Postcard Memories is a weekly series of historic postcard views and photos submitted by Marcel Rousseau.
Some were previously published by the Orillia Museum of Art and History and in the book Postcard Memories Orillia.
This 1920 view of the cannons in Couchiching Beach Park was taken by George A. Brown, a photographer and artist located in Orillia from 1899 until the early 1900s.
In 1905, the Dominion Government presented the town with two surplus cannons from Quebec to be set up in the park. The town had to commit to the cost of arranging and paying transportation to Orillia from Quebec City.
In the early years, the cannons were mounted on wooden bases and young people would pile onto the end of the cannons and try to tip it.
This postcard from 1920 shows them securely mounted on cement bases, much larger and higher than the cement base holding the cannons today. A young child can be seen sitting on the near cannon under the watchful eye of her mother and four young girls can be seen playing on the far cannon.
Behind the far cannon can be seen the park dock with a steamer alongside.
The $98 it cost for transportation to Orillia was money well spent. For over 100 years the cannons have continued to attract and delight all ages of visitors to Couchiching Beach Park.
