As we’re experiencing a particularly snowy February, here’s a photograph to remind us that the warm days of summer will be here again before too long. This shot was taken by Harold McMurrich Rathbun, grandson of Hugo Burghardt Rathbun, the man who established Deseronto as a major lumber centre in the late nineteenth century.

It was taken on a trip to the Sandbanks in Prince Edward County in July 1908. To modern eyes, the people in the group seem rather over-dressed for a July day at the lake. Look at the thickness of the coat that the man is carrying. And what on earth did he have in that bag?

The negative of this photograph is one of many taken by Harold M. Rathbun that were presented to Deseronto Archives by the South Fredericksburg Heritage Committee in 2005. The photo’s reference number is HMR2-06-28.