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The building to the right is the Teen Recreation Center "Teen Canteen" where physical education classes were held. In addition, the Teen Recreation Center was as a location for many teen dances held on weekends during the 1940s and early 1950s. These dances were held regularly on Friday nights and were not organized by DHS, though many teachers served as chaperones.
The outdoor pool located on the Wabigoon river was a central location for family activities during the July 1st long weekend.

The swimming area was approximately 30 feet by 60 feet and located very close to the present day dam..

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Click here to see another image taken during July long weekend in Dryden during the 1940s>

An arial view of the outdoor recreation center.

Notice the diving tower in the bottom right. The diving tower consisted of four platforms where each successive platform was five feet higher. Diving competitions were often held here. Many alumni have mentioned that Ted Hebditch (a teacher at DHS during the late 1940s) was a very accomplished diver.

Boys often went fishing in this area with "bamboo" fishing poles that they purchased for "two bits" ( 25 cents) at Jack's Hardware store located on Queen street.

On the west side of the Wabigoon river, the Dryden paper mill stored large piles of logs that were floated on the river from harvesting operations south of Dryden. It has been frequently said that the best fishing was done on the days that the logs were floated on the river.

One popular event on holiday weekends was the greasy pole competition. This event entailed the removing of the bark and branches from a poplar tree, and then covering the log with heavy motor grease. Two men wearing spiked boots would step on the log, and then the log was pushed away from the attached walkway. After receiving a signal from the judge, they would run on the spot causing the log to rotate in the water. The object of the competition was to continually stop and reverse running directions until one of the competitors fell into the water.

Another event using a greased log required that a competitor walk the length of the log and take hold of a flag at the end of the log. The log was attached to the foundation that supported the diving platform and was held about four feet from the top of the water.

Canoe "jousting" (an event similar to the more deadly competition between knights of honour during the middle ages) was also a popular activity. In teams of two to a canoe, one paddled and one stood holding a wood beam that was cushioned on end to minimize the chance of injuring the opponent. The intention was to tip the adversary into the water.

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