Swimming in Wool?

 __By Tiffany Amber Stockton__

In July, I shared about a 150+ year-old piece of wedding cake in the Library of Congress. Since it's still summer, and folks are out at the beach, or the lake, or even running through sprinklers and swimming in back yard pools, I'm highlighting swimwear fashions this month.

Would You Swim in Wool?

Humans have almost always loved the water, but jumping in with style took some time to figure out. :) In fact, swimwear actually dates back to ancient Rome. Isn't that crazy? The history of swimsuits is all about changing fashions and shifting ideas of modesty.

Before bathing suits, folks wore bathing dresses. These knee-length, wool garments were more about looking proper than actually swimming. They even included corsets and bloomers! Umm...no thank you! Then again, these costumes weren't really for taking a dip in the ocean. They were designed for strolling by the sea. They were heavy, itchy, and far from practical.

The first iconic swimsuit was a red wool one-piece. Before Farrah Fawcett’s red swimsuit there was the Jantzen “Red Diving Girl” one-piece. Introduced in 1920 by Jantzen Knitting Mills, this wool suit was a game-changer. The diving girl logo, featuring a woman in a red suit mid-dive, made swimwear feel more functional than fashionable.

Have you ever seen the movie, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken? It's all about Sonora Carver and diving girls on horseback. I even gave a brief nod to Doc Carver's traveling show in my story for Blue Ribbon Brides. The elastic stitch in the suits the girls wore made it comfy, even in thick wool, and started a swimwear trend that has now lasted more than a century.

However, two-piece swimsuits actually date back to ancient Rome. In Sicily, a mosaic featuring "Bikini Girls" was discovered. These women, dressed in what looks like modern two-piece swimsuits, are shown dancing, running, and playing. I don't know if they swam in these outfits or used them as workout gear, but they certainly showed a lot of skin for those times.

Speaking of two-pieces, did you know the modern bikini was the brainchild of an automotive engineer? Louis Réard, a French engineer turned fashion designer, created a daring two-piece suit with just four triangles of fabric in 1946. Four triangles?! Without a doubt, a conversation piece, and likely the cause of many scandals. At first, only a nude dancer was brave enough to model it, but within a decade, stars like Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe made the bikini an everyday staple, thanks to changing social norms after World War II.

Finally, let's not forget about men's swimwear. Today, men’s swim trunks as solo bottoms are the norm, but back in the early 20th century, it was all about one-piece swimming costumes. Going shirtless at the beach was quite controversial, and it was even illegal in some places. In 1935, 42 men in Atlantic City were arrested for swimming without shirts as part of a protest. To be honest, there are some men who shouldn't go shirtless, but that's a whole other story. :) By 1937, the laws started to change, and men ditched the one-piece suits for the types of swim trunks we see everywhere.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* What kind of bathing swimwear do you don when you enter the water?

* Have you ever gone swimming in your regular clothing? What about in *less* than that? :)

* Are you unfazed by the current swimwear fashions, or would you rather see more modest wear?

** This note is for our email readers. Please do not reply via email with any comments. View the blog online and scroll down to the comments section.

Come back on the 9th of each month for my next foray into historical tidbits to share.

For those interested in my life as an author and everyday gal, what I'm currently reading, historical tidbits, recommended reads, and industry news about other authors, subscribe to my monthly newsletter. The latest edition was just sent out last week. Receive a FREE e-book of Magic of the Swan just for subscribing.

BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has embellished stories since childhood, thanks to a very active imagination and notations of talking entirely too much. Honing those skills led her to careers as an award-winning, best-selling author and speaker, while also working as a professional copywriter/copyeditor. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help improve their lives in a variety of ways, but especially from the inside out.

Currently, she lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children, one dog, and three cats in southeastern Kentucky. In her 20+ years as a professional writer, she has sold twenty-six (26) books so far and has agent representation with Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.

POW Escapes With Water Wings

by Anita Mae Draper

When I began my research on lifesavers and flotation devices, I had no idea that water wings existed in the early 1900's, nor that I would discover that a 1917 prisoner of war (POW) would use them in his great escape. According to the UK Imperial War Museum's online display, Swimeesy Water Buoys made of cotton, rubber and metal, were used by Lieutenant G. F. Knight of the Royal Flying Corps to float his food and clothes across the River Ems while escaping Strohen POW camp in Germany in September 1917. 

