Boat builders’ legacy includes canals, tour
Ever since the days when my Grandmother Dickinson traveled to Florida by rail, wearing a hat and clasping a sturdy train case, I’ve loved to take winter guests on the Scenic Boat Tour in Winter Park. It’s fun and informative and boasts a long history, beginning in 1938 with Walter C. Meloon — the founder of what would become Correct Craft Inc. in another part of Orange County, Pine Castle.
Beginning the tours mark just one chapter in the illustrious history of Correct Craft, which for decades, until 2008, was the nation’s oldest familyowned boat maker. Today, Walter N. Meloon, grandson of the founder and former president of the company, will no doubt talk about that history when he speaks at the Pine Castle Historical Society’s annual meeting. It’s free and open to the public.
Since 1925, the Meloons have been making waves in Central Florida with all kinds of watercraft, from fishing boats to luxury cabin cruisers to waterski boats and more. Their Pine Castle company made thousands of boats for use during World War II, as well as the Korean and Vietnam wars, and was known for its solid ethics.
Founder W.C. Meloon, his wife, Marion, and their three sons came to Central Florida from Ossipee, N.H., during the 1920s land boom.
W.C. “was one of the most innovative individuals” you could ever meet, according to his grandson, Walter N. His grandfather’s talent for solving engineering problems served the family well during the Depression, which hit not long after they arrived in Florida. During the difficult 1930s, Meloon and his company built a series of canals with cypress-wood sea walls, including canals that connect the Winter Park Chain of Lakes. grandfather taught him, Walter N. Meloon says, was to do the hardest part of a job first. He also admires W.C.’s directness. If W.C. saw someone who was mad at him for any reason, Walter N. said, his grandfather would go out of his way to look the person in the eye and speak to him.
W.C. also had a humorous side. Focused on the task at hand, he often forgot names, Walter N. said, and so got into the habit of calling everyone “Dearie.” Seeing W.C. pitching in at the boat factory with his sleeves rolled up, a visiting dignitary told him he “was working like he owned the place.”
“Dearie, I do,” came the reply.
Visitors to the Orange County Regional History Center on Dec.10 have an opportunity to meet original Highwaymen painters and see their work, as well as paintings by middle-school artists inspired by the Florida legends.
The Highwaymen represent a fascinating chapter in Florida’s past — the story of African-American artists who took to Florida’s roads in the 1950s and ’60s, marketing their art during an era of strict segregation when their usual job options were extremely limited. They’re now in the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. The event is free; visit “events” at the thehistorycenter.org for details and to RSVP.