape. In Banff National Park, at the moment, studies are underway on a proposed twinning of the Trans-Canada highway, for example. Such a project would have major effects on landscape and land use not only in the park but in areas some distance away. To undertake such a project implies eventual possible construction along the present TransCanada all the way to Vancouver. Better alternatives to any traffic problems may be available. Reports on the economic, social and envir-

Canada's National Parks

61

onmental aspects of such a costly project should be available at some stage for review by citizens. 7) The policy of providing facilities and services more or less exclusively through private enterprise in the national parks should also be examined closely. Careful consideration should be given to government construction and operation of certain facilities and services in the interest of minimizing environmental impact, oontroUing large-scale corporate-type advertising, and giving serious attention to the provision of low to medium cost facilities in Banff and other parks. Cooperative units of the youth hostel type should be encouraged by government and open to all, with the number of users. and environmental impact being controlled in the same way as with other projects. Any tendency to use income as a measure of access to the parks or as a means of controlling the nature and quantity of development and environmental change should be resisted. Various ways of achieving these objectives seem possible. The National and Provincial Parks Association of Canada has recently suggested that the national parks portfolio should be moved from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to the Department of Environment. A possibly better alternative for improvement might be to reorganize the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development into one responsible for Public Land and Related Social Services. This would permit continued work with the Indians, and the retention of the present national parks and northern lands programme. But the department programme could be expanded into an integrated approach involving different types of public land and use in Canada, with personnel being involved who would not only be informed about the ecological or physical character of the areas in question but also the recreational, educational and other social activities to be carried out there. Perhaps with this type of mission, these institutional arrangements and these personnel, a coordinated physical and cultural framework for the effective and visionary use of the landscape could be developed in Canada. What is done in the national parks can serve as a model for land use in the country as a whole.

The Evolution of Recreation in Glacier National Park, British Columbia, 1880 to Present JOHN S. MARSH

INTRODUCTION

This paper aims to describe and" explain the evolution of recreation in Glacier National Park, British Columbia.' As such it is a contribution to the neglected field of historical recreation geography and provides insight regarding the present character of the park and its problems. Until 1881 there is no definite record of any white man visiting the park area. 2 Today some two million people annually pass through the park. What happened to this landscape and its recreational use in the intervening years? Using field evidence, exploration reports, tourist accounts, park and other government records we can trace the evolution of this area as a recreational resource.

THE STUDY AREA

Glacier National Park comprises some 521 square miles of the rugged Selkirk Mountains centred on Rogers Pass, British Columbia (Fig. I). The peaks range in height from 8,000 to 11,000 feet and, as the park's name implies, there are numerous glaciers though all have shrunk during the last ninety years. Rivers drain both east and west to the "Big Bend" of the Columbia River. They follow deep glacially-scoured valleys that plunge to 3,000 feet above sea level. Barren rock deserts on the peaks give way to alpine meadows and alder-clad avalanche slopes. Below 4,000 feet the land is densely forested with hemlock, cedar, fir, pine and cottonwood. There is a dense undergrowth with few open grassland areas. The fauna of the park are limited by the climate and vegetation. There are few ungulates but bears and small mammals are common. The climate includes Koeppen classes Pfb, Dfc and ET,J and is marked by high precipitation with a mean annual snowfall of 370 inches. Key aspects of this basic geography that have influenced recreation development include spectacular mountain scenery, glaciers at low 62

· IvOl101 ., . 101 Park Glacier

H

:i:i

~~

"!

J~

I

63

c..

0

.;,: c

";; .2

z "

,

(3

0

·0

c

'0 0

u

.2 ;; -' ~ 0

'" Ii:

64

J. MARSH

•

GlACIER HOUSe

Trails Poorly Maintained Trails

II' N

I Figure 2:

Trails and Facilities, 1886-1898

,

tOICm.

Glacier National Park

65

elevation, topographic constraints on accessibility, short summer season, lack of minerals and proximity of the Rockies to the east.

EARLY RECREATION DEVELOPMENT

The provision of access and transport linkages has been critical to the development of all areas of Canada. Glacier Park was no exception to this rule, and recreation development had to wait until the area was accessible by rail. In 1881, Major Rogers penetrated the Selkirk Mountains in search of a route for the trans-continental Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Despite physical difficulties posed by the terrain, vegetation and snowfall, he selected a route across Rogers Pass in preference to a longer but flatter route around the Big Bend of the Columbia. The first transcontinental train passed through the area in 1885. As the grades were steep no dining cars were carried on the trains, and passengers had to disembark at dining rooms along the route. One was located immediately south of Rogers pass in a small valley just half a mile from the Illecillewaet Glacier, and with high peaks all around (Fig. 2). It was known as Glacier House. Railway passengers dining there quickly recognized the attractions of this vicinity and hence the railway company developed a hotel facility for summer visitors. By 1888 over one thousand guests were staying overnight and the hotel was expanded in 1890 (Table 1). The CPR constructed a trail up valley to the "Great" IIlecillewaet Glacier, which became the major attraction along with hikes to viewpoints. Recognizing the areas's tourist potential and its dependence on the scenery, the CPR urged the establishment of a national park. Thus, the general manager of the CPR, W.C. Van Horne wrote in 1886: ... the object of the reservations is not really to provide for parks in the ordinary sense but to preserve the timber at places where the finest scenery occurs, as the scenery will be much injured by its being cut away ...the reservations would not interfere with mining operations except that the timber purposes would have to be cut outside of them.4

Established in 1886, Glacier National Park comprised 10 square miles, including the peaks near Rogers Pass, notably Mt. Sir Donald, and the IIleciIlewaet Glacier. Such a reservation followed the precedent established with the creation of Rocky Mountains National Park at Banff in 1885, and earlier precedents in the United States. In spite of national park designation, the CPR continued to be the prime managing agency in the area, and a precedent was established for the partnership between the state and private enterprise that continues in the national parks and elsewhere today.s The lack of substantial mining or lumbering activity, settlement or industry, left recreation the prime use of the area.

J. MARSH

66

Table 1: Visitors to Glacier National Park 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914

708 1020 1136 1084 1291 1317 1051 831 774 816 1210 764 ? ']

1261 1873 ']

']

? 4925 ? ? ? ? ? 5419 5057 4009

1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928-9 1929-30 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942

10,608 ? ? ? ? 3779 3223 3742 4176 ? 5956 3000 ? 1000 1000 1000 ']

? 1000 ']

1000 '] ']

']

1200 1200 320 211

1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1969

375 225 ? ? 461 839 626 595 558 447 1021 714 732 623 562 222 386 319+ 247+ 665,907 1,563,479 1,517,061 1,582,277 1,840,423 . 1,891,904 1,898,627

SOURCES: 1887-1925 Overnight guests at Glacier House Hotel. 1926-1940 Estimates by national park personnel. 1941-1961 Oimbing registrations. 1962-1968 Trans-Canada Park gateway records.

1898 TO 1925 The hotel was gradually improved and expanded again in 1906 to give it ninety rooms. Thereafter attendance averaged 5,000 guests per season, with a maximum of 10,608 being recorded in 1915 (Table I). An additional attraction after 1905 was the Nakimu Caves located some seven miles west of Glacier House. They were developed for public viewing, a trail for horses, a tote road for carriages and a teahouse eventually being provided (Fig. 3).6

67

Glacier National Park

1. Asulkan Hut

2. Cascade Summer House 3~Shelter

4. ObS8fVation Po/nt/Shelter S. Glacier House 6. New Station 7. Bear Creek· Stoney Creek Warden Station 8. Hermit Hut 9. Caretakers Cabin 10. Visitors' Cabin 11. TeaHouse 12. CabIn 13. Ross Peak WalBrTank 14. Flat Creek Warden 1S. Glacier Circle Hut

Figure 3: Trails and Facilties, 1899-1929

Trails Tally Ho Road

111

N

I

,

IOKm.

68

J. MARSH

As the spatial extent of recreation facilities and activity increased so did the national park, though the two developments appear largely unrelated. The boundaries were expanded in 1903 to enclose a rather arbitrary 576 square miles still centred on Rogers Pass. Some areas were leased for mining and lumbering, activities not then generally considered inappropriate in a park, and a large area not readily accessible from the railway was now included. Management of the park by the Dominion government gradually became more purposeful and effective, especially after 1911 when the Dominion Parks Branch was established. However, the CPR remained the dominant agency controlling recreation activity and facilities until 1926. Into this physical and administrative setting came tourists seeking recreation and the records of the Glacier House hotel provide some information on their characteristics. Spatially they came from a large hinterland, only 30 per cent being residents of Canada, 44 per cent coming from the United States, and 19 per cent from Europe. Most guests were tourists in the true sense of the word, being on extended vacations that took them around North American or even the world. They were the elite jet-set of the times. The appeal of Glacier Park undoubtedly related to the fact that it formed part of a mountain holiday package which included Banff and Lake Louise. It was also an intervening opportunity for travellers with other prime destinations. The popularity of Glacier Park can also be attributed to the enormous advertising effort of the CPR, and the guarantee of quality and service afforded by this company. Another external factor encouraging park visitation was the First World War which diverted patrons from their traditional vacation destinations in Europe. As indicated by the behaviour and comments of tourists, the appeal of this specific park appears to have related to the scenery, apparent health benefits of mountain areas, the potential for mountaineering, opportunities for natural history study, and the character of the hotel and its clientele. Thus one visitor commented: "Grand as the Rockies are, however, the Selkirks are grander still! I give this as an opinion, in the holding of which I am not at all solitary."7 While Glacier Park lacked the hot springs that made Banff a health resort visitors did comment on the healthful effect of the clear mountain air which they found "bracing," "intoxicating" and "exhilarating." Mountaineering has had the most consistent appeal in Glacier Park's history. The area just became accessible at a time when the alpinism movement in Europe had reached its zenith and climbers were looking for new areas offering first-ascent potential. It was said that many peaks "awaiting a name and a" master beckon the climber, with charms that older Alps have long since lost, to the arduous toil and unexpressable gladness of their conquest."s The CPR encouraged this activity. In a booklet entitled Mountaineer-

Glacier National Park

69

ing in the Canadian Rockies, the area was described as a "virgin field for the mountaineer," and British Columbia was an "improvement" to Switzerland.9 In 1898, Swiss guides were brought to the hotel to assist visitors scaling the peaks. They eventually stayed year round, the CPR building a Swiss chalet village for them near Golden. They added character to the area and also did a great deal of trail development and maintenance. The tendency to use Switzerland as a model for recreation development in the Rockes and Selkirks, and for judging the merits of this region, is common to this day. Many Victorians, stimulated by the discoveries of Darwin and Lyell, were ardent natural history buffs and Glacier Park offered them a new field of study. Some visitors returned year after year to study the IIIecillewaet Glacier and the alpine vegetation. The Vaux family of Philadelphia were especially active on the glacier and remarked in 1901: The minute-book now kept at the Glacier House can be made of great scientific value in the future, if other observers will enter it in a brief statement of their work on the glacier. 1o

Mary Schaffer was one of the botanists who returned frequently to the area. She reported in 1911: ftook a ride up Cougar Valley [and] found a valley of rare plants and on that day added many new ones to my list... twenty years ago there was one botanist searching hills and valleys, today there are fifty. II

As today, the nature of the accommodation facilities and the clientele was an important factor in the recreational appeal of the park. The hotel was described in the CPR guidebook as a '~handsome structure resembling a Swiss chalet. nl2 W.D. Wilcox, a frequent. visitor to the park, noted in 1897: There is something pre-eminently comfortable and homelike about Glacier House. The effect is indefinable, and one hardly knows whether the general style of an English inn, or the genuine hospitality that one receives, is the chief cause. One always feels at home in this wild little spot, and scarcely realizes that civilization is so far distant. Il

1926 TO 1961

In 1926 one of the main tourist resources of the area, the hotel, became defunct. The reasons for the CPR closing the hotel are unclear and probably diverse. However, the closure throws light on the changing nature of recreation and the viability of Glacier Park as recreation resource. In the post-World War One period the automobile became increasingly important as the means of reaching vacation areas. Only those

70

J. MARSH

resort areas accessible by road continued to enjoy the prosperity they had gained from rail traffic. In view of the limited potential of the Selkirk Mountains for settlement, farming and resource extraction, and the lack of a local population demanding road access to the mountains, there was little pressure for road construction into or across the area including Glacier Park. The prospects for the development of tourism at Glacier were thus severely limited, while the prospects at Banff, accessible by road since 1911, were very much better. Accordingly, in 1926, the CPR did not reopen the Glacier House hotel, thus leaving the park without accommodation. This decision probably also resulted from several faf;tors. The hotel had rarely been profitable because of the short summer season of operation and it had now become antiquated and a fire hazard. The railway, which originally passed the door, had been rerouted in 1916 via a tunnel under Rogers Pass leaving the hotel a mile from the station. Furthermore, travellers no longer had to disembark for a meal at the hotel, and hence they were probably less aware of the area's attractions. The CPR waited a few years to see if the deliberations on a trans-Canada highway would result in road access being provided. However, in 1928, it was decided that the new road would follow the Big Bend of the Columbia, avoiding the grades and avalanche hazard in the park. Seeing that road access would not be provided to Glacier Park for some time, the CPR dismantled the hotel in 1929. At the same time, the company ceased all management functions in the park, and such things as trail maintenance became the complete responsibility of the Dominion Parks Branch. Lacking road access and accommodation, the park proved much less of an attraction to tourists than previously. From 1926 to 1961 the number of visitors rarely exceeded one thousand per year (Table 1). They came from across North America, usually with climbing as their main objective. In some years the number was increased by the visit of a mountaineering club such as the Alpine Club of Canada in 1932. In 1930, when the National Parks Act was passed, the boundaries of the park were amended once more. Since that date the park has embraced 521 square miles with boundaries more realistically following topographic features. The warden service was improved with patrol cabins and additional fire access trails being constructed (Fig. 4). Little was done, however, to cater to the tourist. The Nakimu Caves were closed to the public in 1932 and have never been reopened. Park Superintendent E.N. Russell summarized the visitor facilities in 1938 as follows: There are no hotels, tourist cabins or tent houses, or established campsites with cooking and toilet arrangements, there is at Glacier near the CPR depot a small general store which has limited accommodation for a small number of guests... 1 do not think you could pick up a competent guide locally at Glacier. 14

Glacier National Park

•

•

Huts

caves, Facilities Trails

Figure 4: Trails and Facilities, 1930-1961

71

72

J. MARSH

In 1947, the Alpine Club provided its members with a rustic cabin at Glacier that could accommodate twenty-eight people, and this remained the only accommodation, apart from a few small climbing cabins on the peaks, until the I960s. During this period, 1926 to 1962, the wilderness nature of the park became recognized as an attribute by both the mountaineer and the park administrator. A visitor in 1930 observed: We had everything we wanted, including not least, complete absence of any possibility of cars, for there was no road, or of tourists, for there was nowhere for them to stay ... there was no feeling of regret that these peaks are not yet a fully developed playground. IS

Another visitor suggested the park "might be kept as an entirely wild refuge. ul6 In 1926, Superintendent Russell advocated: a policy as far as Glacier Park is concerned of keeping it as far as possible in its primitive state, so that in the years to come we may have one of our national parks as near as possible to the original state which nature made it. l '

The maintenance of the park's primitive state lapsed somewhat from 1936 to 1948, when a small amount of lumbering occurred in the Beaver Valley, an area rarely frequented by hikers. Both administrators and visitors were thus in favour of allowing the full recreational potential of the park to remain unexploited. Like the Canadian Pacific Railway previously, the National Parks Branch concentrated its recreation developments in the Rockies, especially around Banff. 1962 TO PRESENT

This recreation policy and pattern changed quickly after 1962 when the new Trans-Canada Highway was completed through Glacier Park via Rogers Pass (Fig. 5). The construction of this highway demonstrates vividly the importance of external factors to national park and recreation areas. The route was selected on purely technical-economic grounds with no attention apparently being paid to its ecological or recreational impact on the national park. In the first nine months after its completion some 666,000 people passed through the park. While many did not stop, there was an immediate surge in demand for facilities. An hotel and gas station were provided at Rogers Pass and subsequently three campgrounds, with nearly four hundred sites; and numerous picnic sites ·were added. The trail system is gradually being improved and intepretive services offered. Approximately two million people per year now pass through the park, although as many as 90 per cent do not even stop along the

Glacier National Park

•

Tourist Accommodation and Infonnation Centre

o

Hut

•

campground

•

Railway Station

73

Tralls

,

10Km.

Figure 5: Trails and Facilities, 1971

74

J. MARSH

highway (Table I). About 10 per cent are from the United States with 47 per cent of these from the Pacific states, and 19 per cent from the mountain states. As in earlier years, recreational use is spatially concentrated along the main communications corridor. Of the one million visitors to the park in the summer of 1967, only 5,468 made trail trips to the backcountry.1B The spatial distribution of trail users also closely resembles that of the 1890s with most people making day trips on the trails radiating from the Glacier House site. The proportion of trail users from the United States is 46 per cent, considerably higher than the percentage of total park visitors from that country. A further 35 per cent come from Alberta and British Columbia, a pattern different from that at the turn of the century. About 10 per cent of trail users are mountaineers and their focus of activity is still Mt. Sir Donald, the most popular climb in the 1800s. 19 While some aspects of the park's recreational character have changed, others have remained remarkably constant over the years. THE IMPACT OF HISTORY ON THE PARK TODAY

The park landscape today reveals man's impact through recreational and other land uses, and policies since 1880. The remains of Glacier House, structures in the Nakimu Caves, and much of the trail system are products of the period of recreation activity before 1926. The present relatively undeveloped state of the park can largely be attributed to the thirty-year period before 1962 when road access was lacking and development of recreation was not encouraged. The spatial pattern of facilities largely represents historical forces and is not always appropriate for today's needs. Hence problems arise. The tradition of camping near the Glacier House site led to the development of a campground which is problematic because of its size, layout, access and impact on the ecosystem. The cabins provided by the Alpine Club prior to 1962 are not now optimally located for mountaineers, and their leases reflect prior policies. The trail system built by the Swiss guides, and for fire-fighting purposes, is not always well suited to current recreational needs. The policy of fire control that evolved around 1900 partly to protect the scenery is not compatible with the aim of maintaining a natural ecosystem. Thus, the park's landscape, recreational character, and management problems are very much a product of historical land-use practices and policies.

KEY FACTORS IN THE EVOLUTION OF RECREATION

This study reveals the key factors involved in the evolution of recreation

Glacier National Park

75

in Glacier National Park. Many of them appear common to other areas such as Banff National Park, and relate closely to those identified by Nelson in his model for analysing man's impact on national parks. 20 The first factor is the resource base, with high-quality scenery and specific attractions being crucial to outdoor recreation development. The Selkirk Mountains represented high-quality scenery and the park area had such specific attractions as the Illecillewaet Glacier, Mt. Sir Donald and the Nakimu Caves. The second factor influencing recreation development is the availability of access using the common communications technology of the period. As this factor changes, the ability of a resort area to respond to such changes is vital to its survival. Having passed from rail to road dominance we may see air access crucial to the prosperity of resorts. The commitment of agencies is the third factor crucial to recreation development. In Glacier National Park the' commitment at various times of the Canadian Pacific Railway, National Parks Branch and Alpine Club of Canada was crucial to the park's recreation development. This commitment is heavily dependent on prevailing philosophies and policies which, as we have seen, can change considerably over the years. The fourth factor is the external situation. Resort areas are not closed systems and their development continually reflects events beyond their borders. The presence of a local metropolitan area or an alternative resort area will have an impact on recreation development. National communication requirements can affect both the accessibility of an area and its landscape. Short-term events such as wars and exhibitions change the spatial pattern of recreation. General trends in recreation fashion, such as the interest in alpinism in the last century and the appeal of backpacking today, influence the recreational use of an area. Information on all these factors is essential to an understanding of recreation development. They form the basis for explanations of the recreation history of geographic areas. NOTES I. The author wishes to acknowledge the financial assistance of the National Research Council and Canada Council and the supervision of Dr. J.G. Nelson. 2. Walter Moberly suggested that his assistant. Albert Perry. reached Rogers P-.lSS in 1866 but there is no first-hand evidence to substantiate this claim. See W.A.D.M .• "A Moberly Episode, 1886," Canadian Alpine Journal, 28 (1941). pp. 142-43. 3. A.N. Strahler. Introduction to Physical Geography 2nd. to-d. (New York: Wiley. 1966) Chapter 7. 4. W.e. Van Home. letter to J.M. Egan. General Superintendent. CPR. Winnipeg. I May 1886. Van Horne Papers. Public Archives of Canada (PAC). File MG28. 111-20, V. 1-2. 5. R. Craig Brown. "The Doctrine of Usefulness: Natural Resource and National Park Policy in Canada. 1887-1914." in Canadian Parks in PC'rspel't;vC'. ed. J.G. Nelson

76

J. MARSH

(Montreal: Harvest House, 1969), pp. 46-62. 6. J.S. Marsh, Nakimu Cavt?s (Golden: Golden and District Historical Society, 1973). 7. J.P. Sheldon, From Britain to British Columbia (Ottawa: Sheldon, 1887), p. 39. 8. H.P. Nichols, "Back Ranges of the Selkirks," Appalachia, 7 (1893), pp. 102-103. 9. Canadian Pacific Railway, Mountainet?ring in the Canadian Rockit?s (Montreal, 1901). 10. G. and W.S. Vaux, "The Great Glacier of the lIIecillewaet," Appalachia, 9 (1901), p. 157. II. M.T.S. Schaffer, "Botanical Notes - Haunts of the Wild Flowers of the Canadian Rockies," Canadian Alpine Journal. 5 (1911). pp. 131-35. 12. Canadian Pacific Railway. Annotaud Timetable (Montreal. 1892), p. 41. 13. W.O. Wilcox. Camping in the Canadian Rockies (london: Putnams. 1897), p. 122. 14. E.N. Russell. letter to Dr. E.A. Keepings. 28 January 1938. National Parks Branch. Revelstoke, File GP54. 15. G.E.H. Palmer, "Some Climbs in the Rocky Mountains and the Selkirks," Alpint? Journal, 54 (1943), pp. 154-55. 16. H. Wilson, "Memories of the Mountains," Canadian Geographical Journal, I (1930). p.226. 17. E.N. Russell, letter to J.B. Harkin, 5 May 1926. National Parks Branch. Revelstoke. File GP30. 18. J.S. Marsh, A Trail Use Survey. Glader National Park. British Columbia. 1967 (Peterborough: Canadian Recreation Services. 1971). 19. J.S. Marsh. "Climbing and Skiing in Glacier National Park, British Columbia, A Survey of High Country Recreation Patterns and Problems," Canadian Alpine Journal. 54 (1971), pp. 39-40. 20. J.G. Nelson, "The Impact of Techology on Banff National Park," in Impact of Technology on Environment: Some Global Examples. eds. J.G. Nelson and R.C. Scacc (london, Ontario: Studies in land Use History and landscape Change, 1974), pp. 201-43.

Recreation and Conservation: The Struggle for Balance in Point Pelee National Park, 1918-1978 J.O. BATTIN and J.O. NELSON

Recreation was an important activity on Point Pelee long before its establishment as a national park in 1918 (Figure I). Early visitors travelled on foot or by horse-drawn wagon, although in 1905 and again in 1915 government officials expressed confidence that an electric railway would soon be extended from Leamington to the peninsula. I These hopes did not materialize and by the close of the second decade of the twentieth century ". . . the horse and buggy age was yielding to the motor car."2 Throughout North America technology, popUlation growth, higher incomes, increased leisure time, and other factors combined to increase both the availability and the demand for outdoor recreation. 3 Situated close to the growing urban populations of Detroit, Windsor, Leamington, and other cities and towns, government-owned lands at Point Pelee afforded excellent opportunities for swimming, picnicking, camping, boating, hiking, bird watching and other recreational pursuits. Simultaneously more and more land on Lake Erie was being purchased and withdrawn from public access. The result was marked change in the kind and volume of recreational use and the introduction of an array of environmental impacts which park managers are still trying to bring "into balance" with the other major use of national parks, conservation. A number of these recreational changes and their impacts are discussed in this paper. Impacts of major concern are vegetation change and accelerated erosion, particularly in beach and sand dune areas. No attempt is made to be comprehensive about all activities and effects; for example we do not discuss duck hunting which is a major issue in its own right.

RECREATIONAL VISITS

Shortly after the park's establishment the Dominion parks branch This paper was originally published in The Laurentian Review, II, 2 (1979), pp.43-69

77

.. ..

". ".

'I

00

LtJ/cr ".•• ". ••

\~nrariO

ONTARIO

. Flint r_LondoI'I

'_.I

MICHIGAN

De1roIt

NEW YORK '-

P ttl

t

N

I

> :j Z > z

PENNSYLVANIA 0 I I

0

.....

SOKm. I

i

SO MI.

~EI1e._dIIlII_"-'In_.~_

Ml*altllec-lI8uIn hom lie w..... end IEulem

Figure I:

Location of Point Pelee National Park

0 '-

P Z m

r-

In

0 Z

Point Pelee National Park

79

undertook several developments for visitors. In 1922 roadways were "improved" and parking lots as well as a bathhouse, pavilion, picnic grounds and other structures were built. 4 In this same year Superintendent Conover reported that park roads had fallen into a state of disrepair as a result of damage caused by "heavy motor travel."s Two years later, on October 25, 1925, park officials reported to Commisioner Harkin that some 45,000 people had visited Point Pelee between May and September. During the same five-month period approximately 11,250 cars had used the park roads. 6 By 1939 ". . . public visitation was high 'and impairment was far advanced"7 (Figure 2). Several factors appear to have contributed to this "impairment." In the late 19305 unregulated automobile traffic and uncontrolled camping had become important park activities. On the west side of the peninsula trails leading to the beach often appeared to be used by cars. The trails opened onto the beach "in fan-shaped areas of exposed sand." The sides of the trails also showed "sand destruction."8 Within the forest, recreational activities had led to the ". . . virtual elimination of the shrub cover and lower tree story, creating an artificial condition in what was a well-stocked, many layer,ed, closed stand."9 In the late 1930s several camping areas were closed and fenced off " ... to permit regeneration of tree, shrub, and plant growth."lo By 1939 visitor attendance had also resulted in the establishment of two hotels in the pa rk. As in other national parks throughout Canada and the United States, attendance at Point Pelee declined significantly during the war years. In 1942 Clarke noted that the situation was "evidently better" and commented that "undoubtedly the reduced volume of tourist traffic has something to do with this ... "11 . Public interest in the future was renewed with the' August 8, 1945, formation of the Advisory Committtee for Point Pelee National Park. Still functioning today, the committee has been composed oflocal businessmen, sportsmen, park residents and the park superintendent. From time to time proposals have been submitted to the national parks branch for the possible "improvement" of Point Pelee. For example, several suggestions have been made for expansion of recreational facilities and control of the marsh water level by pumping. In recent years members have commented that the committee is not effective. '2 Between 1949 and 1953 several "improvements" were made to park facilities. However, these encountered strong resistance from naturalists and other concerned individuals and organizations who feared for " ... the survival of the unique flora and fauna found in the Park."') In 1949 the main park road was paved. Between 1951 and 1953 four large parking areas were completed. Scott calculated that these lots, combined with parking available on private property, enabled a maximum of 6,000 cars to be accommodated within this small park.'4 Buildings for

80

J.G. BATTIN AND J.G. NELSON

800 750 700 650 600 550

0

"2

500

1450

-5 :§.400

§350

1300 < 250 200 150 100

50 0 1918.1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

Year

Figure 2:

Attendance data, Point Pelee National Park, 1928-1973

1970

1980

Point Pelee National Park

81

both park officials and maintennce equipment were erected and a second lane was added to the park entrance. In addition, park camping areas were consolidated into one major campground. During this fouryear period "considerable landscaping ... was undertaken and maintenance generally was improved . . . . "IS In the mid 1950s several studies were initiated by the national park branch in response to ••... the feeling of concern by wildlife officers and conservationists about the effect the increasing popularity of the Park as a recreational area had on forest growth."16 Observations contained in these reports provide evidence that landscape "impairment" was well advanced. Scott, in 1955, noted: ... that there are approximately 45 side roads which lead to the west beach from the main highway. Along these short stubs the people park their cars and destroy the undergrowth with the result that the soil has become churned up and there is no opportunity for the bush to regenerate. 17

By 1962 Point Pelee reportedly was "under severe stress."18 Muir noted that "the system has already worked only too well, and the Park now bulges at the seams during peaks in attendance."19 He predicted that "extraordinary measures" would probably be necessary to preserve" ... the unique character of the flora and fauna of Pelee. "20 He also recommended that Point Pelee " ... be placed in a special category of Parks in the system requiring intensive remedial treatment."21 While this recommendation was not acted upon, in the mid 1960s the National and Historic Sites Branch implemented master planning as an important tool for future developments within the national park system. However, master planning efforts did not always meet with approval of the public or park officials. In the 1960s visitor attendance at Point Pelee remained high. Betwet:u 1965 and 1970 average attendance was 703,282 per year or approximately 6 per cent of all visits to Canadian national parks. Studies of Point Pelee park visitors conducted in the late 1960s revealed that the average length of stay was approximately 4.1 hours. Over 90 per cent of the park visitors were found to be from Ontario (over 60 per cent) and Michigan (approximately 30 per cent).22 Visitor participation in several activities during the spring and summer of 1968 is summarized in Table I. The annual attendance pattern at Point Pelee for 1968, 1969 and 1970 is presented in Figure 3. Attendance has tended to fluctuate, being high during the smelt and bird migration seasons and also on good weather days in the summer months. 23 Despite a sharp decrease in attendance during the early 1970s, visitor effects remained quite visible on the landscape. Maycock has pointed out that: Paths . . . created through the dry upland woods on unconsolidated sandy substrates, if they occur within the forest, generally remain unvegetated due to

:n

f

f

I

I

'~)'f

, ~

r. i

NOS13N

~

.,;;p

~

o·::s

~

Z

if

d'

a-~

~

I'D

::s n

(;-

n::s

~

"'"'

0

.,::sn

~

'0

~

c

::s ::s

>

~

~ f:

aNV

14 21 28

23 30 0ec.7

9 16

Nov. 2

26

12 19

28 Oct.S

10 17 24 31 Sepl.7 14 21

Aug. 3

%7

20

NI.l~ VO

July 6 13

29

June 1 8 15 22

25

30 April 6 13 20 27 May 4 11 18

23

%7 Feb. 3 10 17 24 Mar. 2 9 16

20

13

Jan. 6

0

'D'f

0

~ 0

Co)

S

Total Average Attendance (In thousands)

g

G)

0

i8

Point Pelee National Park

83

continuous churning up of the sand. In other less frequented situations the paths may be compacted by trampling and become favourable sites for the growth of various introduced weeds. 24

In this same period park officials emphasized the introduction of new management strategies designed to regulate recreational impact. . . . the probable future role of the Park will be that of intensive use and controlled natural environment. It is foreseeable that considerable restriction of some present uses will be required while at the same time encouragement of other uses will be in order. The possibilities of bringing Pelee into better conformance with the non-impairment terms of the Parks Act by eliminating camping should be seriously examined. 25

Table 1: Visitor Participation Rates 1968, Point Pelee National Park Spring

Swimming Picnicking Boating Fishing Hiking Social Activities Naturalist Programme Water Skiing Other

Percentage

Summer

Percentage

48.1 14.4 4.3 4.3 3.4 2.2 1.3 0.6 20.2

Swimming Picnicking Hiking Naturalist Programme Fishing Social Activities Boating Water Skiing Other

33.2 16.7 7.7 6.6 5.0 4.2 4.0 0.7 21.3

SOURCE: Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

Several steps were subsequently undertaken to achieve these objectives. In 1971 the number of camping sites was reduced from 155 to 55. Later, in 1972, family camping was eliminated as an activity within the park, although two group camping sites capable of holding 90 people still remained in operation. In 1971 a public transit system using propane-powered trailer trains was introduced to reduce automobile use in the park. Implemented "to enhance the visitors' experience, increase management control and improve the quality of the natural environment... ,"26 the transit system represented a major attempt to control visitor distribution and impact. Several months later in April 1972, with the approval and adoption of the Point Pelee National Park Master Plan, recreational activities within the park became subject to land use plans designed: ... to ensure that migratory and other birds and unusual southern vegetation

84

J.G. SA TTIN AND J.G. NELSON

which add greatly to the natural beauty of the Park and serve as an additional attraction to the large numbers of people who visit it each year, for pleasure and to study wildlife, may be adequately protected. 27

COlTAGING

In 1897 a local government official was approached by pe.rsons wishing .to lease cottage lots within the naval reserve then located at Point Pelee. While he was unable to grant these early requests, on November I, 190 I, the official informed the Minister of the htterior that "squatters were selling holdings to people in Leamington for summer homes and for growing peaches." 28 Although it is difficult to determine the location of these early purchases, Essex County assessment rolls reveal that by 1910 several Leamington residents had acquired property and had subdivided it into six cottage lots varying in size from 114 acre to I 3/4 acres. 29 By 1922 considerable pressure was being placed upon the Dominion Parks Branch to lease crown lands within the park for cottage purposes. Mills, who examined the possibility of leasing the East Beach in June 1922, commented: With the exception of the east and west shores of Point Pelee, I am informed that practically all the land fronting on the lake extending from Sandwich on the west to Wheatley lying east of Point Pelee has already been taken up either by syndicates or private parties. These lands are in good demand from the residents of Detroit, Windsor, Walkerville, Sandwich and surrounding districts as favourable sites for summer residences .... In regard to the value of the lake frontage property, I understand that lots along the westerly shore of Point Pelee, just north of the Park boundary are selling for $800.00 and up per 10t. lO

Although Mills made no recommendations regarding sale or leasing of crown lands, all applications were denied by government, including one 1937 offer from several Detroit businessmen to buy Pelee's west shore for $11 million.l1 Nevertheless, private landowners located within the national park proceeded to subdivide portions of their land into cottage sites (Figure 4). These lots were subsequently sold to interested individuals and commercial land development companies. Between 1924 and 1958 eleven registered cottage subdivisions were developed on private lands within Point Pelee National Park. However, not all these developments were successful in attracting buyers nor were cottages erected on all purchased sites. One significant environmental effect of cottaging was the introduction of exotic plants into the park. Bayly and O'Neill concluded that both the pecan tree (Carva iIIinoensis) and the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) had been introduced to the park by cottage owners, the latter exotic " ... rapidly dispersing in the park.,"l2 Lilac and other flowering shrubs and herbs were also introduced on many sites. Some trees native

85

Poim Pelee National Park

•

LAKE ERIE

Registered Subdivision Plan lol NurrtHlr

-

~d/tdMItbin

~.I""'-"d

Figure 4:

__

~lgn

__.

Registcred s ubdivision plans. Poin t Pekc National Park , 1918-1972

86

J.G. BATTIN AND J.G. NELSON

to Point Pelee were allowed to remain on the cottage lots, providing" .. shade, protection and privacy."H Over the years several government officials recommended the purchase of private land within Point Pelee National Park, but it was not until 1964 that a formal policy of land acquisition was undertaken. 34 Subsequently cottaging and" other private land uses have been gradually eliminated from the park landscape. 3s

CONSERVATION, PRESERVATION AND SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT

With the creation of the Dominion parks branch in 1911, management of federally-owned parks and forest reserves became centralized under one unit eventually administered by Commissioner J.B. Harkin. As well as establishing new national parks and promoting recreational activities to provide necessary operating revenue, Harkin, during his twenty-fiveyear tenure, also was actively concerned with "the idea and value of wilderness, perhaps as a result of contact with American ideas."36 Under Harkin's leadership, the parks branch slowly "began to emphasize the scientific, aesthetic, and spiritual values of the 'wild' .... "37 National parks management was affected accordingly. In "the period from about 19 I I to 1940, Harkin and his colleagues slowly promoted the preservation and protection of park landscapes, particularly in the biological sense. "38 In many national parks strict fire-control policies were introduced and the protection of certain "desirable" animals such as elk and deer was encouraged. 39 As early as December 1918, different views of the future of Point Pelee were being expressed by interested citizens of the area. On December 16, 1918, E. Kerr, secretary ofthe Essex County Wild Life Protection Association, commented that: . . . an attentive ear is being accorded the guerillas of destruction instead of those keenly interested in the maintenance of wild areas and landscapes for future generations. Do you think it possible for the 'Park' to look favourably upon the conservationists and marshlands and Park lands protectionist viewpoint?'o

Later, on June 30, 1920, James White, assistant to the chairman of the Commission of Conservation, urged "compliance with the regulations regarding unauthorized use of park lands."41 Regulations were soon attached to the carp fishery operating in the Pelee marsh. Also, on June I, 1923, a Nature Preserve was created in the southern portion of the park. Several years later, on January 28, 1926, Commisioner Harkin informed Superintendent Conover that the "Parks Policy is generally one of conservation. "42 In the late 19305 new park management strategies were initiated within the Canadian national parks system. Ecological research was con-

Point Pelee National Park

87

ducted by biologists such as Banfield, Cowan and Green on a variety of different management problems, mainly in the western national parks. These research efforts have been described as "the first serious attempts to administer the parks on a scientific basis and therefore constitute a landmark in the evoluti~n of national park policy and practice. "43 In May 1939 H.F. Lewis, H.A. Senn and W.E.D. Halliday conducted an examination of Point Pelee National Park. The terms of reference for their investigation were indicative of the emerging "scientific" approach. I. To examine Point Pelee National Park with a view to the conservation of the natural flora and fauna of the area.

