Amazing Late 1940s Footage Of Chemong Lake "Floating Causeway"

Before the Causeway was completed in 1949, there was a floating bridge—aka "Floating Causeway"—connecting Bridgenorth to Ennismore for many years.

It must have been like driving on water, or car surfing, or driving on a dock—especially when waves would come crashing over it.

Watch this amazing footage below from Roy Studios in the late '40s from a promotional film called Call of the Kawarthas showing the Chemong Lake floating bridge in use...

Here is a short bit of film from 'Call of the Kawarthas', a promotional film made by Roy Studios in the late 1940's. It shows the Chemong Lake floating bridge in use.

Posted by Vintage Peterborough, Lindsay and the Kawartha Region on Thursday, March 7, 2013

So let's just never complain about the Causeway again.

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Pagoda Bridge In Jackson Park To Undergo Restoration

The City of Peterborough has hired Wilson Carpentry from Peterborough to undertake an extensive restoration of the Pagoda Bridge located in Jackson Park. The project will address structural and roof components required due to significant deterioration.

File Photo By Evan Holt

Work is scheduled to start this week and will continue for eight to 10 weeks. This preservation project is important, as the bridge is a significant piece of Peterborough's architectural heritage.

In order to ensure public and worker safety, the bridge—which made our list of top romantic spots in Peterborough—will be closed to pedestrian travel beginning August 27th for about six weeks. Pedestrians should plan alternate routes during this period.

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The Backstory On The Hilarious Citiots Improv Troupe

The Citiots Improv have become a fixture in Peterborough, playing monthly sold-out shows at the Gordon Best Theatre on Hunter Street —and more and more private gigs around Ontario as they grow in popularity. They provide, as renowned Canadian improv comedian Adam Cawley describes, "hilarious, fast paced, unforgettable improv." (Cawley himself has performed with them on several occasions.)

How did this awesome, influential troupe come to be? One of its original founders, Ray Henderson, explains...

2009

"Ray! Can you get some of the gang together and do a show at the Bethany Hills Ski Resort this weekend? I’ve called you guys 'The Citiots’!'" That phone call from the legendary Paul O’Sullivan in February 2009 changed the lives of myself, Dan Smith, Luke Foster, and everyone who followed.

Up until that point, Paul and I had been the producers of the successful “Impros vs Joes” series at the Gordon Best, which began in 2008. "Improvs vs Joes" was an evening of improv that included some of Paul’s famous friends (Jack Mosshammer, Patrick McKenna, Lisa Merchant, Colin Mochrie, and, of course, his wife, Linda Kash, to a name a few) as well as local “Joes”, including students from his classes as well as Dan Smith and Luke Foster. The latter had already achieved some success with their former troupe, “The Shrimps”, years earlier.

ALWAYS PICK UP THE PHONE

Back to the phone call from Paul O'Sullivan…I immediately called Dan Smith and asked if he would do the show with me, and who else he thought we should ask. Fast forward to that night in February 2009 in Bethany Hills, as five very nervous improvisers sat around a dinner table at the resort, pouring over the games list, hoping we remembered how to play each game. Hoping our mouths wouldn’t fail us and allow for noise to exit in some cohesive and entertaining fashion.

That first ever Citiot crew consisted of myself, Dan and Luke, as well as Phil Oakley and Emily Doyle—a performer that had been a part of my shows with Arbor Theatre since she was 8 years old in 1999. The ski resort must have liked us, because “The Citiots” were hired for 2 more shows that spring (Megan Murphy made her debut at the second show).

Dan Smith with special guest Adam Cawley at a show

We did well in Bethany, but Dan and I didn’t think that a Peterborough audience would be ready for a Citiots show. Afterall, they knew us. Why would they pay to see us? And Peterborough already had the Impros vs Joes Show.

Flash forward to November, 2010. The week of an Impros show, Paul called me to let me know that he and Linda were double booked and couldn’t make the Friday gig. I called Dan. We already had the sponsorship in place. The room was booked. Should we make it a Citiots show?

NERVES: THE FIRST SHOW AT GORDON BEST THEATRE

As people climbed the stairs of the Gordon Best that November 2010 night, they were greeted at the door by a familiar face, me, who explained to them that it was no longer an Impros show, but a “Citiots” show. Same people…ish would perform, I told them, minus the “celebrity” element, and that it was up to them if they wanted to stay. They did.

