Just add water: Little boats, big stories for canoe museum
New exhibit features rare, historic canoes that haven’t been displayed before
The new exhibit Just Add Water – Little
Boats with BIG Stories opened on June 13 in the McLean-Matthews Gallery at the Canadian Canoe Museum, 910 Monaghan Rd. The exhibit showcases several unique canoes from their collection that have not been viewed before, along with the stories behind them.
“Currently, only 20 percent of our collection is on display at any given time,” says Jeremy Ward, Curator. “In this new exhibit we are showcasing five boats to give visitors a taste of what they can experience in the new building, where the storage collection will be more visible, with guided tours available.”
Wildlife artist and environmentalist Robert Bateman’s 12-foot canoe is exhibited alongside a print of his painting “Rocky
Point October” where it is featured. The museum acquired the canoe when Bateman was closing up his Ontario studio and moving to British Columbia. Bateman says that some of his most formative experiences were the summers he spent working in Algonquin Park, where on his time off he would paddle to picturesque spots to paint. His canoe is of interest, not only because it belonged to him, but because it was built by May Minto, a female canoe maker, who owned Minto Marine in Minden.
“When I had the chance to custom order a canoe from May Minto, one of Canada’s best canoe makers, I wanted a 12-footer which would be easy to transport but could carry two to three people in calm weather, so I could bring the family along. I mixed an olive drab colour to paint on it so that it would be easy to hide in the bushes,” says Bateman.
Also on display is the canoe that Gordon Lightfoot paddled on many remote northern Canadian rivers, which inspired his music. Visitors will notice the crease marks on the hull where this Old Town Voyageur canoe got wrapped around a rock during a mishap on a trip to the South Nahanni River. (On a personal note, my husband and I had the good fortune to share drinks with Lightfoot and his canoeing buddies at a tavern in Yellowknife in July 1986, as they were about to embark on an expedition on the Back River, while we were setting out to canoe on the Coppermine River with Wanapitei.)
The largest boat in the new exhibit is a 24-foot freighter canoe made at the Rupert House Canoe Factory by the James Bay Cree. Owned by hunter George Cheechoo, the boat was used for guiding tourists while fishing and hunting. The paddle wall at the side of the gallery displays 40 paddles from around the world – paddles are the second largest collection of artifacts in the museum.
The museum is looking to the construction community for possible in-kind gifts for the new building, such as labour and materials including concrete, carpentry, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, landscape, lumber, millwork, fixtures and furniture.
For more information, please visit www.canoemuseum.ca or call 705-748-9153.