Bustling station platforms, with quaint steamers nearby, often appear on early Sparrow Lake postcards. It was at the station that rail passengers were met and taken by boat to one of the over 20 hotels that once flourished in this holiday area. Such a trip could take about three hours on this roughly three-mile lake, bordering the southern Muskoka arm of the Canadian Shield. Upon arrival, the outdoors beckoned to one and all.

Vintage postcards illustrate the stories of an earlier time in "cottage country." Bruce McCraw's lifetime familiarity with the lake has been augmented by contributions from local residents and guests of Sparrow Lake resorts.