Old Town 1(?)64745 12

[apsulli]

Trying to positively fix the year of manufacture - would have been the mid to late 1950s. Canoe was purchased new by my parents and was used on Stiles Pond in Massachusetts throughout my youth. It was my Mom's canoe - Dad had an aluminum Grumman sailing canoe that he frequently fell out of on Sunday afternoons while reading the NY Times.

Numbers are very difficult to read. In fact, I thought I was looking at "064745 12," but that doesn't square with the delivery years.

I can supply the purchaser's name to the researcher if that will help nail it down.

Canoe is in usable condition, but was crudely restored by my parents after some drunken teens vandalized it between 1962-1966. I prefer to think it has character.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Alan S.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Hello Alan,

Old Town 164745 comes up as an 11 foot CS (common sense or middle) grade 50 pound model canoe that was completed February-October 1956, with a keel. Original color was dark green. It was shipped to Haverhill, MA, on April 30, 1957. The name of the original owner's name is on the build record and if it's your dad, we have a winner! Wonderful to have a family canoe-- good memories and character! The scan is attached below-- click on it to get a larger image.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

oops

I "sent" too soon! Here it is:

This scan and several hundred thousand others were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others. A description of the project to preserve these records is available at http://www.wcha.org/ot_records/ if you want more details. I hope that you will join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php to join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Kathy

 

[apsulli]

Kathy,

Thanks for the amazingly quick response.

Philip Sullivan was my dad; he was the only Ob-Gyn in town during those years and consequently drew patients from quite a ways north, including southern Marine. He was a regular at the original LL Bean store before they "went New York." The canoe was shipped either to 103 Summer Street, or possibly to the REA agent at the B&M railroad station in town - the absence of a street address suggests the latter.

Dad bought it as a gift for our mother, who being born and raised in northern Maine (Madawaska, well north of Quebec City) and the only child of a forestry engineer, was well acquainted with the rivers and lakes of Maine. She was a natural in the canoe and frequently used it either to escape three screaming boys (us) or to take one of us out for a quiet paddle in early evening.

Now I suppose I will have to restore # 164745 - 11 to something approaching it's original glory, although it's in excellent shape for not having been touched since my parents repaired it themselves in the mid to late 1960s. The only major defects are large V-shapes chunks whacked out of the gunwales with axes or hatchets by the drunken renters (they were students at S____ State College). They don't go very deep and my parents' solution was to paint them over. Character marks? Also, the cane seating was replaced with rectangles of plywood. Expedient but not very attractive.

It's still dark green and the interior varnish is in good shape. Thanks so much for filling in this piece of nostalgia. My mother will enjoy it when I share it with her.

Sincerely,

Alan Sullivan

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Hi Alan,

It's always a thrill to find the record for a family canoe with happy memories such as yours. A wood-canvas canoe can certainly be taken back to new-condition (or better) but dings and missing chunks are part of the history of your canoe, and it's fine to leave such things in place.

Your canoe is a nice size for a car to wear as a summer hat! If you want to share pictures of your restoration/refurbishing and of using the canoe, we love that.

Glad you can pass along the build record information to your mom. I'm sure she's pleased the canoe continues to make happy memories for her family.

Kathy