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.
The Norway Pines Camp was located north of Orillia on the west side of Highway 11, just south of the South Sparrow Lake Road.
Dwarfed by the stately pines we can see several one-room log cabins each with a large porch. These cabins were built and operated for many years by Al Hawkins.
Close inspection of the postcard title reveals the name Norfolk Pines Camp printed under the name Norway Pines Camp. This indicates the name was changed after this postcard was published.
Northern “folk” would have appealed to Al, a hardworking, enterprising but very sociable businessman; however the name “Norway” or “the way north” possibly had more commercial appeal.
The Hawkins family had a long history in the Washago and Lake St. George area.
John Hawkins was the first wagon maker and blacksmith at Washago in the 1850s. He later turned to hotel-keeping and opened a bakeshop in 1875. The South Sparrow Lake Road and Highway 11 area is still known as Hawkins Corners.