The night was a success, with Luke, Dan, Phil and now Paul Nabuurs and I, along with Danny Bronson on the keys.

THIS THING IS GETTING REAL

May 2011. The same situation arises with Impros. Cancellations. But we improvise again with the same plan. We make it a Citiots show. Ray, Luke, Dan, Paul, Danny and Megan—and now with 17-year-old Kate Ethier as a guest. Result: Same happy audience.

June 2011. Why not actually PROMOTE an actual Citiots Show? Why not see if people want to come and see us? Ray, Dan, Kate, Danny, and now Kenn Gibb and Pat Maitland joined the fray. And people came. And people laughed. It was beautiful.

MOMENTUM BUILDS

Over the years now, we have performed (almost) every month at our homebase, the Gordon Best, as well as many other venues, private parties, fundraisers and corporate events. We have secured sponsorships from industry juggernauts, Steam Whistle Brewery and PTBOCanada.com. We have an official photographer, Jess Latone of J.Lee Photography. We received the Wire Award for “Best Performance Artist”, as voted by fans.

We have shared the stage with some of the Improv industry’s best, including Patrick McKenna, Linda Kash, Peter Wildman, and Mantown Improv (Canadian Comedy Award Winners for best Improv Troupe). We have brought local icons up on stage with us, including Paul Rellinger, Catherine Hanrahan, Caley Bedore, The Jobless boys, and Mike Judson. 

Our current lineup of Ray, Dan, Luke, Kenn, Paul, Kate, Mike, Danny and Andrew Root have been a unit since January 2014. We know that we owe it all to this amazing and incredibly supportive community who continually come out and share laughter and love with them.

Oh, and Paul O'Sullivan, thanks for your phone call. You changed our lives forever.

—written by Ray Henderson

---------------

The Citiots next show is Friday, April 21st at 8 pm at Gordon Best Theatre. Learn more about them on their website.

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Someone Identified Their Current House From A 1922 Aerial Photo Of Peterborough

Vintage Peterborough Facebook page posted this great aerial pic of Peterborough circa 1922...

A woman named Tara saw the picture on Facebook, and identified the home she currently resides in...

So anyone else see their house in the picture?

[via Vintage Peterborough Kawarthas Facebook page]

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There Is A Tunnel Between PCVS And The Armoury Dating From The 1930s

We have heard over the years anecdotally about an old tunnel that exists under PCVS—that though not in use for many years, some have tried to access.

We decided to reach out to renowned local historian/archivist Elwood H. Jones from Trent Valley Archives to ask him about its existence.

Historical photo courtesy Trent Valley Archives: Armoury (at left) and PCVS (at right)

"There was a tunnel between PCVS and the Armoury apparently dating from the 1930s that was intended to facilitate cadets from the school who would be saved outside movement in tough times," Elwood confirms to PTBOCanada.

"It is definitely blocked off now," Elwood adds. "I have seen similar tunnels that were used for steam heating conduits. As a university student at Saskatchewan, I used such tunnels to get across campus more quickly and without frost bite. When I viewed the PCVS site, my impression was of a large storage room."

Cool stuff nonetheless.

Also, the photo above Elwood sent us from the Trent Valley Archives office gives context for where the tunnel is between the Armoury and PCVS. It's also a really neat pic.

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Happy 50th Anniversary Of The National Flag Of Canada

Today (February 15th) marks the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag. Parks Canada employees at the Trent-Severn Waterway—along with volunteers from the Peteborough community—celebrated it by recently painting the Canadian flag on the ice in front of the Historic Lift Lock...

BEAUTY SHOT FROM ABOVE...

Canada’s flag turns 50 today! We celebrated by painting it on the ice under the PLL. Check out the video! #FLAG50 http://t.co/BCmfO5knb1

— TrentSevern Waterway (@TrentSevernNHS) February 15, 2015

Watch the full video here of the flag being painted...

When Parks Canada employees at the Trent-Severn Waterway wanted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag, they invited the community of Peterborough to join them in a truly Canadian undertaking. Here's what community spirit, patriotism, and a little bit of winter built at the Peterborough Lift Lock National Historic Site.

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Awkward Group Photo In Front Of The Lift Lock In 1908

Maybe it was super hot that day, or maybe there was a tiff over where to eat in town, or maybe people didn't smile then... but either way this is a totally awkward group photo from circa 1908. Please discuss.

[Photo via Vintage Peterborough Lindsay and the Kawartha Region Facebook page]

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