2. To recommend the adoption of measures to effect such preservation, including the setting aside of reserved areas, keeping in view the continued use of portions of the area for recreational purposes. 3. To recommend steps towards rehabilitation of any areas where this is considered desirable.··

As well as concluding that underbrushing, uncontrolled camping, and unregulated automobile traffic were the major "disturbances" at Point Pelee, Lewis and his colleagues were among the first to articulate management problems facing the park administration. Although nearly forty years old, their remarks sound much like those of a present-day environmental manager. The land area of the Park is small, and the number of visitors is large; these contrasting facts intensify the problem of balancing what are virtually two opposing interests, namely preservation of natural conditions and extensive use by man. It is felt that helpful lines of approach towards solving this problem lie in the better education of the general visitor as to the interesting natural features of the Park, in encouraging the more responsible and natureloving type of tourist, in maintaining reserved areas under natural conditions, in segregation of camping sites into small units with rehabilitation of the forest cover between, and in control of the car situation. Emphasis should be placed on the quality rather than on the number of visitors using the Park.· 5

Biological investigations undertaken by Clarke in 1942 and 1943 partly attributed the "better" condition of Point Pelee to the "carefully worked-out" policies of the parks branch. 46 Commencing in 1949 and continuing throughout the 195Os, Point Pelee became the subject of several management studies carried out by the National Parks Branch and the Canadian Wildlife Service. Tener outlined the reasons for selecting Point Pelee. The study was initiated as a first of a series of ecological surveys of the National Parks of Canada. Point Pelee was chosen because of its proximity to Ottawa, because of its unique faunal and fl~ral composition, because of certain problems confronting the administration there and because its small size per-

88

J.G. BATTIN AND J.G. NELSON

mitted one man to develop methods and techniques to be used in later sutdies. 47

After examining the park, he commented on two conflicting land uses which occurred at Point Pelee. . . . Point Pelee National Park was set aside as a National Park primarily because of its unique fauna and flora and not because of its suitability as a picnic and bathing ground for local inhabitants. The forces of conservation and recreation are diametrically opposed because of the small area involved and the large number of visitors to the park. The time has been reached where a decision must be made as to whether the purpose of the park shall be for recreation or for the preservation of the fauna and flora. 48

Four years later, other ideas were advanced by Young. In addition to Tener's proposals, Young suggested the construction of additional picnic and bathing facilities, development of the East Beach north of the crossroad, retention of the marsh by the parks branch, and the initiation of marsh management studies designed to maintain its ""natural state. "49 In 1955 two reports on the management of Point Pelee were completed, one by G.L. Scott, the other by D.A. Munro. Munro stressed chagnes which had slowly occurred in management policies, and their impact on the park landscape. Administration of the Park has occasionally favoured ... purely recreational use. Indeed, at one time management of the Park was so mis-directed that many valuable trees and shrubs were removed and public use was largely uncontrolled. During this period portions of the Park deteriorated excessively in natural quality. While the scars of the period remain, it is necessary to point out that during the past few years the trend has been reversed and there is now apparent within the Park a major improvement in the orientation and effect of management policies ... it must be stressed that aesthetic-scientific use of Point Pelee National Park should have priority and is more truly in the national interest. so

Munro also emphasized that park building standards should be improved and that a "natural history museum" should be constructed. sl In 1957 Purdue observed that several suggestions presented by Munro were already "in effect."S2 J.C. Jackson strongly urged that all private property be acquired. He also recommended that nature studies be encouraged and that land use zoning be introduced "to preserve the flora and fauna which are of unique national interest. "S) By the early 1960s, these and other earlier recommendations had not been fully adopted by the parks branch, although several alternatives to the management of Point Pelee had been contemplated by government officials. For example, in 1963 the Glassco Royal Commission on Government Organization recommended that Point Pelee, because of the problems of high visitor attendance and landscape impairment, be

Point Pelee National Park

89

deleted from the national parks system. Shortly after this announcement, Ontario Premier John Robarts indicated that the province would gladly assume management of the park. Opposing this ownership change, national park supporters stressed a probable shift from an emerging conservation emphasis under federal management to a provincial emphasis on recreation. With this argument, they successfully retained federal management of the park. 54 In 1968 new planning approaches to park management were apparent at Point Pelee. Muir commented that "future use should place more stress on the enjoyment of preserved natural values. "55 Proposals were subsequently advanced for the implementation of several land-use strategies, including the enlargement of the park by acquiring adjacent land, the development of long-range plans, and the establishment of a long-term programme to preserve and rehabilitate the park landscape. 56 Calling for the use of "extraordinary measures" to cope with park management problems, Muir recommended that land-use planning be approached "from the ecosystem point of view wherein the whole natural community of Point Pelee is the unit for consideration. "S7 Muir strongly believed that park managers must: Take hold of the natural physical and biological processes of the park and manage them. artificially ifne~ssary. in such a manner that the known natural community can continue to function along traditional lines for all times. sa

As well as advocating the re-introdution of fire as a marsh management tool for "Parks purposes," it was suggested that the entire park be treated "as a managed ecosystem where natural values are maintained in a natural appealing environment by a combination of means including artificials methods. ",59 It was also recommended that open spaces be established on the formerly agricultural lands to provide suitable habitat for birds. Finally, Muir proposed the development of a tree nursery, the control of hackberry, and the fertilization of the forest to promote growth and "vigor." These recommendations, however, were not implemented, although several changes diCl occur with respect to planning within the national parks system. By 1971 the master planning concept had been refined and master plans were created for several national parks. In April 1972, following a series of public hearings, the National and Historic Parks Branch approved the Point Pelee National Park master plan.

INTERPRETATION

Developed to "assist the public to know and to appreciate the varied aspects of the natural scene,"60 park interpretation resulted from the gradual realization that "an educated public would both enjoy and respect the park environment more fully. "61

90

J.G. BATTIN AND J.G. NELSON

As early as 1939 government officials recommended that a "nature guide" be appointed at Point Pelee. However; it was not until 1960, one year after establishment of the Education and Interpretation Division within the parks branch, that a seasonal summer naturalist was hired. Five years later, in 1965, a permanent park naturalist was assigned to Point Pelee. Interpretive activities quickly developed within the park, although these included little reference to human impact on the peninsula. In 1962 the fence surrounding the nature preserve was removed and nature trails were established. Plants along the trail were label1ed for visitor identification. In 1963 a wooden boardwalk was constructed in the Pelee marsh, al10wing park visitors to venture into the marsh from the western bar in a 3/4 mile circuit. In 1966 a $250,000 interpretive centre, the first within the national parks system, was erected on the southern portion of Lot 6. However, while providing a natural history museum, lecture hal1, and space for park naturalists and interpretive exhibits, this building also destroyed a large area of the remaining red cedar glade within the park.62 With this facility serving as a functional node for visitor information, programmes and brochures were developed which incorporated interpretive and park policy. With the introduction of the transit system in 1971, brief nature-oriented talks were delivered to passengers during the short ten-minute ride to the East Point Beach area. One important aspect of the expansion of interpretive facilities was the acquisition of historical and biophysical data. Although early studies by Muir provided the basis for a preliminary interpretive programme, it was not until the late 1960s that intensive research was undertaken on all aspects of the park landscape. In addition to the completion of several reports by permanent and seasonal naturalists and wardens, external consultants were encouraged to initiate studies within the park, often under contract to the National Parks Branch. These reports, in addition to providing essential data for the interpretive programme, furnished valuable planning information, some of which was incorporated into the development of the Point Pelee master plan.63 Two months after the April 1972 approval of the Point Pelee master plan a Point Pelee National Park Interpretive Plan was also adopted. PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

The Point Pelee National Park Master Plan and the Point Pelee National Park Interpretive Plan officially form the two main foundations for future land use, development and interpretation at Point Pelee. However, the evaluation of resource data acquired during and subsequent to the approval of these plans has suggested possible land-use zoning alternatives to those advocated by the 1972 master plan. For this and other

Point Pelee National Park

91

reasons the Point Pelee master plan is again under reveiw and it is timely to make some general evaluative remarks about future use. Designed "to provide an adequate balance between preservation and use t"64 the 1972 Point Pelee National Park master plan proposes that the peninsula be zoned in accordance with a five-category land use classification system common to all national parks: (I) special (cultural and ecological) areas; (2) wilderness recreation areas; (3) natural environment areas; (4) general outdoor recreation areas; and (5) intensive use areas. Two land-use classes t namelYt wilderness recreation areas and intensive use areas, are judged not applicable to Pelee. Special areas, natural environment areas, and general outdoor recreation areas constitute the three major land-use classes proposed within the park (Table 2). Two basic approaches to management are outlined in the 1972 plan. There are the era and the evolutionary concepts. Zoned according to the land use plan, class 3 marsh and beach areas would be managed according to the era concept which requires that the landscape in question be maintained as it appeared at some given time in the past. Class 3 and 4 dryland areas would be managed according to the evolutionary concept which emphasizes "natural" progression and succession of plant communities. Class I areas will be given "total protection and preservation,"66 although it is not entirely clear how this type of management would differ from lands managed according to the evolutionary concept. In park shoreline areas erosion control programmes would be continued, using biological methods such as reforestation wherever possible. One 1972 master plan recommendation calls for the operation of the public transit system throughout the park, eventually resulting in the complete removal of the automobile during the summer months. Table 2: Point Pelee National Park Land Use Classification Class Number

Class name

I

Special areas Wilderness areas Natural environment areas Outdoor recreation areas Intensive use areas

2 3 4 5

Area (acres)

Park

872

23.S

2487 3S1

67.0

3710

100.0

(%)

9.S

Class examples Dunes, Marsh Disturbed Land, Marsh Beach, Picnic Sites, Roads

SOURCE: Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development . . Unneeded roadways would be closed. At the same time improvements involving the construction of recreational facilities, food concessions,

92

J.G. BAITIN AND J.G. NELSON

and lifeguard stations would be carried out on several beach areas. Access roadways would be. paved. While a group campsite capable of accommodating some 90 persons would be retained in the former family campground, overnight camping would be eliminated as visitor activities become oriented towards day use of the park. All private property would be acquired and picnic sites consolidated into two major areas in the centre of the park. Reforestation and site improvement would be undertaken in these two areas with "recreation walks" providing access to the West Beach. These changes, except for the complete introduction of the transit system, were to be completed by 1977. Closely associated with the implementation of the master plan, the Point Pelee National Park interpretive plan provides for the enhancement of "public enjoyment of the Park by stimulating an appreciation of the Park environment. "67 Centred on the overall theme of "Canada South," the interpretive plan calls for the development of educational programmes to illustrate the southern character of Point Pelee. One aspect of this programme is to promote public understanding of the park as a landscape on which man has long exerted a dominant environmental ifluence. 68 The interpretive plan divides the park area into six intepretive units derived from landform units. Each of these interpretive units is concerned with a central theme or themes (Figure 5). The units are: 1.

2. 3. 4.

5. 6.

The Dunes Theme: Carolinian dunes The Marsh Theme: Carolinian marsh The Sand Plains Theme: (a) Human history (b) Rare and unique Carolinian species The Beach Edge Theme: (a) Carolinian swamp forest (b) Landform The Tip Theme: (a) Southernmost Canadian mainland (b) Point of fleeting wings The Barrier Ridge Theme: Critical flora and fauna habitat 69

According to the 1972 interpretive plan, human use and impact on Point Pelee will be a dominant theme in the interpretive history of the park. The Sand Plains, Tip, and Marsh units will play major roles in its presentation. Centred on thematic guidelines of Indian history, settlement, fisheries, nautical and resort history, these interpretive units will

Point Pelee National Park

41"50'

4r!iO'

Figure S:

1

Sand Dunes

2

The Marsh

3

Send Plains

4

Beach Ridge

5

The TIp

6

Barrier Ridge

Interpretive units, Point Pelee National Park

93

94

J.O. BATTIN AND J.O. NELSON

outline past human activities within the park and their significance with respect to the Pelee landscape. However, little attention apparently will be devoted to human impact and landscape change under national parks management. Unless this emphasis is changed an opportunity will be missed to monitor the effects of changing parks policy and practice, and give the citizen an opportunity to observe and think about' their effects on the national park landscape past, present and future. The interpretive story is largely to be presented to the public through continued use of the public transit sytem. Future interpretive plans envisage construction of an interpretive/orientation centre at the staging terminal north of the park. Such a terminal would be built when the transit system is extended throughout the entire park. Whether the original plan for the public transit system should be completed is worthy of further study. The system seems to have reduced some of the diffuse impacts of past recreational uses; on the other hand, it seems to have increased pressure at a number of nodal points, including some dune areas. Although both the master plan and the interpretive plan were adopted in 1972 there is much disagreement about them both within Parks Canada and among citizens. This disagreement is a classical one from the standpoint of national parks in that it revolves around the degree to which the park will be used for conservation as opposed to recreation. Under the 1972 master plan many of the recreational and other activities which cause erosion, plant destruction, and other undesirable effects would be controlled to a much greater degree than in the 1950s or 1960s. However, some Parks Canada personnel and citizens stiD feel that too much attention has been paid to recreation as a use and that controls on its effects are inadequate to protect the fauna and flora of the park. Commenting that the 1972 master plan was largely tied to visitor use rather than resource characteristics,'O Bull el 01. formulated a resourceoriented land-use plan for Point Pelee. This plan attempted to recognize "the resource realities at Point Pelee so that adequate protection is assured and at the same time provide for visitor enjoyment of the natural environment."?· The park resources were divided into four broad categories of geomorphology, flora, fauna and human history. Critical natural processes were identified, as well as rare and unique features and potential human impact. A composite map depicting the sensitivity of Point Pelee to visitor use was developed (Figure 6). A land-use classification and planning scheme was also proposed which would guide recreation facilities and activities in accordance with biophysical characteristics and carrying capacities (Figure 7). Bull also suggested that the transit system be introduced throughout the entire park only after all private property in the park and sufficient land to the north had been purchased.

95

Poilll Pelee Natiollal Park

,

.,·w

LAKE ERIE

Values - Sensitivity Groupings Low Medium

High

Figure 6:

Reso urces composi te, Point Pclee

Na ti ona l Park

96

J.G. BATTIN AND J.G. NELSON

."SII'

LAKE ERIE

1

Class 1 areas (not applicable)

2

Class 2 areas

3

. Class 3 areas

4

Class 4 areas

5

Class 5 areas (not appllcab6e) Paths and Roadways

.

,KIlo.

Figure 7:

Resource Land Use Plan, Point Pelee National Park

.,....

Point Pelee National Park

97

Finally, Bull did not agree with the conceptual or theoretical basis of the 1972 master plan, concluding that both the era concept and evolutionary concept presuppose "an intimate knowledge by the park manager of the biological and physical processes. the floral-faunal-abiotic interrelationships, and how they vary over time. on a diurnal, seasonal, and more long term basis,"·72. He preferred "an essentially evolutionary management approach, with modifications."n These modifications would primarily involve the removal of "adverse outside influences that are detrimental either to the integrity of the park or its biophysical processes"74 as well as efforts "to maintain certain features that are ... judged to be an important part of the park story."7S This does not mean that the knowledge is lacking to reconstruct certain more recent phases in the landscape history of Point Pelee in the manner suggested in various master planning and other proposals. The descriptions and the photographs are available to reconstruct such things as, for example, a French Canadian fishing landscape on the eastern sand bar. And many people would favour the careful development of such landscapes not only because of their romantic appeal but also because of what they can tell about how man's changing ideologies, plans and technologies have affected and continue to affect Point Pelee's landscapes and ecosystems. Many of these ideologies, plans and technologies have had unanticipated effects which subsequently changed the system in unwanted ways. To know that varying degrees of conviction have caused these things to occur and that, in spite of environmental impact assessment and other evaluations, they will continue to occur because of knowledge gaps and other uncertainties can teach us to employ caution, flexibility and wisdom in future management of Point Pelee and other areas. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

The review of the 1972 master plan is taking place because earlier schemes did not satisfy enough parks personnel and citizens. This situation is understandable given that Point Pelee was one of the first Canadian national parks to be subjected to master planning in an attempt to meet the problems posed by post World War II recreational and other changes. Point Pelee planning appears to have begun before the strong development of environmental, ecological or natural resource-oriented thinking in the late 1960s. The late introductions of such thinking into plans that had been developing along more traditional planning lines caused perturbations that are at least partly the reason for the present review. In any event such reviews are valuable for it is very doubtful whether the master planning process can produce models that will last for a long time in the face of rapid environmental, social, technical and other

98

J.O. BATTIN AND J.O. NELSON

changes. What, for example, are the implications of recent changes in oil and gas prices and projected future supplies on plans for parks such as Point Pelee? What, also, should be our thinking in the light of mounting evidence that efforts to control shore erosion in high-energy coastal environments like that at Point Pelee often fail, as well as being destructive of the natural beach and aesthetically unattractive? Such evidence has primarily become available in the last five years as a result of studies in the United States, notably in national parks and related reserves on the Mid-Atlantic coast (for example, Cape Hatteras National Seashore) where the decision has subsequently been made to abandon erosion control schemes based on engineering approaches. The critical planning issue now before parks personnel and the public is a longstanding one in all national parks - Le., how to determine the balance between using and saving, or development and conservation. The problem is very apparent in Point Pelee because of its small size, its long use for an array of economic purposes, the sensitivity of its dune and other features, and the large growing and rather affluent population in the surrounding area. To argue for management of any part of Pelee as "wilderness" or "nature," in the sense of it being relatively undisturbed by human activities, is clearly very difficult. However, the vegetation, landforms and animals of the park make it an unusual oasis amidst surrounding heavily-used lands. Moreover its plants, animals and other feature differ in many ways from those of nearby peninsulas such as Rondeau or Long Point. Considerable stress therefore should be place on resources and environment in planning and. managing Point Pelee. Yet overall, Point Pelee can only be effectively managed within a comprehensive human ecological framework. The motivating imagery should reflect the dynamic interaction among biophysical and cultural processes within and around the park. The park is and will remain part of an extensive coastal ecosystem which will continue to be used by man in diverse and changing ways. NOTES I. P. Conover to the Minister of the Interior, March 5, 1889, Public Archives of Canada (PAC), File 1509, Vol. 2; P. Conover to the Minister of the Interior, November 4, 1905, ibid., File 1509, Vol. 3; Leamington-Mersea: Souvenir History and Centennial Program (Leamington: Town of Leamington, 1966), p. 5. 2. F.S. Snell, ed., Leamington's Heritage (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1974), p. 91. 3. M. Clawson, "The Development of Recreation in the United States and Canada and Its Implications for National Parks," in 77le Canadian National Parks: Today and Tomorrow, ed. by J.O. Nelson and R.C. Scace, Studies in Land Use History and Landscape Change, National Park Series, No.3, Vol. I, (Calgary: University of Calgary, 1968), pp. 60-62. 4. Point Pelee Park Colony: Lake Erie's Finest Summer Home Sites (Detroit: Point Pelee Park Company Limited, 1923), p. 10.

Point Pelee National Park

99

5. F.H. Conover to J.B. Harkin, 1923, PAC, File p. 172, Vol. I. 6. J.S. Mills to J.B. Harkin, October 25, 1925, ibid. 1. R.D. Muir, Point Pelee National Park: An Assessment of Some Factors Affecting Natural

Values. Preservation. Rehabilitation. Interpretation. Visitor Use and Future Requirements

8.

9. 10. II. 12. 13. 14. 15.

(Ottawa: Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, National Parks Branch, 1968), p. 3. H.F. Lewis, H.A. Senn and W.E.D. Halliday, Point Pelee National Park. Ontario. Report on Examination. May. 1939 (Ottawa: Canadian Wildlife Service, 1939), p. 24. Ibid., p. 36 J.S. Smart to R.J. Grant, June 25, 1942, PAC, File PI81, Vol. I. C.H.D. Clarke, Biological Investigations of Point Pelee National Park /942 (Ottawa: National Parks Bureau, 1943), p. 6. Point Pelee National Park, Administrative Files, Advisory Comittee for Point Pelee National Park, December, 1913. D.M. Young, Point Pelee National Park (Ottawa: Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, 1953), p. 5. G.L. Scott, A Report on Point Pelee National Park (Ottawa: National Parks and Canadian Wildlife Service, 1955), p. 12. J. Purdue, Point Pelee National Park. Leamington. Ontario (Ottawa: National Parks Branch, 1951), p. 9. Scott, Report, p. 12. Ibid., p. 1. R.D. Muir, Point Pelee National Park (Ottawa: National Parks Branch, 1962), p. 8.

16. 11. 18. 19. Ibid.

20. Ibid., p. 10. 21. Muir, Assessment, p. 12. 22. Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Point Pelee National Park Master Plan (Ottawa: National and Historic Parks Branch, 1912), p. 11: J.I. Nicol, "The National Parks in Canada," in J.G. Nelson and Scace, The Canadian National Parks, p. 45. 23. J.S. Fulton, "A Weather-Attendance Model for Point Pelee National Park" (research manuscript, University of Windsor, 1970), p. 14. 24. P.F. Maycock, An Ecological Study of the Forests of Point Pelee. Essex County. Ontario (Ottawa: National and Historic Parks Branch, 1969-1972), p. 71. 25. Muir, Assessment, p. 8. 26. Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Master Plan, p. 22. 27. Ibid., p. 21 28. P. Conover to the Minister of the Interior, October 9, 1897, PAC, File 1509, Vol. 3: P. Conover to the Minister of the Interior, November I, 1901, ibid. 29. Township of Mersea, Municipal Records. Section A. Essex County Assessment Rolls (18101920). 30. J.S. Mills, The Old Days of Point Pelee National Park (Ottawa: Office of the Chief Engineer, National Parks, 1922), p. 4. 31. Ibid., p. 5. 32. I. Bayly and T.A. O'Neill, Mapping and Vegetation Analysis. Point Pelee National Park, Progress Report (Ottawa: National and Historic Parks Branch, 1912), pp. 5-6. 33. Maycock, Ecological Study, p. 204; R. Hollingsworth and D. Wigle, A Report on Old Homesites to Establish the Extent of Pre Re-Habilitation and Variance from Adjacent Successional Species of Flora (Leamington: National and Historic Parks Branch, 1972), p. 17. 34. J.G. Battin, "Land Use History and landscape Change, Point Pelee National Park, Ontario," M.A. thesis, (London: University of Western Ontario, Department of Geography, 1975), p. 230.

100

J.G. BATTIN AND J.G. NELSON

35. A. Laing. A Statement on National Park Policy (Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1964). p. 3~ Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Point Pelee National Park: lAnd DOC'UIIfetlt Files of Properties Acquired. Index by Location of Properties (Cornwall: National and Historic Parks Branch. 1972), pp. 1-39. 36. J.G. Nelson and R.W. Butler. "Recreation and the Environment," in Perspectives on Environment. ed. by I.R. Manners and M.W. Mikesell (Washington; Association of American Geographers, Publication No. 13, 1974), p. 298. 37. J.G. Nelson. "Canadian National Parks and Related Reserves: Research Needs and Management." in Canadian Public Land Use in Perspective. ed. by J.G. Nelson, R.C. Scace and R. Kouri (Ottawa: Social Science Research Council of Canada, 1974). p. 366. 38. Nelson and Butler, "Recreation and the Environment," p. 298. 39. Nelson. "The Canadian National Parks." p. 76: Nelson and Butler. "Recreation and the Environment." p. 298. 40. E. Kerr to J.B. Harkin. December 16. 1918, PAC, File P300, Vol. I. 41. J. White to J.B. Harkin, June JO, 1920. ibid., Vol. 2. 42. J.B. Harkin to F.H. Conover, January 28. 1926, ibid., File PI72, Vol. I. 43. J.G. Nelson. "The Canadian National Parks: Past, Present. Future," Canadian Geographical Journal. Vol. LXXXVI. No. 3 (1973). p. 78. 44. Lewis. Senn. and Halliday, Examination. p. 5. 45. Ibid.• pp. 38-39. 46. Clarke. Biological Investigations. p. 6. 47. J. Tener, First Interim Report of the Ecological Study of Point Pelee National Park (Ottawa: Dominion Wildlife Service. 1949). p. I. 48. Ibid.• p. 3. 49. Young. Point Pelee National Park, p. 20. 50. D.A. Munro. Land Utilization in Point Pelee National Park (Ottawa: National Parks Branch. 1955), p. 17. 51. Ibid., p. 31. 52. Purdue. Point Pelee National Park, p. 14. 53. J.e. Jackson, Report on Point Pelee National Park (Ottawa: Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, 1958). p. 17. 54. Snell, Leamington's Heritage. p. 184. 55. Muir. Assessment, p. 7. 56. Ibid.• p. 8. 57. Ibid., p. 13.

58. Ibid. 59. Ibid., pp. 30-31. 60. Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, National Parks Policy (Ottawa: National and Historic Parks Branch, 1969). p. II. 61. Snell. Leamington's Heritage. p. 184 62. Maycock. Ecological Study, p. 211. 63. Battin. "Land Use History." pp. 244-45. 64. Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Master Plan, p. 21. 65. Ibid.• p. 33.

66. Ibid. 67. Ibid.• p. 34. 68. Ibid. 69. Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Point Pelee National Park Interpretive Plan (Ottawa: National and Historic Parks Branch, 1972). 70. G.A. Bull et 01•• Resource Management- Point Pelee National Park (Ottawa: Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. Parks Canada. 1973), p. 2.

Point Pelee National Park

101

71. Ibid. 72. Ibid., p. 31. 73. Ibid., p. 34: C. Drysdale, Point P(!/ee Em'ironmelltal Management (Leamington: Parks Canada, 1963). 74. Bull et al., Resource Manag('ment, p. 34. 75. Ibic/.

The Evolution of the Ontario Provincial Park System K. MORRISON

Provincial parks are extremely important in meeting the demand for outdoor recreation within Ontario. The provincial parks serve a variety of functions in addition to recreation, however, including the preservation of natural areas and historic sites, education and economic contribution through both tourism and resource extraction. The multi-purpose nature of the provincial park system requires active planning in order that a system evolves that is both optimum for itself and at the same time complementary to national, regional and municipal park systems. I Ontario has the oldest and one of the most extensive and comprehensive provincial park systems of any of the Canadian provinces. However, only recently has any consideration been given to the concept of developing a provincial park system within Ontario. This paper traces the evolution of the Qntario provincial park system. Three phases, each representing a distinctive provincial government response to the question of provincial park deVelopment characterize the evolution of the park system. The first phase, spanning the time period from 1893 to 1953, is characterized by an almost total lack of planning. This phase, spanning two worlds wars and a depression, provided a very unstable atmosphere for provincial park establishment. The Ontario government expressed little concern with respect to the provision of provincial parks for public use, and viewed parks as a financial liability. The resultant growth of provincial parks was minimal. The second era in the evolution of Ontario provincial parks commenced in the mid-fifties when the Ontario government recognized the lack of public outdoor recreation facilities. It was a period of dramatically increasing use pressures and scrambling recreation administrators attempting to meet these pressures. Consequently, this phase saw a tremendous increase in the number of provincial parks established. The third phase, commencing in the mid-sixties, saw the birth of a comprehensive systems planning programme, as well as a further growth in the number of provincial parks and a somewhat new direction in the type of parks being established.

102

Ontario Provincial Park System

103

PHASE I, 1893-1953

The origins of the Ontario provincial park system are inextricably connected with the conservation movement in the United States,2 which was stimulated by the despoilation of natural resources in the western states. It must be remembered, however, that the park movement was only one of the many issues in this conservation movement. The first national parks established in the United States and Canada were in 1872 and 1885 respectively. The first Ontario provincial park was established shortly thereafter. The early history of the Ontario provincial park system closely parallels that of the United States and Canadian national parks with respect to recreation, as the major emphasis was placed upon health and resort values in all three instances. With respect to natural resources conservation in the parks, a distinct difference is evident between the American and Canadian experiences at both the federal and provincial levels. Whereas strong support for natural resources preservation within parks was present in the United States, emphasis on the "rational" use of park resources was dominant in Canada. l This emphasis on the "rational" use of park resources is the underlying factor for many of the current resource-use problems presently facing both Canadian national and provincial park administrators. An example is the present logging controversy in Algonquin Provincial Park. Although the proponents campaigning for establishment of the park stressed preservation objectives, they also supported and encouraged logging: ...arguments for the reserve stressed the maintenance of water supply, the desirability of government-regulated logging, wildlife protection, and the potential for hotel and cottage style vacationing. Lumbermen were consistently enthusiastic about the park. a fact suggesting that no one conceived of it as wilderness preservation. 4

The creation of Algonquin National Parks in 1893 signalled the beginning of the Ontario provincial park system. However, Algonquin was not the first park to be established by an Act of Parliament of the Ontario government. This distinction belongs to Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park, which was established in 1887. 6 Algonquin is the second-largest Ontario provincial park and the most popular for camping purposes. The park was established only after considerable campaigning by se'veral dedicated civil servants, most notably Alexander Kirkwood and James Dickson. Kirkwood, a clerk for the Ontario Department of Crown Lands, is usually credited for the establishment of Algonquin Park. Undoubtedly, without his persistence the realization of a park would have failed. However, it is believed that Kirkwood had never frequented the "park" area and therefore relied upon the writings of Dickson and others to support his pleas for park establishment. Dickson, an Ontario Land Surveryor at Fenelon Falls, had previously recommended in one of his reports, ways of publicizing the region as a

104

K. MORRISON

recreational area. Moreover, in 1886 his book entitled Camping in the Muskoka Region, based on his travels and experiences within the present-day Algonquin Provincial Park and its surrounding environs, was published. 7 The Ontario Bureau of Forestry was established in 1883. Following a tour of "Algonquin" in 1884, the Chief Clerk of the Bureau, Robert Phipps, recommended the creation of a forest reserve to preserve the natural resources of the area. Then in 1885, Kirkwood sent a letter to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, the Honourable J .B. Pardee, proposing ... to set aside a forest reserve principally for the preservation and maintenance of the natural forest protecting the head waters and tributaries of the Muskoka, Petewawa[sic], Bonnechere, and Madawaska Rivers, where in it shall be unlawful for any person to enter and cut timber for any private use, or disturb or destroy the fur-bearing animals. II

Kirkwood wanted the area to be proclaimed "a National Forest and Park" and given the name Algonkin Park, to perpetuate the name of one of the greatest Indian nations that inhabited the North American continent. At about the same time, Dickson was surveying several of the townships mentioned in Kirkwood's letter addressed to J.B. Pardee. In 1885 he submitted his reports for Finlayson and Peck Townships. His reports corroborated Kirkwood's suggestions. In 1886, Pardee requested Dickson to journey through the unsurveyed townships of Sproule and Preston. His subsequent reports again emphasized the tourist potential of the area and the park idea began to gain support.9 Also in 1886, Kirkwood continued his campaign for the creation of a reserve by appealing to the public for support by means of an eight-page pamphlet highlighting the features of the "park" and the reasons for setting it aside. Unfortunatley, in 1889 Pardee died and despite continued efforts by Kirkwood and others, little was accomplished. However, in 1892 the Premier of Ontario, Sir Oliver Mowat, set up a "Royal Commission to enquire into, and to make full report respecting the fitness of certain territory in our said province ... for the purpose of a Forest Reservation and National Park."lo Kirkwood was named as the commission's chairman, and Dickson, Phipps, Archibald Blue (Director of Mines) and Aubrey White (Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands) rounded out its membership. The commission presented its report in 1893, and the Legislature lost no time in implementing its recommendations. In May 1893, the Ontario Legislature established Algonquin National Park. The Algonquin National Park Act stated that the area was ... reserved and set apart as a public park and forest reservation, fish and game

Ontario Provincial Park System

105

preserve, health resort and pleasure ground for the benefit, advantage and enjoyment of the people of the Province. II

Kirkwood and his contemporaries were primarily concerned with the preservation of the water and wildlife resources of the area and government-regulated logging.12 The proponents viewed the use of the area for recreation as an additional benefit, although their perception of recreation differs from that of today. The recreational use of the area at this time was light, however, primarily due to its inaccessibility. In 1893, James Wilson, the Superintendent of Queen Victoria Park at Niagara Falls, was requested to visit the park and make a report thereon. 13 In his report, Wilson commented upon the relative inaccessibility of the park: Access to the park is at present somewhat difficult, as it is remote from railway connection, and the only roads leading in from any direction are those which have been opened up by lumbermen to take in supplies to their winter camps. These are mere paths or trails through the woods, wretchedly made, and of course very rough and tortuous. 14

As the park became more accessible through the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway, and the intrusion of roads into the area, the park became "more popular, not only for the excellent speckled salmon trout and bass fishing, but for purposes of rest and health. "IS The park superintendent in his 1919 report explains: There are five hotels, all of which have been filled during the past season to their utmost capacity, and many visitors had to be refused for want of room. The largest hotel is the Highland Inn, situated on Cache Lake at Headquarters, which is owned and operated by the Grank Trunk Railway Company. Here one hundred guests can be accommodated and many more in tents. In connection with the Inn are two camps.... Each of these consists of one main lodge with a large dining room and assembly hall, also a number of bedrooms, and several cottages that will each accommodate eight people, and supplied with bathrooms, open fire-places, etc. 16

In addition to the hotels there were "several large boys' school camps in the park, where from thirty to fifty boys spend a healthful and in all ways a beneficial holiday,"17 as well as a girls' school camp. Furthermore, "there are also a number of cottages on this [Cache Lake] and Canoe Lake, held under a twenty-one year lease."IB Dr. Bruce Smith, a visitor to the park in the summer of 1899, expressed his opinion of the park as a health and pleasure resort thus: While Algonquin Park is to be gready admired for the large quantity of game found there in a thoroughly protected state, to my mind its greatest attraction is the beauty of the scenery, its great variety of fauna and the ozone-laden air, which gives it a right to be considered a natural sanitarium, with the purity of the air ... we might well expect the most beneficial results to all invalids and

106

K. MORRISON

particularly those threatened with pulmonary disease. Persons sutTering from nervous prostration find in Algonquin Park a resting place where life may be made as active as one wishes, going from lake to lake, or as quiet as the primeval forest can make it, by residing at one of the thousands of camping places surrounded by a perfect picture of mountain, lake and stream. 19

The parks following Algonquin in the first era were primarily a result of public pressure. On May 5, 1894, Rondeau Provincial Park was established. 20 The park consists of a sandy peninsula, knowri as Pointe aux Pins,jutting out into Lake Erie. Rondeau still preserved its original forest cover intact, and is the best example of the Carolinian forest in Ontario. Prior to being established as a provincial park, the area was used for recreational purposes as the Pointe had long been a favourite resort for campers and picnics for parties from the surrounding area, as it was the only place of the kind in the area to which the public had free and unrestricted access. 21 In addition, numer.ous duck hunters frequented the area in the fall. Due to the popularity of the area, the city of Chatham petitioned the Ontario Legislature to create Rondeau a provincial park.22 The provision of recreational opportunities was the dominant force behind this petition. Interest in the value of the area's Carolinian forest occurred soon afterwards, however. The superintendent, in his year-end report for 1933, notes that "the Park affords a rare combination of modern summer resort possibilities with restaurant, dancing, tennis, miniature golf and horseback riding. "23 Lambert comments: Algonquin and Rondeau Parks were contrasting prototypes of the Ontario parks to come: Algonquin largely a wilderness, a haven for the canoeist and the lover of solitude; Rondeau comparatively small, close to popUlation, a place to visit for a day or weekend. or spending the summer in a cottage. but always in company.... The nature of each park was. in short, dictated by the area in which it was located. 2'

On January 17, 1898, the Forest Reserves Act was passed.2S The Act stated that the ... Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall have the power to set apart from time to time such portions of the public domain as may be deemed advisable for the purposes of future timber supplies. Such reserves shall be under the control and management of the Department of Crown Lands. 26

On April I, 1909, the Quetico Forest Reserve was set aside by Order-inCouncil under this act. In the creation of this reserve, international pressures were evident, and meetings between the governments of the State of Minnesota and the Province of Ontario took place. The increasing destruction of the wildlife of the area, especially the moose, was the prime focus of the meetings, although there was some concern expressed about the large quantity of pine timber in the area. It was deemed

Ontario Provincial Park System

107

expedient that the area be kept in its present state of nature as far as possible, and consequently a forest reserve was established. In 1913, an Order-in-Council under the Provincial Parks Act changed the Quetico Forest Reserve to Quetico Provincial Park . .. An Act Respecting Provincial Parks" was enacted in 1913. 27 The purpos'e of the act was to bring existing parks under similar policy guidelines, and to enable the establishment of future parks. The preamble of the act states that · .. the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council may take any tract of land being the property of the Crown, and not suitable for settlement ·or agricultural purposes, and may reserve and set apart the same as a public park and forest reserve, fish and game preserve, health resort and pleasure ground, for the benefit, advantage and enjoyment of the people of Ontario, and for the protection of the fish, birds, game and fur-bearing animals therein.

