THE HISTORY OF OLD TOWN CANOE #57395 - 16 A CHARLES RIVER MODEL, COMMON SENSE GRADE, GREEN CANOE 16 FEBRUARY, 2002 - WHAT IS KNOWN SO FAR! 1. From the original build order, the canoe was built between Nov 14 and Nov 18, 1919. It was shipped from Old Town Maine on April 8, 1920 2. It was shipped to Morton & Thompson, in Halifax, NS. Morton & Thompson was a Hardware store at 40 Sackville Street (on the corner of Sackville & Granville Streets) . Welshford Morton was the "Morton". Apparently he was the main person in the operation, Thompson was thought to be more of an investor. Morton had been a clerk in two other hardware stores in Halifax prior to opening his own operation. It went out of business in 1923. (Thanks to Rose Barbour, NS Archives). Haven't been successful in tracing any business records of the company - nothing in NS Archives or Dal Archives. Morton is apparently a reasonably common name in the Halifax area. 3. Presently, there is a space between 1920 and approximately 1930. Morton & Thompson leads? Can OT data base pull purchasers and/or time, i.e., 10 canoes to Morton & Thompson in April 1920 ???) June 13, 2003 Met Alan Billard (902) 449-0581 (cell) 463-0817 (home) in Halifax – committee member of Banook Canoe Club 100th Anniversary committee and interested in Canoe Club history & archives. He immediately identified the "110" disc as a berthing tag for the Banook Canoe Club. Apparently the club was originally started so that people would have someplace to leave their individually owned canoes. A berth for a canoe cost $7 per year, a locker an additional $3. There were well over 100 berths at the club for many years, and meticulous track was kept of payments and having canoes properly identified as having "paid up". He was not aware of whether or not it would be possible to trace the owner of the canoe during that period from the original records. "I hope so but would guess not." In any event, the canoe spent some or much of its time from 1920 to the 1950's in and around Banook Lake. Spoke with Rose Barbour about and she is going to check into where the Club archives might be. Alan is also going to check out the club records. He took the tag to have it scanned so it can be included in a book that the committee is preparing to celebrate the centennial. June 18, Allan Billard returned the tag by mail. He emailed me June 19 to say that someone at the club did a probable identity of the St. George's Lane person who owned the canoe was likely Cap Roome, who has long since died. He was going to get in touch with a son now living in Newfoundland. Rose Barbour identified Cap Graham Roome as living at #7, St. George's Lane between 1950 & 1960. June 23, Allan Billard emailed again to say he had spoken with Bob Roome in Newfoundland. He remembered an Old Town Canoe his dad had with a number on the bow deck. June 23, I phoned Bob Roome in Botwood (Bob Roome, Box 958, Botwood, Nfld. A0H 1E0 (709) 257-2524) to chat with him further. He is 80 years old with an incredibly sharp memory and recollection for details. He remembered the canoe arriving home in 1930 or 31. "If it was made in 1920, it had a very hard life for its first ten years." There were at least two cracked or broken ribs, and several holes in the canvas had been patched. They used "factory cotton and shellac". Frayed the cotton out and coated it with shellac, which his dad identified as the same process used to patch airplane fabric during the first world war. Bob identified the high bow and stern characteristic of Old Town Canoes of the era. He said he mostly remembers the canoe being red or a dull brownish red. He also remembered it as having closed gunnels "You couldn't get the last bit of water out when you turned it upside down." He said he thought the broken planks and ribs were on the port side just forward of centre (which is the exact same area where presumable Elmer Shiers had replaced planking). He said that there was one persistent leak about 16 inches long next to the keel, which always leaked, thought it was perhaps due to poor placement of the screws holding the keel. (Note: Billard email says no keel – a misunderstanding during interview?) Bob said it had a keel when he recalls, but no bilge keels, assumes they were put on by Elmer Shiers (although the Charles River models originally had bilge keels from the catalogue pics). I asked Bob about Marjorie Creighton, who lived at 7 ½ on St. George's Lane – he said it was a "suite" on his father's house which she rented as an elderly lady. No canoe connection! Bob left Halifax in 1962. His father's name was Captain Graham Roome – his father, was a captain on the Halifax-Dartmouth ferry so he named his kid after him – Captain... Bob said if it is the same canoe, as it appears to be, he spent a lot of happy times in it as a kid growing up. Spoke with Bob Roome again, 22 August - had not clarified whether the 110 tag was on the canoe when they got it, or if it was their berth number if/when they had stored the canoe at the Banook Canoe Club. Bob's amazing memory once again kicked in – he said he thought it was likely on the canoe when they got it, since although they had the canoe at the club – by that time they had stopped using berthing tags. He remembers the numbers being painted on the 2 X 4's that formed the racks for the berths – but was quite certain that they never had a number tag on the canoe... So, the key back would seem to be the Banook berthing records if they still exist. In email contact with Allan Billard late August, 2003 - still searching for info re: 1920 - 1930, he put me in touch with their "historian" , Anne Marie Schaus - she suggested I get in touch with Bill Monovan, in Perth Ontario. I found Bill at (613) 267-2296. An incredibly sharp 93 year old – just returned from riding a quarter horse that morning! Discussed the canoe, he remembered Cap Roome and Bob Roome, and was very knowledgeable about the Banook Canoe Club. No hard info, but may well come up with something. Cap Roome was the Roome of Harris & Roome - and as a sideline they began selling canoes and rowboats. Bill's father was a boatbuilder, but quit and did other things for sometime, then, he started back into it by supplying paddles and oars to Harris & Roome. Had a grand chat. Bill Monovan, RR#5 Perth, Ontario. K7H 3C7. Lives at 2880 Rideau Ferry Road in Perth. 