Showing posts with label bwca history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bwca history. Show all posts

Saturday, June 4, 2016

A Bit of the History of the Canoe Capital of the World - on a Painted Canoe

Two young guys just came in looking for tackle before their canoe trip. (Woohoo! Somebody younger than age 30 going on a canoe trip! Don't see that very often these days!) Unfortunately, we did not have what they were seeking, but they decided to wander around the store a bit.  

They noticed the Painted Canoe of Ely and ended up circling it three times. One guy told his friend "this is the coolest thing I think I've ever seen."  

Then they turned to me and asked who painted it and I told them it was me.  

The next questions asked were about the resorts that used to be on Basswood, and where the logging train was located and why the Grumman Hellcat was on the bow deck plate and how many hours it took me to paint. One guy asked me if I knew about a resort that was a huge building and had flagstones remaining on the campsite today. I did. I lead him to Maple Leaf Lodge on the port side of the canoe. He actually recognized the little terraced walls that remain crumbling on the actual site, today. He and I both exchanged notes separated by almost thirty years and concurred that this specific site was nice but incredibly full of mosquitoes. Some things never change.  

Maple Leaf Lodge in 1948 on Basswood Lake - Boundary Waters

The other guy said it was "so great" that for the first time ever, he was able to visually comprehend the past history of the region known today as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. He said that he's seen bits and pieces but never was able to tie it all together as there is not a lot of information out there. One would need to read a bunch of different books and form a mental conclusion and while that is fun for some, it's less appealing to even me. After all, most are not seeking a PhD in BWCA history, but a simple greater understanding would be nice. Based on the comments thus far on the historical side of the canoe, I do believe I've accomplished that.
Our conversation ended with one of the guys taking pictures with his smart phone. Then onto their journey they continued, thanking me for the opportunity on the way out. It was a good experience for me as well.