Crossing the Harbour in Winter

At first, the above photo might look like a lakeboat in ice, end of story. Captioned March, 1950 the Canada Steamship Lines vessel Weyburn is being towed through ice, perhaps by the tug Salvage Prince. In the background can be seen the buildings of Royal Military College. (Queen's University Archives). Christmas trees dot the ice road from the mainland to Wolfe Island. 

Brian Johnson is one of five captains of the Wolfe Island car ferry Wolfe Islander III. Today, Brian combines his marine career with writing. Fascinated by stories and legends of the Thousand Islands area he has written for the Kingston Whig-Standard, Telescope magazine and the Great Lakes Boatnerd Website. Brian is also the founding and current president of the Wolfe Island Historical Society. A close-up view shows at least seven workers watching the progress of the tow: 

The 250 foot-long, coal-fired Weyburn was launched in Midland in 1927, plying its trade on the Great Lakes until 1961. Nearly swamped during a November storm later in 1950!  Serving notably in package freight service from the Lakehead to Montreal, Weyburn was laid-up at the end of the 1961 season at Kingston and did not operate again. Interestingly, sold in 1963 to Maryland International S.A. (Mexico) for off-Lakes service and left the Great Lakes, registered Panamanian.  Sailed from Houston TX for Pakistan with cargo of grain; engine failed and towed from Bermuda to Ceuta, Spanish Morocco and repaired.  Tried to cross the Indian Ocean to Cochin, India in a monsoon, forced back and towed to Karachi where she was laid-up and sold for scrap in 1966.

This December 17, 1925 Whig article explains the operations in the top photo:

The open channel was used by tugboats taking lakers from as far east as the LaSalle Causeway to the Kingston (Collingwood Shipbuilding Company in article) Shipyards. Such tows provided work for the shipyards during the long months of winter lay-up. It's doubtful that the hay market was as strong in 1950 as it was in 1925. The tree-marked ice road led to the mainland, where the hay was loaded into boxcars most likely at Place d'Armes for the 'out-of-town market'.