Long Point (May 3, 1921) and Presqu'i1e (May 18, 1922) parks were both established and operated through special acts of the Ontario Legislature, which vested the control and management of the park in a board of five commissioners appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor. The appointed commission · . .in each case was vested with powers similar to those of an ordinary municipality and, subject to securing approval of the by-laws by the LieutenantGovernor-in-Council, may sell. lease or otherwise dispose of such land for cottage sites or other purposes as may be deemed in the interests of the general public. 28

The board chairman possessed all the rights and powers, and performed all the duties that pertain to the office of a village reeve. Both areas had long been used for recreational purposes; however, most of the land involved had previously been sold or leased. Due to prohibitive land acquisition costs, the commission method of administration was considered most advisable. The revenue derived from cottage sites and other concessions offset the operating costS. 29 Neither area was termed a provincial park. However on January I, 1956, both Long Point and Presqu'i1e were transferred to the administration of the Department of Lands and Forests and officially termed provincial parks. In the early 19305 the Ontario government began to express concern over the lack of public parks. For example, the 1935 annual report of the Department of Lands and Forests states: · .. the growth of the automoble industry, and the improvements in our road transportation, have opened up new avenues of travel and provided additional facilities for our people to take advantage of our wide-open air spaces, including the Parks and Reserves. The Department is undertaking to make selections along the Trans-Canada and other highways of strategic points to provide for

108

K. MORRISON

the general public. It is observed with regret that so little shore-line along the Great Lakes is free and open to the common folk, and this results in frequent conflicts between the travelling public and riparian owners. It would not seem inadvisable, to meet the situation, for the Government to make provision in some substantial way to acquire from time to time on the shores of the lakes, contiguous to our own populated centres and readily accessible to the millions of tourists from the South, choice park locations, and thus encourage all to enjoy the treasures with which nature has so generously endowed us. lO

Moreover, in the Department's 1938 annual report, the Minister stated: All too few areas which can be utilized for the general advantage of the public exist today in the southern part of the Province. Previously when townships were being laid out and efforts made to colonize the country little attention was paid to the future needs of the public from the viewpoint of summer outings, bathing and tourist accommodation, which has developed rapidly during the past twenty-five years, and these general facilities can be enjoyed and exercised only when the public has free and untrammeled access to and from the beaches. 31

Although recognizing the need for more public recreational areas, the government was slow to react. Consequently, the next provincial park was again the result of public pressure, not governmental initiative. Supported by a petition signed by hundreds of people in southwestern Ontario, and endorsed by resolutions of many municipalities urging the establishment of a provincial park in the vicinity of Stony Point, part of the Stony Point Indian Reserve was purchased by the Ontario government and set aside for public purposes, and officially became Ipperwash Provincial Park on June 24, 1938. Located midway between Sarnia and Goderich, which are connected by the Blue Water Highway, Ipperwash was ideally situated for the convenience of the local residents. The Department of Lands and Forests underwent reorganization in 1941. The Department's head office was divided into ten divisions, and among these was the Land and Recreational Areas Division. 32 After the creation of this new division, the Department of Lands and Forests reiterated that it was their policy to set aside areas for park purposes for the following reasons: to remove tracts of non-agricultural soil from settlement; to establish' a place for the recreation of the people; to provide a suitable habitat and place of protection for fish and wildlife; and a place where the forest growth may be better regulated. 33 Both Sibley and Lake Superior Provincial Parks were established by Order-in-Council of January 13, 1944. In both cases, public pressure was an important factor. Sibley Provincial Park had previously been established as a Forest Reserve by Order-in-Council on February 10, 1900, because "aside from its value as a timber farm this township is said to be a sort of winter home for caribou, the big game of that

Ontario Provincial Park System

109

country. "34 The Chambers of Commerce of both Port Arthur and Fort William campaigned from 1936 to have Sibley established as a provincial park. This campaign was stimulated by the belief that park development would spur the local economy by reducing local unemployment and attracting tourists from Minnesota. 3S Lake Superior Provincial Park "was set up under strong pressure from Sault Ste. Marie at a time when Highway 16 was pushing north from the Sault. "36 The first era in the evolution of the provicial park system in Ontario spanned approximately sixty years. During this period only eight provincial parks (including the two commission parks) were created. The park movement was spawned in the Department of Crown Lands with the creation of Algonquin National Park. During this phase, "the Provincial Government did not contemplate the task of administering a park system; it bandied the individual parks about from one authority to another, without deciding what to do with them as a whole. "37 For example, the administration of Algonquin and Rondeau became the responsibility of the Attorney General's office for the three-year period from 1896 to 1898. In 1899, the responsibility for management of the two parks was restored to the Department of Crown Lands. However, in 1913, the responsibility for Rondeau was transferred to the Department of Public Works and Highways, but was once again transferred to the Department of Lands and Forests (formerly Crown Lands) by Order-in-Council on May 4, 1920. The slow growth in the number of provincial parks during this period is primarily due to the fact that the parks were considered an economic liability. Despite many revenue-producing schemes attempting to make the parks self-sustaining, the parks never were. These revenue-raising attempts included the issuance of fishing licences and the collection of fees for cottage rentals and leases. The leasing of cottage, lodge and concession sites ended in 1954. In both Quetico and Algonquin, trapping schemes were adopted. The importance of this source of revenue is echoed in the 1923 report of the Algonquin Park Superintendent: The tourist traffic resulting therefrom, with the attending circulation of money, is in itself a very important factor in the business of the country. Of still greater importance is the park from the view-point of the fur history and game hunting.)11

These trapping programmes were discontinued, however, after considerable public opposition. In Algonquin Park, the Department possessed its own telephone line and this service was rented out to the visitors. In addition, park rangers collected maple sap and made and sold maple syrup. This operation commenced in the 1920s and ended in 1942.39 Another money-raising project involved the removal of excess deer in Rondeau and selling the venison. Similar to this was the taking of deer in Algonquin during World War One to augment the meat supply in

110

K. MORRISON

Southern Ontario. This stress on revenue and having the parks selfsustaining. explains to some extent the creation of the commission parks. which then would not be a financial liability to any governmental department. 4o PHASE II, 1954-1964

Whereas a slow growth in the evolution of the provincial park system characterized the first era, the second phase (1954-1964) was a period of great expansion in the number of provincial parks in the system. A conspicuous lack of accommodation existed in Ontario for both Ontarians and others who. during the summer months wished to spend their weekends and annual vacations camping and picnicking, at the commencement of this phase. 41 In the legislature, the Minister without Portfolio remarked that the Provincial government was aware that there was a need for an enlarged provincial park policy. Increased economic productivity and prosperity gave the average Ontario family more leisure time and greater spending power than ever before. This was reinforced by the shorter work week. paid vacations, retirement pensions, the extension of paved highways and the great increase in the number of motor vehicles which gave easy access to areas once considered remote. The Minister added that "the social and economic changes taking place in our province call for a reassessment of the present parks programme and for an enlarged policy dedicated to the people of Ontario. "42 Commencing in the fall of 1953, the park movement began to progress at an accelerating pace. At this time, the Department of Lands and Forests sent seven regional foresters to the United States with the expressed purpose of inspecting several of their municipal, state and national parks. Upon their return they discussed their findings at the annual district foresters' conference. All concurred that there was a definite need for more provincial parks. However, those attending could not agree on which department should assume responsibility for the parks. Several government departments were mentioned, including the Department of Highways, the Department of Lands and Forests and the Department of Planning and Development. Further, there were rumours that a new department would be created with the expressed purpose of managing the parks. Out of this meeting came a new Provicial Parks Act. 43 The act introduced order into the system by bringing all the existing acts under a single authority. However. it did not state which department would be responsible for the parks.44 In the spring of 1954 the Minister without Portfolio remarked: While large parks such as Algonquin Park provide ample space without crowding, their facilities best serve the vacationer on an extended holiday. Today the development of small park lands close to urban centres where population pressures are greatest is most desirable. 4s

Ontario Provincial Park System

III

However, before these principles could be implemented, an overall classification scheme covering the various types of parks in Ontario was required. The Provincial Parks Act provided this classification. Class I parks included large parklands such as Algonquin, Quetico and Lake Superior. These parks would be under the management and administration of the Department of Lands and Forests. Class II parks consisted of recreational areas that were within easy reach of urban centres, thus permitting the motorist to reach them quickly from his home. The provided facilties would be designed for weekend vacationers, families arriving to spend the day, or casual afternoon visitors. These parks would be under the authority of a designated Minister and would be administered by a commission. Class III parks were also within easy reach of urban centres, but smaller and less elaborately equipped than Class II parks. The Department of Highway's roadside picnic areas would belong in this class. The parks in this class would provide a quiet and convenient place where a motorist might stop for a picnic lunch, for a rest, or where a family from the nearby city might enjoy a quiet afternoon away from crowds and traffic. These parks were also placed under the authority of an unnamed Minister. 46 The purpose of this classification was to permit a coordinated and effective park programme of developing recreational areas where the need arose, as well as bringing the beneficial advantages of recreation to new areas and greater numbers of people. In 1958, the Provincial Parks Act was amended and the classification scheme eliminated, and all the provincial parks came under the jurisdiction of the Department of Lands and Forests. On October I, 1954, a new division within the Department of Lands and Forests, rather than a new department, was established for managing the provincial parks. Coincident with the establishment of the Division of Parks, the various districts were requested to conduct a systematic survey in order to locate and assess potential park properties, both Crown and privately owned. 47 Asa result of this survey, properties were either reserved by the Department of Lands and Forests or acquired through the Department of Public Works. Another major highlight in this period was the establishment of an Ontario Park Integration Board on April I, 1956. The purpose of establishing the board was to coordinate the activities and policies of the various park authorities within the province. The board consisted of the chairman of the Niagara Parks Commission, chairman of the Ontario St. Lawrence Development Commission, the Treasurer of Ontario, the Minister of Lands and Forests, and the Minsiter of Planning and Development. In 1964, the Ministers of Agriculture, Tourism and Information, Energy and Resources Mangement, and Public Works were added to its· membership. 49 The board appointed an advisory committee which was charged with the function of reviewing and making recommenda-

112

K. MORRISON

tions to the board regarding administrative policies governing park development and management, and also to inspect and recommend to the board additional park property required by the province. The advisory committee was dropped in 1960 and the Integration Board was disbanded in 1972. As noted. potential park areas were determined by the various districts, and their findings forwarded to Toronto. After receiving the reports. the Chief of Parks would personally visit each recommended area to assess its potential as a park site. Although not perhaps prerequisite, certain features were considered desirable in sites selected for park purposes such as a reasonably large area with road access from a main thoroughfare, a body of water, preferably with a safe sand beach, natural beauty and some historical background. 49 More specifically, the Minister of Lands and Forests remarked in the Legislature that: The size of a park area in southern Ontario depends mainly on the need for parks in this heavily populated section of the province, as well as the amount of available land and the prevailing land values.... Consideration is given in the location of provincial parks to the existence of present park authorities. including the St. lawrence development commission, the Niagara parks commission and river valley authority parks in regard to their responsibility of providing park lands to serve a particular location. In northern Ontario, park lands for the most part incorporate Crown-owned areas suitably located on lakes and with land forms amenable for development. Our aim here is to eventually have parks 100 to ISO miles apart, and within one or two hours' driving time from the major centres of popUlation. Other criteria are that parks be adjacent to highway No. II and highway No. 17 and their connecting links, and that parks' area be in excess of 500 acres. An effort is made to avoid the acquisition of small acreages which do not provide for future potential expansion as the need arises. In addition, small areas have been found to be uneconomical to operate.~o

Due to the vagueness of this method, "an alternative method of calculation was to draw circles of a certain radius around the heavilypopulated centres and locate the parks outside the periphery of these circles. However, it. was recognized that increases and shifts in population might soon invalidate these calculations."s, Within the specified radius, parks were provided by the various conservation authorities and the government encouraged the local municipalities to provide parks. To achieve this, a Municipal-Provincial Recreational Assistance Scheme was implemented. With respect to developing a park after acquisition, the Minister remarked that ...after acquiring or choosing the site. a master plan for each provincial park governs development with consideration for its location, its natural features,

Ontario Provincial Park System

113

anticipated use, the anticipated visitation, and major and minor uses. So each park, therefore, is planned and developed individually in view of its optimum use in the interests of public recreation, and in view of the natural environment. 52

With respect to the number of provincial parks required, it was the Department of Lands and Forest's objective to keep pace with the continuing increase in park use, and the figure of ten acres of accessible park area per 1,000 population was sometimes used as a criterion of the minimum park area required. S3 The problem of providing adequate acreage of provincial parks on the Great Lakes in southern Ontario was recognized early in the evolution of the park system. Early in the 1960s the Department of Lands and Forests commenced to acquire lands along the Greak Lakes shoreline with the implementation of the Shoreline and Parks Acquisition Program. The Minister stated: We will start at once on a $200 million, 20-year land acquisition programme designed firstly, to acquire parts of the shoreline of the Great Lakes and secondly, other needed lands, so as to provide for future park and recreation needs. 54

Unfortunately, this ambitious programme did not succeed. However, despite this, several properties along the Great Lakes' shoreline have been acquired for provincial park purposes. When the government decided to expand the park system, it realized that the money spent in acquiring the parkland could never be recovered. However, it was hoped that the parks would be able to meet their operating expenses. As a result, in 1957 a one dollar annual admission charge was established. ss According to the Minister, the purpose of establishing this charge was twofold. First, and undoubtedly most important, the charge was levied to make the parks as nearly selfsupporting as possible with regard to maintenance and operating costs. Second, because the public respects facilities provided to a greater extent when a charge is made for them. 56 Over the years the Ministry has adopted the stand that the parks should meet approximately 60 percent of their operating and maintenance costs. S7 When the Division of Parks was created in 1954, there were eight provicial parks (including the two commission parks). In addition, as of March 31, 1954, the Department of Highways operated 70 roadside parks ranging in the size from one to 390 acres, for camping purposes. Also, the Department of Highways was responsible for approximately 200 small roadside parks that were primarily used for picknicking. S8 In January 1955, a committee of four district foresters was set up to inspect approximately 90 of these Department of Highway roadside parks and recommend transfer to the Department of Lands and Forests. Of the 90 properties inspected, 45 were recommended for transfer to the Department of Lands and Forests and necessary negotiations were opened. S9 In 1956, the Department of Lands and Forests assumed responsibility for

114

K. MORRISON

30 of these small areas. However, as park development policy became somewhat settled it was realized that some of the properties were not large enough for provincal park purposes, and 10 properties were returned to the Department of Highways in 1960 as roadside picnic sites and were to be maintained by that Department.6o As of March 31, 1959, 37 parks were officially established and another 15 were operational. By March 31, 1965, these figures had increased to 62 and 25 respectively. During this period, provincial parks became a legitimate concern of the Ontario government. Changing social and economic conditions were responsible for a great increase in the demand for recreation. The establishment of provincial parks was viewed as one method of meeting this increased demand. Commencing with the transfer of several Department of Highways roadside parks to the Department of Lands and Forests, the number of parks in the system expanded rapidly. The Provincial Parks Act was revised in 1958, and the Department of Lands and Forests was charged with the responsibility of managing the provincial parks. PHASE III, 1965-1979

While the second phase in the evolution of Ontario's provincial parks was characterized by a great expansion in the number of operational parks, the third phase signalled the start of a comprehensive planning process, as well as a continued expansion in the number of parks. In the summer of 1966, a recreational research and long-range planning programme was initiated by the Department of Lands and Forests in cooperation with the Department of Highways. This programme involved a park user survey being conducted in all provincial parks with the expressed purpose of obtaining data on the characteristics of those who visited the parks and the use of them. It was hoped that the results would facilitate decisions as to when and where new parks were required and the kinds of facilities and services which should be provided. 61 Also in the mid-sixties it was deemed necessary that a park classification be adopted to provide an administrative framework for a provincial park system. Park classification recognizes that a well-organized, balanced park system provides a wide variety of experiences in a wide variety of landscapes. Classification helps to ensure maintenance of the diversity intended in a parks system which includes everything from strictly natural areas to highly-developed recreation facilities. The purposes of park classification are to identify the components required to achieve the objectives of the provincial park system; to assist each individual to participate in the diverse opportunities provided by the provincial park system in the way which best satisfies and most rewards one's individual needs; and to promote the best management of the diverse resources of the park system, through the encouragement of

Ontario Provincial Park System

115

public understanding and appreciation of the characteristics of individual provincial parks and the system as a whole. 62 The Department of Lands and Forests' park classification of 1967 must be viewed as a major advance in the management of Ontario's provincial parks. In the Legislature on May 16, 1967, Rene Brunelle, the then Minister of Lands and Forests, announced: In order that the provincial parks programme may better serve the needs of the people of our great province, .. .I propose to initiate a system of park classification under which all provincial parks will be ciassified and all land within the parks will be zoned in accordance with the major purpose for the establishment and management of park lands. The classification ... will entail not only the allocation of existing parks to the appropriate park classes, but will also include the establishment of two new types of parks to meet new and changing recreation needs. It is the primary purpose of this new programme to achieve a complete and balanced park system and to establish a policy framework for its positive and effective development and management. 63

The classification consisted of five different classes of parks: primitive, wild river, natural environment, recreation and nature reserves. The major purpose of the primitive park was to set aside representative areas of natural landscapes for posterity, and to provide for present-day wilderness recreation activities and for education and scientific use. Wild river parks were to preserve the natural and aesthetic and historic quality and the natural flow of significant rivers and sections of rivers for present recreational use and enjoyment for posterity. Natural environment parks, also known as heritage parks, were set aside for the primary purposes of recreation and education areas of outstanding scenic, natural or historic significance for the use and benefit of present and future generations. These parks are managed under the multiple-use principle, recognizing recreation as the dominant use in all areas. Recreation parks are predominantly user-oriented, and the natural environment may be substantially modified to accommodate intensive campground and day-visitor recreational use. There are two sub-classes: recreation areas which are predominantly day-use areas; and campgrounds which are oriented towards campers use. Nature reserve parks are established to preserve unique natural areas for scientific and educational uses and for the enjoyment and interest of the public, where this use will not be detrimental to the natural values to be protected. 64 The 1967 classification scheme also provided for the zoning of park lands for planning, development and management purposes. The scheme provided for five zones: primitive, natural environment, historic, mUltiple use and recreation. The objectives of this J)ew policy were to protect the provincial parks from incompatible uses, to facilitate rational planning, to establish guidelines for development and manage-

116

K. MORRISON

ment, and to promote public understanding and enjoyment of the provincial park system. The adoption of this classification and zoning scheme ushered in a new era in the mangement of Ontario's provincial parks as it aided and facilitated rational planning for a complete and balanced provincial park system. A review of the park classification system commenced in 1975, and culminated when Cabinet approved the Provincial Park Policy document on May 9, 1978. This review and revision process produced only small changes to the 1967 park classification. The wild river parks class was broadened into waterway parks, and primitive parks renamed wilderness parks. A sixth class, historical parks, originally proposed in 1972, was introduced. Historical parks are areas selected to represent the distinctive historical resources of the province in open space settings, and are protected for interpretive, educational and research purposes. 6S No historical parks presently exist, but it is proposed to reclassify Petroglypths, now a natural environment park, as the first historical park. In addition to class changes, new zoning terms have been adopted: nature reserve, historical, wilderness development, access and natural environment. Further, a special recreation/utlization zone has been implemented with respect to Alqonquin and Lake Superior Provincial Parks only. These zones include aesthetic landscapes in which minimum development is required to support low-intensity recreational activities and which also provide for commercial timber harvesting. 66 Park classification is used as well to differentiate management policies, design standards and the activities appropriate within particular parks and zones. The 1967 park classification did not do this. Rather, it gave a description and outlined the purposes of each park class. The 1978 revision is a more comprehensive systems plan. The Ontario Provincial Parks: Planning and Management Policies document outlines the philosophy and history of each park class, sets out the policy basis for each, presents long-range planning policies for the development of each park class and sets out master planning, development and management policies applicable to individual parks within each park classification.67 In 1967 the Department of Lands and Forests also initiated a programme to master plan all provincial parks. The programme included master planning of all existing parks, as well as the preparation of plans, prior to the initiation of any development, for all new parks. The master plan document establishes. detailed policy guidelines for the long-term preservation, development and management of each park.68 These plans are written for a 20-year period, but are reviewed every five years. This master planning progra~me was a necessary and long-awaited decision since development was proceeding in several parks in the absence of any comprehensive plan. For example, Algonquin had existed without a detailed plan for approximately three-quarters of a century, and several use conflicts had arisen as a result. 69 The first master plan to receive

Ontario ProvinCial Park· System

117

ministerial approval was Bronte Creek in 1972. Presently, 20 master plans have been approved, with several others pending final review and approval, and numerous others ranging between initial and advanced stages of preparation. On October 22, 1974, the Minister of Natural Resources announced the establishment of the Ontario Provincial Parks Council, a citizens' advisory council, to advise the government on matters of policy, planning and development of the park system. He stated that the Council was being created so that the "changing recreational needs of the public of this province be reflected in a meaningful way to ensure that both our management systems and our park planning programs meet the needs of the people of Ontario. "'0 Due to government budget cutbacks, its original membership of 19 has been reduced to ten. The council submits an annual report to the Minister on matters brought to its attention by the public and/or referred to it by the Minister.. This phase also witnessed a continued expansion in the number of provincial parks. As of March 31, 1965, 87 provincial parks were operational, whereas by January 1,1978, this number had increased to 127. In addition to this continued expansion of the park system, a diversification in the types of parks also occurred. For example, in the early seventies the Minister of Natural Resources announced that the major th rust of park policy for at least half a decade would be the development of urban-oriented provincial parks. l1 The first Ontario "near urban park" was Bronte Creek.12 Premier Davis remarked that the establishment of this park represented "a dramatic departure from the established concept of provincial parks that promises to bring the pleasure and beauties of our natural environment closer to a large number of city people."13 Other examples of near urban parks are Short Hills and Peche Island. 74 The establishment of nature reserve and waterway parks also have their beginnings in this period. Nature reserves could be within existing parks or might be provincial parks within their own right. To assist in this programme, an advisory committee to the Minister was established in 1969. The committee was charged with the responsibility of gathering information and recommending various areas suitable for preservation. At the present time ten nature reserve parks exist. The waterways park programme was initiated for the purpose of preserving for the use and enjoyment of the people of Ontario "a number of rivers which possess unique features, such as flora, fauna, aesthetics, historical significance, water conservation, recreation and other values basic to the economy and culture of Ontario. "'s

CONCLUSIONS

The evolution of the Ontario provincial park system is characterized by

118

K. MORRISON

three distinct phases. The initial phase was one of turbulence and turmoil. Little concern was expressed by the government concerning the provision of parks for public purposes. The responsibility for their management changed hands several times and no coordinating body existed. However, with the amendment of the Provincial Parks Act in 1958, responsibility for the management of the provincial parks was vested with the Department of Lands and Forests. In the early fifties it was realized that the park system would have to be expanded to meet the expected future demand. Commencing with the transfer of a number of the Department of Highways' roadside parks to the Department of Lands and Forests, the system expanded rapidly. Presently there are 131 operating parks, while several other areas have been reserved for future development and use. During the initial stages of this expansion period, little consideration was given to developing a park system. Consequently, the 1967 park classification must be regarded as a landmark in the evolution of the provincial park system within Ontario. The classification introduced a framework which could aid in the establishment of a park system. Modification of this classification commenced in 1975 and culminated in 1978. This revision process resulted in a more comprehensive systems plan for the future management of the provincial park system. NOTES I. F. Bishop and J. Theberge, "Provincial Park Planning in Evolution," (paper, University of Waterloo, 1975), p. I. 2. Ontario. Ministry of Natural Resources, "Wilderness Parks," in "Ontario Provincial Parks: Planning and Mangement Policies," unpublished paper, 3rd Revised Draft (Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, 1977), p. 2. 3. R. Turner and W. Rees, "A Comparative Study of Parks Policy in Canada and the United States," Nature Canada, II, no. I (1973), pp. 31-36. 4. R. Nash, "Wilderness and Man in North America," in The Canadian Notional Parks: Today and Tomorrow. eds. J.G. Nelson and R.C. Scace (Calgary: University of Calgary, 1969), pp. 66-93. 5. Although called a national park, Algonquin was managed by the Ontario provincial government. Algonquin was renamed a provincial park in 1913. 6. For further information concerning the establishment of this park and others of the Niagara Parks Commission, the reader should consult R. Way, Ontario's Niagara's Parks - A History (Fort Erie: Niagara Parks Commission, 1960). 7. J. Dickson. Camping in the Muskoka Region (Toronto: Department of Lands and Forests, 1960, reprint). Foreword by Premier Leslie Frost, pp. 6-7. See also, Legislature of Ontario, Debates, First Session of the Twenty-sixth Legislature, March 29, 1960, pp. 1905-1907. 8. A letter from Alexander Kirkwood to the Honourable T.B. Pardee, Commissioner of Crown Lands, cited in Algonquin Forest and Pork, Ontario (Toronto: Warwick and Sons, 1886), p. 4. 9. C. Tilt, "Provincial Parks in Ontario," Canadian Geographical Journal, lVIII, no. 2 (1959), pp. 37-55.

Ontario Provincial Park System

119

10. 56 Victoria Sessional Paper. Report of the Royal Commission on Forest Reservation and National Parks (Toronto: Warwick and Sons. 1893). No. 31. II. 56 Victoria. Chapter 8. 12. R. Lambert and P. Pross. Renewing Nature's Wealth (Toronto: Department of Lands and Forests. 1967). p. 277. 13. 57 Victoria Sessional Papers. Reports on the Algonquin National Park of Ontario for the Year 1893 (1984). No. 22. Letter from the Honourable A.S. Hardy. Commissioner of Crown Lands to His Honour. the Honourable G.A. Kirkpatrick. Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Ontario. dated March I. 1894 ([oronto: Warwick and Sons). 14. 57 Victoria Sessional Papers. Reports of the Algonquin National Park of Ontario for the Year 1893. Mr. Wilson's Report (Toronto: Warwick and Sons. 1894). No. 22. 15. Ontario. Report of the Minister of Lands. Forests and Mines for the Year Ending 31st October. 1911. Algonquin National Park (Toronto: L.K. Cameron. 1912). Appendix. No. 44. p. 98. 16. Ontario. Report of the Minister of Lands. Forests and Mines for the Year Ending 31st October. 1919. Algonquin Provincial Park: Superintendent's Report (Toronto: L.K. Cameron. 1920). Appendix. No. 33. p. 99. 17. Ibid. 18. Ibid. 19. Ontario. Report of the Commissioner of Crown Lands of the Province of Ontario for the Year 1899. Algonquin National Park: Superintendent's Report (Toronto: Warwick Bros. and Rutter, Printers, etc. 1900), Appendix, No. 33, pp. 59-60. 20. 57 Victoria, Chapter 15. 21. Ontario. Report of the Commissioner of Crown Lands of the Province of Ontario for the Year 1894, Rondeau Provincial Park: Superintendent's Report (Toronto: Warwick Bros. and Rutter, Printers. etc., 1895). Appendix. No. 40. p. 63. 22. Lambert and Pross. Renewing, p. 283. 23. Ontario. Report of the Commissioner of Crown Lands of the Province of Ontario for the Year/1934 (Toronto: T.E. Bownman. 1935). p. 14. 24. Lambert and Pross, Renewing, p. 283. 25. 61 Victoria. Chapter 10. 26. Ibid. 27. 3-4 George V, Chapter 15. 28. Ontario. Report of the Minister of Lands and Forests of the Province of Ontario for the Year Ending 31st October 1931 (Toronto: Herbert H. Ball, 1932), p. 17. 29. Ontario, Report of the Minister of Lands and Forests of the Province of Ontario for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31st, 1939 (Toronto: T.E. Bowman. 1940). p. 18. 30. Ontario. Report of the Minister of Lands and Forests of the Province of Ontario for the Fiscal Period November I. 1934 to March 31. 1935 ([oronto: T.E. Bowman, 1936), p. 9. 31. Ontario, Report of the Minister of Lands and Forests of the Province of Ontario for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 1938 (Toronto: T.E. Bowman. 1939), p. 12. 32. Ontario. Report of the Minister of Lands and Forests of the Province of Ontario for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 1942 (Toronto: T.E. Bowman, 1943), p. 7. 33. Ontario. Report of the Minister of Lands and Forests of the Province of Ontario for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 1944 (Toronto: T.E. Bowman. 1945):p. 7. 34. Ontario, Annual Report of the Director of Forestry for the Province of Ontario. 19001901 (Toronto: L.K. Cameron. 1902), p. II. 35. Lambert and Pross. Renewing, p. 2&5. 36. Ibid. 37. Ibid.

120

K. MORRISON

38. Ontario, Report of the Minister of Lands and Forests of the Province of Ontario for the Year 1923 (Toronto: Clarkson W. James, 1924), p. 13. 39. Lambert and Pross, Renewing, p. 286. 40. Ibid. 41. Ontario. Department of Lands and Forests, A History of the lindsey Forest District, No. 18 in the District History Series (1965), p. 91. 42. Legislature of Ontario Debates, Fourth Session of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the Province of Ontario, March 9, 1954, p. 422. 43. 3 Elizabeth II, Chapter 75. 44. Lambert and Pross, Renewing, p. 478. 45. Legislature of Ontario Debates, Fourth Session of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the Province of Ontario, March 9, 1954, p. 423. 46. 3 Elizabeth II, Chapter 75. 47. Ontario, Annual Report of the Minister of Lands and Forests of the Province of Ontario for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 1955, Section Number Eight, Division of Parks (1955), p. I. 48. Lambert and Pross. Renewing, p. 479. 49. Ontario, Department of Lands and Forests (1965), p. 91. SO. Legislature of Ontario Debates, First Session of the Twenty-sixth Legislature. March 29, 2960, p. 1905. 5 I. Lambert and Pross, Renewing, p. 484. 52. Legislature of Ontario Debates, Fourth Session of the Twenty-sixth Legislature, December 4, 1961, p. 179. 53. Ibid., Fourth Session of the Twenty-seventh Legislature, March 21, 1966, p. 1753. 54. Ibid., Fourth Session of the Twenty-Sixth Legislature, November 27. 1962, p. 5. 55. The introduction ofa $1.00 annual admission charge became effective on May 9. 1957 by Ontario Regulation 109/57 made under the authority of the Provincial Parks Act. 56. Legislature of Ontario Debates. First Session of the Twenty-sixth Legislature, March 29, 1960. p. 1905. 57. Ontario Parks Council. Second Annual Report. 1976, (Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, 1971), p. 6. 58. Legislature of Ontario Debates, Fourth Session of the Twenty-Fourth Legislature. March 25. 1954, p. 811. 59. Ontario, Annual Report of the Minister of Lands and Forests for the Year Ending October 31, 1965, Division of Parks (1966), p. 4. 60. Ihid., p. 4. 61. Legislature of Ontario Debates, Fifth Session of the Twenty-seventh Legislature, May IS, 1967, p. 3411. 62. Ontario, Ministry of Natural Resources, "Introduction" in Ontario Provincial Parks: Planning and Management Policies (Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, 1979), p. I. 63. Legislature of Ontario Debates. Fifth Session of the Twenty-seventh Legislature, March 16, 1967, p. 1447. 64. Ibid., pp. 1447-48. See also. Ontario, Department of Lands and Forests, Classification of Provincial Parks in Ontario (Toronto: Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, . 1967). 65. Ontario, Ministry of Natural Resources. "Historical Parks" in Ontario Provincial Parks: Planning and Management Policies (Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, 1978), p. H-I-3. 66. Ibid.. "Introduction," pp. 1-3.

Ontario Provincial Park System

121

67. Ibid., p. I-I. 68. Provincial Parks Council and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Algonquin Park Master Plan: First Five Year Review. 1979 (Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, 1979), p. 2. 69. Although no master plan existed, a series of short-term management directives did provide some planning guidance. 70. Legislature of Ontario Debates, Fourth Session of the Twenty-ninth Legislature, October 22, 1974, p. 4207. 71. Ibid., Second Session of the Twenty-ninth Legislature, May 4, 1972, p. 2013. 72. Although often referred to as "near urban parks" no such classification exists. These parks belong to the recreation park class. 73. N. Richards, Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Bringing Parks to the People (I976). Paper presented at the 4th Annual Trent University Seminar on Parks and Recreation, April 1976. 74. Neither of these parks is as yet in operation. 75. Legislature of Ontario Debates, Fifth Session of the Twenty-seventh Legislature. January 25. 1967. p. 4.

v.

PRIVAlE PROVISION OF RURAL RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES

The Development of Tourism in Nova Scotia C.A. MOFFATI

Zimmerman's phrase "resources are not; they become" is an expression of the complexity of the meaning of the term resource. I There are very few purely natural resources and most substances are of very little value in themselves. They become important when society deems them significant in satisfying its needs or desires and establishes a value or price for them. The use of land, and its associated flora and fauna, reflects the goals of society and the human and capital resources which are available to exploit the resource. As goals change, and as technology and the means of exploitation change, so the values ascribed to the resource are modified. The significance of land as a recreational resource, in consequence, has changed through time. Today, the government of Nova Scotia and the promoters of tourism regard the land as a recreational resource. Tourism in the province currently contributes close to six million dollars annually in municipal revenue and generates thirty million dollars in provincial revenue. 2 Tourism generates more money than any of the traditional industries of forestry, agriculture and fisheries. l The land, water, flora and fauna of the province are of critical importance and constitute the primary resource base for the tourist industry. Their positive attributes are reflected in the steady growth of tourism in Nova Scotia. However, the landscape of Nova Scotia was not always viewed with favour. For many years the land was viewed as a storehouse of forest, fish, fur and farm products and its recreational potential was not appreciated or promoted. Attitudes began to change approximately one hundred years ago when the first signs of tourism in Nova Scotia began to emerge. The purpose of this paper is to document these changing attitudes and associated implications for tourism in Nova Scotia.

