Hi All! I am still stuck here on one of the 30,000 Islands in Georgian Bay. My ship sank and all the treasure chests containing photos, stories and interesting facts have sunk to the bottom. It's your job to try and find all the cool stuff. The more you look through the chests the more clues you'll find that will get me home to Midland, Ontario, Canada. This section of the web page outlines what children in the past did for fun. Different games and activities that children in the past played are found in these pages. Hopefully you will find life in the past exciting, and maybe bring back and play some of the old games.

Midland was a victim of harsh winters, as the winter season was very long and demanding. Still, the people of the town tried to enjoy as much as possible the winter wonderland. They would go on sleigh rides, walks and they would go on ski trips. These kids are passing the cold winters playing on a little sleigh pulled by their dogs.

1991-0001-0017 or PA-177379

This is a sleigh the townspeople of Midland used to go to all the great events that happened during the winter. The sleigh was the best and only transportation during this time.

1991-0001-0079 or PA 177978

Here we see a town get together with the sleighs and horses. This was usually very hard to do because of the severe weather. Therefore, these get togethers were always special times. They were joyous, fun, and extremely popular.

>1991-0001-0071 or PA 178772

Before the scoot and even after, ice sail boats like this one were used to transport fishermen and hunters up Georgian Bay. They were also used for just plain fun. People would organize races and other activities.

1991-0001-0035 or PA-177507

What were ice boats primarily used for?

a) transporting fisherman

b) for just plain fun

c) all of the above

Cool Links

Children of the Pastl

Recreation in early Midland

Turn of the Century Fashions including kids clothes.

Links Around the World

Brian Orser. Biography of an olympic figure skater, Brian Orser.

Winter Solstice and Children's Day Stories for children to read.

Life of an Early Settler.

Further Reading and Bibliography

All icons and graphics are for viewing purposes only, any downloading of them will be in violation of copyright laws.

Good quality copies of J.W. Bald's photo can be obtained from the Huronia Museum c/o Bill Smith 1-705-526-2844 or through the National Archives of Canada, just refer to the archive number at the bottom of each picture.