Swim bag in textile material and metal valve for inflation, before 1926. Source: Digital Museum

Manufactured by Dean's Rag Book Company of London, England, Dean's Swimeesy Buoys were crafted with a heavy cotton material and filled with "vegetable fibers" that may have been kapok. In the center where the wings meet, a metal valve unscrewed to allow inflation. The reverse of the Swimeesy Buoy displayed the manufacturer and instructions for proper use.

Swim bag in textile material and metal valve for inflation, before 1926. Source: Digital Museum

Reference to these water wings can be found in office specialty, dry good, bookseller and stationer catalogs such as the 1907 January issue of Bookseller & Stationer of Canada which contained this brief article on the Swimeesy Buoy:

Stationery & Office Products Catalogue, 1907. Source: archive.org

Soon, Lieutenant Knight's escape was being used by the manufacturer in its marketing campaign when retail showcards such as this one were used to promote the Swimeesy Buoys. Although Swimeesy Buoys were introduced to mimic the colorful wings of a butterfly, a plain white version was also available. 

Dean's Swimeesy Buoys, circa 1907. Dean's Rag Book Co.

Swimeesy Buoys appeared in all sorts of sales literature including The Chemist and Druggist which advertised companies and their merchandise. In the February 24, 1923 edition we find the following information, perhaps written by someone who was fed up with winter:

The Chemist and Druggist, February 24, 1923. Source: archive.org

In the following 1913 glass negative image, J.N. Callahan is shown displaying water wings marked as Coxey's Life Saver and Water Wings. 

J.N. Callahan with life saving device "Coxey's" Life Saver and Water Wings.", 1913. Source: Library of  Congress

Water wings are shown in this next photo of Claudia and Oliver Gardiner learning how to swim in Mary Lake, Ontario in July 1919. As there is no mention of size or manufacturer, we don't know if they are the Swimeesy or Coxey ones. 

Claudia and Oliver Gardiner learning how to swim in Mary Lake, Ontario in July 1919. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives

In 1931, a water wings design made from rubber appeared in Modern Mechanix and were then demonstrated on public beaches in Los Angeles, California. Twenty-five years later, Bernhard Markwitz of Germany invented and developed a swim aid for children after his three-year-old daughter almost drowned in a fish pond, however his final form of armbands didn't hit stores until 1964 when he marketed Swimming Wings. 

I never imagined water wings have been around so long, yet it's another example of how history continues to surprise me.

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Anita Mae Draper lives on the Canadian prairies where she uses her experience and love of history to enhance her stories of yesteryear's romance with realism and faith. Readers can enrich their story experience with visual references by checking Anita's Pinterest boards. All links available on her website at www.anitamaedraper.com

Early Life Saver Fashion Part 2

by Anita Mae Draper

Women's Life Savings Corps in Action. All heave together. Miss Alice Goodman and her sturdy Red Cross Life Savers of the San Francisco, Y.W.C.A. 1920. LOC Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C., Public Domain

Continuing from my last post, Early Life Saver Fashion Part 1, let's look at the advancement of women in the same field. As people found more leisure time, those living seaside took advantage of the beaches and swimming which increased the necessity for female life savers as well as men. In America, many local Y.W.C.A.'s worked with the Red Cross to train women with various exercises similar to the men's training, so they would be ready when needed. 

The above photograph shows life savers in 1920 wearing bloomers as part of their uniform. Although we see them as bulky material that would restrict movement as well as drag one down when saturated with sea water, they were at the very least an improvement on what women had been forced to wear while swimming previously. 

Women's Life Savings Corps in Action. Throwing the bell-buoy takes practice as San Francisco girl life savers find out. Y.W.C.A. 1920. LOC Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C., Public Domain

Throwing a buoy sounds like an easy exercise, but throwing it from a small bobbing rowboat can be difficult if you wish to do it with finesse and dexterity. After all, the aim needed to be on target to enable a successful rescue. Do you think the women are enjoying themselves, or could the photographer's presence be affecting them?

In my last post we showed male life savers of Hawaii with their surf boards. In this next image, we see women life savers working with an outrigger canoe in Waikiki. This would be important training due to the high surf surrounding the island which would put additional hazards to any rescue operation.

