Episode 15: The Origins of Canoe Lake‘s Portage Store (1935-1975)

Episode 15: The Origins of Canoe Lake's Portage Store (1935-1975)

In this episode with the help of an old memoir from my Canoe Lake neighbour, Isabel Cowie who with 3 friends once ran it in the 1950s, I’m going to share all that I have researched and can remember about the origins of the Portage Store from 1935 to 1975 and its role as the social centre of Canoe Lake.

For those unaware, on a typical weekend during the heat of the summer, hundreds of visitors pass through and admire Canoe Lake from the vantage point of Portage Bay. For the really adventurous, it's to collect their rented canoe and equipment from the outfitting shop in order to venture off north or south into Algonquin Park's interior for a well-deserved respite from the chaos of their daily lives. For local residents, it’s the place to get gas and oil for the motorboat, ice for the fridge or propane ice-box, check-in with the world by picking up a daily newspaper, or grab a well-deserved ice cream cone after a hard day of cottage chores. For tourists passing through the Park on their way to Toronto or Ottawa along Highway 60, it's to stop for gas or a meal at the Portage Store restaurant with a quick visit to the second-floor gift shop. For another type of adventurer, it’s an opportunity in relative safety to indulge in one of Canada’s most endearing past-times, that of renting a canoe and going for a paddle.