Excursions to Grand Bend in the 1930's

The beach at Grand Bend has been a destination filled with fun and excitement for generations. Here are two pictures taken of Lois and her friends on the beach in about 1930. Of course, no one among Lois' group owned a bathing suit. When they went to the beach, they -- like lots of other young people -- needed to rent a bathing suit. Lois remembers that suits came in two qualities: cotton and wool. While the cotton suits were cheaper, they were also far more revealing, and Lois always hoped that the guy she was with would give her enough money for a wool suit. (Lois remembers that it was seldon that she would have any money of her own.) At the bath house you would pay your $1 and for that, you would be rented a bathing suit and access to a private change room where you would hang your clothes. The bathing suit would very likely still be wet from the person before you. However, for the rental period you would be free to paddle in the lake, take pictures, or play in the sand. In the top picture are Kelly, Lois' younger brother and his girfriend Eileen Dunsmore (on the left), Lois, and Gerald Riley whose family was a good friend of the Hearn Family. The second picture includes Lois' younger brother Ivan. He is the guy in the wool suit, the tie, and the hat. Surely, the suit was desperately uncomfortable on a hot day on the beach. Either, Ivan didn't have the money for a bathing suit, or quite possibly, he felt he looked more attractive in his formal suit than he would in a bathing suit.