Who made Old Town Paddles??

[Dave Osborn]

Someone posed a question on Facebook asking who built Old Town Paddles over the years.
Good question. I'm curious, as are others...
Benson?? Anybody??
Dave

 

[Benson Gray]

I believe that Old Town made their own all wood paddles until the mid-1980s. They were subcontracted to Porter's Woodworking in Patten, Maine from then until shortly after 2000. Old Town was also selling some Canadian laminated paddles during this period. Porter's was out of business by 2004 as described at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?3152 here. Others may have more detailed information.

Benson

 

[Rick Platte]

I remember as a boy going through the Old Town Factory and watching a man at a large drum sander making the paddles. This would have been in the sixties. It was fascinating to watch him spin the paddles for balance and he worked pretty quickly. I also remember watching the man putting on the planking grab a handful of canoe tacks and throwing them in his mouth. My father asked if he'd ever swallowed one and the answer was, "not yet'.

A few years later we tried to go through the Peterborough factory but were told we were a couple of years too late.

 

[Dan Miller]

It just so happens I had a copy of Wooden Canoe Issue 172 (August 2012) laying about, and the back cover has a 1960s photo of the Old Town paddle maker in action.

 

[MGC]

My recollection is that only the cedar paddles were made at the factory. Perhaps Benson can comment.
I believe that the hardwood paddles were made elsewhere, perhaps at Porters?

I used to dig through the seconds to get my paddles. A tiny knot was all it took to knock the price down to $5 or $10 dollars. That was well worth the side trip to Old Town! I still have a few that have survived all forms of abuse. They look absolutely terrible but they are full of memories.
I also have a few nicer ones that I can't bring myself to use.

 

[Dave Osborn]

I haven't seen a lot of Old Town Paddles, but ash and white spruce were the (assumed) materials....
I'd love to see and paddle an original cedar OT paddle!! Ultra light!

 

[Greg Nolan]

Wooden Canoe Issue 172 (August 2012) the back cover has a 1960s photo of the Old Town paddle maker in action.

If you don't happen to have Issue 272 handy --

 

[Benson Gray]

I remember as a boy going through the Old Town Factory and watching a man at a large drum sander making the paddles. This would have been in the sixties. It was fascinating to watch him spin the paddles for balance and he worked pretty quickly. I also remember watching the man putting on the planking grab a handful of canoe tacks and throwing them in his mouth. My father asked if he'd ever swallowed one and the answer was, "not yet'.

The video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA7arNuCemc has several of the Old Town builders 'spitting' tacks. The usual practice was to eat a lot of bread to help the tack pass safely if one was inadvertently swallowed.

My recollection is that only the cedar paddles were made at the factory. Perhaps Benson can comment.
I believe that the hardwood paddles were made elsewhere, perhaps at Porters?

I am not aware of Old Town ever listing cedar paddles in the catalogs. Spruce was the usual soft and light wood of choice for paddles. Maple and ash were the most common hard woods used for more durable paddles. All of the Old Town paddles were made in house from both hard and soft woods until the 1980s as far as I know.

Benson

 

[MGC]

Agree, I meant spruce not cedar. I have had cedar on the brain lately. Aside from some custom laminated paddles I have from Grass River I have not seen it used in paddles. My error WRT to that.

WRT the hardwood paddles, maybe my recollection is from the 80's? It all blends together. Was the "gift" shop added in the late 60's or the early 70's? Were your brothers displays were part of the implementation of the structured tour?

 

[Benson Gray]

Was the "gift" shop added in the late 60's or the early 70's? Were your brothers displays were part of the implementation of the structured tour?

There were a broad range of "gift shop" and store implementations over the years starting in the late 1960s. My recollection is that they moved the store out of the factory to the Main Street facility in the early 1990s. This was about the time that the insurance requirements eliminated the factory tours. Seth made the display in the late 1970s and it is still in the newest version of the store on Gilman Falls Avenue. Let me know if this doesn't answer your question.

Benson

 

[MGC]

Seth made the display in the late 1970s and it is still in the newest version of the store on Gilman Falls Avenue. Let me know if this doesn't answer your question.

Benson

That helps. What I recall as the biggest changes were adding the shop in the first place, then the changes that incorporated the displays and then finally moving it entirely out.