That is indeed depressing. I have a 1964 catalog, the year of my birth. I look at it, and it just reenforces how sterile society has become, how plastic it all is. All that lovely wood that was used, all those boats with soul. Tupperware will never come close.
I think the first time my father took us there was in about 1966. Around that time he was fooling around with fixing up the Ideal that we used while I was growing up. Seeing the factory was a really big deal for a 12 year old kid. It was incredibly cool to see the boats being built. The folks that worked there seemed like wood/canoe gods. They were building these really amazing canoes in such an effortless way. We went back every few years when we were on our way to visit his folks. I also remember visiting EM White and recall to this day the time we stopped in there and saw all of their forms sitting in a big storage area...no longer needed. They were building glass boats. OT was also making glass boats, but at least there was still a wood shop where they were steaming and hammering and canvasing.
We kept going back there. My kids got to visit the factory with my father and then again with me after he was gone. I bought a few canoes, lot's of paddles, collected all of the catalogs..... what a great place. My father and I went there when I interviewed at U of M and when my son went to Bowdoin I think we were both equally excited to visit the factory.... My buddies and I stopped there on the way back from the Allagash....talk about a side trip, we were going back to Northern NY.
That aside, those were big hulking old pieced together buildings that had grown long in the tooth. If you are trying to complete in this day and age, turns, efficiency, overhead...those are the drivers...it's not real important how all of the gorgeous cedar dust smells. I have my memories. I no longer have a need to drive up through or down to Old Town. There is nothing left there to draw us back.