EARL Y TRAVELLERS

Explorers and tourists have different ideas concerning the purpose of 123

124

C.A. MOFFA IT

their travel. Explorers usually precede tourists and exploration is an obvious prerequisite for the planned itinerary. In this context, the new world lacked tourism in the eighteenth century. However, the reports of explorers and other early travellers may be expected to have had an influence on the propensity of others to visit the area for pleasure. Early travellers were largely military men, with strategic purposes in mind; others included clergymen and a small number of entrepreneurs. Their purpose in travelling was strictly utilitarian: to settle the land. establish the Christian church, and to provide resources useful to the mother country. Pleasure and recreation were low on thei r lists of priorities. The literature which they produced was an extension of the writings on exploration and consisted mostly of journals and narratives. 4 These travellers had very little in common with contemporary tourists in Europe who travelled for educational and recreational purposes. Their European background encouraged them to emphasize the inadequacies of the Maritimes and they made few favourable comments about the alien environment. Patrick Campbell, for example, set out in the 1790s to ascertain whether the Maritimes afforded opportunity for settlement to Highland immigrants. S Campbell spent much of his time in New Brunswick. travelling and examining the physical environment and assessing the agricultural potential. Unlike some other authors. Campbell wrote few descriptions of scenery. Negative evaluations and fear of the wild are evident in his report and his remarks concerning ferocious bears were unlikely to encourage the prospective traveller or immigrant. Joshua Marsden. a Methodist missionary, travelled in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick from 1800 to 1808. He repeatedly wrote of the physical and psychological hardships of travel: "The appearance of the country. naked, wild, barren and mountainous...made my first journey in Nova Scotia both tedious and uncomfortable."6 Marsden summarized his impressios of the Maritimes in a poem, part of which read as follows: Seven years have I travers'd thy desolate woods, Thy bays, marshes, lakes and thy icy-pav'd floods, With tempest and snow-drift impeding my course, And icicles spangling both me and my horse. Nor, shall I forget in thy winters severe, When crossing bleak marshes and barrens most drear, Full many of blessing has warmed my hean, Though the cold chill'd my blood, and my fingers would sman. When the fierce blowing drift had the pathway eras'd, With my staff in my hand I've the nonh-wester fac'd, My saddle-bags over my shoulders well tied, I've trudged over the snow, for 'twas too deep to ride.

Tourism in Nova Scotia

125

Farewell to thy plains, and adieu to thy hills! Thy deep rapid rivers and wood-cutting mills! Thy terrible snow-drifts, thy bleak torpid coasts! Adieu to the region of sea-fog and frost!

Marsden's joy so overflowed when he returned to his native land that he "kneeled down and kissed the shores."7 These and other early travellers were ingrained with European cultures and landscapes which constituted the standard against which the Maritimes were compared. In the eyes of these visitors the Maritimes fared poorly. The untamed wilderness was an obstacle to be overcome, rather than a landscape to be enjoyed. The transportation and communications network was inadequate to cater to the needs of tourists, but had this not been the case, little tourism would have occurred, for the Maritimes lacked the cultural attractions of Europe and the necessary social and recreational facilities.

EARLY TOURISM

During the period from 1840 to 1880 a marked change took place in the content of writings concerning the Maritimes in general, and Nova Scotia in particular. The utilitarian objectives of fostering settlement and immigration persisted but the commentaries were tempered by observations on the scenery and recreational resources. Things which had been regared with disfavour or overlooked took on new meaning, as travellers looked at the land from a broader perspective. Wild land and its creatures were veiwed increasingly as positive attributes of Nova Scotia. By this time, too, travellers in the Maritimes experienced fewer hardships. Halifax was now almost one hundred years old and much had occurred to make the land more livable and hospitable. Raddall, commenting on the changes which had taken place since the first settlement, indicated that Halifax was transformd from a "straggle of huts and tents" to a town with "admirable streets" and "first-rate commercial buildings." By 1849 Halifax had a popUlation in excess of 11,000, "the majority Scotian born, busily employed, some of them rich, and all convinced of the town's eternal prosperity."8 The writings of Sieigh 9 and Campbell Hardylo indicated that they experienced fewer hardships than the majority of earlier writers. I I Both were military men but they managed to find leisure to enjoy the country: they were not committed totally to exploration. Hardy described the wildlife of the Maritimes in great detail. The Preface to Forest Life in Acadie stated that "many inquiries concerning the sport and physical features of the British Provinces as bordering on the Atlantic... appear in columns of (the contemporary) sporting periodicals. 12 In Sporting

126

C.A. MOFFAlT

Adventures in the New World or Days and Nights of Moose Hunting in the Pine Forests of Acadie he stated that moose hunting was unknown to Englishmen who had not crossed the Atlantic. and that "no full or exclusive treatise on the sport of moose-hunting (had) been undertaken."13 He concluded that he had something novel to present to the sporting world. Readers of Hardy'S books can quickly discern that the author was a competent and successful sportsman and naturalist. His books delve into the natural history of numerous species and their habitats, and his descriptions of hunts and flora and fauna were well written and easily visualized. His books were highly regarded by contemporary sportsmen J4 and indicate a love for the land and its creatures. \Vords from the Preface of Forest Life in Acadie sum up the effects his works must have had on travel: There is...a quiet, ever growing charm to be found in the woodlands or on the waters of Acadie, which those who have resided there will readily admit. Many who have touched at its shores as visitors within the Author's recollection. have made it their home; whilst those of his vocation who have been called away. have almost invariably expressed a hope of speedy return. IS

Lieutenant-Colonel Sleigh had different motives for writing from Hardy. he was not as ardent a sportsman and naturalist. although he enjoyed fishing and hunting. His purpose as stated in the Preface of Pine Forests and Hackmatack Clearings was to evoke an interest on the part of English readers "in the destinies of her Majesty's magnificent colonial posessions in British North America."J6 He also had personal motives for attracting visitors to the Maritimes - interests in a prominent steamship company. Sleigh stressed the magnificent scenery of Nova Scotia. especially the rivers and valleys in the Annapolis region. Sleigh's book testifies to the amount of his leisure time. His holdings in the steamship line were accumulated during this leisure time and they allowed him to exploit the increase in leisure enjoyed by others. The works of Hardy and Sleigh both indicate that attitudes to the land and lifestyles were changing. Hardships were decreasing and pleasures were more available. Travel and sport increased and trips to the interior of Nova Scotia produced the much-southt-after rewards of salmon and moose. A 1TITUDINAL CHANGES

Changes in perceptions and attitudes are difficult to trace accurately for they seldom occur with sufficient rapidity to be specifically noted by contemporaries. Rather, they evolve slowly and change with emerging fashions. During the mid-nineteenth century perceptions of and attitudes towards the Maritimes appear to have undergone a transition. Changes in attitudes towards leisure and travel also occurred at this

Tourism in Nova Scotia

127

time in Europe. 17 Recreation and travel were no longer the sole prerogative of the wealthy but were becoming·within the grasp of the expanding middle classes. The healthiness of the seaside environment was popularized and fresh, bracing air became a desired amenity. A popular interest in nature and science emerged at this time and there seems to have been an increasing interest in history. In the United States much travel resulted from the westward movement of the frontier. Talk of confederation in Canada and the frontier in the United States, in addition to the centennial of 1876, awakened people's sense of nationhood. The combination of changing perceptions of leisure, healthy environments, nature and history made the Maritimes, and particularly Nova Scotia, an appealing target for pleasure travel. Frederick Cozzens, the American essayist and humorist, publicized Nova Scotia's healthy environment. Cozzens had been suffering from a malady and a friend suggested that he take an ocean trip to enjoy the healing powers of the air. Cozzens had intended to go to Bermuda but stayed, instead, in Nova Scotia. His repeated comments on the healthiness of the environment are exemplified in his statement, "It has a quiet charm for an invalid. "IS Charles Lanman, an American journalist, felt the psychological healing powers of the Nova Scotian environment. In a letter to a friend he told of how he awoke one day "haunted by the idea that [he] must spend a portion of the approaching summer in the indulgence of (his) passion for angling." He left his editorial duties in New York and set out on a pilgrimage which resulted eventually in the publication of Adventures of an Angler in Canada. Nova Scotia and the United States. 19 A.G. Gilbert of the Montreal Evening Telegraph remarked on the healthiness of native Nova Scotians: "A very striking feature at once noticed was the healthy look and ruddy complexions of the people...the sun, the salt water, the invigorating breezes from the briny waters had done this, and very strong and healthy they were. "20 . At the same time an American and, to a lesser extent, a British interest in nature was prompted by the writings of Audubon and Thoreau. Both wrote of the wild and successfully brought the notion of the wilderness to public attention. After 1840 writingslfrom Nova Scotia became more scientific. 21 The Pictou Academy arid the University of New Brunswick were active, and scientific societies were established in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. 21 William Dawson, a geologist and scientific journalist, did much to further the reputation of Nova Scotia and heighten public awareness of science. 22 Scientific and geographical writing about Nova Scotia increased the visibility of the area and perhaps enticed visitors to the province. The Nova Scotian environment achieved greater importance in the light of the urbanization which was occurring in the United States, particularly along the eastern seaboard. The Maritimes, and especially

128

C.A. MOFFAlT

Nova Scotia, were within the hinterland of these growing cities for wilderness and sport enthusiasts. Cozzens epitomized this in the opening of his book Acadia or a Month with the Bluenoses: It is pleasant to visit Nova Scotia in the month of June. Pack up your flannels and your fishing tackle. leave behind your prejudices and your summer clothing. take your trout pole in one hand and a copy of Haliburton in the other and step aboard a Cunarder in Boston. In 36 hours you are in the loyal little province... My word for it. you will not regret the trip.ll

Story suggested that Cozzens' work is "interesting as a forerunner of the 'slick' travelogue designed to capture the poplar market."24 It indicates the early importance of the New England and New York markets for Nova Scotian tourism, a phenomenon which still exists a century later, and is systematically exploited by the modern tourist industry. John J. Rowan was an immigration officer and a keen sportsman, the latter interest apparently overriding his concern for the former. In The Emigrant Sportsman in Canada he described his sporting adventures and the flora, fauna and natural history. He was very conscious of the need for conservation and was concerned that some species were being seriously depleted by foolish killing and slaughter, even though clubs and government legislation had been instituted to help preserve wildlife. He wrote despondently that: About 20 years ago Nova Scotia was the best ground for moose hunters in British North America ... The local legislation in view of their rapidly decreasing numbers enacted a law making it illegal to kill moose in any way for a certain time (three years. I think). and this close period has not yet expired. If this law could be enforced we might expect to find the moose as plentiful as ever in a short time. but unfortunately. it is only enforced against sportsmen. who. as a rule. are a law abiding-class; it is little check upon those persons who butcher moose in the deep snow for the sake of their hides. 2s

With reference to fishing, he concluded that: "About thirty or forty years ago Nova Scotia must have been an angler's paradise. Fully onefifth of the whole province. viz. 11,000,000 acres, is lake and rivers. "26 He explained how destructive forest clearing and river damming proved harmful to rivers and aquatic life. "By-and-by," he stated, "when the forests have been utterly destroyed and the rivers rendered barren, Canadians will spend large sums of money in, perhaps, fruitless efforts to bring back that which they could now so easily retain."27 Rowan included a map illustrating areas with a high potential for hunting and fishing which must have been a useful tool for sportsmen. Charles Hallock, an American sportsman, visited Nova Scotia to fish for salmon. In his book The Fishing Tourist he wrote of Nova Scotia: we ofthe United States have been led by circumstances to look more kindly not to say covetously. upon the "Bluenose' capital and realm. The possibility that

Tourism in Nova Scotia

129

this great wealthy province may some day constitute a valuable slice of the great American domain, invests it with vastly increased interest. 28

The above examples indicate that evaluations of the land had changed. Earlier, travellers and writers had viewed the land as an obstacle to be overcome. It was now viewed as a resource with great recreational potential, and was actively promoted through tourist guides. 29

TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION

Changing attitudes would have had few implications if the means for their realization were not available. Even wilderness areas must be accessible if they are to be used. New transportation and communications technology allowed travel to boom. New transportation networks reduced travel times from outside the region and also facilitated internal travel. Telegraph and cable lines simplified communication between areas which were previously separated by great distances. 1o Steamboats were the first major innovation to reduce the friction of distance and to encourage travellers to visit Nova Scotia. The pioneer steamboat on the Bay of Fundy was the St. John, built in 1826. Steamboats became abundant and, throughout the Maritimes, numbers of small vessels were "plying about the Nova Scotia ... making travel by water a far more expeditious and comfortable affair than by land where stage coaches still wallowed and bumped over the post roads. "31 The steamboats were a popular and quite cheap means of transportation 32 and facilitated both internal and external traffic. Numerous lines connected the Maritime with New England and they advertised in Osgood's tourist guidebook. Sleigh noted that ships left New York and Boston for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia almost every day 33, and he commented on the popularity of steamboat traffic: The route chosen to tourists is one of peculiar interest and will become, we have not the least doubt, a favourite track for travellers and those seeking the invigorating sea-breezes of the northern shores of the continent. The scenery on the coast up to Canada is very fine, while an opportunity offers of visiting the interesting town and harbour of Halifax.)"

The 1840s and l850s saw the opening of steamship travel between Quebec and the Maritimes as previously ignored links with Canada began to be established. With the inauguration of the first transatlantic line, the Cunard steamship company, Halifax became the distribution centre for colonial mail. Cunard ships could cross the Atlantic in eight or nine days and they were quite comfortable. lS Isabella Bishop stated that "the Cunard steamers are powerful, punctual and safe, their cuisine excellent, their arrangement admirable."36 Steamships encouraged the travel of British and American citizens to the Maritimes. Travel by

130

C.A. MOFFAlT

Canadians to Nova Scotia was less affected, for their normal. route crossed the United States and was cumbersome. An influx of Canadian travellers would await the development of a more direct transportation route. The development of railways reinforced the influence of steamships and created new connections with Upper and Lower Canada. D' Arcy McGee and Sandford Fleming, in their promotion of the Grand Trunk line, visited Halifax in 1863. Fleming suggested that Nova Scotia and New Brunswick should sponsor a Canadian visit, anda party of approximateiy one hundred people made their way to the Maritimes. The impact of this pre-Confederation visit was substantial and certainly had implications for tourism. The Canadian party left the Maritimes with positive impressions and were enthusiastic in their comments on their return home. Many journalists were also complimentary in their appraisal of the Maritimes and with such publicity, other Canadians would be encouraged to visit. 37 The railways were a key factor in the initiation of toursim in Nova Scotia. Joseph Howe, in 1851, realized the potential of railways when he commented: "To the Canadians, make the railroads that you may come down upon the seaboard and witness its activity and appreciate the exhaustless treasure it contains. "38 As with steamships, the initial impact of railways was internal. In 1839, six and one half miles of railroad were opened in Nova Scotia. The first major line in Nova Scotia was built between 1854 and 1858 and extended from Halifax to Truro with a branch line to Windsor. Nine years later another branch line was added to Pictou. 39 Nevertheless, by 1870 there were only 250 miles of main-line track in the province. One of the major issues behind Confederation was the building of railways. With Confederation came the construction of the Intercolonial Railway and this line brought Upper Canadian travellers to the Maritimes. For example, in 1867, A.G. Gilbert was sent by rail on assignment for his paper to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Gilbert's responsibilty was to describe the new Canadian provinces and to report on how they celebrated the birth of the nation.40 His reports were enthusiastic with respect to the new provinces and the railway. The railways, particularly the Intercolonial, had an immediate impact on tourism in Nova Scotia. The new transportation and communication technologies combines with changing attitudes and increased leisure to make the period between 1840 and 1880 the dawn of toursim in Nova Scotia.

CONCLUSIONS

The reasons and features which induced. the nineteenth-century tourist to visit Nova Scotia are still pertinent today. Modern advertising pro-

Tourism in Nova Scotia

131

motes Nova Scotia as a healthy environment and a land of history, with ample opportunities for sport and recreation. Additional technological changes in transportation, particularly widespread automobile ownership, have enabled more visitors to travel to the province and have increased their flexibility of travel. Nevertheless, by the turn of the century, the roots of the present recreational land use were firmly established. Modern technology and promotional techniques have reinforced the conception of the land as a recreational resource and have strengthened the importance of this form of man-environment relationship, a theme which was established more than a century ago.

NOTES I. E.S. Zimmerman, (H.L. Hunker, ed.), World Resources and Industries (New York: Harper and Row, 1964). 2. Halifax Chronicle Herald. 7 February, 1978. 3. R. Surette. "Canny tourist keeping a grip on his wallet," The Globe and Mail, 6 August. 1977, p. 8. 4. F. Cogswell. "The Maritime Provinces, 1720-1815," in C. Klinck (ed.), Literary History of Canada (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1965), vol. I, p. 86. 5. P. Campbell, Travels in the Interior Inhabited Parts of North America 1791-1792 (Toronto: Champlain Society, 1937). 6. J. Marsden. The Narrative of a Mission to Nova Scotia, Nell' Brunsll'ick and the Somers Islands (london: Plymouth Dock, ISI6), p. 18. 7. Ibid., p. 214. 8. T. Raddall. Halifax - Warden of the North (Toronto: McClelland and Stewan. 1971). p. ISS. 9. A.B. W. Sleigh. Pine Forests and Hackmatack Clearings or Travel. Life and Adventure in the British North American Provinces (london: Bentley, IS53). 10. C. Hardy. Sporting Adventures in the Nell' World or Days and Nights of Moose-Hunting in the Pine Forests of Acadia (london: Hurst and Blackett, IS55). II. Ibid., preface. 12. Hardy. Fores/ Life in Acadie (london: Chapman and Hally IS69) 13. Hardy, Sporling Adventures. 14. N. Story. The Oxford Companion to Canadian His/ory and Literature (Toronto: Oxford University Press. 1967), p. 344. IS. Hardy, Fores/ Life in Acadie, preface. 16. Sleigh. Pine Forests, preface. 17. I. Cosgrove and R. Jackson. The Geography of Recreation and Leisure (london: Hutchinson, 1972), p. 3S. IS. F.S. Cozzens. Acadia or a Month lI'ith the Bluenoses (New York: Derby and Jackson, IS59), p. 23. 19. C. lanman, Adventures of an Angler in Canada, Nova Scotia and the United States (london: Bentley). p. 13. 20. A.G. Gilbert, From Montreal to the Maritime Provinces and Back, (Montreal: Montreal Printing and Publishing Co., 1867; reprinted by the Bibliographical Society of Canada. 1967), p. 13. 21. Story, The O),ford Companion, p. 104.

132

C.A. MOFFAlT

22. C.F. O'Brien, Sir William Dawson (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1971), pp. 10-12. 23. Cozzens, Acadia or a Month with the Bluenoses. p. 13. 24. Story. The Oxford Companion, p. 593. 25. J.J. Rowan, 17re Emigrant and Sportsman in Canada (London: Stanrord. 1876; reprined by Coles Publishing Co., 1972), p. 145. 26. Ibid. p. 132. 27. Ibid.• p. 134. 28. C. Hallock, 17re Fishing Tourist (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1873), p. 113. 29. J.R. Osgood, 17re Maritime Provinces: A Handbook for Trovellers (Boston: Osgood, 1875). 30. J.S. Martell, "Intercolonial communications. 1840-1867" in G.A. Rawlyk (ed.), Historical Essays on the Atlantic Provinces (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1967), p. 180. 31. M. Woodworth, Hi.rtory of the Dominion Atlantic Railway (Kentville: Kentville Publishing Co .• 1936), p. 21. 32. Martell. "Intercolonial communication," p. 183. 33. Sleigh. Pine Forests. p. 206. 34. Ibid.• p. 191. 35. Martell. "Intercolonial communication." p. 181. 36. I. Bishop. The Engli.rhwoman in America (Madison: University or Wisconsin Press. 1966; reprint or 1856 publication published by John Murray). p. 14. 37. P.B. Waite, The I.ife and Times of Confederation (Toronto: University or Toronto Press. 1962). pp. 66-71. 38. D. Stephens, Iron Roads - Railways of Nova Scotia (Windsor: Lancelot Press. 1972). p. 8. 39. G.P. deT. Glazebrook. A History of Transportation in Canada (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. 1964). vol. I. p. 151. 40. Gilbert. From Montreal to the Maritime Provincts.

The Changing Patterns of Tourism in Ontario R.I. WOLFE

There is very little to be said about tourism in Upper Canada, and little more about tourism in Canada West; but almost immediately after Canada West became Ontario, tourism as a well-defined activity began. That is, in Ontario the history of tourism is almost exactly coextensive with that of Confederation. The resorts of Canada as a whole developed within a fundamentally unchanged pattern during the two middle quarters of the nineteenth century. The chief resorts of the period are well summarized, for the benefit of tourists from the United States, in a travel book published by Henry Beaumont Small in the year of Confederation. With fewexceptions, these resorts were in Lower Canada, on the banks of the St. Lawrence. But things were changing: In the days of yore the Summer Tourist through the country had no easy means of access to the quiet nooks in the "back country: or the many pleasant resorts our railways have opened out. The old hackneyed journey was as follows: A few days at Niagara Falls, a hurried trip through the "ambitious little city of the West: Hamilton. a cursory glance at Toronto. a night on Ontario in the close stateroom of a steamer. a hurried run through the Lake of the TIlOusand Islands. a day or two in Montreal and Quebec. . ..and the Canadian Tour was complete. But now. thanks to the iron horse and its accessories. wild forestlands. smiling villages beside rivers teeming with the finny tribe. the scenery of Superior and Huron. the Saguenay. the St. Francis. the St. Maurice. all are easy of access - all worthy of a visit. and only awaiting some painter's hand to bring them prominently forward in their beauty.

It took time for this new pattern to establish itself. As long as thirty years after Confederation Charles G.D. Roberts was still describing Reprinted from Ontario Historical Society, Profiles of a Provinu: S/udie.f in the His/ory of Ontario (Toronto: Ontario Historical Society, 1967). pp. 173-71.

133

134

R.I. WOLFE

Cacouna, on the St. Lawrence below Riviere du Loup, as probably the most famous resort in Canada. (Who knows of it today? Yet in its time it was visited each season by many thousands of vacationists from the United States and Canada.) During these thirty years, however, the people of Ontario. instead of seeking their recreation elsewhere, turned more and more to the resources within their own province. The development of Ontario's summer resorts in the nineteenth century, which I have described elsewhere, may be summarized as follows: the resorts of Ontario were of little consequence until the 1870s, and indeed everything that came before 1890 was little more than a prelude. But by the 1890s the people of Ontario first joined vacationing visitors from the United States in making intensive use of their own wilderness for recreation. The first boom in Ontario tourism came with the economic boom that started in 1896, but in a sense it was a restricted boom, because only the well-to-do participated. This was the era of the society resort, and newspapers carried pages of the names of socially prominent people to be found summering in the hotels of Muskoka and the private cottages on Lake Simcoe, or taking part in regattas on Stony Lake. Depending as it did on the prosperity of the moneyed class, the well-being of Ontario's fashionable resorts was closely tied to the economic state of the country. When in 1912 the crops failed in the Canadian West, and the resulting depression was felt in Ontario the following year, the society resorts suddenly collapsed. Whereas the newspapers had formerly abounded in chatty news from the resorts, they were now completely silent. The reader going through the files of the newspapers of more than half a century ago is stunned by the suddenness of the transition. With the coming of war a year later, the quiet of the resorts continued undisturbed.

II

During the war years a new element entered the recreational pattern the automobile. By 1917 there were enough auto-borne tourists on Ontario's gravel county roads to make them both a nuisance and a boon to farmers. (A nuisance and a boon is what resorters have been to the surrounding rural population at all times; occasionally they have even had catastrophic, demoralizing effects, as many writers have pointed out.) "MOTORISTS BRING PROFIT TO FARMERS; Wayside Signs Almost Always Bring Trade from the Tourists," were the headings over one article published in a Toronto newspaper in 1917. "CITY MOTORISTS BECOME BURDEN TO THE FARMERS. Their Week-End Visits to Country Relatives Not Appreciated. Spoiling Rest Day. Women Work in

Tourism in Ontario

135

Fields all Week and Then Feed Visitors on Sunday," read those over another. "Why, country roads are black with them on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. There is scarcely a farm in the neighborhood that doesn't have at least one load over Sunday since the auto came in style." Good or bad, the effect of the automobile and the road was to bring city and country together. The farmer brought his burdens (and his opportunities) on himself, for he was largely responsible for starting his network of rural roads that was later to serve the tourist. At the beginning of the century there were only two hundred cars in all of Ontario, and good roads were the concern, not of the city-dweller, but of the farmer. He agitated for them, and he provided much of the money for building them. Twenty years later over one-third of the passenger vehicles in Ontario, 64,000 out of 182,000, belonged to farmers. In all the cities in Ontario there were fewer than 69,000 passengar cars. But among the cottage-owning class of that day - professionals, merchants, businessmen - there were precisely as many cars as among farmers: 64,000. The network of provincial highways did not as yet do justice to their numerical importance. It served agricultural and urban Ontario, but on the road map recreational Ontario remained a blank. Of all the lakes in the interior, only Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching were served by roads of provincial standard. Still. the recreational lands were served by roads of a sort, which could now be easily reached via the better provincial roads. The rising crowd of car owners took advantage of them with a rush, and the resort boom of the 1920s was under way.

III

The character of recreational land use in the Ontario of the 1920s, during the second tourist boom, was radically different from that at the beginning of the century. In this decade of the Coolidge prosperity the workers were at last coming into their recreational own. Great numbers of them owned cars - registration in Ontario reached the quartermillion mark in 1925 - and if the number of cottage owners among them was much smaller, still they could afford to buy tents, and go camping on lakeside resorts. Here was foreshadowed the most striking change that recent years have brought to the pattern of outdoor recreation in Ontario. the vast increase in the number of campers and of provincial parks needed to accommodate them. Today over one million people camp in provincial parks each year, and the number of parks has increased within twenty years from perhaps half a dozen to nearly a hundred. The 1920s saw a reversal in the relative positions of railway and highway, a return to conditions that had prevailed nearly a century before. In England, as we know from the delectable descriptions of

136

R.I. WOLFE

stage-coach travel that permeate the works of Charles Dickens, the highway was of great importance at the end of the pre-railway era. So it was in Ontario. The railway gained the ascendancy in the 18505, and, as Small perceptively noted, was chiefly responsible for the opening up of most of Ontario's resort lands. Railway and steamer were still the chief means of travelling to and about these lands during the first boom. In the twenties the automobile reasserted the dominance of the road. It would take another two or three decades before it all but wiped the railroad and the steamer off the recreational scene. The egalitarian society was much closer in the twenties than it had been during the first recreational boom. Though news of the resorts again began to appear in the newspapers, it had lost its society tone, and lists of distinguished guests at the fashionable resorts, if they were presented at all, were relegated to the society page. This was the decade in which the working-class resorts, particularly those on Lake Simcoe, Georgian Bay and Lake Erie, began to develop. It was also the decade in which once-fashionable resorts on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, such as Niagara-on-the-Lake and the outgrowths of the Methodist camp meeting, Grimsby Beach and Thousand Island Park, followed Cacouna into near-oblivion. Travel into and out of Canada rose steeply in the latter part of the decade, and Ontario assumed its dominant position in Canadian tourism - as the destination of two out of every three vacationists from the United States visiting Canada - which has remained virtually constant ever since. There is conflicting evidence as to the economic proportions that tourism into Canada attained. One authoritative source maintains that expenditures in Canada reached a peak of over $300 million in 1929, a figure that according to other sources was not reached until 1953. An even more authoritative source placed this 1929 peak at the more believable figure of just under $200 million. In either case, the tourism of the prewar, pre-car days had been left far behind. But the simile of the rocket and the stick is nowhere more apt than here; for rapid as was the rise until 1929, the fall after that date was even more rapid. The coming of depression ended the second recreational boom, as it had ended the first. In the United States, where the boom psychology was far more greatly developed than in Canada, resort lots were vastly oversold. The accomplished confidence man "Yellow Kid" Weil was able to "give away" Michigan bogs, some of them under two feet of water, as Elysian fields, to gullible Chicagoans. In Wisconsin the market was so drastically oversaturated that responsible scholars, examining the undeveloped riparian lands there, were led to the conclusion - which time was to prove unwarranted - that the day of the cottage was over; that people would henceforth refuse to let themselves be tied down to a plot of ground on a lake; for the pattern of American life was changing,

Tourism in Ontario

137

and Americans would from now on want to see their country from their cars. In Ontario during the depression there was little inclination to think of buying summer property, but the cheapest lands, those inhering to the Crown, did receive even more interest than during the boom of the twenties.

IV

'The thirties saw the beginning of a very important change in the pattern of commerical resorts. In spite of severe economic strains, the number of automobiles in Ontario decreased very little - much less than during the war that followed. After faltering slightly in the early thirties, the curve of car ownership once more began to climb, with the same speed as during the early twenties. Travel across the border in both directions fell much more drastically, but it too began its recovery after the depth of the depression had been passed. Yet money .was still in short supply, and resort hotels were too costly for most travellers. To meet the demand for cheap food and accommodations, and to take advantage of the increasing use of the automobile for touring, the snack stand and the roadside commercial cabin began to appear. In the United States the cabin rapidly developed into the motel, though it would be a long time before it became the huge, elaborate, luxurious and ubiquitous establishment that we know today. One further characteristic marked the resorts of this period. This was an intangible, and most disquieting one. A~ no previous time had racial discrimination been given overt expression at the resorts. It was there, but it expressed itself in action rather than verbally. In the 1930s discriminatory announcements became a prominent part of the summerresort scene, and were numerous in resort advertisements carried by the daily newspapers. Part of the cause, no doubt, was the strain put on society by the depression. Much more directly responsible was the example of Nazi Germany, allied to the growing size of the Jewish community in Toronto. Whatever the reason, in 1934, open expressions of discrimination appeared in newspaper advertising for the first time, and persisted for more than a decade. In deference to anti-discriminatory legislation, it has almost disappeared in recent years. Discriminatory practices have, we can be sure, diminished much less. The Second World War, with its unsettled populations and its restrictions on gasoline and building materials, further inhibited the growth of Ontario's resorts. But with the end of the war there immediately began not only the greatest economic boom in the country's history, but with it, inevitably, the greatest boom in recreational land use, a boom that with minor fluctuations persists to this day.

138

R.I. WOLFE

The boom has brought fewer radical changes to the pattern of tourism in Ontario than did either of the others. Instead, it has brought an intensification of trends that were already in existence. In large part this can be attributed to the continuing, but again intensified, dominance of the automobile in American life. Resort lands on the Precambrian Shield are beginning to fill up, and a movement has begun into areas that were once inaccessible by car, but that have now been opened up by virtue of the extensive programe of highway construction that has been underway during the past two decades. The airplane has become increasingly used for vacation travel, but, except for the small privately owned plane that flies to isolated lakes in the north, it is of much greater significance for travel out of Ontario - to Europe in the summer and the American South in the winter - than it is for travel into or within Ontario. As elsewhere in North America, there has been an astonishing increase in the number of power boats cluttering recreational waters. The beautiful Canadian winter is coming into its own as more and more people turn to skiing. As has already been mentioned, there has been a vast increase in the number of campers, and provincial parks. But the summer cottage remains, as it has been almost since the time of Confederation, the single most characteristic and desired place of recreation for the people of Ontario and for vacationing visitors from beyond its borders.

Recreational Land Use in Muskoka G. WALL

In 1954 McMurray described recreational geography as a "newlyemerging field in economic geography.'" Since that time there has been a proliferation of publications considering a wide variety of aspects of outdoor recreation. The great majority of such works consider current or recent recreational phenomena. Few attempts have been made, particularly in North America, to describe or understand the roots of present-day patterns of recreational land use as revealed in the activities of earlier periods. In a Canadian context, with the important exceptions of Wolfe's seminal papers on the topic, this is particularly true. 2 However, Nelson and his associates have devoted considerable attention to aspects of "historical ecology" and landscape change. 3 Since many of their studies have been of locations which are currently in national or provincial parks, they have necessarily considered many aspects of the outdoor recreation of past periods. Yet, this has been a by-product rather than a major focus of their research. Of these studies, only that of Marsh on Glacier National Park, British Columbia, has as its major objective the description of changing recreational land use. 4 Thus the literature on past patterns of outdoor recreation is extremely sparse. Given the paucity of research of this type, it is not surprising that the majority of investigators of recreational phenomena fail to place their studies in an historical context. In consequence, there has been a tendency to stress change, rapid rates of growth, and the instability of recreation patterns in the recent past, and the considerable continuity in recreational land use had been largely overlooked. The general objective of this paper is to contribute to the neglected subject of the historical geography of outdoor recreation. Its specific purpose is to describe and analyse aspects of outdoor recreational land use in late nineteenth century Muskoka, with particular attention being devoted to Lakes Muskoka, Joseph and Rosseau (Figure I). This paper was previously published in Ontario

G~ography.

II (1917). pp. 11-28.

139

140

G. WALL

Figure I:

Muskoka

Muskoka

141

DATA SOURCES

This paper is based primarily upon archival research and is dependent upon the piecing together of fragmentary evidence. This task has been facilitated by the availability of Murray's book on Muskoka and Haliburton in which many key documents have been reprinted. S Availability of data determined that much of the subsequent discussion will. of necessity, refer to the years 1886. 1894. 1899 and 1915. These were the only years for which the locations of cottages, and the places of permanent residence of their owners, could be found. The dates have no additional significance beyond this fact. Data for 1886 are taken from Cumberland's book on the Northern Lakes of Canada. 6 This work contains maps of Muskoka and lists islands and their owners, but since little information is available on the mainland. the total number of cottages is almost certainly underestimated. Data for 1894 and 1899 are taken from Marshall's Map and Chart of the Muskoka Lakes which was first published in the former year and was subsequently revised and republished in 1899. 7 Each of these maps includes an index of summer cottages and their owners. and a list of hotels. Comparable data are available for 1915 from Rogers' Muskoka Lakes Blue Book. Directory and Chart. s These four major sources have been supplemented with information gleaned from tourist guidebooks. travellers' reports, information for intending immigrants. and other contemporary records. Current patterns of recreational land use in Muskoka have been described in considerable detail by JMT Engineering and Planning and their statistics have been used for comparative purposes.9

MlJSKOKA PRIOR TO 1875 111

Muskoka was an isolated area until 1875. In an attempt to attract and retain permanent agricultural settlers. the Ottawa-Huron Tract was opened for settlement and a network of colonization roads was proposed to serve the southern margin of the Shield and to link it with the lowland to the south. Construction began at Washago. on Lake Couchiching, and the Muskoka Road reached Muskoka in 1859 when the southern townships of Morrison. Muskoka. Draper and Macauley were opened for settlement. However, the scheme met with mixed success and even the availability of free land following the Free Grant and Homesteads Act, 1868, failed to stimulate the development ofa viable farming community. Travel on the colonization roads was difficult. The autobiographies of local settlers indicate that the road was in poor condition and even when equipment was of the best. stagecoach travel was never comfortable. Accidents were not infrequent occurrences. passengers often had to walk to ease the horses. and riding in the coaches was unpleasant for the

142

G. WALL

vehicles were not well sprung. Movement within Muskoka was easier than communication with the outside world, as the lakes and rivers provided a waterway which was well served by the steamboats of the Muskoka and Nipissing Navigation Company. Prior to 1875 the traveller from Toronto to Muskoka took the train to Belle Ewart on Lake Simcoe, boat to Washago at the head of Lake Couchiching, and stage to Gravenhurst on Lake Muskoka. Those wishing to continue to Huntsville took the steamer from Gravenhurst to Bracebridge, stage from Bracebridge to Port Sydney, and steamer for the final leg of the journey to Huntsville. It is true that the Rosseau House hotel opened for business on July ), )870,11 five years before the coming of the railway, and that regattas took place on the Muskoka Lakes as early as 1872, but prior to )875 the journey to Muskoka was an ordeal; it was undertaken out of necessity rather than for pleasure.

