QUESTION: Why is everyone looking in the same direction?
ANSWER: See bottom of this page..

     Usually more than a dozen trains each carrying at least 2500 passengers arrived at the beach before noon. The large board walk along the beach was extended farther out onto the beach from the rest of the boardwalk.  Notice that the section just behind the railing contained large benches along the entire front of the Dance Pavilion.  These were always occupied by people who wished to view the beach.  It was a very romantic place in the evenings, for young couples while dancing was in progress.

      Our Park people could learn from these pictures. They would learn that most people that come to Grand Beach are more interested mainlyh in the beach itself rather than walking along fantasy trails, with posted fictitious comments.

     Come on now, I personally knew all the First Nation and Metis people who worked at the beach back to the mid 1920's and I never heard any of them refer to that rock as the "SPIRIT ROCK".

     Who among our Parks people dreamt that one up. Too bad they didn't research it among the cottage owners, especially older people who had spent many summers at the beach.  They would have learned that the same rock was commonly referred to by the youngsters of that era as  "THE DIVING ROCK",  (Everyone knew and spoke of it by that name - not "SPIRIT ROCK").  I dove off it many times as a youngster in the 30's. The water is more than 15 feet deep off the northerly aspect of the rock.  One of the first duties that we performed as Lifeguards at the start of each season was to check out this rock - as to its safety. There was always a possibility that winter ice may have moved some of the rocks and made diving dangerous.
 

ANSWER TO ABOVE QUESTION:
      The Manitoba Amateur Boxing Association was promoting a boxing day at Grand Beach. People were watching one of the bouts in progress. A boxing ring had been built on the beach in front of the dance hall. The surrounding beach area became an amphitheater. I remember that Steve Trojack (a famous local heavyweight who now is in the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame) used to referee these bouts.