Name/Title
Beachfront Scene, Wasaga Beach, OntarioEntry/Object ID
2020.802.67Scope and Content
PhotographContext
The beachfront scene shows cars driving and parked on the beach with buildings along the shoreline. The photo faces east along the Nottawasaga Bay shoreline towards the mouth of the Nottawasaga River. A large hotel can be seen in the distance.
The photos contained in the Garvey collection were photographed and developed by Frank Garvey, Maple Leaf Film Service. Frank arrived in Wasaga Beach in 1929 and opened his photography business operating from two tents on the beachfront. In 1930, Frank rented a property on Main Street, opening the Maple Leaf Film Studio. It was a small studio and had space to develop pictures. This meant washing films in the bay as part of the developing process would no longer be required. Frank left his photo business circa 1936-1937 when he purchased The Malty Way Sandwich Shop and opened Garv’s Marine Lunch Bar. He continued with his passion for photography by photographing people at the Lunch Bar. This is also where Frank met his wife, Judy, whom he married in 1940.
Judy Garvey notes “He’d take pictures of all the local hotels, and lodges and businesses and make postcards out of them. Then he’d offer them to the businesses and the negatives so he could make more when he ran out.“ Frank also provided a service of personal photographs for sale. Pictures featured people sitting at a lunch bar, riding bicycles or horses on the beach, strolling Main Street shops, and playing games in the arcades.
The Garvey’s eventually relocated to Meaford where they opened and operated a grocery store and then a clothing store. Frank was the Mayor of Meaford from 1962 to 1964.
In 2000, the Garvey Collection was donated to the Archives by Judy Garvey.Acquisition
Accession
2020.802Source or Donor
Judy GarveyAcquisition Method
GiftDimensions
Height
2-3/4 inWidth
4-1/2 in