THE RAILWAY AND RECREATIONAL TRAVEL

In )875 the Toronto, Simcoe and Muskoka Junction Railway reached Muskoka and, almost overnight, the most extreme impediments in travelling to Muskoka were removed. A fast "Steamboat Express" left Union Station, Toronto, every weekday at 10:35 a.m., making the run of I ) I miles to Muskoka Wharf, Gravenhurst, in a little over three hours. 12 Roads, steamboats, and railways were complementary means of transportation. The railway brought the visitors to Gravenhurst, "The Gateway to Muskoka"; the steamboats distributed them throughout the lakes, but relied upon the stagecoaches to overcome the portages. Timetables were designed to minimize connection hold-ups, and to facilitate the speedy transfer of passengers and baggage from one transport medium to another. Steamboat, railway, and stagecoach companies advertised in conjunction and combined to organize through trips and excursion rates. Cockburn, the owner of the Muskoka and Nipissing Navigation Company, was one of the strongest advocates of railway construction because of the increased business which it would bring. He constantly kept Muskoka in the public eye by undertaking extensive advertising campaigns throughout Canada and the United States, and he deserves considerable credit for attracting American visitors. The Navigation Company kept pace with increasing trade by building new docks and adding new vessels. In addition, it was largely through the efforts of Cockburn that the assessment laws were amended to favour summer residents, and a scheme was implemented for periodic inspection of hotels and boarding houses. Wolfe has suggested: "The rise of Muskoka can be traced to the enterprise of one man. This man was A.P. Cockburn." 13 There is more tharr an element of truth in Wolfe's statement, but the role of lumbering and farming interests in promoting

Muskoka

143

railway construction should not be overlooked. It is doubtful if Cockburn would have been quite so successful had he lacked the support of these powerful interests. The coming of the railway in 1875, its extension northwards, and the rapid improvement in communications which took place in the fourth quarter of the nineteenth century, by making Muskoka more accessible from the ··front," facilitated the development of the recreation industry.

THE RECREATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

The development of the recreation industry in Muskoka was a direct result of the forest-lake complex and its situation with respect to the well-settled parts of Southern Ontario. As the urban popUlation increased in size, so the demand for outlets for recreation expanded. The population of Toronto grew from 56,092 in 1871; to 86.415 in 1881; 174,414 in 1891; 208,040 in 1901; 376,471 in 1911; and to 521. 893 in 1921, although it should be noted that part of the growth in numbers was a result of the annexation of suburban communities. 14 At some point Toronto reached such a size that the countryside was no longer part of the immediate experience of most of its citizens. Promotional literature suggests that this point was reached during the latter part of the nineteenth century and that Muskoka was able to provide relief from the pressures of city life: There. removed from the dust and smoke of cities. and those many impurities ever attaching to settled human habitations. thousands from the cities to the south are destined to find not only vigour in exercise and rest through unbroken slumbers to the overworked brain. but also relief. . . u

The quotation. which was written nearly a century ago, has a curiously modern ring. Dean and MacDougall point out that the Kawartha Lakes had the advantages of closer proximity to Toronto than Muskoka, better boating, and superior fishing. but the Kawarthas were located on the same Paleozoic Lowland and in the same agricultural setting as southern urban populations. 16 The rocks and rugged country of the Laurentian Shield provided a very attractive scenic contrast for these city-dwellers from the south and Muskoka was fortunate in that it was situated on the nearest edge of the Shield. However, even in these early years, Muskoka was not a pristine wilderness, and the scenery of Muskoka, perhaps its greatest recreational asset. had not remained unimpaired. The removal of trees by lumbermen and frequent forest fires had left their marks on the landscape. The magnificent forest cover was removed just as the country was about to be opened up for recreation. Indeed, Muskoka may have suffered more than almost any other part of Ontario from the combined effects of

144

G. WALL

incorrect land use and the rapacity of timber miners'" G.M. Adam in 1899 regretted that Browning's Island was partly owned by the Muskoka Mill and Lumber Company, and complained that the rough picturesqueness of the region is dominated by the lumbering operations of many saw-mills, and the eye is fain to seek the placid beauty of the water as a relief to the uncouth disarray of the scene on the shore. IS

He also felt that Lake Joseph would have been the most attractive of the three lakes but for the many burnt islands which disfigured its upper portions. The loggers and the forest fires alternated in taking their toll of the great pines of Muldrew Lake up to the turn of the century and even a few years longer. An early water-colour sketch of Leg Lake (Muldrew Lake) in 1901 shows bright green new growth lining the shores topped by an endless forest of gaunt. burned pines. spiking the skyline wherever you looked .... Leg Lake fifty or sixty years ago was a sad-looking place of desolation. 19

Although recreation did not occupy a large area of land, since most recreation was water-oriented and the best views were across the lakes, vacationers were attracted to the waterways. It was these very areas which were attractive to the lumbermen because of their desire for water transportation and water power. However, the beautiful, island-studded lakes with their complex and inviting shorelines remained, and Muskoka was able to overcome this small handicap to recreational development imposed upon it by earlier land uses. Such destruction of the forest and the attempts to farm parts of Muskoka could have had repercussions for the recreation industry, since one of Muskoka's assets was its wildlife whose accustomed environment was being destroyed. Deer were originally abundant in the area south of the Precambrian Shield, but comparatively few deer were to be found in the dense forests of the Shield itself. Deer thrive in brush land rather than in mature forests and therefore human settlement, with its attendant timber cutting and cultivated fields, created a more suitable habitat and resulted in a rapid increase in the deer population. Similarly, the new environment was also favourable to the expansion of the moose population, and in the 1880s and 1890s Muskoka became noted for its moose hunting. 20 Thus the farmer and lumberman both created an environment conducive to the expansion of the hunting resource and in this small way they may be considered to have improved recreation facilities. In 1888 the first deer licences were collected from twenty-two non-resident hunters,21 and hunting facilities were sufficiently attractive to induce visitors to come long distances in the hope of bagging a moose.

Muskoka

145

PATTERNS OF RECREATION

Almost from the beginning both commercial and private forms of recreational land use were prominent in Muskoka. Commercial use was largely that of the resort hotel, while private endeavours involved both summer cottages and camping.

Commercial resorts The commercial exploitation of Muskoka was manifested in the resort hotel. In 1870 W.H. Prau, an American, opened Rosseau House, the first resort hotel, and his example was soon followed by others. By 1879 there were approximately thirty establishments providing travellers with accommodation in a wide area centred upon the Muskoka Lakes. 22 ft is difficult to estimate how many of these were c~tering primarily to tourists and vacationers. An analysis of the visitors' book of Rosseau House from 1878 to 1880 indicates that a considerable portion of its trade was with lumbering interests and other travellers. 2l However, this hotel was at the head of navigation and acted as a staging point and thus may not have been typical. In 1883 PraU's hotel was destroyed by fire. Cumberland claimed that until this time the Rosseau House had monopolized a large proportion of the tourist business. 24 He suggested that it was not until the fire forced visitors to seek other accommodation that many vacationers realized that there were other beautiful spots on the shores of the lakes. and new hotels were constructed. In the nineteenth century Muskoka attracted visitors for its social life, and only the wealthy could afford the expenses which a visit to Muskoka entailed. The resort hotels were splendid constructions, invariably with waterside locations and often with their own beaches, and their own docks served regularly by the steamboats. They generally included such facilities as dance halls. tennis courts and croquet lawns. The wide range of available recreational opportunities can be seen in advertisements of the time. That of the Monteith House on Lake Rosseau is typical: First class and modem in all is appointments, the maximum of comfort with the minimum of cost. Hot and cold running water in every room, private baths; single and en suite. Steam heated; electric light; open fire places; Golf; Lawn Bowling; Tennis; Dancing; Boating; Bathing; Fishing; Motoring, etc. Local and long distance telephone and telegraph. Descriptive booklet on request. New accommodations just added for fifty more guests. Special rates for May and June. also September and October .... Special inducements for conventions and large parties. 2s

At the end of the nineteenth century, when the activities of fashionable society at the summer resorts of Ontario were featured news, those of

146

G. WALL

Muskoka outshone all the rest. Newspapers of the period were filled with stories of the social activities in the hotels. Columns of print were given over to cataloguing their visitors, and whole sections in the weekend editions were devoted to describing the romantic activities at the resorts.26 The numbers of lakeshore hotels increased steadily from approximately 13 hotels in 1886, to 25 in 1894, 30 in 1899 and 50 in 1915, although the numbers vary somewhat depending upon the source consulted. In 1972 there were 89 resorts in the District of Muskoka providing 3,275 accommodation units. If motels, hotels, cabins, and cottages for rent are included, the figures rise to 394 establishments providing 6,104 accommodation units. The early hotels were built in waterside locations at steamboat ports-of-call on the three major lakes. Presentday resorts are also water-oriented: approximately 64 per cent of Muskoka's private accommodation establishments are located on lakes. However, there are signs that this pattern may be slowly changing, as new accommodation facilities are increasingly highway-oriented due to the desirability of year-round operation and restrictions on lakeshore development. The market area of the early Muskoka hotels cannot be determined with precision. However, it is known that American tourists were among the first to make use of Muskoka's recreation resources and they were especially important to the hotels. The Garfield. Hunting and Fishing Club of Allegheny City, Pennsylvania,27 was accustomed to visiting Bala Falls, and the Sharon Social and Fishing Club of Sharon, Pennsylvania, had summer quarters at Beaumaris which received so many American visitors that it was given the nickname of "Little Pittsburgh. "28 Through trains were run from Buffalo and Detroit, and cheap rates to Muskoka could be obtained from as far afield as Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington and New York. 29 Americans were so important to Muskoka, and formed such a signnificant proportion of vacationers, that the Toronot Daily Star of 1890 commented on the large influx of American visitors and the "golden deposit it leaves behind. "30 Approximately one-fifth of all tourists currently visiting Muskoka are Americans. Summer COllages At the same time as resort hotels were expanding in size and increasing in number, the first summer cottages were being constructed in Muskoka. Land could be bought from the Canadian government for as little as one dollar per acre, and since most of the islands were lacking in names, a form of picturesque immortality could be achieved at prices ranging from $10 to $100 if a purchaser gave his name to one of the islands. The availability of local lumber meant that it was not expensive

147

Muskoka

to build a cottage. Even so, a summer home was the prerogative of the wealthy. Although the early cottages were the forerunners of the present extensive cottage developments, the early cottage visit was not a weekend excursion, but was usually for the duration of the summer. The whole family, including the maids, moved to the cottage for the summer months. Cottage development first took place on the northern part of Lake Joseph where water was clearer than in .other parts of the three major lakes,l' but it soon became a general phenomenon. The lakes were studded with islands so that open reaches of rough water were scarcely encountered: an important consideration before the introduction of the motorboat. This was less true of Lake Muskoka than the other two lakes, but Muskoka was compensated by its more southerly position, so that a visitor coming north arrived earlier and left later than on the other lakes. Cottages were concentrated close to steamboat ports of call, and locations such as the Lake of Bays, which were not on the major routeways, remained largely undeveloped until the twentieth century. A steady increase in the number of cottages occurred thoughout the period under consideration (Table I). Table 1: Location of Place of Permanent Residence for Cottage Owners on the Muskoka Lakes, 1886-1915

Toronto Other Ontario U.S.A.

Elsewhere Total

1886*

1894

1899

1915

16 0 1

160

0

140 79 14 4

30 7

343 164 163 23

17

237

312

694

115

*Refers only to islands.

Table 2: Ownership of Islands in the Muskoka Lakes, 1886 Location I

Toronto

Other

Place of Permanent Residence Elsewhere Total U.S.A.

Ontario Lake Muskoka Lake Rosseau Lake Joseph Total

3 22 25 50

1 4 0 5

I

0 2

0 0 1 I

5 27 26 58

148

G. WALL

In 1886 the majority of islands were in the hands of Toronto residents (Table 2). By the end of.the century there were over 300 cottages lining the shores of the three major lakes and this number had more than doubled by 1915. Toronto residents were the most numerous and their cottages were to be found on all three lakes. Less than 10 per cent of cottage owners were Americans at the turn of the century, but by 1915 the proportion had jumped to almost a quarter (23.4 per cent), indicating a rapid influx of Americans in the early years of the twentieth century. American residents were found on all three lakes but they were particularly concentrated upon Lake Muskoka. where 102 Americanowned cottages comprised 29 per cent of all collages in 1915. Comparable figures for Lake Rosseau and Lake Joseph were 27 (15 per cent) and 34 (22 per cent) respectively. The frequent juxtaposition of cottage owners from similar locations suggests that early cottage owners often had a strong influence upon the locational decisions of their relatives and friends. In consequence. distinct clusters of cottages owned by residents from similar locations can be discerned. and in this respect, the concentration of American-owned COllages on Tondern Island in the northern part of Lake Muskoka is noteworthy. The formation of clubs such as the Madawaska Club, Go-Home Bay, and the Muldrew Lakes Cottagers' Club also tended to draw together people from similar areas and with like interests. Muskoka has always attracted a large proportion of its cottagers from Toronto. However, other Ontario locations and the United States gradually became more important, so that by 1915 the area served by Muskoka had increased in extent. Pennsylvania with 45 per cent (63 per cent of these from Pittsburgh). New York (20 per cent). Ohio (7 per cent) and Michigan (6 per cent) were the major sources of American cottagers in 1915. There was little extension of cottages ownership towards the east where other resort areas such as Haliburton and the Kawartha Lakes provided intervening opportunities. In 1971 there were approximately 18,400 cottages in the District of Muskoka. More than 93 per cent of owners were from Ontario, with more than half of these from the Toronto area. Nearly 6 per cent were from the United States. This is a considerably smaller proportion than in 1915, although it represents a much larger absolute number of American-owned cottages. Approximately 1 per cent of cottages were owned by Canadians living outside of Ontario. While southwestern Ontario accounted for 28 per cent of Muskoka cottage owners, southeastern Ontario accounted for less than I per cent. Thus, Muskoka has retained the asymmetric collage hinterland which developed in the late nineteenth century. Cottage development has traditionally taken the form of a single row of cottages fringing the lakeshore with little or no back-lot development. More than 80 per cent of Muskoka cottages have water frontage. Dur-

Muskoka

149

ing the past few years, however, new cottage construction has tended to level off at an annual increase of less than 4 per cent, partly due to the fact that many lakes have been overdeveloped. The quantity of accessible lakeshore property available, particularly on the larger lakes, is now severely limited and latecomers are being forced to accept less desirable locations.

Camping Little information is available concerning the early campers. Murray suggests that James Bain, a publishers and the first chief librarian of the Toronto Public Library, and his friend, John Campbell, a clergyman, "may have been the first tourists in the area."32 These two young men spent a week in Muskoka in 1860, and also made subsequent trips which have been documented by Mason 33 and by the Muskoka Herald. 34 The Northern Lakes Navigation Company, which stood to gain business from an influx of tourists, provided information for prospective visitors. The instructors to campers are both informative and amusing and provide an insight into the nature of the camping experience at a time when sophisticated, mass-produced equipment was not available: Flannel shirts and woollen socks should be worn, and a tolerably warm coat should be taken up. as the nights are often cool .... Two double blankets. wrapped and strapped in two yards of waterproof cloth, will constitute his portable bed. A musquito [sic] net for the head often comes in conveniently in the evening . . . . Brandy should be taken for plum pudding sauce, and to restore life to those who may have suffered from drowning or great physical prostration. Tobacco is a good protection against flies while it is being smoked, which is generally, therefore, for a considerable portion of the twenty-four hours.lS

It is not possible to estimate the numbers of itinerant tourists and campers who visited Muskoka in these early years. The failure of Hamilton to mention the availability of camping supplies in his 1879 atlas suggests they were few. 36 However, by 1886 the trade was sufficient to warrant the advertising of "boats, yachts, canoes, tents for hire" and the provision of "campers and tourists' supplies" and guides. 37 Also in 1886, Dickson published Camping in the Muskoka Region. Dickson was a provincial land surveyor and his book includes a map of his travels identifying his campsites and points of interest. It is probable that the book is composed of tales and descriptions of experiences gained while surveying, so that it does not strictly relate to recreational camping. However, it is clear that Dickson derived great pleasure from his travels and wished to encourage others to camp in the area. It is not clear how successful he was in persuading others to follow. All that can be said with certainty is that the first campers were visiting Muskoka before the

150

G. WALL

tum of the century. Camping has grown "considerably in popularity since that time; in 1972 there were more than 30 establishments in the District of Muskoka. providing 2,547 camping units. MOTIVES OF VISITORS

Attitudes towards nature were in a state of flux in North America during the nineteenth century. Dahl has pointed out the ambivalent attitudes towards wilderness which existed in the writings of contemporary authors. 39 Describing the period 1830 to 1855, he suggested that "it is probably that there was in Canada a basic change taking place in attitudes towards wilderness, and that change, in general terms, was away from an antipathy and towards an appreciation of wilderness. "40 Both Nash 41 and Huth 42 have discussed the increasingly favourable attitudes towards wilderness and its preservation which existed in the United States in the nineteenth century. They attributed these changes in taste largely to the spread of romanticism from the old world to the new. Such trends may have contributed to a growing appreciation of wild landscapes such as those of Muskoka. The aura of the Canadian north 43 may have also drawn some visitors to Muskoka, but it is easier to reconcile the lure of the "true north strong and free" with the camping or cottage experience than with the luxurious accommodations of the resorts. Although the scenery of Muskoka was undoubtedly a major attraction, most visitors did not come expecting or even wanting a wilderness experience. Patrons of the hotels were often not interested in hunting or fishing although boating was very popular, the majority of hotels having their own boating facilities. Muskoka was a society resort and the hotel patrons came for the social life and because it was the behaviour expected of a member of Tororito society. Muskoka was similar to the major European resorts which were "pioneered" by members of the aristocracy who moved on to new locations once the established resorts became more popular and less exclusive. Muskoka thus provides an example of the frequently occurring recreati.onal phenomenon that "mass follows class." The early development of many resorts was associ ted with medicine. For instance, spas and seaside resorts emphasized the curative powers of their waters,44 and both coastal and mountain resorts have claimed the th~rapeutic values of their clear, bracing air.4s In most cases the purely medicinal functions were rapidly augmented and even sl1perseded by recreational functions. Muskoka was similar in that attempts were made to lure visitors with promises of improved health. A number of tourist guides emphasized the health-giving aspects of Muskoka and it is possible that some visitors came for these reasons. For instance. Adams

Muskoka

151

claimed that there was no better place for neurasthenic patients and persons suffering from physical and mental overwork or other debilitating influences. Consumptives do well under proper medical management, many being entirely cured, while others meet with considerable improvement. 46

A sanitarium was opened near Gravenhurst in 1897, the dry bracing air being considered particularly beneficial to invalides. Even if such claims were not completely justified they may have swelled the number of vacationers who came to stay in Muskoka. The climate of Muskoka was probably of greater significance in attracting visitors than doubtful medical promises. Because of its more northerly latitude and its slightly higher elevation, Muskoka tends to be a little cooler than Toronto. For instance, Muskoka has mean monthly July and August temperatures at 1:00 a.m. which are 5.5°C (10°F) below those experienced at TorontoY In much the same way that wealthy residents of Asian lowlands have escaped to the cooler temperatures of hill resorts, so residents of Toronto can avoid many hot, humid summer nights by moving to Muskoka. Just as it was only the wealthy who could afford to visit the resorts, summer cottages were also the prerogative of the rich. The desire to hunt, fish and explore the backwoods was probably stronger among the cottagers than among visitors to the hotels. However, Wolfe has argued that it would be erroneous to assume that cottagers acquire their property so that they can more easily commune with nature. Enjoyment that comes from ownership and status are more important: Fundamentally, summering at the cottage is a symbolic act. It is not [sic] for amusement, it is not [sic] an escape from the city, though that is what it most often seems to be; it is not even primarily for recreation, though that is its ostensible purpose. In former times, it symoblized the exclusion by the eJect of those not fortunate enough to own the 'inessential houses'; today it symbolizes, in its democratized form, the sense of belonging that all of us feel the need to demonstrate in one way or another:,a

CONCLUSIONS

The second half of the nineteenth century saw Muskoka develop from a wilderness to a noted resort area. Wolfe has suggested that 1890 marked the beginning of rapid development in the recreation industry of Muskoka, and that everything that took place before 1890 was but a prelude to the rapid acceleration of growth which took place during the prosperous years at the end of the century.49 For the first time Muskoka had an economic base which was to prove not only profitable, but also lasting. However, when one compares present patterns of recreational land use

152

G. WALL

with those of the late nineteenth century, one is struck by the marked similarities rather than by the occasional differences. Although the number of visitors has increased, the distribution of resort hotels, summer cottages and cottagers is not very different from that which existed almost a century ago. Time has seen an intensification of recreational land use and it is this which is more striking than any change in kind. Thus, the waterside location of resorts, cottages and campsites continues to this day, and the present cottage hinterland of Muskoka bears a remarkable similarity to that which existed before the First World War. Many current problems of recreational land use are not completely new phenomena. Foreign ownership of prime recreational land, private development of lakeshore property, and associated lack of public water access are examples of such issues. Their origins are firmly based in historical patterns of land use, but their significance has increased as recreational pressures have intensified. It is hoped that this study has contributed to the understanding of the evolution of such problems. This paper has also drawn attention to the importance of a number of key elements in the development of Muskoka. These include changing transportation technology and associated alterations in accessibility, the importance of expanding urban areas in stimulating demand, the role of individual entrepreneurs in encouraging and meeting that demand, fashion, and the physical characteristics of the recreation resource. These variables were also found to be important in Marsh's study of Glacier National Park,so and have also been significant elements in many of the studies of landscape change. They may offer a starting point for future studies in the historical geography of outdoor recreation.

NOTES I. K.C. McMurray. "Recreational Geography" in American Geography: Inventory and Prospect. eds., P.E. James and C.F. Jones (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1954), p.251. 2. R.I. Wolfe, "The Summer Resorts of Ontario in the Nineteenth Century," Ontario History. (1962). p. 54. "The Changing Patterns of Tourism in Ontario" in Profiles of a Province, ed. E.G. Firth, (Toronto: Ontario Historical Society, 1967). pp. 173-177; in this volume, pp. 000-00. 3. For example, J.G. Nelson. "Man and Landscape Change in BanfT National Park: A National Park Problem in Perspective" in Canadian Parks in Perspective. edt J .G. Nelson (Montreal: Harvest House. 1969), pp. 63-96. 4 .. J. Marsh, "Man, Landscape and Recreation in Glacier National Park, British Columbia, 1880 to present," (University of Calgary, Ph.D. Dissertation, 1971). 5. F.B. Murray, Muskoka and Haliburton 1615-is75: A Collection of Documents (Toronto: Univeristy of Toronto Press, 1963). 6. F.B. Cumberland. The Northern Lakes of Canada. Ihe Niagara River and Toronto, Ihe Lakes of Muskoka, Lake Nipissing. Georgian Bay. Great Manitoulin Channel. Mackinac.

Muskoka

153

Sault Ste. Marie, Lake Superior (Toronto: Hunter, Rose and Co., 1886). 7. G.W. Marshall, Map and Chari of the Muskoka Lakes (Toronto: 1894; second revised edition, 1899). 8. J. Rogers, Muskoka Lakes Blue Book, Directory and Chart, 1915 (Port Sandfield, circa 19I5). 9. J.M.T. Engineering and Planning Ltd., The ContribUlion of Recreation to the Muskoka Economy, (prepared for the Planning Department, District Municipality of Muskoka. 1973), mimeo. 10. For further information, see F.B. Murray, "Muskoka and Haliburton: Agricultural Settlement on the Canadian Shield: Ottawa River to the Georgian Bay" in E.G. Firth, Profiles, pp. 173-117; G. Wall, "Land Use Interrelationships in Nineteenth Century Muskoka," Agricultural History. XLIV (1970). pp. 393-400; "Transportation in a Pioneer Area: a note on Muskoka," Transport History (1972), V, pp. 54-66; N.H. Mackenzie. "The Economic and Social Development of Muskoka 18S8-1888" (University of Toronto, M.A. Dissertation, 1943). II. R. Thomas, "The Beginning of Navigation and the Tourist Industry in Muskoka.".in Ontario History. XLII (1950), pp. 10 I-lOS. 12. D. W. Beadle and A.P. Cornell. Muskoka, Land of Health and Pleasure (n.p., 1897). pp.4-S. 13. Wolfe. "The Summer Resorts of Ontario," p. IS2. 14. Canada, Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Census of Canada (various dates). 15. P.H. Bryce. The Climates and Health Resorts of Canada, Being a Short Description of the Climate and the Different Geographical Divisions of Canada, and References to Some of their Chief Health Resorts (Montreal: Canadian Pacific Railway, 1898), p. 22. 16. W.G. Dean and E.B. MacDougall, Toronto into Muskoka - A Geographical Traverse (Toronto: Department of Geography, University-of Toronto. 1966), mimeo. 17. R.I. Wolfe, "Recreational Land Use in Ontario," (University of Toronto, Ph.D. Dissertation, 19S6), p. 94. 18. G.M. Adam. quoted in G.M. Grant, Picturesque Spots of the North: Historical and Descriptive Sketches of the Scenery and Ufe in the Vicinity of Georgian Bay, the Muskoka lAkes, the Upper lAkes, in Central and Eastern Ontario and in the Niagara District (Chicago: Belford, 1899), p. 39. 19. Muldrew ukes Cottageis' Oub, The History of Muldrew Lake: A RecOid of Bygone Days In and Around the Lake (Toronto, 1953), mimeo. 20. R.S. Lambert, Renewing Nature's Wealth (Toronto: Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, 1967), p. 465. 21. Ibid.. p. 466. 22. W.E. Hamilton, Guide Book and Atlas of Muskoka and Parry Sound Districts (Toronto: Page, 1879). 23. Jones Collection, Public Archives of Canada, MG 24 Ll2. 24. F.B. Cumberland, The Northern Lakes of Canada, p. 124. 25. In Rogers, Muskoka lAkes Blue Book, p. 8S. 26. R.I. Wolfe. Recreational Land Use in Ontario, (Torqnto: Law Legislative Library, 1954), mimeo, p. 539. 27. J.T. McAdam (Captain Mac), Muskoka Lakes and the Georgian Bay (Toronto: n.p., 1884), p. 13. 28. E.H. Adams, Toronto and Adjacent Summer Resorts. Illustrated Souvenir and Guide Book with Maps and Tables of Railway and Steamboat Fares, Hotel Rates, and Metropolitan Data, etc. (Toronto: Murray Printing Co., 1894), p. 73. 29. Ibid., p. 99.

]54 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.

36. 37. 38. 39.

40. 41. 42.

43. 44.

45.

46. 47. 48. 49. SO.

G. WALL

Toronto Daily Star, (July 17, 1890), quoted in Wolfe, Recreational Land Use, p. 539. Wolfe, Recreational Land Use, p. 531. Murray, Muskoka and Haliburton. p. 388. D.H.C. Mason. Muskoka: The First/slanders. (Bracebridge: Herald-Gazette Press, 1957). Muskoka Herald, August 3. 1950. Northern Lakes Navigation Company, The Tourist's Guide to the Muskoka Region: Giving a Description of the Lake and River Scenery, with the Best Spots for Waterside Summer Resort, Hotels. Camping Outfit, Fishing and Shooting Distances. Cost of Travel. Cost of Hotel and other Accommodation (Toronto: Hunter, Rose and Company, 1874), pp. 14-15. Hamilton, Guide Book and Atlas. Cumberland, The Northern Lakes of Canada, pp. 2()9..215. J. Dickson, Camping in the Muskoka Region (Toronto: Robinson, 1886; reprinted by the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, 1960). E.H. Dahl, "Mid Forests Wild": A Study of the Concept of Wilderness in the Writings of Susanna Moodie. J. W.D. Moodie. Catherine Parr Traill and Samuel Strickland, cc. 18301855 (Ottawa: National Museum of Man, 1973). History Division Paper, No.3. Ibid., p. 46. R. Nash, Wilderness and the American Mind (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967). H. Huth, Nature and the American: Three Centuries of Changing Allitudes (Berkeley: University of California Press. 1972). C. Berger, "The True North Strong and Free," in Nationalism in Canada, cd. P. Russell, (Toronto: McGraw Hill, 1966), pp. 3-36. See. for instance, D. Lowenthal. "Tourists and Thermalists," Geographical Review, LII (1962), pp. 124-127. J.A. Patmore, "Spa Towns in England and Wales in Urbanization and its Problems, cds. R.P. Beckinsale and J.M. Houston (Oxford: Blackwell, 1968), pp.47-69; E.W. Gilbert, "The Growth of inland and seaside health resorts in England," Scollish Geographical Magazine, LV (1939), pp. 16-35. R.C. Scace, "Banff Townsite: An Historical-Geographical View of Urban Development in a Canadian National Park," in Canadian Parks in Perspective, ed. J.G. Nelson (Montreal: Harvest H,?use), pp. 187-208. J.S. Marsh, "The Rise and Decline of Recreation in Glacier National Park, British Columbia, 1885-1925," paper presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Geographers, Ontario Division" (Trent University, Peterborough, 1976). Adams, Toronto and Adjacent Summer Resorts, p. 72." Calculated from Canada, Department of Transport, Meteorological Branch, Climatic Normals Volume IV, (Toronto: Meteorological Office, 1968). R.I. Wolfe, "About Cottages and Cottagers," Landscape, XV (1965), pp. 6-8. Wolfe, Recreational Land Use, p. 532. Marsh, The Rise and Decline of Recreation.

Northern Ontario's Tourist Frontier J. BENIDICKSON

Interpretations of the regional experience of northern Ontario have customarily emphasized the role of extractive or productive land use in the agricultural, mineral and forest sectors. Thus, studies of the Clay Belt settlements, the opening of northeastern Ontario's mineral belt and the expansion of the pulp and paper industry have become the basis for our understanding of the economic and social character of northern Ontario. 1 Policy-makers as well as historians have been preoccupied with the condition of the primary resource sector, often at the expense of interest in alternative occupations. Activities such as commercial fishing. the twentieth century fur trade and tourism have received comparatively little consideration despite their significance in certain districts. Although these alternative land uses have not been widespread and have rarely produced or sustained high incomes for those involved in them, they have either dominated or greatly influenced the evolution of several of the north's sub-regions. Around the Lake of the Woods. for example. summer recreation and tourism played an important role in the economy of Kenora (formerly Rat Portage) from the 1880s onward, helping to diversify an income base otherwise founded on lumbering and gold mining prospects. Tourism, similarly, substantially broadened the economic base of Manitoulin Island, as accounts of summer visitors attest. 2 Lake Nipigon and the river of the same name were once so well known throughout North America as a fishing retreat and sportsmen's paradise. that the provincial government imposed higher fish licence fees on sportsmen using this district. 3 Lake Temagami in the northeastern region of the province continues to maintain its historic reputation as the centre of a leading vacation area. The experience of these and other northern Ontario districts reveals the varied and complex influence of a land use which operated oustide the norms of an extractive resource industry, and sometimes in conflict with it. Indeed. early disputes over land use priorities clearly foreshadow many of today's debates between defenders of natural aesthetic values and resource development. 155

156

J. BENIDICKSON

o,

,

lO ~

Figure I:

, , , , 6

The Lake Temagami District

Northern Ontario

157

This essay explores some of the background features of northern Ontario tourism, and with particular reference to Temagami and the Lake of the Woods, illustrates some basic features of the vacation industry (Figure I).

TOURISM AND THE WILDERNESS ETHIC

The quarter-century preceding the outbreak of World War I was an important era in the development of northern Ontrio tourism. Interest in recreational travel, cottaging, and fish and game sports expanded dramatically. More and more people were drawn to these activities and were inspired to discuss their vacation experiences in periodicals, newspapers and books. Throughout the province extensive investments were made in both commercial and private summer recreation facilities. This growth of the summering movement has been attributed to a combination of three late nineteenth-century phenomena - accelerating urbanization, affiuence and improved transportation:' A supportive ideology or intellectual rationale loosely known as the wilderness ethic was widely articulated, and is evident throughout contemporary vacation literature. Urban residents of the great American and Canadian cities were attracted to locations such as Temagami to seek refuge from occupational pressures or perceived deterioration of the familiar environment. "Here the brain-fagged, nerve-racked denizens of our great cities may find rest, real rest, from the clash and clang, the hurry and the worry of the ten months' grind in the treadmill of business life. "s Real life, distinguished from mere physical existence, was to be found in the pure air "where the eye can look unobstructed on God's dome and sweep the circle of the sky, where there is a breadth of vision forbidden to the man of the crowded centres."6 To experience the full impact of the northern wilderness and to derive the fullest benefits from nature, a prolonged exposure seemed to be required. In contrast to tourist attractions such as Niagara Falls or the Eiffel Tower where an immediate visual or emotional response marked the general limits of the tourist's appreciation, the wilderness traveller, sportsman or cottage dweller ordinarily spend more time at the source of his inspiration or restoration. Here, nature was at work "to delight the spirit of man, to reincarnate in him a spirit of tenderness and simplicity of faith in nature and nature's God.'" Physical benefits were also common as a Nipigon angler explained: "It makes one feel as though his years were an illusion, as expectancy bubbles and the buoyancy of veritable youth reasserts itself."8 Nature's influence was subtle, cumulative and virtually irresistable; human qualities long suppressed by urban conditioning re-emerged triumphantly in the North where "the cloak of conventionality slipped unnoticed from us 'city folks'. "9 The corollary to adult rejuvenation

158

J. BENIDICKSON

was that through an early exposure to wilderness life, the young men of Canada and the United States might avoid the debilitating consequences of urban confinement. Character development was, and continued to be, an important aspect of the wilderness youth camping movement: "Self-reliance, resource, and independence are brought out as much as possible, so that the boy may become a true white Indian. "10 It is important to note that these qualities of character were valued as much for their application to urban life as for their immediate utility on the trail. In the words of an American newspaper which inquired "What shan a Boy do with his Vacation?": "The young fellow who has learned to take care of himself in the wilderness has a better chance of success in any walk of life to which his lot may call him."11 The paper thus echoed the sentiments of an early Canadian sportsman's journal on the virtues of hunting and fishing: "Patience and judgement as well as a certain degree of skill are requisite to success, and who will say that these are not equally essential in other pursuits in life?" 12 Promotional arguments for a northern vacation also had patriotic dimensions. Canadians were especially urged to "see the beauties of your own country painted by God's own hand, and then, if you want to, travel abroad to see man's puny efforts." One Temagami devotee urged the readers of Maclean's Magazine to visit "the unspoiled country": To us Canadian born, it is a glorious heritage, one that we all should be intimately acquainted with, not only for our own personal pleasure and recreation, but for first-hand information of the natural resources and natural beauties of our own Canada. J3

According to the North Bay Times, a wilderness camping vacation was ""typically" Canadian: "No other civilized country has a great northwoods combined with lakes and rivers, where the lover of nature can study her unadorned loveliness in all its grandeur."14 But other sources introduced a grim urgency to experience the wilderness before it disappeared, as an additional incentive to attract the hesitant, thereby exposing a disturbing undercurrent in the wilderness movement. While resource depletion might stimulate a commitment to conservation, it could equally serve as an argument for accelerated consumption: The eastern sportsman, voyager, and explorer having wiped the West out is turning to the North. A little while and the "forest primeval" shall be no more. In all probability, we of this generation will be the last to relate to our grandchildren the stirring stories of the hunt in the wild forest of Canada. Therefore it behooves you, 0 mighty hunter, to go forth and capture your caribou or moose while you may. The scenes are shifting. Civilization is showing the wild things further to the north. But you who are lucky enough to live to-day may hurry to these last fastnesses and find here the rarest sport to be had in all North America."