Women life savers haul up outrigger canoe at Waikiki. After practice in the surf these members of women's life saving corps pull up their boat under direction of David Kehanemoku, famous canoe man, 1920. LOC Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C., Public Domain

Note the change in women's swim fashion. The caption states the year as 1920, yet there is a huge difference between the bloomers in the top image and these ones which have what I'm presuming is a panty covered by brief skirt. One of the caption dates could be in error, or perhaps it's an east coast vs west coast attitude. 

An attractive Jr. life saver with rescue buoy, 1923. LOC Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C., Public Domain

Of course, the problem with this type of bathing suit is that it is similar to the old beach hut rented gowns where there is no support at all. The immodesty was the reason for the Victorian use of the portable beach hut where the genders were segregated from each other's view. But it seems that as the 20th century progressed, practicality won over modesty and decorum. 

So what do you think of this image of the 1929 St Kilda Surf Life Saving Team's swimwear uniform down in Australia? It is very similar to what the female life saver is wearing in the above photo, is it not? I actually laughed when I saw the word, Manly, tacked on at the end of the caption because I thought it referred to the...um...cut of the swimsuit, but after researching, I realized the team was at a carnival in the Manly suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. 

1929 St Kilda Surf Life Saving Team in a rare visit to a Sydney carnival, Manly. Public Domain from the collections of the State Library of NSW

Photos like these reassure us that groups and organizations took the leisure sport of swimming seriously at a time when the world was going through incredible social change. 

My next post on August 5, 2019 will feature the different types of life saving equipment available to life savers during this same period.

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Anita Mae Draper served a 20-year term working on air bases in the communication trade of the Canadian Armed Forces before retiring to the open skies of the prairies. She uses her experience and love of history to pepper her stories of yesteryear's romance with realism as well as faith. Anita Mae Draper's published stories appear in Barbour Publishing, WhiteFire Publishing, and Guideposts Books. Readers can enrich their story experience with visual references by checking out Anita's Pinterest boards. All links available on her website at www.anitamaedraper.com

Early Life Saver Fashion Part 1

by Anita Mae Draper

Shipwreck Victims of the Stranded SS Nord, 1913. Public Domain, Courtesy of UofW Freshwater and Marine Image Bank

Although every available person was used to rescue people from grounded or sinking ships, such as the SS Nord which lies off the Tasmanian coastline, the only requirement was a readiness and ability to help. But as open water bathing, better known as swimming, became a common recreational sport, sea-front communities realized they needed more than volunteer life savers and swimming lessons to keep inexperienced swimmers from drowning in the sea, especially where a high surf was involved.

Around 1896, the problem was solved with the modern day lifeguard, someone who was paid for keeping an eye on the bathers and rescuing those who required assistance.

In the last quarter of the 19th century, the U.S. Life-Saving Service (now the U.S. Coast Guard) trained in rescue preparedness to meet the demands of hapless swimmers, as well as aid people from boat wrecks and shore-line emergencies. 

Life-Saving Service crew in their surfboat with the beach cart and equipment. Undated U.S. Coast Guard photo. Public Domain

Lifesavers were mostly teams of uniformed men with padded life vests and surfboats, such as the lifesaving crew of Nantucket's Muskeget.

Lifesavers Pulling in a Boat, c 1900s. Public domain Wikimedia

By the 1920's, Lifesaver teams were still in action although their long pants and jackets were giving way to shorts and tops for quicker and safer movement of limbs in the water. Gone were the days when lifesavers battled exhaustion from cumbersome clothing that attempted to drag them down as well as the person they were trying to save.

Life Savers, Pablo Beach, Fla, 1919-1929. LOC Public Domain

Meanwhile, individual life guards patrolling the beaches were keeping up with trendy swimming fashion earlier than the lifesaving teams. Ever present was their life belt to which a rescue rope could be applied, leaving their hands free to swim to their target. The other end of the rope was attached to a reel where they, or the victim, could be reeled back to shore. 

A Life Saver on the Lookout, Between 1880 and 1906. LOC Public Domain

Over in Hawaii, Red Cross lifesavers were wearing sensible swimsuits by May 1920, and surfed to those in need with their trusty surfboards as part of their job. 

