This photo was published in the County Herald, June 17th, 1955. it was accompanied by this caption:
“Fire Drill for Mariners” Some 80 employees of the CPR’s steamship service and support employees take their annual fire fighting and safety instruction before the opening of the navigation season. Former Midlander T. C. Howard in the light jacket is now the district supervisor of safety, loss and damage.

With the fire onboard the Noronic, September 17th, 1949, still fresh in travellers minds, The CPR was investing in fire safety and making certain that the travelling public knew of this effort. The fire killed 118 and perhaps as many as 139 people in the early morning hours while Noronic was alongside Pier 9 in Toronto Harbour. In a time before sprinkler systems, public address systems, emergency lighting and effective fire extinguishers, the passengers were awoken in panic and had to find their way off the ship through dark, smoke filled passages that were quickly getting hot. The fire which was likely caused by a dropped cigarette in a linen closet, ravaged the ship and in less than an hour the metal decks were white hot and began to collapse. The victims died of smoke inhalation and severe burns, some died from leaping from the ship to the pier. Many bodies were nearly incinerated and were never identified.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Noronic

This photo was taken in the summer of 1956 on Flat Point, also called Paradise Point, at the newly named Patterson Park. The park was named after George Patterson to honour his role as a community leader and volunteer. Mr. Patterson died in March of 1955 and had been the Reeve of Port McNicoll for 14 years.

A large group of swimmers, adults and children, is seen swimming and enjoying the raft. This photo is a one in a series taken for the book “The Story of Simcoe County”, which was produced by the Tourist and Industrial Committee of the County Council of Simcoe.  The author was the former premier of Ontario, the Honourable Ernest C. Drury and was printed by Midland Press Limited. The negatives were held in their possession until they were donated to the Huronia Museum in 2006. This photo was not printed.

Drury was born and raised in Oro where he was Reeve for 13 years and served as the eighth Premier of Ontario from 1919 to 1923.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Charles_Drury

This a family photo taken in 1946 or 1947. It shows my grandfather, George Burns and his three children swimming at Flat Point, also called Paradise Point. Catherine Burns Micallef is seen to her fathers right. Pat Burns is seen in his fathers arms and my father, Charles Burns, is seen to his fathers left. The background shows children enjoying the raft and the calm water.

This photo shows diesel locomotives in Port McNicoll to test the trestle. Steam is being replaced by diesel across the CPR, Port will be the last place in Ontario to use regularly assigned steam. Hood unit 4012 is a model FA1 built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1950 and will be retired in 1965, 8598 is a road switcher model RS10 also built by MLW but in 1956 and retired in 1982. The scene is beside the coal trestle & chute in the Port yard. Official were concerned about the weight of the engines affecting the trestle, combined weight was 518,000 pounds.
This photo was taken in the spring of 1956
Caption courtesy of Tom Barber

All comments and questions are welcome.