Northern Ontario

159

A comparable message could be drawn from the experience of campers who had advanced northwards to maintain their own sense of isolation and wilderness: The Muskokas and Kawarthas have felt too deeply the devastation of civilization, and these regions are related geographically and for cruising advantages to the Lake of Bays country, very much as Algonquin compares to them, and Temagami to Algonquin. Each is wilder and woodsier than its neighbor to the south. 16

Arguments such as these and the underlying attitudes to which they appealed help to explain the "consumer's" pespective on northern Ontario recration. A different line of reasoning which emphasized economic considerations accounted for growing commercial involvement and eventually governmental interest in recreational wilderness travel, accommodation and services.

COMMERCIAL DIMENSIONS OF NORTHERN RECREA nON

Tourism's potential contribution to the provincial economy slowly began to receive recognition during the nineteenth century, from individuals and sportsmen's associations and from provincial government commissions and departments. 17 By the 1890s Ontario fish and game resources were routinely presented as a valuable economic asset in the pages of Rod and Gun where it was once enthusiastically suggested that "the conservation of our game fish and other game is prospectively of more importance and of greater value to the people of the Province than all its gold and silver mines put together." In contrast with wealth derived from the mineral industry which accrued largely to foreign interests, tourism was seen as a producer of revenue, "all of which is left in the country." 18 Citing the experience of the State of Maine as an early example of successful and profitable game preservation intended to contribute to the growth of tourism, the same commentator argued that proper fish and game management could help "constitute Ontario a very Mecca for summer tourists and other pleasure seekers."19 This objective was at least partly responsible for the formation of two provincial fish and game commissions which undertook their inquiries between 1890 and 1910. Further evidence of an expanding awareness of tourism's economic importance in this period comes from railway and passenger statistics. The Grand Trunk claimed that its tourist traffic into the Highlands of Ontario had grown from six or seven thousand in the mid-1890s to 100,000 in 1907. 20 As well, retailing and supply companies campaigned actively for the business of sportsmen and vacationers. Michie's Tourist Topics, A manual of Information for those who purpose spending their

160

J. BENIDICKSON

holidays among the beautiful lakes and rivers of Ontario (1905) was really

an elaborate catalogue of products and provisions the company was prepared to provide. Eaton's Summer Catalogues offered similar services, and camping equipment ranging from tents and canoes to a one and one-half horse power Wisconsin Detachable Rowboat Motor. 21 Nor were the indirect benefits of tourism overlooked. Businessmen and potential investors who became familiar with the timber, mineral and water power resources of Ontario during a fishing or hunting trip would help to publicize those resources and to attract capital for their development: uSo long as we can offer the tourist sportsman the possibilities of legitimate sport, he in tum will give to the public the results of his vacation, and to the country that offers commercial possibilities, his capital. "22 While these arguments were of general applicability to the province as a whole, they were particularly relevant to the relatively unoccupied districts of the North. Tourism's economic potential was influential in stimulating commercial interest in recreational development within certain northern districts. Seasonal employment, income from accommodation and services, and business related to construction and supply all contributed to economic expansion and diversification. The Cobalt Daily Nugget has this to say on the subject: Every resident of this north country should be an unofficial advertising agent for Temagami. They should spare no pains to make new friends for this resort . . .Temagami could take care of sufficient tourists to bring the receipts up into the millions and this would be a tremendous good to the country.

But the paper was still forced to admit that northerners themselves had never properly appreciated and made use of Temagami's assets.23 In the northwest of the province, Kenora's municipal council was also fully aware of the commercial value of attractive and conveniently accessible waterfront facilities. Northern promoters, conscious of competition from more readily accessible southern attractions, enthusiastically distinguished their local equivalents such as Kakabeka Falls: "Here is a spot that combines the sublimity of Niagara with the freshness that must attach to a hitherto almost inaccessible natural phenomenon."24 The transportation sector was another direct beneficiary of the ··visitor traffic" into the Ontario northland. Accordingly, the Grand Trunk (GTR), the Canadian Pacific (CPR), the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario (TNOR), and later the Canadian National Railways actively promoted recreational destinations conveniently serviced by their rail networks. The CPR produced an elaborate pamphlet on Temagami, while the GTR information offices in Chicago, New York, Boston and Pittsburgh urged American vacationers to consider this northern holiday destination. 2s Nipigon was another railway attraction which was vigorously advertised and the Canadian National emphasized that all

Northern Ontario

161

first-class rail tickets were valid for a stop-over at the Minaki Resort complex on the Winnipeg River.26

THE TEMAGAMI EXPERIENCE

A brief review of the develoment of tourism in the Temagami district illustrates how northern Ontario recreational activity operated in the early twentieth century. For convenience (although their evolution overlaps considerably), four aspects of tourist development may be distinguished in this district's early tourist history: camping and canoeing (including fishing expeditions), cottaging, lodge and resort activity, and youth camps. (a) Camping and Canoeing Camping and canoeing parties preceded other groups of summer vacationers in using and popularizing Temagami's recreational potential. Charles Paradis, an Oblate priest and colonizer who eventually settled on lake Temagami's Sandy Inlet, claimed to be "the first tourist" in the Temagami district which he visited in July 1880. 27 Although remote and not directly accessible by rail until 1904, Lake Temagami attracted increasing numbers of hardy tourists who arrived, as Paradis had done, by canoe from Lake Temiskaming in the east, or from the west travelling up the southward-flowing Sturgeon River from its interesection with the CPR line. By the 1890s reports of camping, fishing and canoeing expeditions began to appear regularly in widely circulated periodicals. An 1894 article in Forest and Stream, the leading American sportsman's magazine ofthe daY,featured Temagami as part of the great "Laurentian Wilderness" for which it forecast an undisturbed future: The greater part of the area must ever remain as it is now - a picturesque wooded wilderness - and serve perhaps the noblest of all uses. that of a breathing ground and park for the great. restless. overworked population of the vast plains to the south and west of it. and a nursery for some of the greatest rivers of the continent.

The article and accompanying map invited other interested canoeists to visit and enjoy the region themselves. In 1913 Forest and Stream again acknowledged Temagami's stature as an ideal canoeing district, by leading off its series on canoe centres of North America with a description of two highly recommended trips originating on Lake Temagami. 28 Another enthusiast, writing in the Anglo-American Magazine, idealized the Temagami experience "where civilization ends and untamed nature begins. . . The opulence of life and enjoyment that belongs to Temagami must be enjoyed to be understood."29 Throughout this early period visitors generally stopped off at the Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post on Bear Island. The daily journals of the post !"anager

162

J. BENIDICKSON

contain numerous references to the arrival and departure of vacationing canoeing parties, which included varsity boys from Toronto and groups of American outdoorsmen. 3o A number of Temagami's summer visitors subsequently contributed through their writings to the extension fo the area's fame. The poet Archibald Lampman was an avid and lifelong canoeist who celebrated "the deep water, wild Temagami" in a sonnet which appeared only a few years before his death in 1899. Another active Ontario canoeist, James Edmund Jones, was familiar with this region's scenic pleasures. Several of the canoe route descriptions in his innovative guidebook and manual, Camping and Canoeing, ofTer details on Temagami travel. 31 By far the most importantpromoter, however, was L.O. Armstrong, Chief Colonization Agent for the CPR, who toured Temagami in the late 1890s with Father Paradis and publicized its attractions through magazine articles and advertising brochures distributed by the railway. The CPR's pamphlets on Temagami incuded Timagaming, A Glimpse of the Algonquin Paradise, which described a fishing expedition through the area where the "silent waters" of Lady Evelyn Lake "are but a setting for islands that seem to float on its molten surface ... and assume the witchery of form and colour which must haunt any mortal who has fallen under the spell until he die."32 The Temagami mystique was in no small measure a product of the region's appeal to recreational paddlers which was fostered by the promotional activities of the railways. (b) Cottaging Temagami's attraction for canoeists was closely followed - or even accompanied - the awa~ening interest of urban Canadian and American vacationers looking for potential cottage sites where "the formalism and restraint of the city can be laid aside to the benefit of mind and body." Lake Temagami's aesthetic appeal was discussed as early as the I 880s. "The scenery is beautiful, resembling that of the Thousand Islands of St. Lawrence," one commentator noted. A government brochure on Our Northern Districts proclaimed as early as 1894 that "with its elevation, bracing air and romantic scenery," Lake Temagami ··appears to have the makings of an ideal summer resort in it.'033 Public discussion of a Temagami islands policy was formally introduced to the Ontario legislature by Liberal Crown Lands Commissioner E.J. Davis during the Feburary 1904 budget debate, special consideration being required because the broader region had been set aside as a forest reserve. Davis considered these islands an important new field for summer tourism, and felt that many suitable cottage sites similar to those in the Muskoka, Lake Simcoe and Peterborough districts were being made accessible by the construction of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway. Serious attention would need to be given to the question of allocating the islands to summer resort purposes; letters

Northern Ontario

163

received by the government indicated that substantial public interest already existed. 34 . Outside the legislature, general discussion of summer resort lands was taken up by Rod and Gun in a lead editorial, "What should be done with islands and other uncultivated land of Ontario?" Here it is argued that such lands were in demand "but from want ofa fixed policy the sale has been slow." A proper policy, Rod and Gun suggested, would provide income for the provincial government whose squandering of timber areas had damaged revenue prospects for timber lands. Quebec's practice of leasing preserves was rejected for "they keep away people who would spend money, they give very little revenue to the province, and are a source of annoyance and bad feeling amongst the people. "35 The Temagami islands leasing policy.finally appeared in August 1905. It was intended to be a comprehensive response to a specific local situation involving very desiTable recreational properties within an area presumably set aside for provincial forest management. Lake Temagami islands became available for leasing, one per person, for a period of twenty-one years with an option to renew the lease for an equal period. Rent, payable yearly in advance, was set at twenty dollars for the first half acre or less and three dollars for every additional acre or part-acre. "No dwelling house should· be erected of a less value than three hundred dollars, unless a plan and description of same have been approved by the Minister." Frank Cochrane, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, recommended that islands over five acres in size should be retained by the Crown, "both because of the large quantities of timber upon some of them, and also in order that the general public who may not obtain leases of individual islands may have some place which they may use as camping grounds." The concept of public campgrounds was thus introduced in Ontario in advance of widespread popular demand. In 1906, the first year in which the official policy was in effect, thirty-four leases were prepared, including twenty held by Americans. The initial rush of enthusiasm was not sustained: new leases were rare in the war years, although the numbers increased again sharply in the 1920s.36 By way of comparison, cottage development proceeded much more rapidly on Lake of the Woods, a relatively short rail trip from the prosperous and expanding city of Winnipeg. Elsewhere in northern Ontario, summer resort lands not subject to park or forest reserve regulations were administered under a series of orders-in-council beginning in 1896. The application of these guidelines was limited and localized until 1922 when uniform administrative procedures were introduced in response to pressure from a rapidly expanding tourist community:37 (c) Lodges and Resorts In 1904 the Temagami Steamboat and Hotel Company began operations under the managerial direction of Dan O'Connor, a former mayor

164

J. BENIDICKSON

of Sudbury whose detailed knowledge of the Temagami area came from his personal experience as a prospector. Financial backing for the venture was provided by W.G. Gooderham, and Alex and David Fasken. 38 This group immediately established the Ronnoco Hotel, little more than a hundred yards from the TNOR station in the new lakeshore village of Temagami. The Temagami Inn on an island in the centre ofthe lake and the Lady Evelyn .Hotel far up the remote North Arm were soon added. Supplies and passengers to these and other destinations on the lake were delivered by steamboat from the lakeside landing at Temagami station. Hotel construction was faclitated by a reduced shipping rate on building materials, granted by the TNOR in 1905 at the suggestion of the Grand Trunk Railway. 39 The Ronnoco catered essentially to stop-over traffic, and through O'Connor's Temagami Canoe Company, provided outfitting and guiding services to tourists using the Temagami station as a point of departure. Facilities at the Temagami Inn and the Lady Evelyn Hotel were more luxurious. These Temagami hotels, the Canadian Summer Resort Guide for 1906 declared, "are not the result of a slow gradual growth, but prepared for the best class of guests, with every regard for their comfort and convenience." "There is an excellent menu, and the best brands of liquors and cigars are kept." The three hotels of the Temagami Steamboat and Hotel Company could accommodate up to 550 guests at daily rates of $2.50 to $3.50 per person, among the highest in the province during this period. Weekly rates of $16 to $21 were available for the residential or resort-oriented vacations in which the two island hotels specialized. 40 At full occupancy in the height of the season, these three luxury hotels brought in approximately $10,000 per week. Less elaborate accommodation was also available on the lake. A New York clergyman vacationing at Indian-owned Friday's Lodge reported: "Our luggage was speedily transferred, and we were soon in possession of our quarters, a spacious tent, its floors strewn with pungent branches of balsam, and fragrant with its aromatic odour - a charming invitation to a dreamless sleep." John Turner and his wife operated the modest Wisini Wigwam or Lakeview House on Bear Island where the outfitting of canoeing and fishing parties was a major activity. "We were charmed by the friendliness of the islanders," a 1909 visitor confessed, "and nlthough we told them frankly that we would not employ guides, preferring to rough it alone, their demeanour did not change in the least, and they offered us every assistance." The rustic atmosphere at these establishments was sustained by a menu always including trout or bass and on occasion, moose, venison or bear.41 Before World War I, Wabikon - soon to be the lake's largest adult resort - opened on Temagami Island to cater primarily to young middle-income vacationers. Up to two hundred guests, generally professional people from New York, Chicago and Cleveland, could J>e accom-

Northern Ontario

165

modated in buildings later described as "substantial in character, and in appearance woodsy and rustic, in harmony with life in the Canadian North."42 The statT was composed of about seventy employees: thirtyfive male guides (including Grey Owl for a brief period) and thirty-five women responsible for housekeeping and kitchen facilities. By 1914 the Bear Island Hudson's Bay Company post had long been operating as a general store, selling fruits and vegetables and camping supplies to Temagami vacationers: We stock everything here that the tourist could wish to ask for and our store is tastefully decorated, while all the delicacies of the season that are obtainable can be obtained here.

Outfitting and guiding services could also be arranged through the post manager. In 1917 the company finally concluded prolonged negotiations with the provincial government concerning title to the Bear Island property. The HBC accepted a long-term lease in lieu of the patent it had originally claimed, and immediately allocated $10,000 towards the construction of a new store and sales-shop facilities suitable for the Temagami post's principal summer activity, serving the tourist trade. Although the opening of northern Ontario which accompanied railway construction increased competition from independent traders in the fur market, the financial position of the Temagami operation actually improved following the influx of tourists. Canoeists and vacationers at Temagami's youth camps, resorts and cottages represented a valuable new source of revenue for the sales shop.43 Youth Camps Two private youth camps for boys were established on Lake Temagai in the early 1900s. The American Camp, Keewaydin, and its Canadian counterpart, Camp Temagami, were soon recognized as well-respected leaders in the youth camping field, and each contributed in its own way to the further development of the Temagami area as a diversified summer recreation centre. Perhaps more than any other activity, the boys' camps distinguish Temagami's tourist history. In 1902 A.S. Gregg Clarke, Harvard graduate and founder of the Keewaydin canoe-tripping camps in northern Maine, paddled through Temagami in search of a more rugged and remote setting in which to relocate. Finding Temagami well suited to his needs, Clarke set up operations on Devil's Island on the lake's North Arm. The Keewaydin programme emphasized wilderness canoe-tripping as a means of furthering the physical and moral development of American boys. "It is a rough, healthy life in the home of nature; an out and out camp life, full of exercise and healthful, invigorating sport." Before World War I Keewaydin canoeing expeditions in the Temagami Forest were supplemented by extended travel to .James Bay for the most advanced

166

J. BENIDICKSON

paddlers. The benefits of such a summer experience were acknowledged from as far away as England: three months in Temagami, roughing it among the Indians, where the breakfast has to be caught before it can be eaten, will do more good than three years exercise with grips, dumb-bells and Indian clubs upon a diet of ices and pastries.

Keewaydin was also noted for its efficient and orderly operation: ... everything is shipshape, with a certain air of intended permanency ... Gregg Clarke ... is not at Temagami for his health, and the air of discipline and control that his concern obtains by being avowedly run for profit is an effect of a good executive mind devoted to the management.

Keewaydin's youth programme fees ranged from $95 for one month at the Devil's Island camp up to $225 for the two-month James Bay canoe trip planned for 1908. Clarke informed his stockholders in 1914 that the camp had accommodated 226 campers, guides and staff that year, up slightly from the previous season despite a slight decline in adult guests which Clarke attributed to the war and competition from Camp Temagami and Wabi-Kon. Clarke was anxious to revive the very profitable adult visitors operation. 44 Camp Temagami appeared to at least one observer as a far more "happy-go:'lucky" enterprise. A.L. Cochrane was a drill instructor at Toronto's Upper Canada College when he began to organize canoe trips in the Muskoka district for boys from the school. By 1903 he reached Temagami's South Arm where he selected a cluster of islands as a permanent base site for his increasingly popular summer outings. Camp Temagami, or Cochrane's Camp as it was also known. was dedicated to character-building through vigorous outdoor living and wildnerness appreciation. Canoe trips naturally continued to hold a central place in the camp's range of activities. Trips varying in length from a few days to several weeks, provided experience in portaging, tent pitching and outdoor cookery. Each boy would "take tum at similar duties for his own instruction and the general good of the party." "Nothing," the camp brochure claimed, "is so fascinating to the adventurous spirit of a boy as a trip of this nature." Testimonials indicated that the programme was highly regarded and George R. Parkin. who became acquainted with Cochrane and his work while serving as headmaster of Upper Canada College. willingly recommended the experience to interested inquirers. 4s Both of these early youth camps flourished, accounting jointly for several hundred summer visitors each year in the prewar period. Some consideration should now be given to the impact and signficance of recreational activities such as these on the overall development of the Temagami region, and of the Ontario northland in general. Economics and land use are the principal categories into which this impact

Northern Ontario

167

naturally falls.

ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF TOURISM

One contemporary estimate in Rod and Gun proposed $10,000 per day, apart from railway fares, as an amount approximating Temagami's financial significance. This figure was calculated on an expenditure of $5 per day by each of two thousand tourists around the lake at the height of the summer season. 46 Although the reliability of this estimate cannot be confirmed, enough has been said to indicate that very substantial revenues were involved. Transportation, accommodation, equipment and supplies, as well as personal services, all based upon aesthetic resources or recreational assets, accounted for a large volume of expenditure and income. The regional economic importance of Temagami tourism was clearly appreciated by the Cobalt Daily Nugget, which supported a plea from the town's Board of Trade to retain daily service to Temagami on the local morning train which was being re-scheduled to run south from Englehart in the Little Clay Belt only as far as Latchford, more than twenty miles north ofTemagami. The extended run to Temagami would permit continuation of local tourism, and would also preserve a convenient local market for dairy products and greenstuffs from the developing agricultural districts of the northeast. 47 Other regional employment opportunities directly associated with the expansion of tourism included guiding and forest ranging. As a consequence of the advent of tourism, new seasonal employment opportunities for guides became available at the youth camps, lodges and resorts of northern Ontario. Fishermen, hunters and camping parties arranged, either privately or though their hotels, for the services of guides - often Indians - on a daily or weekly basis. Ordinarily, two or more fishermen would share a guide during a day outing from a resort base. Camping parties, particularly those embarking on extended trips, were advised to hire generously: A canoe and guide should be provided for each of the party, and an extra guide with canoe to carry supplies, cook and attend to camp, leaving the 'sports', as those visiting the country for pleasure seem to be invariably called, and their personal guides, free to get away from camp in the morning or come in late at night, without the domestic economies being upset thereby.

Baedeker's 1907 edition of the travel guide The Dominion of Canada indicated that the daily rate for a Temagami guide and canoe was between $3.00 and $3.50. 48 Guiding, curiously, was one of the earliest features of the tourist industry to be put under strict government regulation. The first set of regulations applicable to forest reserves included a provision for the

168

J. BENIDICKSON

licensing of guides: "No person shall act as guide or accompany any tourist or visitors or party of tourists or visitors without being in possession of such license under a penalty not exceeding fifty ($50.00) dollars for each offence." Four years later, salary levels for guides were fixed at a rate of $2.50 per day as a result of complaints that "guides sometimes make an arrangement with one party and another comes along and offers them a higher rate of pay and they desert the party they first engaged with and leave them helpless to get about. "49 The Northern Ontario Outfitters and Guides Association was formed in 1920. Their goals included the maintenance of guiding standards, uniform rates and game protection. Wage rates were set at $6 per day for a head guide and $5 for other staff. Although these charges reflected substantial and welcome increases over pre-World War I levels, the . association cannot be regarded as representative of the entire northern population. Indians in particular were to be restricted by the successful implementation of one of the outfitters' early recommendations to create a game reserve in the region bounded by the Kabinakagama River on the east, the Kenogami on the west, the National Transcontinental Railway in the north and the heigh of land to the south. The outfitters' association urged that "all Indians [be] kept on the outside of its boundaries except those capable of acting as guides, and they be only admitted during the tourist and hunting season, when strict regulations may be maintained. "so

RECREATION AND LAND USE CONFLICT

The intrusion of the tourist frontier into northern Ontario districts suited to extractive resource uses could not have occurred without conflict on several fronts: aesthetic values, environmental concerns and the habits of vacationing campers were seldom in harmony with the priorities of resource industries. The Temagami area was designated as a provincial forest reserve in 1901 in order to protect valuable pine timber from fire damage which was expected to accompany an anticipated influx of recreational visitors and prospectors. Ontario forestry officials regarded wandering tourists as a major threat to the Temagami pinelands and proposed controls to regulate the vacationers' impact. Dam-building and artificial water-level control also became active Temagami controversies when the Sturgeon Falls Pulp Company proposed to close the northern outlet of the lake in 1899 in order to regulate discharge from the south end in the interests of its own operations. G.E. Silvester, who reported to the Ontario Commissioner of Crown Lands on the implications of the pulp company's plan, suggested that the damming would actually improve anticipated steamboat navigation on the lake and might eliminate the flooding of farm land alongside the

s,

Northern Ontario

169

lower Sturgeon River. The damming of nearby Cross Lake to Temagami's level "would render accessible by steamboat a very considera ble addition to Lake Temagaming. "52 But water-level control proposals in the forest reserve did not escape criticism: an unsigned commentary in Rod and Gun stated that ··any raising of the level of these lakes which would destroy the trees along their edges and thus render them not only unsightly but exceedingly repellent to any person who had to effect a landing on their shores, should be strongly opposed." Even the CPR pamphlet on Temagaming attempted a surprisingly detailed explanation of the harmful impact of dams on fish popUlations: A dam raises the water many feet, and when the fish return, to spawn as they assuredly do, to the old beds, the eggs are deposited in water too deep for safety and are usually destroyed. Even when this does not happen; the unfortunate fry are born in a locality affording no shelter from their most dangerous foes, which avoid shallow waters, and are unable to escape them. S)

Despite the objections raised by spokesmen for the vacation industry, dams were eventually built to regulate Temagami water levels. The prominence of Temagami as a tourist district was sufficiently established by 1912 that the Ontario Boards of Trade advocated provincial park status for the area. Although Quetico was reclassified from a forest reserve to a park in 1913, the Temagami case was not pressed vigorously and no such adjustment was ever made. However, when the Minister of Lands, Forests, and Mines withdrew Temagami islands from further mineral prospecting, recreational spokesmen applauded the initiative limiting resource development: "The beauties of Temagami are so entrancing that any interference with them, even from the material standpoint of increased wealth to the Province from minerals, would almost amount to desecration."s4

On the Lake of the Woods where lumbering, gold mining and a commercial fishery were established well in advance of tourism, there was never any likelihood that multiple use would be rejected in favour of vacationers' priorities. Instead, efforts were made reconcile competing interests and define an acceptable compromise. Regional spokesmen welcomed the anticipated development of increased mining activity ··when the music of dropping stamps will be heard from one end of the lake to the other." It was even argued that such industry would "only add zest to the summer vacation" for "every camper will become a prospector, and once the fever takes good hold there is no getting away from it."55 When water-level regulation on the lake became a subject of International Joint Commission study during World War J a similar attitude prevailed: the wishes of the tourist industry and the cottage property owners represented only one of several conflicting interests whose needs had to be accommodated within an overall water manage-

170

J. BENIDICKSON

ment policy.56

CONCLUSION

[n the course of the formative period of recreational development, a broad range of reactions and attitudes to the northern Ontario landscape became evident. The commercial perception - the impression business interests sought to promote - often presented regions such as Temagami or Lake of the Woods as wilderness areas in their natural state which could be enjoyed without hardship inconvenience. The Grand Trunk argued in 1900 that Temagami was "still the same untouched and uninhabited wilderness, with the addition that all the necessary accessories are at hand in the locality to make a trip of any length with comfort." The Grand Trunk's disinclination to regard a dynamic and expanding tourist business itself as a major man-made impact on the natural environment may be contrasted with the remarks of some early Temagami canoeing enthusiasts: "Temagami and Kippewa remain the peerless lakes for us - Kippewa is as wild as it ever was, Temagami is being tamed fast."57 Despite such isolated laments, the commercial perspective persisted and was reinforced in governmentsponsored advertising brochures. After the publication of innumerable articles recounting very successful fishing expeditions, and in spite of the existence of a short-lived commercial fishing industry, Ontario, The Lakeland Playground referred in 1923 to "the almost virgin waters of the Temagami Forest Reserve." Commercial cutting of fire-killed sections had already become established practice, and Temagami was on the verge of being opened up for commercial licensing for pine timber, like other northen districts. But The Lakeland Playground, admittedly not a reliable source of policy, clearly conveys the impression that the Temagami district's primary purpose is recreational, "unstained by the hand or the device of man": Exactly as Nature left it does it stand today - majestic cliffs towering hundreds of feet in the air, sloping hillsides robed in living green .... And such as it is today, so will it be for the latest generations. since this great excelling kingdom is forbidden alike to lumbermen and landgrabbers, forever consecrate to the nobler interests of the regeneration and upbuilding of mind and body. which it is obviously destined by Creative Hand to effect.S8

Perhaps the simple conclusion from all of this is that we should take none of these descriptions too seriously: they may be highly subjective, or biased to promote some calculated advantage, commercial or environmental. Obviously, the historian who is prepared to discuss sport fishing as seen by the participants faces some credibility problems! But with such difficulties acknowledged. additional observations may yet be made.

Northern Ontario

171

Grounds clearly existed for disagreement between those engaged in the tourist business and resource developers interested in forestry, mining and hydro-electric power production. As well, many recreational canoeists and promoters with commercial interests in recreation were at odds on the question of the appropriate level of tourist services. The response of the railways, resource industry spokesmen and the Ontario government to this situation was to reconcile divergent land use priorities by denying the existence of conflict - a tactic which is by no means forgotten today. The competing interests of tourists, lumbermen, miners and power developers demonstrates that planning problems for recreationalland use are certainly not of recent origin. Tensions apparent in the early period of northern Ontario tourism have persisted to the present day. In canoeing, as in youth camping, cottaging and resort development, foundations had been laid before World War I upon which the subsequent expansion of northern tourism would be based. Highway access stimulated but did not fundamentally alter the nature of summer tourist activity around Temagami and Lake of the Woods, even though fly-in vacationing must be credited with spawning a new generation of northern fishing and hunting camps in several other districts following World War II. It may also be observed that one of the principal early holiday markets lay in the United States. At one point a customs office was set up in Temagami to oversee the influx of American tourists. 59 As the Cobalt Daily Nugget and the Manitoba Colonist chided their readers for ignoring northern beauty spots so close at hand, so a post-World War I contributor to Maclean's found it unfortunate that Temagami "is better appreciated by our cousins to the south than it is by Canadians. "60 And this was not only true with regard to summer vacation travel and resort use, but also with early cottaging in that district. By the mid-twenties, the provincial government had perceived financial advantages to be derived from American cottagers locating in the province: Ontario has a real welcome for the visitor from the country to the south. The Ontario government is anxious to have you come to the province, not only for a motor tour, not only for a brief visit, but as a summer resident ... summer resort lands are sold or leased by the government at reasonable prices. so that one does not require to be wealthy to have a delightful summer home in Ontario. and there are no restrictions as to citizenship or nationality.61

Non-resident land ownership is thus another feature of Ontario tourism which has been present thoughout the development of the summer recreation industry. Recreational history in northern Ontario will never replace analysis of the mineral and forest industries as a key to understanding the regional experience of the area. Possibly, though, some recognition of the impli-

172

J. BENIDICKSON

cations and impact of this alternative land use and its relationship with resource development from the late nineteenth century will help to broaden our appreciation of the region's past, and remind us of its economic diversity. This paper was completed in the Spring of 1979. The Park Master Plan has been completed since that time and is available from Parks Canada.

NOTES I. The best of these histories are well known. A.R.M. Lower and H. Innis. Settlement and the Forest and Mining Frontiers (Toronto: Macmillan. 1936); R.S. Lambert and P. Pross, Renewing Nature's Wealth (Toronto: Ontario Department of Lands and Forests. 1967); H.V. Nelles, The Politic's of Development: Forests, Mines and Hydro-Electric Power in Ontario 1849-1941 (Toronto: Macmillan, 1974); M. Zaslow, The Opening of the Canadian North, 1870-1914 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewan, 1971). 2. "Little Current: A holiday trip to the commercial capital of the Manitoulin Island," Mer Douce (June 1923). p. 16. 3. Rod and Gun in Canada, 1,3 (August 1899), p. 50. 4. Sec R.I. Wolfe, "Summer cottages 'in Ontario," Economic Geography. 27 (1951), pp. 10-32; "The summer resorts of Ontario in the nineteenth century," Ontario History, 54 (1962). pp. 149·61. For other studies of tourism and wilderness, see G. Altmeyer, "Three ideas of nature in Canada, 1893-1914," Journal of Canadian Studies, II (1976). pp. 21-36; R. Nash, Wildnemess and the American Mind (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967), pp. 141-60; Yi-Fu Tuan, Topophilia, A Study of Environmental Perception, Altitudes and Values (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-hall. 1974), pp. 92-128. S. M. Parkinson, "Lake Temagami. a northern playground," Canadian Magazine (June 1914). p. 167. 6. F. Yeigh. "Touring in Temagami land," Rod and Gun, 8, 5 « 1906), p. 325. 7. W.R. Bradshaw, "The trip to Temagami," Anglo-American Magazine (July 1901), p. 78. 8. E.E. Millard, Days on the Nipigon (New York: Foster & Reynolds Co.• 1917), p. IS. 9. H.C. Lowrey, "The unspoiled country: Canada has a great asset in Temagami," Maclean's Magazine (August 1919), p. 57. 10. F.A. Talbot. "Back to the woods," World's Work, 18 (September 1911), p. 443. II. The Inter·Ocean (Chicago, 22 September 1907). An extensive review of youth camping philosphy is found in H.S. Dimock and C.E. Hendry, Camping and Character (New York: Association Press. 1929). 12. The Canadian Sportsman and Naturalist, 2, I (January 1882), p. 100. 13. H. Machin, "The Lake of the Woods." Outdoor Canada. 6. I (February 1910), p. 24; Lowrey, op. cit.• p. 84. For discussion of the proposition that "Awareness of the past is an imponant element in the love of place," see Yi-Fu Tuan, op. cit., p. 99. 14. North Bay Times, 26 July 1906. IS. Grand Trunk Railway, "Tour of his Royal Highness, Prince Arthur of Connaught, through the Province of Ontario and Quebec, Canada." April 1906. 16. O.E. Fisher. "Canoe cruises in Canadian reserves." Forest and Stream (24 September 19\0), p. 56. See also H.R. Hyndman. "One hundred and fifty miles by canoe through Temagami," Rod and Gun (December 1905), pp. 734-40.

Northern Ontario

173

17. Some discussion of this process is found in Lambert and Pross, op. cit., pp. 446-52. 18. T. Ritchie, "Conservation of our natural resources: economic value of game fish and other game," Rod and GlIn, 2 (July 19(9), pp. 126-27), 19. Ibid. 20. C. Warman, "The Algonquin National Park," Outdoor Canada, 3, 8 (August 1907), p. 213. 21. Baldwin Room. Metropolitan Toronto Central Reference Libmry. Michie Papers. The Archives, The Eaton Company of Canada, Ltd., Catalogue Collection. especially "Campers' Supplies" (1900), "Summer Catalogue: 1901" and "Eaton's Sporting Goods Catalogue" (1913). 22. W.T. Robson, "The value of the tourist sportsman as a means of publicity for undeveloped country," Rod and Gun, 12, II (April 1911), pp. 1466-67. 23. Cobalt Daily NUKKet, 2 May 1912, 22 July 1912. 24. 111C ATKuS (Rat Portage), I, 8 (26 October 1883). 25. Canadian Pacific Railway, TimoKaming. a Glimpse o/the Algonquin Paradise, 5th edition (Montreal, April 1904); Grand Trunk Railway, advertisement, Rod and Gun. 8, II (June 1906). 26 .B. Hodgins. Paradis 0/ Temagami (Cobalt: Highway Book Shop, 1976), p. 2. 27. C.N.R., Minaki, (May 1923). 28. "Away up north," Forest and Stream (28 April 1894); "Condensed canoe trips," Forest and Stream (19 July 1913), pp. 94-95. 29. Bmdshaw, Opt cit., pp. 73, 78. 30. P.A.C .. "Temagami Journal 1894-1903," MG 19 021; see diary of H.G. Woods, especially entries for 21 July 1899, 26 July 1899 and 31 August 1899. 31. J.E. Jones, Camping and Canoeing: What to Take. How to Travel. How to Cook. Where to Go (Toronto: W. Briggs, 1903), pp. 121-33. 32. L.O. Armstrong. "Visiting the Temagami Region," Rod and Gun, 7, 4 (September 1905), p. 419; Canadian Pacific Railway, Timagaming. a Glimpse 0/ the Algonquin Paradise, 5th edition, (Montreal, April 1904). 33. "Canada and the tourist," Canadian Magazine, IS, I (May 19(0), p. 4; Ontario Commissioner of Crown Lands, Our Northern Districts,(Toronto, 1894), p. 56. 34. The Globe (Toronto), 19 February 1904, 19 March 1904. 35. "What should be done with the islands and other uncultivable land of Ontario?" Rod and Gun. 7, I (June 1905), p. 12. 36. P.A.O., Provincial Secretary's Papers, Temagami Island Lease Books. 37. P.A.O .. RG3 O.c. 120/163, 29 May 1922. 38. E.T. Guppy. "Many boat lines have served Temagami Lake" in J.C. Elliot. ed., Temagami Centennial Booklet (Temagami, 1967). 39. T.N.O.R., Annual Report 1905, p. 14. 40. Smiley's Canadian Summer Resort Guide. 1906, pp. 63-64. 41. "Peerless Temagami: an ideal holiday in the new north," Globe, 8 April 1905; "In Temagami's tangled wild," Rod and Gun, 7, I (June 19(6), p. 36; T.J.T., "Two weeks in Temagami." Outdoor Canada, 6, I (February 1910), pp. 18-20. 42. Temagami Lakes Association Archives, Youth Camps, File, "Wabi-Kon." 43. "Playgrounds. A booklet of Information Regarding the Tourist, Fishing and Hunting Resorts reached by Gmnd Trunk Railway System," G.T.R. Passenger Traffic Department, 1918, p. 16, H.B.C.A., P.A.M. A.I2IFT Misc.l29 I, A.12/L Misc.l6. Fordetails on the economic position of the HBC's Temagami Post of 1920, see H.B.C.A., P.A.M. A 74/9 - A 74128.