Red Cross life-savers at Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii. Left to right: John D. Kaukiko; Duke Kahanamoku, champion; Com. W.E. Longfellow, ARC of Washington D.C.; David Kahanamoku, life guard. May 18, 1920. LOC Public Domain

My next post (July 5th) will feature female life savers, their training, and how fashion changed during the early 1900's to accommodate the freedom of sport and exercise for all. 

Please share with us if you've had a positive experience with a life guard.

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Anita Mae Draper writes historical romance in the Land of Living Skies where her love of research and genealogy yield fascinating truths that layer her stories with unique and personal details. Her faith is reflected in stories of forgiveness and redemption as her characters search for love and home. Readers can enrich their reading experience by checking out Anita's Pinterest boards for visual references of her stories, and more, at the links on her website at www.anitamaedraper.com

Anita Mae Draper's published stories appear in Barbour Publishing, WhiteFire Publishing, and Guideposts Books

The Life Saver of Bognor Beach

The Illustrated London News, Volume 75, 1879

My research on bathing machines uncovered the inspiring story of Mary Wheatland who saved over 30 lives in her lifetime. Born Mary Norris in 1835,  she was only 14 when she got a job working as a house servant for the bathing woman, Martha Mills, at the seaside resort of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England. (Source: 1851 England Census) Mary loved to swim and seemed to handle the swift currents and high surf of the Bognor beach well so it wasn't long before Mary was put to work as a bathing assistant helping the patrons who visited the bathing machines. 

By the 1861 census, Mary, a bathing attendant, was married to George Wheatland, an agricultural labourer, and already had 2 of the 6 children who would be produced of the union. From all accounts, Mary's domestic life was a mess and she seems to have raised the children by herself, even while working. In fact, a year after her marriage, Mary was already famous for her life saving skills as proved in an entry in Bradshaw's Handbook for Tourists in Great Britain & Ireland. The gazeteer was published in 1858 and on page 65, one can find the following entry:

Bradshaw's Handbook for Tourists in Great Britain & Ireland entry for Bognor, Sussex

Swimming lessons were often offered as a service - for a fee - in conjunction with bathing machine use, but not everyone recognized the signs of drowning versus playing around, and many were scared to jump into the heavy currents lest they themselves be swept out to sea. Printed material, such as All About Bathing with Instructions, How to Swim and How To Save From Drowning, by Piscatory, was available, but Mary rescued her first drowning victim years before it was published in 1871.

East Parade, Bognor, England between ca.1890 and 1900. LOC Prints and Photographs Division

The Illustrated London News, Volume 75, 1879, reported that an article in a local halfpenny paper, Bersted Parish Magazine, told the story of a local bathing attendant who "...holds the saving of life to be as much the work of a bathing woman as the rinsing of a bathing dress." The article had been written by the Vicar of Bersted who interviewed Mary Wheatland who had recently received an honorary testimonial, on vellum no less, from the Royal Humane Society. After a bit of prodding from the vicar, Mary finally listed the bathers she'd rescued with the first being 20 yrs before (about 1859):

1. The heavy wife of a London brewer, whose soul was drifting into eternity and her body across the Channel.

2. A nurse whom a bathing-man had attempted to save, but gave up. Mary dashed in and completed the rescue.

3. A little foreign lady who was crying out as she drifted back to her Continental home. Mary added, "It was a strong sea and a ground swell. She swam round her, caught her by her dress, and paddled home with her foreign prize in tow."

4. A young lady who had treated Mary well and often brought her hot coffee.

5. Mary didn't remember anything about the lady except that she had snatched her from a watery grave.

6. A gentleman who turned to swim back upon experiencing heart trouble, but "knew no more" until awaking in his own bed. (The author of the article injected that he heard Mary received 20 pounds from the kind gentleman who apparently didn't miss it.)

7.-13. Mary needed some goading to admit this save because she didn't want to betray a confidence, but finally admitted that 5 years before, she came upon "six sportive young nymphs who had played away out of their depths and were drowning in a batch". Mary swam out and brought them in one-by-one while battling their water-soaked garments. Mary pleaded with the author not to say anything about it because the women had paid her "2 pounds back rent and sent her a bit of beef at Christmas".

