This photograph is from a series depicting operations at Muskoka Wood Manufacturing Company (now Tembec), circa 1950, in Huntsville, which was donated to Muskoka Heritage Place’s archives in 1970 by Art Hutcheson.

Once one of Muskoka’s major employers, the logging and wood manufacturing industry today faces challenges to sustain economic viability: trade tariffs, fuel costs, labour supply, distance to market, and environmental impact overheads, for instance.

A healthy economy is driven by a number of interdependent sectors. One traditional Muskoka industry which has historically been able to ride out economic downturns is tourism. As long as Muskokans look after our beautiful natural environment and invest in superior customer service to deliver authentic value, tourism will  continue to have traction, even while the wheels fall off other sectors.