4. In 1955, or perhaps a bit earlier, the canoe was obtained by Elmer & Mabel Shiers, and it was used on Lake Major, just outside of Dartmouth. The family summer home/home was situated there. Mabel McMenemy (daughter) Lake Major Road (nee Shiers) PO Box 26, Dartmouth B2Y 3Y2 (434-6915) provided a lot of valuable information. She recalls it being there when she was 12, c. 1955, and it remained in their family at the lake until 1985. It was always painted red for as long as she remembered it. Her father, who was a cabinetmaker, recanvassed and repaired the canoe at least once. The interior was never painted, it was always varnished as long as they owned the canoe. It was well cared for and thought highly of while they had it. Note: the two holes that were "patched" on the inside to strengthen the planks were done by someone with some skill and knowledge - Elmer Shiers? There was no sail step or foot in the canoe when they had it "Mom wouldn't have allowed it, canoes were paddled." Mabel remembers the brass "110" identification tag on the canoe - was always there. When we talked about it, and I said that perhaps it was an identification tag from a camp, or a rental, or ?? She offered that her mother was very active in Girl Guides in the Province - and that it might have come to them from a Girl Guide Camp!! She did also mention that they have/had family connections in the Digby Neck area, and it might possible have come from there. Mabel mentioned that her dad did not swim, probably wouldn't have bought a canoe without some fairly strong influence from her mother, who always liked them, insisted on teaching her kids how to paddle and handle it properly "we never, ever sat on the seat, always kneeling". Changes were made to the Lake several years ago (damming, draining) and they didn't think the children were interested enough to care for the wood/canvas so her dad sold it and they purchased an aluminum canoe " This one was best used for paddling quietly and observing wildlife, not pounding around." June 6, 2003 - I called Mabel again and got her brother's name and location from her. I spoke to him in the afternoon. D.L.G Shiers (Leonard) lives in Corbyville, near Belleville, Ontario. (Phone number (613) 966-6774). He is 18 months older than Mabel. He recalls seeing the canoe in a backyard on St. Georges Lane, between Portland Street and Pleasant Street, in Dartmouth as a boy. He told his father about it, and "the next thing I knew, the canoe arrived at our home, (in the same neighbourhood) and dad moved it into the basement where he spent the winter reconditioning it. He liked doing that kind of stuff." He replaced some planks, patched some ribs and re-canvassed it that winter. It was located near the St. Georges Tennis Club. The location is just a few blocks from the Banook Canoe Club! He has most of the family photographs and is going to check to see if there is a picture of the canoe in that collection. 5. In 1985 Elmer sold the canoe for $100 to Kim Whitman (who Mabel knew through work, DFO virology lab). She used it on several lakes in Nova Scotia, and around the Tidnish area in NS. Then she relocated to the Atlantic Vet College on PEI and brought the canoe with her. She used it then in the tidal/estuarial areas here. Presumably she painted the interior (green and then gray) and added the mast step, etc. Kim now lives in Shelbourne NS (521-6290) (her brother, K Whitman, in Lunenburg 640-2074) 6. In 1999 Kim gave the canoe to Gabriel Jones. It was getting worn and she didn't have time, etc. to keep it up. Gabriel and Kathy Jones (892-1950) had it for four years and used it about 12 times, locally on PEI. Didn't use it all the last year they had it. It leaked and was getting pretty "ripe", the canvas pulled away from the gunwales. Gabriel lived on the Buffalo Road, in South Rustico. 7. In early October, 2002 Gabriel was moving to Charlottetown, he took the canoe along with a load of other refuse to the Rustico dump. I was at the dump when he pulled in... beside me. A discussion resulted, he gave me the canoe and I drove home with it. I am in the process of restoring it as nearly as possible to its state when it left the factory on April 8, 1919. (With ash gunwales instead of spruce!!) I will also drop the stern seat another 2 to 2 ½ inches from its original height, and may not put the "bilge keels" back on. (June, 2003 – have decided not to put the keel on it as I like keeless canoes and WCHA discussion forums reinforced the decision to leave the keel off. Due to it having been red for most of its life – and because it is more visible (to motorboats amongst other!) I have decided to paint it red instead of the green it was when it left the factory. Chronology: Built: November, 1919 Shipped: April 8, 1920, to Morton & Thompson, Halifax Sold: Sold: 1930-31, Purchased by Cap Roome, #7, St. George's Lane, Dartmouth Sold: c. 1954-5, to Mabel & Elmer Shiers, (Dartmouth) Lake Major, NS Sold: 1985, to Kim Whitman, Halifax, moved to PEI Given: 1999, to Gabriel Jones, Rustico Given: October, 2002, to Morley Pinsent, at the Rustico dump.