Andrew Simpson: Mr Knox and his 16 passengers in Orillia Ontario on a sunny day in 1911

Monday, 15 December 2014

Mr Knox and his 16 passengers in Orillia Ontario on a sunny day in 1911

Orchard Point, 1911 from the collection of Frank Kehoe

I am in Orchard Point, Ontario with a picture from 1911 which I grant is a long way from Chorlton, but images travel and this one in its way is a perfect piece of history.

It comes from a collection posted by the Orillia Museum of Art & History which I often visit because it “showcases the best of Orillia and Lake Country's culture and history through local and nationally significant exhibitions. OMAH's Discovery Gallery makes art touchable and fun for all ages”

And while I doubt I will ever be able to visit OMAH for those who might it “is located in the heart of Orillia's downtown shopping and restaurant district and is wheelchair accessible.”*

And so to the picture which I think works on many different levels for here is another of those images where lots of things are happening.

Mr Knox, and some of the children

At the centre is Mr Knox who we will return to later but for me it is the sixteen children who have crowded on to his car that draw you in to the photograph.

Some stare directly into the camera in the way that so many people did in those early picture from the beginning of the 20th century.

Others concentrate on the road ahead or the conversations of their friends.

But above all it is that sheer pleasure and novelty of a ride in a motor car and reminds me of that moment when Mr Shaw of Shaw’s Garages on Barlow Moor Road proudly stood in front of the first street side petrol pump in Chorlton. As with this picture the camera had drawn a crowd but sadly unlike this one apart from Mr Shaw the rest of the people are lost to history.

Lillian Harris

But here sitting in Mr Knox’s car on that sunny day in 1911 are the names of all the children who climbed aboard and with those names a little of the story of the day.

The photograph is in the possession of Frank Kehoe who writes

“In 1911, sixteen children living at Orchard Point were given a real treat, a ride in a horseless carriage belonging to a Mr. Knox from Chicago. Mr. Knox had his car shipped from Chicago for his use when he spent his summers at the Klondike Hotel located at the Atherley Narrows. The hotel burnt in 1914.

Back Row (L. to R.) Aubrey Gaudaur, Greta Harris, Mary Gaudaur, Stella Gaudaur, Rownea Gaudaur, Reg Gaudaur, Grace Stackhouse. Middle Row (L. to R.) Lillian Harris, Eva Harris, Nellie Harris.

In front of Mr. Knox (the driver): Mavis Gaudaur, Stanley Harris, Oswald Harris, Selby Gaudaur, Mansel Harris.

Still residing in Orillia are Reg Gaudaur’s children, Barbara McEown, Ross Gaudaur and Stella Gaudaur’s son, Frank Kehoe.”

So this makes Mr Kehoe’s picture such a treasure. For those in Orillia the names of the children are a direct link to the towns’ past while for me the image captures the early age of the motor car, and perfectly captures that sunny day in 1911 when the car came to town.