Mary Wheatland, Bognor Celebrated Bathing Woman

Along with two medals and accompanying certificates presented by the Royal Humane Society for her courageous acts of bravery, Mary Wheatland was presented with another medal for "...saving the lives of six girls who had gotten into difficulty while swimming out to sea." In total, Mary is credited with saving the lives of over 30 drowning people, with one account saying the total is nearer to sixty.

By the 1891 England census, Mary was the owner of the yellow and red striped bathing machines located on the east side of the Bognor Pier, where she continued to work until retiring in 1909. 

According to the accompanying newspaper clipping, Mary didn't let her advancing age stop her from swimming or diving off a boat, although she made her last dive off the Bognor Pier on her 71st birthday. 

On April 1, 1924, at the age of 89, Mary Wheatland died at home. As befitting a woman of the sea, her funeral procession was escorted by Bognor fisherman who carried her to the Parish Church of Bognor, St. Mary Magdalene, where she rests in the church graveyard. 

Mary Wheatland is still remembered by local residents, many of whom are Mary's descendants. In 1999, the Bognor Regis Town Council set out its first permanent memorial to Mary when it held a ceremony to commemorate a memorial bench outside the church wall where weary travellers can rest and look out over the water Mary loved so much. 

Mary Wheatland is an inspiring role model for women of all ages. Mary worked her way through life, giving aid when and where it was needed. She didn't let a troublesome domestic life interfere with what she felt was her calling, and in the process, saved more lives than anyone else of her time. 

If you'd like to know more about bathing machine history, check out my previous posts:
March 5 - Rise of the Beach Machines Part 1
April 5 - Rise of the Beach Machines Part 2

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Anita Mae Draper served a 20-year term working on air bases in the communication trade of the Canadian Armed Forces before retiring to the open skies of the prairies. She uses her experience and love of history to pepper her stories of yesteryear's romance with realism as well as faith. Anita Mae Draper's published stories appear in Barbour Publishing, WhiteFire Publishing, and Guideposts Books. Readers can enrich their story experience with visual references by checking out Anita's Pinterest boards. All links available on her website at www.anitamaedraper.com

Rise of the Beach Machines Part 1

Replica of a bathing machine on Weymouth Seafront. Wikimedia creative commons

King George III led the way in a new trend when he used a bathing machine similar to the replica above and took his medicinal bath at Weymouth to the musical accompaniment of 'God Save the King''. Presumably, his men kept gawkers from looking at his bathing attire.

King George's granddaughter, Queen Victoria, also had a penchant for the bathing machine, a gift from her husband, Prince Albert, who encouraged her and the children to use it. One entry in her Journal shows, "Drove to the beach with my maids and went in the bathing machine, where I undressed and bathed in the sea (for the 1st time in my life)...I thought it delightful till I put my head under water when I thought I should be stifled." Queen Victoria's Journal, 30 July 1847. 

Queen Victoria's bathing machine, Isle of Wight. Pxhere creative commons

Queen Victoria's bathing machine is open to the public on the section of beach she loved and used on the Isle of Wight. Inside contains a changing room and a plumbed-in toilet. According to English Heritage, when she was done bathing, a rope and winch pulled the bathing machine back to shore.

The earliest image I found of a bathing machine is an 1806 drawing by John Hassell (1767-1825) which depicts Aberystwyth Castle in Wales with a bathing machine being pulled back to shore in the foreground.  

Aberystwyth Castle, 1806. Wikimedia creative commons

In 1829, British artist William Heath (1795-1840) created a hand-tinted caricature of society ladies enjoying a sea bath which he entitled Mermaids at Brighton.

Mermaids at Brighton, 1829. Digital Public Library of America, Public Domain

In 1865, a chromolithograph of John Leech's work, Scene at Sandbathe, has the description as "The female Blondin out done! Grand morning performance on the narrow plank by the darling x x x x". The image shows a woman with a billowing skirt, walking down a narrow plank between a bathing machine and the shore and eludes to Charles Blondin who inspired a generation of tightrope walkers, including females, after his infamous walk across the Niagara River in 1859 as well as other dangerous heights. 