174

J. BENIDICKSON

44. Camp Keewaydin Archives, "Keewaydin 1903," brochure, pp. 13, 15; "Keewaydin 1908," brochure, pp. 42-43; "A.S.G. Clarke to the stockholders of the Keewaydin Camps Co.," 29 December 1914; F.A. Talbot, "Back to the woods," World's Work, 18 (September 1911), p 443; E.W. Thomson, "The boys of Temagami: American and Canadian summer camps," Boston Transcript, 12 August 1905; A.T. Fenn, The Story of Keewaydin's 50 Years at Dunmore, 1910-1959 (Keewaydin Camps Inc., 1959). 45. A Hall, "Arthur Lewis Cochrane: a biographical sketch" (Kingston: thesis, Queen's University, 1964); P.A.C. Sir George Parkin Papers, Parkin to the Headmaster, Harrow-on-the-Hill, 13 February 1914; Trent University Archives, Ontario Camping Association Papers, "Camp Temagami 1905," brochure. 46. "Tourists in Ontario," Rod and Gun, 7, 4 (September 1905), p. 414. 47. Cobalt Daily Nugget, 20 May, 1912. 31 May. 1912. 48. K. Baedeker, The Dominion of Canada (New York: Scribner's, 1907), p. 237; "The Sportsman tourist." Forest and Stream, (2 April 1904), p. 266. 49. P.A.O., Woods and Forests Branch Report Book 3, p. 248. "Memorandum: Re Remuneration to the paid Guides in Temagami' Forest Reserve." 50. "Ontario guides will organize," Rod and Gun, 22, I (June 1920), pp. 15-17; "Northen Ontario Outfitters and Guides Association." Rod and Gun 22,4 (October 1920), pp. 602, 604. 51. Ontario Bureau of Forestry. Report 1904, p. 9. 52. P.A.C., Robert Bell Papers, "Report Re Lake Temagaming and Cross Lake, 24 February 1900." 53. "Concerning Lady Eveylyn Lake." Rod and Gun, 8, 8 (January 1912), p. 1000; Timagaming. a Glimpse of the Algonquin Paradise. p. 17. 54. Rod and Gun, 8. 9 (February 1912), p. 1112. 55. H. Machin, op. cit., p. 24. 56. B.W. Hodgins and J. Benidickson, "Resource management conflict in the Temagami Forest 1898-1914," paper presented to the Canadian Historical Association. University of Western Ontario, 1978. 57. "The 'Bobs' on Temagami," Rod and Gun, 7. 7 (September 1905), pp. 424-25. 58. Ontario, The Lakeland Playground (1923), p. 59. 59. Temagami Chamber of Commerce, "Temagami: Nature Unspoiled in the Great Outdoors," brochure, n.d. 60. Lowrey, op. cit.• p. 15. 61. "Ontario - North America's Premier Summer Playground," special insert in Rod and Gun, 28, I (June 1926). p. iv.

The Development of Tourist Accommodation in the Montreal Laurentians JAN LUNDGREN

Geographical research on tourism is often hampered by a lack of documents and statistical information. Detailed records on tourism are limited in quantity, inte~mittent in content, and scattered in a variety of locations. This is the case in Canada and in most other countries, and is a major reason why research on tourism is more difficult than research on other sectors of modern life which are traditionally studied by geogra phe rs. This paper demonstrates the usefulness of one readily available document: the telephone directory. The objective of the research is to examine the spatial evolution of tourist accommodation in the Laurentians between 1924 and 1965. The study provides a good illustration of the extension of the inhabited area which has been brought about by tourism for the following reasons. Firstly, the Laurentians are both geographically and from a tourist perspective, a homogeneous region. This means that it is possible to establish principles of spatial penetration which are important in the use of resources. Secondly, the Laurentians have been penetrated and exploited by tourism for many decades. It is therefore possible to make observations on changes in the nature and intensity of tourist development. Thirdly, human penetration of the Laurentians occurred as a result of economic transformations brought about by tourism. Thus it is possible to analyse the influence of tourism on the hotel trade, an influence which is a direct consequence of the economic transformations brought about by changes in transportation technology. Finally, the period of study (1924 to 1965) permits the examination of changes in the distribution of tourist accommodations as they reflect the evolution of methods of transportation.

This is a translated and updated version of a paper which was previously published in

Bulletin de I'Association des Geographes d'Amerique Franraise, 11 (1967), pp. 113-21. 175

176

J. LUNDGREN

METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION AND REGIONAL PENETRATION

The period under investigation encompasses the growth, stagnation and decline of a number of means of transportation each of which has had different implications for the spatial orgaization of the Laurentians. 1924 10 1939

The railway, being confined to a restricted network of tracks, fosters spatial rigidity. The automobile, in contrast, enjoys greater freedom of movement. However, during the first period under study, the railways were the most important instrument of regional penetration and the automobile played only a minor role. Thus, the first phase of development of tourist accommodation reflected the opportunities provided by the railway. A limited system of routes, and the poor quality and maintenance of roads discouraged the motorist from driving very far afield. In consequence, the pattern of hotel locations was conditioned by the railway. 1949 10 /955

During this period, competition between road and railway produced a redistribution of accommodation with great influences for the regional economy. The railway was the more dominant of the two systems of transportation but, towards the end of the period, its influence declined and its role as the most important means of transportation weakened. The automobile began to exert an influence throughout the region and, in particular, influenced the locations of new hotels. 1956 10 /965

The replacement of the train by the car led to the domination of the latter during this third period. This trend was evident towards the end of the preceding period even in the years before construction of the autoroute. The influence of the automobile in diminishing the effects of distance, resulted in the establishment of tourist centers at greater distances from Montreal.

PRINCIPLES OF SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE LAURENTIANS

The major phases of spatial penetration which have been discussed above have been illustrated in a number of studies of underdeveloped regions. For example, Taaffe, Morrill and Gould! have examined the economic penetration of the coast of West Africa. In the present study telephone directories were used to determine the year of creation of hotels, and the resulting data were mapped. This method generated information on approximately 63 per cent of establishments. Estimations of increases in the number of rooms were made

lAurenlians

177

for each period. The result is an approximation and does not consider hotels that failed and went out of business. In spite of these drawbacks, valuable data are obtained, particularly with respect to the spatial distribution of hotels. During the period 1924 to 1965, 240 new hotels were constructed in the Laurentians, including the peripheral areas to the east and west of the major tourist concentrations along the major transportation axis. Seventy per cent of these were built between 1951 and 1965. In the periods chosen for mapping, 1924 to 1939, 1940 to 1955, and 1956 to 1965, the middle period contributed most new establishments: 115 in comparison with 15 for the period preceding the war, and almost 100 for the years 1956 to 1965. 1924 10 1939

There were few hotels in the Laurentians prior to 1924. Mont Tremblant in the north, Sainte Marguerite in the centre and Saint Jerome in the south were the only places with hotels. The railway and private initiatives and entrepreneurship established Mont Tremblant as one of the first tourist resort locations in the Laurentians just before World War II (Figure I). During this early period railway transportation dominated and it influenced the location of hotels. They usually located in the centre of the villages, close to railway stations. The Mont Tremblant region saw only modest growth in this period. The expansion in the number of rooms was more marked further to the south, in Sainte Adele and Sainte Agathe (Figure 2). 1940 10 1955

This period is characterized by competition between the railway and the automobile. Hotel expansion is still influenced by the railway, which may explain the extension of development in the north. However, the most fundamental change is the concentration of hotels in the centre of the region in Sainte Agathe, Saint Saveur, Morin Heights and Val Morin (Figure 3). This development had two major causes: first, an improvement in the road network and the upkeep of roads - roads were maintained throughout the winter and summer; and secondly, the popularity of downhill skiing, which was introduced into North America just before World War II and grew rapidly in popularity after 1945. The gentle slopes in the southern Laurentians around Sainte Adele provided suitable topography and already had an adequate transportation infrastructure. Towards the end of this period the importance of the railway began to diminish and to be replaced by the automobile. /956 10 /965

During this period the automobile became the principal means of transportation. This change in transportation preference in the urban areas had a marked effect UP(;>n the region. Before the construction of the

178

J. LUNDGREN

INCREASE IN NUMBER OF ROOM UNITS BEFORE 1923

o ®

nochange 1-49

~ 50-99

(9

100-199

•

over200

~

01

2Z5

IQO

NUMBER OF UNITS AVAIL.ABlE IN 1986

Figure I:

Hotel development in the Laurentians, 1923

lAurentians

179

INCREASE IN NUMBER OF

ROOMUNfTS 1924·1939

o ®

nochango

1·49

~ 50·99 ~ 100·199 •

(Ner200

~

01

_

100

NUMBER OF UNITS AVAILABLE IN 1868

o

/

/ 401Cm.

br====:====:;-" i,...

'I'

Figure 2:

Hotel development in the Laurentians, 1924-1939

180

J. LUNDGREN

INCREASE IN NUMBER OF ROOMUNrr8 1940-1955

o

nochange

(ffi)

1-49

~ 50-99 •

100-199

•

over200

-dO::6) 0'

225

lOCI

NUMBER OF UNITS AVAILABLE IN 1966

4OKm.

'-r======"" ~

Figure 3:

~MI.

Hotel development in the Laurentians, 1940-1955

Laurentians

181

INCREASE IN NUMBER OF ROOM UNITS 1956-1965

o @) e e •

nochange

1·49

50-99 100-199 tNer200

adidJ) _ sm

o.

NUMBER OF UNITS AVAlLABLE IN 1966

o

/

/ 401Cm.

.... ' r===:;:::==::;-I'

~MI.

Figure 4:

Hotel development in the Laurentians. 1956-1965

182

J. LUNDGREN

autoroute, traffic jams occurred during weekends which had an unfavourable influence on the development of peripheral locations, whereas Sainte Adele and Sainte Agathe were congested (Figure 4). Small centres in the area began to develop as well as others such as Saint Donat, further away. During this period it was the large central area which underwent the greatest transformation and increased its accommodation capacity. The subsequent construction of the autoroute greatly favoured the places which were more distant from Montreal, such as Sainte Agathe, Saint Donat, and the Mont Tremblant area, while reducing the congestion around Sainte Adele. Towards the end of the period there was considerable expansion around Mount Tremblant and Saint Jovite as a result of improved accessibility. Unfortunately, the autoroute introduced an element of rigidity similar to that of the railway.

CONCLUSIONS

The underlying principles of the model of spatial penetration which have been presented are based on changes in transportation technology. In a study of change, it is clear that the transportation infrastructure plays a fundamental role in the localization process as demonstrated in the study periods analysed here. The different phases in the evolution of transportation to a large extent explain the spatial distribution of hotels in the Laurentians. Thus it is possible to understand the "macropattern" of hotel distribution which is the objective of this paper. Is it possible to make predictions about the regional spatial structure and land resource use? We can perhaps do this, but a general analysis is insufficient for these purposes because local peculiarities also have spatial consequences. Thus topography, and its influence on the potential for skiing, is of major importance. One can question if the same characteristics of spatial penetration and localization would have occurred ifit had been cross-country, rather than downhill skiing, that developed immediately before and after the last war. We can conclude that, in spite of the restricted source materials used in this investigation, those readily available documents offer research possibilities for geographers which have yet to be fully realized.

POSTSCRIPT: REGIONAL TRANSFORMATION IN lHE POST-AtJfOROUTE ERA

The continuous expansive development of the tourist industry in the Montreal Laurentians, which have made it into one of Canada's most well-known resort regions within a matter of some seventy years, came to a close with the completion of the Laurentian autoroute between 1958 and 1972. This major improvement of a vital regional infrastruc-

lAurentians

183

ture was obviously bound to have repercussions upon the whole range of tourist-related commercial operations in the region. Surprisingly enough, few persons exhorting the advantages of the new transport for the region seemed to have been able to anticipate any of the negative consequences to the accommodation industry that followed. This postscript describes the consequences of auto route developments for the accommodation industry in the Laurentians in the period 1964 to 1975. The data for the analysis differ from those used previously. The comparative material is drawn from the annually revised official accommodation enterprise listings published by the province, and extensively used by visitors to Quebec. Although the source is not an official statistical document, it is quite accurate because of its primary user purpose, and also because the serious accommodation operator has a direct business interest to be listed; it clearly helps him in attracting customers.

The arguments for the autoroute The ultimate decision to construct the Laurentian autoroute was made in the early 1950s. Up until then, the region had been opened up gradually, by the introduction of various modes and combinations of transport, notably train services, and after 1945, increasingly by car. Some fashionable resorts were even serviced by plane (for example, Gray Rocks). However, many tourists had to transfer from one mode of transport to another to reach the destination facility in the region, because some resorts were located not at railway stations, but instead were close to ski hills some distance away. Thus hotel and resort operators often had to provide local transport to railway stations. As a result, even in postwar years, transport management could be cumbersome, as it often involved more than one stage and mode of transport in order to reach the destination, even when starting from fairly near, e.g., from Montreal. The introduction of the autoroute was consequently viewed as a great reliever of a multitude of inconveniences. In fact, the benefits of the new infrastructure could be summarized by the catch phrase "convenience and business growth." The convenience would be felt equally by guests and accommodation operators: the guests would be able to travel by smooth, personal door-to-door transport with a minimum of transport congestion to the mountains; the laborious transfers between modes of transport would be replaced by coach services, an alternative to the trains; locally-operated shuttle services could be discontinued. With such a major overall improvement in transport circulation, it seemed reasonable to anticipate a substantial business growth. Hence the profitability of the enterprises would improve, and there would also be room for further expansion of capacity. Thus, it was in a mood of great optimism that the auto route was extended north, starting in 1958.

184

J. LUNDGREN

Regional consequences The data on the development of the accommodation industry for the years 1964 to 1975 suggest a very different outcome of the autoroute opening (Figures 5 and 6). The much-heralded growth of the industry did not materialize. In fact, the more or less uninterrupted growth of the industry since its initial establishment in the 1890s was reversed. Rather than signalling a new expansive era. the advent of the autoroute marked the beginning of a period of decline, from which the industry, nearly twenty years later, has only partly recovered. The hotel industry within the Laurentian transport corridor, stretching from Sainte Therese in the south to Mont Laurier some 150 miles away, in the north, has experienced substantial structural and dimensional changes. The number of operations and overall capacity has declined approximately 25 per cent. Of the 30 odd localities within a five-mile zone along the main transport spine of the corridor, over 70 per cent registered various rates of decline. Near half of them had losses

5

1000

7

6 ~

J

8

4

500

j

2

0

I I liS

Figure 5:

...:

U)

ta m

i>

~

liS

en

~

s

~

I

Di

Bi ~25 liS~

.6a ...

Destination ZOnes from Montreal

s-!

8~

!lSi

Laurentian transport. corridor: room capacity. 1975 by zone

185

Laurentians

60

50

40

%+

30

2

20

10 ~e

In

RoomCapadty

0

10 4

5

20

%-

8 ___ Average Loss for Region

30

7 40

6

50 60

Figure 6:

3

Laurentian transport corridor: room capacity change. 1964-1975

that by far exceeded the overall regional rate of decline. 25 per cent. The geographic spread of the contraction of the industry sector was uneven, which suggests that factors other than the new autoroute affected development. The reduced travel time from Montreal was obviously important, but how do we then explain that out of the 1,300 rooms lost, over one-third occurred in the northern zones? In addition, some famous resort areas were severely hit: Sainte Agathe saw twothirds of its local room capacity disappear, which accounted for approximately one-third of total regional losses. In other parts of the transport corridor the losses were lighter, but still often substantial: Saint Sauveur, the most southern major ski resort area, had its capacity reduced by 32 per cent; Sainte Adele, further to the north, lost 30 per cent of its individual hotel operations, with practically no loss in local room capacity; Saint Jovite, not far from Mont Tremblant in the north, saw its room capacity dwindle to half of its 1964 level. Thus, the industry sector changed quite dramatically, both overall and locally, in the years fol-

186

J. LUNDGREN

lowing the opening of the autoroute. This trend ran completely counter to the hopeful predictions about beneficial effects to the regional industry that the new infrastructure would bring. Figures 5 and 6 show the changes by broad distance zones. The zones have been identified on the basis of "geographic breaks" in the distribution of facilities in 1964.

Explanations for the changes in the industry The decline in the industry following the improvement of the transport infrastructure suggests that tourist industry operators in general are sensitive to changes in the relative importance of the principallocational forces that originally contributed to their loeational characteristics. The improved access into the Laurentians obviously upset a fairly wellat an increasing rate in the years immediately following the introduction of new transport infrastructure and the more aggressive marketing of foreign destinations. The consequences for the Laurentians have already been documented: contraction and restructuring of its accommodation industry. Adaptation of the industry Paralleling the overall decline of the accommodation industry sector there were a number of defensive responses among which the following are most noteworthy: (I) The larger resort operations embarked upon major programmes of upgrading of physical plant, including expansion of their facilities and additions of market-catching new features. (2) The process of remodelling required financing. This was often achieved by larger operations through affiliation with new extra-regional financial and corporate interests. This move gave the resorts breathing time, which allowed them to formulate, for the first time, more serious longterm business strategies. Although the resorts lost their independent status, they were in a better position to develop their potential effectively, as the traditional constraints of financing had been removed. Without these actions, the death toll in the accommodation industry would have also extended to the larger operations. We can only imagine the formidable task of recycling some 10 to 15 major resort complexes. Now this was postponed and, hopefully, avoided. (3) A fundamental marketing reorientation was made in the late 1960s and early 1970s by the large operations. As a result, the traditional family markets were replaced with the more dynamic conference/convention trade generated by corporate head offices in major metropolitan areas in Eastern Canada and the New England states. All the major resorts have since pushed these markets strongly, so that conventions presently generate over 75 per cent of annual revenues. The small operations have been less successful. The majority of the smaller hotels and pensions with a capacity of 10 to 30 rooms offered no attractive prospects for refinancing and redevelopment; nor could they successfully fight increasing operating costs. Thus large numbers closed

Laurentians

187

down, and a good proportion of still active operations are becoming increasingly marginal economically. The chances of their survival in the long run are small. These are common throughout the region, with some concentration in the Saint Sauveur and Sainte Adele areas. Geographic attributes to the present operations The structural changes in the industry have resulted in different geographic characteristics of the enterprise operations. The reaffirmation of the large, fully-fledged resorts from Sainte Adele to Mont Tremblant has "metropolitanized" their requirements: inputs for the major operations are imported to the region, from the Montreal area or from other major urban centres. Thus, the local elements have become quite minor, established travel pattern and modified substantially an existing demandsupply framework. The most notable consequence for the visitor clientele was the spatial extension of the day-trip excursion range further north, a push which in relative terms made part of the accommodation industry in the various zones redundant. This does not explain, however, the dramatic drop for destination zones at very different distances from Montreal, especially in the north, where improved access should have brought the opposite effect. The losses were substantial in Sainte Sauveur and Sainte Agathe, as well as in the Mont Tremblant area. In order to find explanations for these rather inconsistent developments, we have to go beyond the confines of the region and consider the events in a broader geographic and economic text. Evidently, changes in preferences in major visitor-generating markets and the appearance of competitive destination alternatives to the Laurentians introduced a new set of forces to be considered in the analysis. The changes in the market were important: the 1960s saw the emergence of skiing as a popular, mass recreational-touristic activity. Thus, the relatively exclusive and wealthy clientele that originally had frequented the Laurentians started to give way to new, less wealthy user categories that could less afford long stays at resorts; they preferred the newly established day trips and their relative economic prudence. As a result, revenue levels for accommodation and their affiliated tourist service functions declined at the expense of new independent commercial services. This occurred at a point in time when operating costs for hotels were increasing at a rapid rate. Thus, profit margins shrank and many hotel operations became uneconomical. The region was also affected by the improved transport infrastructure installed elsewhere in the province, especially by the opening of the Eastern Townships Autoroute in the years between 1965 and 1969, which dramatically improved access into the Appalachian borderlands. This boosted regional development of ski hill facilities with associated service industry operations in a geographic environment having recreational potential that in many respects was greater than that of the Laurentians. A number of sites had ski potential that, in terms of effective

188

J. LUNDGREN

verticals and snow-cover dependability, exceeded all Laurentian sites with the exception of Mont Tremblant. Up until then, metropolitan Montreal had been the sole market preserve for the Laurentian industry. Now it had to be shared with the new facilities in the Eastern Townships and northern Vermont. Finally, the end of the 1960s saw the increasing popularity of convenient international vacation tours, packaged as Caribbean Sun weeks or Alpine Ski weeks in Europe or the Rockies. Thus we can conclude that a new mass recreational clientele became a dominant segment of the visitor population in the Laurentians, while a substantial diversion of the metropolitan Montreal market towards new destination regions occurred both in the supply of goods and services and manpower. The principal support structure for the operations has shifted geographically and is now firmly lodged in the urban-metropolitan economy. A corresponding geographic shift has also occurred in terms of the extension of market areas for the enterprises; through the 1960s, metropolitan Montreal generated most of the business. With the convention/conference trade being dominant, the service area has expanded, and Montreal's relative importance has declined; the metropolitan sector, with its main geographic centres such as southwestern Ontario, Ottawa-Hull, Quebec City and New York State, provide the dynamics for the resorts. The staid family enterprises have become aggress"ively marketed operations in order to justify the substantial capital investments that the new owner combinations have provided, which must yield a satisfactory return on investments.

Conclusions The Laurentian autoroute obviously signalled an era of change to the accommodation industry. The subsequent decline of the industry was however only partly a consequence of improved access into the Laurentians. The introduction of competitive vacation travel destinations, both in Quebec and abroad, weakened an exclusive market control that the Laurentian tourist industry had held for decades. Thus only by a considerable reorganization could the major operations survive and find a new economic base. A principal result of the autoroute was the gradual change in utility of the region from one with a large commercial sector affiliated with the long-stay tourist demand for services to that of an outdoor recreational playground for metropolitan Montreal. In this new role, the usefulness of the numerous small-scale accommodation enterprises that remain after the first decade ofthe post-autoroute era is limited. The trends that have dominated development since the mid-1960s will most likely continue. Thus the future for the small, independent accommodation enterprises looks bleak, and they will therefore continqe to disappear from the Laurentian scene as the transformation of the region to its new recreational role progresses.

Laurentians

189

NOTES I. E.J. Taffe, R.L. Morrill and P.R. Gould, "Transport expansion in underdeveloped countries," Geographical Review, S3 (1963), pp. 503·29.

A History of Recreation on the Trent-Severn Waterway FREDERICK M. HELLEINER

Many facilities which are currently in use for recreation were not constructed with that particular purpose in mind. As the nature of society and technology has evolved, the value attached to structures has changed, and, in many cases, structures which have outlived their usefulness have been destroyed, abandoned or modified to meet the requirements of succeeding generations. The Trent-Severn Waterway in Southern Ontario is an example of the latter phenomenon (Figures I and 2). The history of the Trent-Severn Waterway predates by many years its use for recreational purposes. Prior to settlement of the area by Europeans, the chain of lakes and rivers between Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario, and their associated portages, constituted an important Indian canoe route. I Craft larger than canoes, including steamboats, used some of the limited navigable stretches of the Waterway almost from the moment of the first European settlement. However, it was not until 1920 that locks and marine railways made it possible to navigate the entire 241 miles of what is now called the Trent-Severn Waterway, plus an additional 27 miles on a side channel to Lake Scugog. 2 In fact the bulk of the Waterway, which comprises Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching and further to the east, the Kawartha Lakes and Rice Lake, was landlocked for many years, and as recently as 1918 had no navigable link with the Greak Lakes. The original motive for development of a continuous waterway in the eastern section was to facilitate settlement and to provide a means for transporting timber, the major product of the region, to its markets. The military advantage of bypassing the international border was a secondary consideration.} With regard to the western section, a number of early proponents, particularly N.H. Baird, a civil engineer, argued for a continuous waterway linking Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay on the basis of its commercial significance. 4 Because of protracted delays, the Trent-Severn Waterway was obsolete for its intended commercial purpose before it was completed, for road and railway networks had super-

190

Trent-Severn Waterway

191

~ N

l.tIU

SImt:W

\

tl

9

\

t

'p :rJ

::t m ee-

Figure 2:

The Ka wartha Lakes

m m

Z

"

Trent-Severn Waterway

193

seded canals for most commercial transportation. s 6 Parts of the Waterway fell into disuse, so that by the middle of the present century, some stretches of the canal had "so little traffic ... that trees grew out of the lock walls, and the bushes out of the lock gates".7 Not all ofthe Waterway was in this sorry state, and because of its high recreation potential, some parts had maintained a thriving life of their own for a hundred years. To this day, the Trent-Severn Waterway has never been a single recreational unit except in the very limited sense that it is possible to cruise by boat from one end to the other. 8 An examination of lock records indicates that fewer than one half of I per cent of recreational boat trips traverse the Waterway from end to end. 9 An analysis of boat traffic concluded that the Waterway consists of eight or more distinct recreational regions,IO each of these regions with its own "personality" which reflects the nature of the recreational experiences enjoyed in it. The Rice Lake region has the longest history of recreational use. It has even been suggested that .. It is possible that Rice Lake was put to intensive recreational use earlier than any other inland body of water in Ontario."" Some of the earliest settlers on the south shore of the lake were "British officers on half-pay, who were attracted by the scenery of the back lakes and the opportunities for hunting and fishing."12 Their numbers were too small to give rise to the establishment of a recreation industry, and their recreational pursuits were secondary to the problems of making a living. The potential of the Stony Lake region for hunting and fishing was also recognized by early settlers. Areas of the Kawartha Lakes located further in the hinterland gained similar recognition. 13 Mass participation in outdoor recreation began with the introduction of steamboats which transported patrons around the islands and promontories of Rice Lake. Residents of nearby villages began taking picnics by steamboat in the 1850s. 14 Throughout the summers of the latter half of the nineteenth century, and particularly after 1870, excursions between Peterborough and Rice Lake were a regular weekend occurrence. Many of these excursions were conducted by organized groups such as the Farmers' Institute, private schools, the Sons of England, the Salvation Army, and temperance 'societies. Picnic grounds, including those at Idyl Wild Point near Harwood and Jubilee Point on the north shore of the lake, were popular destinations for steamboat excursions, but the voyage itself was as much a part of the recreational experience as the activities undertaken at the destination. Dining in the lounge, dancing on a "palace-scow" which was towed behind the boat, singsongs on deck, and story-telling in the moonlight were all an integral part of the excursion. IS The steamboat outings of the late nineteenth century involved crowds of as many as a thousand people at a time.~6 They continued to be popular until the advent of World War I and consti-

194

F. HELLEINER

tuted the beginning of the intensive recreational use of the Waterway. The decline of steamboat excursions in the Peterborough-Rice Lake region was probably not due to a deterioration in satisfaction with the recreational experience the'y provided. The steamboat owners made a living from a combination of recreational excursions and commercial transportation of people and products. Improved roads captured the commercial transportation functions of the steamboats and, without this complementry income, their ability to continue operating was threatened. The introduction of safety inspections may also have been a factor. A few steamboat cruises continued on the Otonabee River between Peterborough and Wallace Point until World War II. Motorized boats, designed exclusively for recreational cruises, reappeared in Peterborough about 1960, and a limited tourist cruise in the immediate vicinity of Peterborough has been available each summer since that time. The all-day cruise of the nineteenth century has been replaced by an excursion lasting only an hour or two which offers as its major attractions a lockage over the famous hydraulic lift lock and a view of Trent University from the water. Steamboat excursions were by no means confined to the Rice Lake region. Pleasure cruises were taken as early as the 1840s in the Lake Simcoe region,17 the 1860s in the Lake Scugog-Lindsay region using Washburn Island as a destination for picnics,'s the 1890s on Lake Couchiching,19 the 1870s in the Central Kawartha Lakes with Sturgeon Point a favourite destination, and also in the 1870s, in the Stony Lake region where Mount Julian was the focus of activity.20 The Stony Lake fleet of steamboats prospered longer than others, with occasional excursions taking place in the 1940s. 21 This can be attributed to the dedication and reputation of their owners, the Young family. As at Peterborough, limited daily pleasure cruises are available on Stony Lake during the summer and similar ventures have been introduced, with varying success, elsewhere on the Waterway. Most of the steamboat lines, including that on Stony Lake, connected with excursion trains from-Peterborough, Toronto and other population centres. The steamboats transported visitors to the resort hotels which often developed as an adjunct to the steamboat operations, and which were found in many parts of the Waterway. One of the early hotels was Idyl Wild Hunting Lodge near Harwood on Rice Lake,22 but others were constructed between Lakefield and Bobcaygeon and at other places further west. 23 Resort hotels offered attractions for the day visitor such as picnic grounds, as well as such facilities as dance floors, bathing houses, canoes and rowboats for the vacationer. In a number of places, notably Sturgeon Point and Mount JUlian, the hotel became the nucleus of a small community. The fortunes of these communities depended very much on the prosperity of the hotel, just as the hotels relied upon the patronage of the steamboats. When their hotels

Trent-Severn Waterway

195

declined, places such as Mount Julian and Jubilee Point virtually ceased to exist. Others, with better road access, have continued to prosper as recreational communities. McCracken's Landing on Stoney Lake and Bewdley on Rice Lake, are examples of such places. The resort hotels were bases from which a wide variety of recreational activities could be undertaken. 24 Fishing and, to a lesser extent, hunting were advertised, then as now, as primary attractions throughout the Waterway. Regattas, which are still occasionally held, are a legacy of the days when the hotels were the foci of the resort communities. There are records of regattas at Fenelon Falls in 1838, Sturgeon in the early 1840s, and Peterborough in 1857,26 and of others at Juniper Island in Stony Lake and elsewhere which eventually became annual events. 27 The activities at regattas varied from place to place, but in all cases, boat races of many kinds constituted the principal events. The American Canoe Assocaition held a regatta at Juniper Island in 1884.28 Resort hotels have declined in importance, but the regattas which they initiated have remained an important focus for the social life of the cottage communities which now encircle many of the Kawartha Lakes. The small size and numerous sheltered bays of the Kawartha Lakes made them well suited to recreational canoeing, which was often combined with hunting or fishing. 29 Both canoeing and sailing became popular activities on Stony Lake by the endof the I 880s when the lake was more like a campers' paradise than a cottage colony.3D The internationally renowned Peterborough Canoe Company and other boat manufacturers who failed to prosper were pioneers in the world of recreational canoeing. 31 To this day parts of the Waterway are occasionally used for canoe races. The most widely-known of th.ese are the annual races from Young's Point to Peterborough which are sponsored by the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority and the white-water competitions at Burleigh Falls, which attract large numbers of participants and spectators. A novel variant of the Otonabee River canoe race is the ice floe race which was introduced in 1963 and has been held annually since then.32 During the spring break-up, usually in March, the Trident Underwater Club of Peterborough competes against approximately fifty other teams of wet-suited divers in riding the swollen current of a short section of the Otonabee River between Peterborough and Lakefield. The divers ride blocks of ice that have been cut from the shores of the Waterway. The event attracts participants from much of northeastern North America and thousands of spectators. Privately operated, powered recreational boats were introduced to the Trent-Severn Waterway somewhat later than canoes or the commercial excursion boats. A few steam-driven yachts existed on the Kawartha Lakes in the late nineteenth century,33 and the first gasoline-powered launch appeared in 1898. 34 Word of mouth spread the fame of the Waterway throughout Southern Ontario and the United States by the

196

F. HELLEINER

turn of the century, but few people could afford the luxury of owning a boat. 3s Boat traffic remained light in all parts of the Waterway between the two World Wars. The widespread ownership of recreational motorboats is a relatively recent phenomenon. In the early 1950s a exponential rise in motorboat traffic began and continued at a 9 per cent annual increase throughout the 1960s. 36 By 1969 approximately 99 per cent of boat trips on the Waterway were made by privately-owned or rented recreational boats ranging in size from runabouts to cruisers and, in a few cases, yachts. 37 The Waterway itself underwent many changes over the years to accommodate the development of recreation. By the early 1950s, the locks had been scarcely used for some time and were in a state of disrepair. This, coupled with the rapid increase in traffic, resulted in frequent boat traffic congestion and delays at places such as Fenelon Falls and Burleigh Falls. JH In response to this situation, the federal Ministry of Transport, which had been administering the canal since 1876, in 1962 made a formal decision to reconstruct and mechanize the entire system. 39 The Waterway had evolved into an important recreational resource and this decision represented an attempt to capitalize upon its recreation potential. The decision to upgrade the Waterway for recreation was not without precedent. Some officials of the Ministry of Transport were sufficiently perceptive to see the value of providing some limited recreational facilities at the lock stations in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Picnic tables were purchased from federal penal institutions and were placed at various lock stations and on other lands between Peterborough and Lakefield which were owned by the Ministry. Toilets and barbecues were also provided at lock stations and the grass was cut in the neighbourhood of the locks to upgrade their formerly unkempt appearance. 40 The Ministry of Transport then publicized the Waterway at the boat show in Toronto during the 1960s.41 Measures such as these. undertaken by an agency whose mandate was not to provide recreational opportunities,42 are a clear indication of the growing pre-eminence of recreation as raison d'hre for the continued operation of the canal. . The Ministry of Transport, with its limited mandate and peripheral interest in recreation, increasingly became an obstacle to the large-scale co-ordinated development of the Waterway. Nevertheless, in the 1960s hundreds of thousands of boaters were using the Waterway each year and even larger numbers were engaging in recreation along the Waterway without boats. In recognition of the need for a broadly based approach to recreational development. in 1967 the federal Ministry of Transport and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Information instituted an innovative co-operative committee. the Canada-Ontario RideauTrent-Severn Study Committee (C.O.R.T.S.). The task of the Committee was to ··study and plan for the future development of the . . .

Trent-Severn Waterway

197

recreation corridor between Ottawa and the Georgian Bay. "43 The C.O.R.T.S. Committee initiated and conducted a wide variety of recreational studies which culminated in a report which was published in 1971. Within a year of publication of the report, the Ministry of Transport relinquished control of the Trent-Severn Canal to Parks Canada, who also accepted responsibility for a number of other canals in eastern Canada whose functions were predominantly recreational (Rideau, Chambly, St. Ours, St. Peters, and Ottawa River). Within Parks Canada a branch was established to implement recreational agreements with the provinces, under a new programme known as Agreements for Recreation and Conservation (A.R.C.). The first federal-provincial A.R.C. agreement was signed in Peterborough in 1975 in a ceremony that took place on the frozen surface of the canal at the foot of the lift lock. It resulted in the formation of a C.O.R.T.S. Secretariat which has played a major co-ordinating role in the planning, administration and management of the Trent-Severn Waterway for numerous federal and provincial agencies having some jurisdiction in the area. Parks Canada, since assuming responsibility for the Waterway, has empahsized the development of its recreation potential. The Waterway is now recognized as a broadly based recreational resource and, in the I970s and 1980s, boaters and their requirements are regarded as only one component of the recreational system. The most obvious aspect of recreational land use on the shores of the Waterway is the proliferation of cottages. The first recorded seasonal residences were built on Stony Lake in the 1860s44 and Lake Katchiwano and Clear Lake in the 1870s and, by the early years of this century Sturgeon Lake and Stony Lake were surrounded by cottages.4S Other areas of the Waterway, such as the western end, remained largely undeveloped until after World War II. Initially, the summer cottages were much more closely tied to the boat traffic than they are today for they were serviced by the steamboats. 46 By the mid-1920s it was more common for them to be reached byautomobile. 47 In 1971 there were 25,000 summer cottages along the waterway and no more recent figure is available. 48 Their users spend more time on the land than on the water. Similarly, there are approximately twenty times as many land-based visitors to the Peterborough lift lock as there are boaters. 49 In winter the distinction between land- and water-based activities is even more indistinct: 400,000 ice fishermen annually visit Lake Simcoe alone,so and cross-country skiers and snowmobiles may be found on the lakes almost as much as on land. In consequence it has become imperative that planning and management be devoted to both land and water. The treatment of the Trent-Severn Waterway as a broadly based recreational region, emcompassing both land and water, has many dimensions. 51 Parks Canada, for the first time since the canal was constructed, has begun to acquire islands in the Waterway and recreational

198

F. HEllEINER

shorelands along it. Several provincial parks and conservation areas are located along the Waterway in order to give users access to facilities for both aquatic and land-based recreation. In the development of a "framework plan," the C.O.R.T.S. Secretariat is conducting a Public Recreation Land Review, to consider the acquisition and development of recreational lands. Other projects concern shoreline development, open space, scenic vistas, aesthetics, natural areas, routes and trails, tent and trailer parks, none of which necessarily directly involve the water.

