Valley of the Meramec Earth Day Paddle

[abhraxas]

The newly formed Valley of the Meramec Chapter, based in St. Louis, Mo., hosted an impromptu Earth Day paddle at Creve Coeur Lake in suburban St. Louis. It was a beautiful day for paddling and the water birds to see and be seen- lots of herons and egrets. We were joined by some family members in more modern conveyances.

 

[abhraxas]

Valley of the Meramec Earthday Paddle

And now for the pictures!

 

[abhraxas]

A few more pictures of the Thompson.

 

[Otter]

Nice Thompson!

I believe we met at Paul and Cindy Miller's at the builder's workshop. Good to see somebody else was out paddling on Earth Day. Have you figured out the age of your Thompson? I spent the afternoon stripping my Thompson that I am restoring. Half ribs make the canoe stronger but they sure make stripping the inside of the canoe difficult. I can not show these pictures to my wife, she will never paddle. Very nice canoe.

 

[abhraxas]

Gene- Thanks for the compliment on the Thompson. It is a nice canoe. Although I really didn't do anything to it. The canoe is in its original condition. My wife and I acquired it from a gentleman who is 94 years old and living in Northern Indiana. He told us that he and his younger brother saved their money up to purchase the canoe in 1928 or 1929. He suspected that he got a deal on the canoe because his dad was a sales representative for the Thompson Brothers Canoe Company. That might expain why a couple of teenagers could afford a mahagony detailed canoe.

I'm afraid I might also be faced with stripping the inside. I have to make the choice to either refinish the floor or live with it. It is fairly dark and the varnish needs to be re-covered. I'm just not sure that I want to get involved with all of the mess. Plus, the more time I spend working on it the more it stays out of the water. It sure is fun to paddle.

I do remember you from the outing at Miller's. That was a great time for all of us from St. Louis. I hope we can return the favor sometime.

Please let me know how you are progressing on your canoe and send pictures if you can. How old is your Thompson? Do you have any history on it?

John Strasser