Scene at Sandbathe. Wellcome Images, Creative Commons

If you look at the back of the bathing machine in the above image, you'll find a variation that appeared in bathing machines for a brief period of the 19th century. Although it's not on the royal bathing machines, you can see it in the 1806 image of Aberystwyth Castle. Here's a closer look at it in a drawing from Punch, 1870. The explanation is that the man has returned after a swim in the sea and apparently, his bathing machine has been walked off by mistake. 

"Ahem! Pray Excuse me, Madam. My Bathing-Machine I think." Punch, 1870. Wikimedia creative commons

Horses were the usual method of getting the bathing machines into the sea, and then walking them off. I wonder what the signal was to let the horsemen know the bathers were done, or did the men keep a watchful eye over the scene? 

Bathing Carts in Wyk, 1895. Wikimedia Public Domain

Bathing machines were also used in Europe, although not always pulled by horses. For example, the next image taken in 1908 from the coastal city and municipality of San Sebastian in Spain shows a bathing machine being pulled by oxen.

Donostia - San Sebastian hacia, 1908  Wikimedia Public Domain

Lest you think women had all the fun with sea bathing, I was excited to find this wood engraving from the Wellcome Library which shows "A man playing with his sons in the sea; his wife and daughters watch from the beach." I'm glad he added that it was his wife on the beach, because at first glance, I thought that perhaps a bathing machine wasn't so private after all if the neighborhood women could watch from the shore with their opera glasses, or field glasses, depending on the year of this undated engraving.

Papa Giving the Boys a Dip, undated wood engraving. Wellcome images Public Domain

In Rise of the Beach Machines Part 2 we'll take a closer look at advertising and rules of the bathing machine industry, fashionable swimwear of the period, and if it had an impact on North America.

Bathing machines can be seen in images from my recent post, From Rooftop Bandstand to King's Hall.

If you had a chance to use a bathing machine, what would be your biggest concern? 

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Anita Mae Draper is a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces who served twenty years on Air bases with her eyes on the skies. She uses her experience and love of history to pepper her stories of yesteryear's romance with hardship, faith, and joy. Anita Mae Draper's published stories appear in Barbour Publishing, WhiteFire Publishing, and Guideposts Books. Readers can enrich their story experience with visual references by checking out Anita's Pinterest boards. All links available on her website at www.anitamaedraper.com

Alberta Ranch Summer Recreation Photos

My childhood memories of summertime are filled with swimming in the lake, berry-picking, fishing, and hiking. Although I no longer enjoy those activities, it's nice to know things haven't changed much over the years and that when given the opportunity people of all ages still enjoy the same summer events as they did one hundred years earlier.

All of the photographs in this post, my final in a series of posts about life on an Alberta ranch in the early 1900's, were taken by rancher Hugh Beynon Biggs and donated to the Glenbow Museum Archives. 

Since the first one is merely entitled, Tennis players, Springfield [Biggs] ranch, near Beynon, Alberta, we don't know who the subjects are, but some of their faces are familiar from other photos in this ranching series. Although it couldn't be called common, there are enough photographs and mentions of tennis being played in prairie farm and ranch yards to know this was a popular past time for those who could afford it. 

Tennis players, Springfield [Biggs] ranch, near Beynon, Alberta. ca. 1900. Courtesy of Glenbow Museum Archives

There's nothing better on a hot summer day than heading down to a well maintained pool with water so clean you can see the bottom. Sounds good, but not for the common folk one hundred years ago. Back then, the old swimming hole was a dangerous place without a beach so getting in was a trek across rocks, or down a slippery grass or mud slop. Once you got in you couldn't see the bottom because you'd be stirring up the silt. The bottom itself was usually rocky or mucky or somewhere in between. We used to swim in a lake which was fun once you got used to the silky muck oozing up between your toes. Once you got out, you had to check for leeches, or blood-suckers as we called them, that would hide between your toes or go looking for scabs that had softened in the water. 

Boating and swimming at Springfield [Biggs] ranch, near Beynon, Alberta. ca. 1900. Courtesy of Glenbow Museum Archives

An amusing event happened a few years back when we stopped at a popular provincial campground. The beach was crowded and people of all ages were in the water. I jumped in with the rest of my family and was really enjoying myself, despite the fact that I couldn't see the silty bottom, until I felt a little sting on my leg. The second time it happened I asked a little girl of about six years of age who was splashing nearby if the lake had any blood suckers. She looked confused. I made an ow sound as I felt another sting. Suddenly, the little girl's face brightened. Her eyes grew round and the cords on her neck stuck out as she said, "There's leeeeeeches."