CONCLUSIONS

Although not constructed for recreation, the Trent-Severn Waterway afforded outdoor recreational opportunities which were used from the earliest days of settlement. At that time the recreational resources were used almost exclusively by the local populace, and the activities in which they engaged were primarily water-based. Changes in transportation technology have greatly modified the situation. Railroad extension, and particularly the introduction of the automobile and improved roads, have enabled visitors to come from longer distances and in larger numbers to participate in a variety of land- and water-based forms of recreation. The resulting pressures have stimulated an upgrading of the Waterway and have resulted in increased governmental involvement in the planning and management of outdoor recreation. The economic base of a broad band of southern Ontario, of which the Trent-Severn Waterway is the core, has become dependent upon outdoor recreation of many kinds. The Waterway was not a commercial success in terms of the initial objectives of its proponents but it has become the focus of a thriving tourist industry, as visitors from far beyond the Waterway converge upon it and its surrounding lands. NOTES 1. Canada-Ontario Rideau-Trent-Severn Study Committee. The Rideau Trent Severn

Yesterday. Today. Tomorroll' (Toronto: Report of the Canada-Ontario Rideau-TrentSevern Study Committee. 1971). pp. 30. 33; Gerald E. Boyce. Historic HastinKs (Belleville: Hastings County Council. 1967). p. 167; J. Keith Fraser. "A Geographical Study of the North Coasts of lakes Huron and Superior" (Toronto: M.A. thesis. University of Toronto. 1953). p. 245. 2. Canada-Ontario Rideau-Trent-Severn Study Committee. The Rideau Trent Severn, p. 33; Richard Tatley, SteamboatinK on The Trent-Severn (Belleville: Mika Publishing Company, 1978), p. 183. 3. Edwin C. Guillet, The Valley of the Trent (Toronto: The Champlain Society. 1957), pp. 131. 146-47. 158-59, 182-83. 193-95. 216; Canada Department of Transport, Trent Canal System. Improved Natural Waterway ConnectinK lAke Ontario and Georgian Boy (Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1951), p. 4: Boyce. Historic Haslings, p. 167; Fraser, A Geographical Study," p. 245.

Trent-Severn Waterway

199

4. Notably N.H. Baird. according to Guillet. The Valley of The Trent. pp. 159-60 and 181-82. 5. Ibid .• p. 131. 6. Canada Department of Transport. Trent Canal System. p. 4; J.E. Hogg. Twice Across North America by Motorboat (New York: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. 1960). p. 71. 7. Kenneth McNeill Wells. Cruising the Trent-Severn Watenl·ay. (Toronto: Kingswood House. 1959). p. 7. 8. Ibid. 9. F.M. Helleiner. "A Geographical Interpretation of Recreational Watcrways with Special Rcfercncc to the Trent-Severn Watcrway" (london. Ph.D. thesis. University of Western Ontario. 1972). p. 86. 10. Ibid.• pp. 100 ff. I I. R.I. Wolfe. "Recreational land Use in Ontario" (Toronto: Ph.D. thesis. University of Toronto. 1956). p. 146. 12. Tatley. Steamboating on The Trent Severn. p. 9. 13. J.S. Marsh and C. Moffatt. "The historical development of resorts and cottages in the Kawartha lakes Area. Ontario" in J. Marsh. ed .• Water Based Recreation Problems and Progress. Occasional Paper 8 (Peterborough: Department of Geography. Trent University). pp. 31-32. 14. Tatley. Steamboating on the Trent Severn. p. 44. 15. Harold Gruber. "Problcms in Outdoor Recreation on and around Ricc lakc". (Waterloo. senior honours essay. Univcrsity of Waterloo. 1969). p. I I. 16. R. Tatley. Steamboating on The Trent Severn. p. 93. 17. Ibid.• p. 32. 18. Ibid.• p. 46. 19. Ibid.• p. 63. 20. Ibid.• p. 82-83. 21. Ibid.• p. 204. 22. Ibid.• p. 90. 23. Marsh and Moffatt. "The historical development of resorts and cottages." pp. 33-34. 24. Ibid .• pp. 35·38. 25. Ibid., p. 68. 26. Benidickson. "Paddling for pleasure." in this volume. 27. Ibid. 28. R. Tatley. Steamboat in!: on the Trent Severn. p. 85. 29. Benidickson. "Paddling for pleasure." 30. Tatley. Steamboating on the Trent Severn. p. 86. 31. Bcnidickson. "Paddling for pleasure." 32. "Trident Underwater Club prepares for March Plunge." The Peterborough Reviell' (February 7. 1979). CXXVII. No.6. p. 19. 33. R. Tatley. Steamboatin!: on The Trent-Severn. pp. 76. 115. 34. Ibid.• p. 115. 35. Chris Rutledge. Interpretive Officer. Trent-Scvern Waterway. Parks Canada. Pctcrborough. personal communication (Nov .• 1978). 36. Canada-Ontario Ridcau-Trent-Scvern Study Committec. The Rideau Trent Severn. p.4O. 37. Hclleiner. "Gcographical Interpretation of Recreational Waterways. p. 119. 38. Donald A.H. Farmer. Formerly Chicf. Canals Division. Ministry of Transport. personal communication (Nov. I. 1978). 39. Historic Section. Public Records and Archives. Severn Trent Valley Report. (Nov. 15.

200

F. HELLEINER

1970). Appendix "B", p. 5. 40. Donald A.H. Farmer, personal communication (Nov. I, 1978).

41. Chris Rulledge, personal communication (Nov. 1978). 42. Canada-Ontario Rideau-Trent-Severn Study Commillee. The' Rideau Trl'nt Severn. p. II. 43. Ibid.• p. 5. 44. Marsh and Moffall. "The historical development of resorts and COllages," p. 33. 45. Wolfe, "Recreational Land Use in Ontario, p. 152. 46. Tatley. SteamboatinK on The' Trl'nt-Severn. p. 87. 47. Donald A.H. Farmer. personal communication (Nov. I, 1978). 48. Canada-Ontario Rideau-Trent-Severn Study Commillec. The Rideau Trent Sl'vern. p. 40. 49. F.M. Helleiner, "The Trent-Severn recreational corridor," Canadian Gl'OKraphical Journal (Dec., 1976/Jan., 1977), XCIII. No.3, pp. 16-IK 50. Canada-Ontario Rideau-Trent-Sevem Study Commillee. The Rideau Trent Severn. p.8. 51. Helleiner. "Geographical Interpretation of Recreational Waterways" Chapt. 8: CanadaOntario Rideau-Trent-Sevem Study Commillee, The Ride'au Trent SevC'm. pp. 27-28.

Tourists at Niagara Falls Circa 1850 (Cred it: International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, New York)

~

0-

C

C

u

~ ~

u

~

"0

.

C

"0

" 0" u " ~ " 0" U " ,:: .:: " " "§

-'

0 :I: .f (1904). Chapter 44. pp. 331-33. 28. Ihid.• p. 332. 29. The first annual report of the Association is no longer available; however the Second Annual Report refers to the work of the previous summer. p. 4. A lengthy report of the first year's operation is also contained in the report of the Committee on Vacation Schools and Supervised Playgrounds in N.C. W.• Annual Report, 1903, p. 70. See also the report of the Montreal Council of Women. Appendix. p. V of the same volume. 30. The Parks and Playgrounds Association of Montreal. Third Annual Report, 1904. 31. Ibid. 32. Ibic/. 33. The Parks and Playgrounds Association of Montreal. Minutes. June 13, 1904. to Feb. 13. 1919. Minutes for Annual General Meeting. Nov. 12. 1906. 34. N.C.W .• Annual Report. 190fl. pp. 95-96. 35. The Daily Witness (Montreal: Women's Edition, Parks and Playgrounds. May 15. 1909). L No. 114. 36. Caroline O. Cox. "Open Spaces." p. 8. 37. The Parks and Playgrounds Association of Montreal. Tenth Annual RepoT/, 191 I. p. I. 38. An undated brochure describing the course was found in the files of the Ottawa Parks and Recreation Department. Its probable publication date has been established as between 1912 and 1916 - the years in which A.S. Lamb served the university as an instructor prior to entering the armed services. 39. Canadian Association for Health. Physical Education and Recreation. Bulletin (June. 1948). XV. No.6. p. 4. 40. The Montreal Parks and Playgrounds Association Incorporated. A Half-Century oJ Community Service (Montreal. 1953). p. 17. 41. Montreal. Minutes of City Council. May II. 1914; and Minutes of the Board of Commissioners. May 15. 1914. The latter minutes. indicate that Gadbois was given a temporary apointment to December 31. 1914. No record of his permanent appointment after that date was found. 42. Montreal Parks and Playgrounds Association. A Half-Century. p. 23. 43. Parks and Playgrounds Association. "Statement of Policy" (a one-page mimeographed statement from the files of the Montreal Parks and Playground Association). Dec. 10. 1925. 44. Montreal Parks and Playgrounds Association. A Half-Century. pp. 34-35. 45. Rene Belisle. Superintendent of Recreation. City of Montreal. interview. Montreal, Jan. 23, 1968. 46. N.C.W .• Annual Report, 19(}(s. pp. 94-95; also "Report of the Halifax Council", ibid.• AppendiX. x and xi; and Halifax Herald, June 26. 1906. p. 2. 47. N.C.W .• Annual Report 1908. pp. 39-40. 48. Ibid. 49. Nova Scotia, Statutes (1914). Chapter 76, p. 157. 50. Minutes of the Recreation Committee of the Halifax city council date from May 16. 1944; see Halifax Recreation Department. Records oJ the Recreation and Playgrounds Commission. Minutes of the Recreation Committee confirm the appointment of Roy K. Smith. 51. Halifax. Minutes of the Recreation Committee. Feb. 3, 1947. Feb. 24, 1947. July 28. 1947. and Nov. 7. 1949. 52. Nova Scotia. "An Act to Incorporate the Recreation and Playgrounds Commission for the City of Halifax." Slatutes. (1952). Chapter 89. 53. Events leading up to the opening of the first playground are described in the following

296

E. McFARLAND

news items from the Daily Telegraph. 11J06; June I. p. 10; June 2. p. 2; editorial, June 4; June 25; p. 6; July 2, p. I and July 4, p. 7. 54. Saint John, Daily Telt'graph. July 3, 1906, p. I. 55. N.C.W., Annual Report, 1906, pp. 96-7. 56. Saint John, Reports and Accounts of the City. 1908, p. 64 and 1910, p. 98. 57. N.C.W., Annual Report, 1913 (Toronto: Parker Bros. Ltd., 1913). p. 47. 58. Saint John, Daily Telegraph (Aug. 8. 1914), p. 10; and N.C.W .• Annual Report. 1915. p. 191. 59. N.C.W., The Yearbook. 192J. p. 51. 60. Saint John, Minutes of Common Council. June 12. 1928, and April 20, 1939. 61. Ibid., Aug. 19, 1943. and April 16. 1946. 62. Toronto. Minutes ~f the Proceedings of the Public School Board. 1902 (Toronto: J. Johnston). p. 177. 63. Ibid.• 1903 (Toronto: Moore Bros.). Appendix. pp. 390, 438. 64. N.C.W., Annual Report. 1905. p. 99. 65. Ibid., 1907. p. 99; also editorial. in the Toronto Globe. Nov. 14. 1906. p. 6, on supervised playgrounds. 66. Toronto, Minutes of the Public School Board. 1907, p. 12. 67. Toronto. Board of Education. Annual Report. 1908, p. 24. 68. Ibid.• 1916. p. 18. 69. Unfortunately. no minutes or reports of the Toronto Playgrounds Association could be traced and consequently its contribution to recreation development had to be gleaned from articles of incorporation. news items. interviews and correspondence with persons able to supply information. 70. Toronto, Mintues of City Council. 1909 (Toronto: The Carswell Co. Ltd., 1910), Appendix A. p. 225, confirms that the Playground Association applied for and was granted authority to establish a supervised playground on Moss Park Square. Feb. 22, 1909. 71. Ontario Gazelle (March 5. 1910), XLIII. No. 10. p. 418. 72. Martin M. Kelso. "J. Kelso" (paper. March 31. 1964). p. 7. 73. Ontario Gazelle. March 5.1910. p. 418. For C.A.B. Brown's role. see Supra, p. 154and also Honora M. Cochrane. ed .• Centennial Story (Toronto: Thomas Nelson and Sons. 1950). p. III. 74. Toronto Guild of Civic Art. Report on a Comprehensive Plan for Systematic Civic Improvements in Toronto. 1909 (Toronto Municipal Archives). 75. Ibid.• p. 16. 76. Ibid. 77. Toronto. Minutes of City Council. 1909. Appendix C. pp. 158-59. 78. Ibid. 79. News Item. May 7. 1916. in the 1916 scrapbook of J.J. Kelso. obtained through correspondence with his son. Martin M. Kelso. 80. The Globe. Aug. 2. 1912. p. 9. 81. Toronto. Parks and Recreation Department. Parks Acquisition Record. 82. The Globe. Sept. 23. 1912. p. 9. 83. Toronto, Minutes of the City Council 1913 (Toronto: The Carswell Co., 1914). Appendix A. p. 842. 84. Ibid .• p. 848. 85. Hamilton, 50th Annivcrsary Hamilton Playgrounds (Hamilton Recreation Department: August 1958), pp. 4-5. See also Hamilton Spcctator, Feb. 17. 1908, p. 12 and Feb. 26. 1908. p. 4.

Supervised Playgrounds

297

86. The Hamilton Playgrounds Association: was officiallv incorporated in 1910; see Ontario Gazell~. Oct. 6, 1910. Accounts of early playground operation may be found in Hamilton. 50th Anniversary Hamilton Playgrounds, pp. 6-7. 87. Hamilton. 50th Anniversary, p. 31. 88. Ontario. Statut~s (1931). Chapter 100. p. 341 and Hamilton. "By-law 4199." April 28. 1931. 89. Hamilton. 50th Anniversary, p. 31. 90. Ottawa. Minuus of the Corporation of the City of Ollall'a (Ottawa: Ottawa Printing co .• 1899), p. 334, Minutes of August 2, 1898. (Herein referred to as Ottawa, Minut~s of City Council, 1898). 91. N.C.W., Annual Report, /905. p. 99. 92. Ottawa. Minut~s of City Council, April I, 1912. 93. Ibid.• March 6. 1911. 94. Editorial. Ollall"a Citizen. Feb. 3. 1913. p. 14. 95. Ibid., and N.C.W .• Annual Report. 1913. p. 46; also Ollall"a Citizen, Feb. I. 1913. p. 2. 96. Ottawa. Minut~s of City Council, Nov. 17. 1919. 97. Ibid., 1921, p. 318. and interview with Mr. J.A. Dulude, Commissioner. Recreation and Parks Department, Ottawa. May 25. 1966. 9S. N.C.W., Annual Report. 1908, p. 45. 99. Winnipeg. By-laws. 1909 (Winnipeg: Henderson Bros .• 1910), By-law No. 5557, May 25. 1909. 100. H.R. Hadcock, letter to V.c. Spense. Ottawa, March 26. 1913. (In the files of the Ottawa Recreation and Parks Department). 101. Winnipeg, Public Playgrounds. /9/1, 2 pp. 102. Ibid. 103. Hadcock. letter to V.C. Spense. 104. Winnipeg, Municipal Manual. 1914 (Winnipeg. 1914). p. 27. 105. Winnipeg. By-Iall·s. 19/9 (Winnipeg: Saults and Pollard Ltd .• 1920). "By-law 9835." April 3. 1919. 106. Winnipeg. Public Parks Board. Annual Report. 1919 (Winnipeg. 1919). p. 9. 107. Ibid.• p. II. lOS. Winnipeg. Public Parks Board. Minutes of Committee 1925-1935. p. 34; Minutes of Commitee on Recreation. April 18. 1925. 109. Winnipeg. Minutes of City Council. 1946 (Winnipeg: Garry Press Ltd .• 1947). Minutes of June 17. 1946. item 791-98. 110. Vancouver, Board of Park Commissioners. Second Annual Report. III. Vancouver Sun. July 12, 1912, p. 4. 112. Vancouver. Board of Park Commissioners. Annual Report. 1924, p. 34; 1925, p. 22: 1926. pp. 18-21 and 1930, p. 16. (mimeographed). 113. Vancouver. Board of Parks and Public Recreation, "Report on Community Centres. Supervised Playgrounds. and other Supervised Recreation." Annual Report. /960. p. 16. Also interview with Mrs. Milne, Vancouver. Feb. 27. 1968. 114. Regina. Council of Women. History of Regina Council of Women. /895-1965 (Regina. Saskatchewan. 1965). p. 10. 115. Regina. City Council Minutes. 1912, p. 168. Minutes for July 15. 1912. 116. Ibid.• 1913, p. 183, Minutes for June 17. 117. Ibid., 1914, p. 93. Minutes for April 21. 118. Ibid., p. 102. Minutes for May 5. 119. Regina. Municipal Manual (Regina, 1915). p. 43. 120. Regina. City Council Minutes. June IS, 1920; Jan. 3. Jan. 18, 1921; April 18, 1932; May 16. 1933.

298

E. McFARLAND

128. Tribute to Local Council of Women initiative in establishing playgrounds is given in the Jubilee edition of the Bran~forrl E.\positor. Aug. 7. 1937. p. 38. 129. Brantford's recreation developmcnt during and rollowing World War II is described in Chapter 5 or E. McFarland. Thc' D~v~/opm~nt qf Public Recr~ation in Canada. 130. Calgary. T.H. Mawson and Sons. The Cit.l' of Calgary, Pasl. Pr~s~nt and Future (Calgary Planning Commission. 1914. 131. Calgary. Parks Department. Annual R~port. 19/6. p. II (mimeographed). 132. Ibid.• 1918. p. 7 and 1919. p. 6. 133. N.C.W .• Annual R~ports. 1905. p. 10: 1906. p. 97: 1908. pp. 40-41. 134. london. Public Utilities Commission. Annual Report. 1920. p. 68. 135. Ihid.. 1935. pp. 58-59: and W. Farquharson. interview. london. Onl.. Aug. 20. 1968. 136. H. Ballantyne. letter to E. McFarland. Nov. 7. 1968. Ontario. Youth and Recreation Branch. Kitchener file. Dominion Bureau of Statistics. Civic Playgrounds (1933). p. 2. lists Ballantyne as director or playgrounds. 137. Cochran~. ~d.. C~ntennial S,or.... pp. 182. 185. 138. Gladys Bartley. interview. Toronto. Jan. 30. 1968. 139. Ihid. 140. Toronto. S.H. Armstrong. "City Playgrounds." a report to Commissioner. C.E. Chambers. May I. 1925. Parks Department files. Toronto City Archives. 141. Toronto. City Playgrounds. McCormick R~cr~aTion C~ntre. Winter. 1924-1925 (onepage brochure). Parks Department files. Toronto City Archives. 142. Gladys Bartley. interview and Oscar Pearson. interview. Toronto. Feb. 23. 1967. 143. Ottawa. Annual Departm~nTal R~porTs. 1925. pp. 125-26. 144. Hamilton. 50th Anniversary Hamillon Playgrounds. p. 16. 145. Winnipeg. Public Parks Board. Annual R~port. 1920. p. 69. 146. Vancouver. Board or Parks Commissioners. Annual Report. 1925. p. 27. 147. Ouawa. Annual Departm~ntal R~ports. 1922.p. 273: Vacouver. Board or Parks Commissioners. Annual R~port. 1925. p. 27. 148. The Can'ldian Y.M.C.A .. STudy Commitl~~. the Years Ahead - A Plan for th~ Canadian Y.M.CA. in the NeXT Decad~ (Toronto: The National Y.M.C.A.s or Canada. 1945). p. 46.

The Vancouver Park System, 1886-1929: A Product of Local Businessmen W.C. McKEE

The men who shaped early English industrial cities forged centres with large manufacturing districts and expanding railway and wharfage facilities for moving their products to market. They made little or no provision for facilities such as community centres and public parks, and programmes such as work safety campaigns, from which they would apparently derive little direct financial gain. In Canada, the capitalists who founded industrial Montreal during the nineteenth century adopted the same narrow attitude. While a wide range of forces, from climate, topography and relative location, to cultural traditions and even the personalities of individual leading citizens help shape the urban environment, the image of the function of a city held by those dominant in city life ultimately determined the form and function of many features of city life. Therefore public facilities such as street networks, parks and beaches may evolve in response to the wishes of a select few, rather than the relatively impotent populace. Because most cities in North America have emerged in response to economic developments, such as the opening of agricultural or mining districts, the business community - that amorphous group who own and operate business enterprises - has nonnally determined the course of community development. This was certainly the case in Vancouver, which was the child of the forest industry, and later of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and subsequently evolved under the guidance of the local real estate community, shipping interests and other businessmen. The following paper will endeavour to illustrate how that group played the key role in determining the extent,shape and function of the local public park system, and turned that control to its benefit during the first four and a half decades of Vancouver's history. The quiet lumber town nestled on the south shore of Burrard Inlet,

This paper was previously published in Urban History Review, 3 (1978), pp. 33-49.

299

300

w.e.

McKEE

which became Vancouver in the spring of 1886, was governed from the beginning by businessmen. The original town of Granville was virtually the creation of a sawmill company. Then in 1884, the provincial government granted the Canadian Pacific Railway extensive lands in and around the village; the company in tum made Granville the western terminus of its transcontinental rail line. Attracted by the prospect of a rising new metropolis and the attendant opportunities, a new population flooded into the area and new businesses arose overnight. By 1890, total civic assessments had reached almost $10,000,000 and the population was 15,000. 1 The citizens entrusted with the task of creating and then shaping a civic park system were drawn from the business community. City council, the source of appropriations for parks, retained ultimate control over the direction of park development, and was dominated by merchants and industrialists. The city's first council, for instance, was composed of three real estate agents including Mayor Malcolm Maclean and CPR Assistant Land Commissioner L.A. Hamilton, five merchants, a contractor and two employees of Hastings Saw Mill. This pattern was followed with minor variation up to 1929.2 The civic Park Committee, formed by council in September,I888, was similarly composed. The three members drawn from council's ranks were: R. H. Alexander, who held the prestigious and influential position of manager at Hastings Mill; Samuel Brighouse, one of the city's major landowners; and Charles A.L. Coldwell, a civil engineer, road contractor and merchant. Council also chose three "gentlemen" (viz., men of commerce) from the public-at-Iarge to serve on the committee. A.G. Ferguson, the chairman of the committee, had been a CPR contractor and had built Vancouver's largest office blocks. Another appointee, H.P. McCraney, was a prosperous contractor. Finally, R.G. Tatlow had been private secretary to the Honourable A.N. Richards, LieutenantGovernor of British Columbia, and was a real estate speculator, insurance agent and investment counsellor. later, Tatlow was Minister of Finance in the provincial administration of Richard McBride. The nominal fee paid to each committee member reinforced the control of these and men of similar stations, since the less prosperous could ill afford to provide their time and services for such a meagre reward. Between ]888 and ]928, approximately 80 per cent of the positions in the Park Committee and its successor, the Park Board, were occupied by men who listed themselves as contractors and builders, merchants, proprietors of business, real estate brokers and speculators, insurance brokers, capitalists and managers. A further 7 per cent were professionals such as pharmacists, dentists, doctors and an engineer.) Dominant in both council and the Park Board, the business community was then potentially in a position to establish the type of park system it preferred. Civic park officials, as they embarked on the prolonged task of deve]-

Vancouver

301

oping a park system, quickly encountered their first problem. When the old Granville townsite, the core of early Vancouver, had been originally surveyed by colonial authorities in 1870, there had been no provision for a village green or park. This was an understandable omission since Granville was only a lumber town of little import with none of the refined tastes of the older centres of Victoria and New Westminster. Furthermore, the village apparently had no need for such a facility since it was surrounded by a natural park of verdant forest and streams teeming with fish. Similarly, when the Canadian Pacific Railway townsite was laid out to the west of Granville in 1885, no provision for park space was made. Lachlan Alexander Hamilton, instructed by the firm to layout the townsite for the future metropolis, produced a concentrated grid of north-south and east-west streets. To squeeze as much marketable land as possible from the site, he created straight streets of moderate width and made no provision for grand boulevards, plazas or public green space. 4 Subsequent surveys and real estate developments in the West End, on the Fairview slopes and in Mount Pleasant south of False Creek, also made no provision for park land. The provincial government established a single park reserve on its land on the south side of English Bay. Because most real estate and developers of early Vancouver - from small local firms to the ubiquitous Canadian Pacific Railway - appear to have believed that providing public green space was an unnecessary extravagance, the early city landscape was almost devoid of park reserves. Ironically, a local real estate broker, A.W. Ross, took the initiative in suggesting the acquisition of Stanley Park, Vancouver's first and largest park.· Although modern mythology would have us believe that the tO,OOO-acre forest situated at the First Narrows north-west of downtown Vancouver which is Stanley Park survived due to the profound foresight of the city's founders, such was not the case. As early as 1865, Captain Edward Stamp, who eventually erected Hastings Saw Mill and may therefore be considered the ··father" of Vancouver, was granted permission by pliable colonial officials to erect a sawmill on the government reserve at First Narrows, which eventually became Stanley Park. Stamp, however, soon abandoned the site when he discovered its unsuitability.s During the next two decades the reserve was also coveted as a site for railway yards, warehouses and wharves, and used as a graveyard, picnic ground and bathing site. The union of British Columbia with Canada in 1871 meant that the reserve thereafter fell under federal jurisdiction, and it appears to have been protected as a source of possible naval spars and a potential site for west coast defences. Had the federal government not assumed control over the reserve, its previous history suggests loggers and perhaps even land developers might have

302

W.e. McKEE

quickly encroached upon it, especially after the CPR designated Coal Harbour its Pacific terminus. At its second meeting on May 12, 1886, city council received a letter from A. W. Ross requesting that the city petition the federal government to give the large and wooded reserve to Vancouver for park purposes. 6 Known more for his commitment to land speculation than concern for the quality of city life, Ross had probably been motivated by commercial considerations. Since the reserve was not available for speculation, he probably believed that as a major park it would draw tourists and settlers to Vancouver and drive up the price of West End lands, which he was no doubt selling.7 Council concurred with his proposal and Mayor Malcolm MacLean - Ross' brother-in-law - petitioned Ottawa accordingly. By mid-1887, the Privy Council had approved the transfer of the reserve to Vancouver until such time as the Department of Militia and Defence required it. Civic officials obviously realized that the new park would, in addition to boosting the West End real estate market, provide a site for much needed recreational facilities for Vancouver residents. By mid-1888, clearing for an athletic ground for local rugby and cricket teams had started near Brockton Point, at the eastern end of the park. Bathing beaches and a zoo were eventually also developed on the peninSUla. Whether intentionally or not, the park tended to serve the more prosperous. As increasing numbers of the successful moved into prestigious homes in the West End, they quickly adopted the adjacent park as their summer evening and weekend playground. When streetcar service was extended westward from downtown to the Coal Harbour entrance to the park in 1906, increasing numbers of people from the lower income districts on the city's east and southeast sides managed to visit Stanley Park. However, tired from their long hours of labour, many would consider a trip to the park a major expedition. Inhibited by their low incomes and large families many probably also considered the nickel streetcar fare prohibitive. Although the park was serving the more prosperous, recreational facilities which intruded too much upon the park's lush forest were discouraged. In 1889 for example, the Park Committee opposed an application by the local Rifle Association for a strip of parkland twenty yards wide by up to 1000 yards long for a shooting range, as "the park is not adapted for such purposes .... "8 The committee was very conscious of the tourist value of Stanley Park. Twenty-two years later in its first published annual report, the Park Board noted with pride the reactions of two world travellers to Vancouver's wilderness park. Elbert Hubbard's statement that "There are parks and parks, but there is no park in the world that will exhaust your stock of adjectives and subdue you to silence like Stanley Park," was matched by a Lady Doughty's similarly warm appraisal, which had appeared previously in the English press. 9

Vancouver

303

The businessmen who formed the Vancouver Tourist Association in 1902 also saw the park's value as a major tourist attraction. In its annual brochures, the Association repeatedly stressed the incomparable beauty of Stanley Park. A 1904 pamphlet entitled Sunset Doorway of the Dominion, announced, "The people of Vancouver are not afraid of being called boasters when they say their park is the gem of the world. The globetrotter who has seen all the much talked and written about parks of London, Paris and New York, with all their artistic landscape beauty, feels new emotion upon entering Stanley Park."10 The Board of Trade, also cognizant of the value of the forest wilderness in drawing tourist dollars to Vancouver, vocally defended the park's natural beauty. In April 1910, it protested what it described as the wholesale slaughter of trees on the peninsula. The Park Board was in fact only clearing and underbrushing various sections of the park as a measure against the hazard of fire. It would be incorrect however, to contend that the city's business community always acted as a monolithic force when dealing with Stanley Park, for some believed more than others in the value of parks. One case is demonstrative. In February 1899, the federal government announced that it was about to lease Deadman's Island, a reserve in Coal Harbour adjacent to Stanley Park, for twenty-five years to an American industrialist, Theodore Ludgate, who proposed to erect a sa wmilI on the island. Most Vancouverites had assumed the island was part of the original Stanley Park grant. Reaction to the announcement was immediate and vocal. Six days after the lease had been signed, a delegation from the Board of Trade urged council to convey its opposition to Ottawa. Campbell Sweeny, local manager of the Bank of Montreal - and thus one of the most important businessmen in the city - also spoke out against the Ludgate lease. A.E. Tregent, a broker, submitted a petition signed by over 3,000 citizens opposing the lease and supporting the Park Board's claim to Deadman's Island. Members of council were divided over the issue, one group contending the lease was an assault on Stanley Park itself, while the other suggested Ludgate was bringing welcome industry to the city. As tempers rose, a public meeting was convened on February 27, 1899, to debate the issue. After four hours of stormy discussion, the meeting overwhelmingly adopted the motion of Charles Woodward, a prominent local merchant, "that this meeting of the citizens of Vancouver heartily approves of the leasing of Deadman's Island for manufactory purposes." The following day, the Vancouver Daily News Advertiser, a vocal opponent of the Ludgate scheme, denounced the meeting as a sham, rigged by the supporters and minions of the industrialist. 11 The newspaper contended that the city council, Board of Trade and local Trades and Labour Council spoke for the vast majority of the citizens by opposing Ludgate.

304

w.e. McKEE

The dispute entered the courts in 1901 and was settled in 1911 when Ludgate's title was confirmed by the Privy Council. The significance of this prolonged struggle lay in the persistence and dedication of both sides. A vocal group of businessmen successfully challenged the apparent boundaries of Stanley Park in order to bring industry to the city. On the other hand, a vocal group of "conservationists," composed in large part of pragmatic businessmen who valued Stanley Park as a tourist attraction, joined in the defence of what they believed was part of the park. In late November 1911, the Vancouver Province graphically summarized the discontent of the latter group with the eventual fate of the disputed property: The last tree has been cut down on "the isle of dreams," or Deadman's Island, and desolate and pathetic it lies across the entrance to Coal Harbour, shivering in its nakedness, a monument to materialism, vandalism and stupidity; cleverness and iIIegality.12

In subsequent years, the businessmen repeatedly proposed using the park proper for commercial gain, although no scheme ever measured up to Ludg~te's assault. Those controlling the city government which resisted such schemes believed that the optimum gain - both recreational and financial - would be achieved by retaining the large natural site. Where conservation could not be translated into tourist dollars, and where local political influence was weak, the result was the opposite. Such was the case at Hastings, Vancouver's second-largest park, which was located outside the municipal boundaries of Vancouver until 1911. Even before the province transferred the property to the city in the late summer of 1889, city council had considered using at least part of the park as an agricultural and industrial exhibition site. Vancouver believed that as it emerged as the great entrepot of Western Canada, the province would recognize the Vancouver fair as the provincial exhibition. However, the province continued to support New Westminster's fair, arresting Vancouver's plans until the early 1900s. In spite of the setback council did not abandon the idea, and did not transfer jurisdiction over the site to the Park Board. An economic boom and rapid popUlation growth after the turn of the century produced a core of businessmen, stock breeders and farmers intent upon establishing an exhibition. After a meeting in May 1907 resolved That ... the time has arrived for the establishment of an Exhibition Association for Vancouver to embrace fat stock, horses, [cattle], dogs, pOUltry, also horticultural, agricultural and industrial interests and also for the object of maintaining the City of Vancouver in that leading position she by rights should occupy ... Il

the Vancouver Exhibition Association was formed. In 1909, it was

Vancouver

305

granted a lease to the northern portion of Hastings Park, and the first fair was opened the following year. The decision to place the annual exhibition at Hastings Park was to result in the eventual transformation of the entire park. In 191 I the Park Board still reported that the portion of the park recently assigned to its care ... is a fine natural park. heavily timbered, and resembling Stanley Park in its grandeur. Driveways have been constructed and the very heart of the forest has been tapped by the opening of trails. The front facing Hastings Street East has been prepared and laid out for a future ornamental garden, while the work of clearing and grading for a playground is well under way.14

Concurrently, the Exhibition Association was razing the forest in its portion of the park, and constructing display and show buildings. The success of the annual fairs, in terms of both attendance and profit, was applauded by council, and in 1913 the Association was granted virtually all of the balance of the park. From that moment, the forest was cut further and concrete came to reign where the forest once had ruled despite the protest of Hastings homeowners, who waited a decade for their next park. While it concentrated its efforts developing Stanley Park and generating proposals for Hastings Park, the city paid virtually no attention to the park needs of the increasingly crowded lower income districts just east and southeast of the city centre. Those who desired park space were forced to use unoccupied property or CPR lands at Beatty and Georgia which were destined for commercial use. Because of an economic recession during the 18905, and perhaps because those who resided in the areas did not have the ear of those on council or the Park Board, the city did not acquire the needed park lands until after the turn of the century. Meanwhile, businessmen also played a central role in the eventual acquisition and development of many of Vancouver's smaller district parks. Toronto realtor Ephrain J. Clark provided the first such facility, near the isolated southeastern boundary of the city. As an experienced real estate operator;S Clark was probably motivated more by the prospect of profit than a spirit of philanthropy; owning substantial property in the vicinity, he probably believed such a park would improve the value of his land. Most smaller parks were not however acquired as gifts. Local ratepayers and progress groups - usually dominated by those in business took the initiative in pushing the city to purchase almost all the other neighbourhood parks. Events in Kitsilano and Grandview shortly after the turn of the century support this thesis. In Kitsilano the Improvement Association, led by real estate agents G.M. Endacott and F. Bayliss, headed the campaign to convince the city to acquire property at Kitsilano Beach for park land. When the city failed to provide sufficient funds, Endacott and his associates dipped

306

w.e. McKEE

into their pockets for the balance. 16 As residents of a newly opened district, the members of the Associatio~ had been motivated by a simple concern to upgrade their area; their desire to establish a local park corresponded to their concurrent wishes to have streets opened, sewers built and a streetcar service provided in order to make Kitsilano more livable. Nevertheless, the leadership taken by local real estate promoters in particular would suggest that some believed a waterfront park would add to the value of the adjacent neighbourhood. In subsequent years the Ratepayers Association continued to demonstrate concern for the "welfare" of Kitsilano, lobbying the city not to grant the licence required for a proposed carnival and to eject a religious sect which was holding services on the beach. This concern illustrated the determination by prosperous Kitsilano residents that their park reflect their aspirations for their district and contribute to the resale value of their property. The same type of leadership was assumed by local businessmen in Grandview, another new district at the head of False Creek. The local Progress Association, composed largely of merchants, campaigned for the areas's first park. Once the land had been allocated, the Association advocated its development as a floral park rather than a sports ground. The merchants and middle income homeowners of Grandview, like those in Kit~ilano, clearly wanted the park to upgrade their district and improve property values. Despite an organized, vocal campaign by local athletes- who pointed out the urgent need for a sp