This is the story of a tiny wooden canoe that recently emerged from the fog of history, and the impact is has had over the course of its 140-plus years. This delicate lapstrake, hand-made of cedar, white oak, red elm and basswood, helped make both its builder, J. Henry Rushton of Canton, NY, and its paddler, George Washington Sears of Wellsboro, PA, even more globally famous than each already was. Sears, pen-named Nessmuk and the author of the seminal outdoor skills book Woodcraft (still in print today), took his beloved Bucktail canoe down to the wilds of subtropical Florida over the winter of 1884-1885 and wrote about his adventures there in a series of articles in Forest & Stream, the premier outdoors periodical of his time. This special canoe, an amazing adventure, and some extraordinary people all still excite canoeists, woodworkers, adventurers, and historians today, nearly one and a half centuries later.
BIO:
Michael, Tanya, and River Grace are a family of canoeists. Michael is a widely published neuroscientist and professor, and a dedicated restorer of antique and historic wooden watercraft. He and Tanya, a professional contracts and projects manager in the electrical utility industry, have built a historic and broad collection of antique wooden watercraft. River, narrator of the Bucktail story, is a scientist, medical doctor, and accomplished musician who grew up steeped in historic watercraft. He restored his own antique canoe at only 14 years old.
This presentation will be given at The Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation (https://www.charlesrivermuseum.org/), 154 Moody Street, Waltham, Massachusetts at 2:00 PM on Sunday, March 8th.
The Zoom link will be https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89519904416?pwd=VVJbLwkRMlmaj19LOK577uxfibwLXW.1
BIO:
Michael, Tanya, and River Grace are a family of canoeists. Michael is a widely published neuroscientist and professor, and a dedicated restorer of antique and historic wooden watercraft. He and Tanya, a professional contracts and projects manager in the electrical utility industry, have built a historic and broad collection of antique wooden watercraft. River, narrator of the Bucktail story, is a scientist, medical doctor, and accomplished musician who grew up steeped in historic watercraft. He restored his own antique canoe at only 14 years old.
This presentation will be given at The Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation (https://www.charlesrivermuseum.org/), 154 Moody Street, Waltham, Massachusetts at 2:00 PM on Sunday, March 8th.
The Zoom link will be https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89519904416?pwd=VVJbLwkRMlmaj19LOK577uxfibwLXW.1
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