Yes, there were leeches. I'd forgotten about a small scrape on my leg and after making a dash for shore, I looked down to see a blood sucker clinging to my shin. Ugh. 

I've caught my biggest fish while casting from a boat in Alberta and Quebec, but you don't need a boat to get in some decent fishing. You don't even need to know how to choose a lure, tie a fly, or read the water, but all of these help to make the fishing trip fun. I would have loved to fish beside the person in this next shot. The water appears so quiet and still...the kind of day where you can see the fish reach up to snatch an insect from the surface, hear the little splash, and then seen the ripples spread out. This is relaxation at its finest. 

Fishing in creek near Springfield [Biggs] ranch, near Beynon, Alberta. ca. 1900. Courtesy of Glenbow Museum Archives

Unpack the wagon, unhitch the team, and settle down for a picnic while you watch the kids burning energy. The dog in this next photo sure knows how to enjoy life or perhaps he's pooped out from running? Likely as not he rode in the wagon with them and just wants so loving. 

Group on picnic, Springfield [Biggs] ranch, near Beynon, Alberta. ca. 1900. Courtesy of Glenbow Museum Archives

This next photo of the woman and child in a canoe shows that canoes haven't changed over the years. Since the water doesn't appear deep and it's near impossible to get in and out of a canoe without tipping it, I'm assuming that the photographer pushed the canoe out to where he wanted to take the photograph. It's a beautiful shot which shows the fashion of the day with an inspiring reflection in the water. 

Woman and child in canoe, Springfield [Biggs] ranch, near Beynon, Alberta. ca. 1907-1910. Courtesy of Glenbow Museum Archives

This final shot shows an aerial tram or tramway and is used to get from one side of a river or gorge to the other in cases where roads aren't possible or would take too much time to go around. It's similar to a zipline, except it's not on a slope which means it's moved across by sheer muscle, hand over hand. In this case, it looks like the ranch hand is crossing with his saddle which makes sense as he would leave his horse on one side of the river, and then cross over to the other side, do his work, and then return.

Man on tramway over creek near Springfield [Biggs] ranch, near Beynon, Alberta. ca. 1900. Courtesy of Glenbow Museum Archives

Although the man crossing the aerial tram in the above photo is hard to see, he could also be sitting on a seat like in this following image from A Railroad in the Clouds by J. Eglinton Montgomery, first published in Scribner's Monthly Illustrated Magazine for People, and then with the issues from May 1877 to Oct 1877 compiled in The Century, Volume 14 which happens to be a free download at this time.

Engineer Crossing the Chasm Over the Rimac, The Century, Volume 14

So why am I including the aerial tram on this post about summer activities? Because in today's world zipline adventures have sprung up wherever there is any kind of a slope, gorge, or valley and it's a great way to look at the earth in an exciting way.

Have you ever taken a ride on a zip line or aerial tram? Care to share your experience? 

For more photos of this Alberta Ranch, check out these other posts:

Feb 5, 2016 - Alberta Ranch Winter Photos

Mar 5, 2016 - Riding Side Saddle

Apr 5, 2016 - Ranch Photos Women and Chores

May 5, 2016 - Alberta Ranch Cowboy Chore Photos 
Jun 5, 2016 - Alberta Ranch: Summer Haying

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Anita Mae Draper's stories are written under the western skies where she lives on the prairie of southeast Saskatchewan with her hubby of 30 plus years and the youngest of their four kids. Anita's short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, published in A Cup of Christmas Cheer, Volume 4, Heartwarming Tales of Christmas Present, Guideposts Books, October 2014, was a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Her first novella, Romantic Refinements is found in Austen in Austin Volume 1, WhiteFire Publishing, Jan 2016. Discover more at  www.anitamaedraper.com

Romantic Refinements by Anita Mae Draper

It's the Texas-style version of Marianne Dashwood in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility...

A  misguided academy graduate spends the summer falling in love . . . twice.

One of four novellas based on Jane Austen's heroines found in 

Austen in Austin Volume 1