Our Board of Directors
The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum, Inc is a 501c3 non-profit registered in the state of Wisconsin. We have a membership that elects a governing Board of Directors, who in turn contract an Executive Director to manage the affairs of WCHM. Membership is open to all, and we welcome your participation at all levels. Our current board includes: President Mike Knuth; Vice President Jamie Dunn; Treasurer Deane Wilkinson; Secretary Jed Malischke; and At Large Directors Benson Gray, Ron Carlson, Dan Miller, Dan Dietz, Sue Sandberg.
Benson GrayI grew up in Old Town, Maine and have always loved canoes so it was very exciting to learn that many other people feel the same way about these wonderful boats. My work with computers along with my interest in the history of canoes had led to some interesting collaborations. I started a project to scan the Old Town Canoe Company catalogs in the 1990s. This later developed into a much bigger effort covering a variety of canoe manufacturers with a lot of help from Dan Miller and others. My largest wooden canoe history project was to get most of the Old Town, Carleton, and Kennebec build records scanned. Projects like these have made the history of canoes more available to everyone but the real essence of an organization like the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum involves connecting the people who share an interest in wooden canoes.
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Dan MillerDan Miller has been involved with wooden canoes for nearly forty years. As proprietor of Dragonfly Canoe Works, he consults, restores and constructs wood and wood canvas canoes. Currently serving as a board member of the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum and the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association, he has worked with several museums and non-profit organizations that are wood canoe related, including a stint as curator at the Antique Boat Museum. Dan is an avid student of canoe manufacturing history, has authored several articles and given presentations on the subject, and developed and maintains the online Wooden Canoe Museum (woodencanoemuseum.org). In addition to canoe work, Dan has built timber-framed buildings, restored old houses, and engaged in other forms of woodworking. He is an avid birder and photographer and enjoys sharing his skills with others. He makes his home with his wife, Lynn, in Cape Vincent, New York.
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Mike KnuthMy interest in canoes and canoe tripping spans nearly a lifetime. It all started in 1963 when my Dad bought a 1930s Thompson wood canvas canoe. My brother and I used it on the local rivers of Wisconsin for many years until it was retired to the barn for about 25 years. Recognizing both the personal history and the historical value of that canoe, I did a complete restoration, and I still use it to this day. That led to a deeper appreciation of wooden canoes, their history and construction, and ultimately to the WCHM. Over the years I have made canoe trips in the BWCA, Quetico, and Wabakimi Provincial parks, and the Churchill River in Saskatchewan. I am currently building a replica of an 1881 J.H. Rushton Rob Roy canoe which he called the American Traveling Canoe. This latest project is my foray into lofting and lapstrake construction and I have developed a great appreciation for the works of Rushton. Many of these projects were in part inspired and spurred on by my connection to the WCHM. As I have seen the changes and growth of the Museum in the past years, I am honored to be a part of the WCHM, meeting the many and varied museum visitors, and helping to move the museum into the future.
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Sue SandbergMy interest in canoes began in Girl Scouts where we flipped and learned to right canoes in deep water. College and working years involved trips to the Boundary Waters. My husband Bill and I built a cedarstrip canoe under the guidance of work friends, with one providing the strongback and molds. We built a “Chestnut Prospector” from the Canoecraft book by Moores and Mohr using the West System. It had a successful maiden voyage to the boundary waters. Now, hanging on our log rafters in our Webb Lake cabin is this cedarstrip canoe, as well as a birchbark canoe made by Hafeman Boatworks of Bigfork, Minnesota. Two vintage canvas canoes also grace our cabin walls. I am recently retired from the University of Minnesota research labs of the medical school and will complete a masters’ degree in the biological sciences (MBS) in December 2022. I love all things ‘biology’, from field biology to laboratory medicine. Especially, I enjoy living in the Northwoods on a lake surrounded by native plants and animals and being close to the Brule and Namekagon rivers.
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Dan DietzI was raised paddling and rowing around a small lake outside Danbury Wisconsin where our families’ summer cabin was located. I would only stop fishing when driven off the lake by the swarms of mosquitos and darkness. We have had our own cabin on Webb Lake for over twenty years now where I have three canoes on a self-built rack. One hand me down canoe, one salvaged, and one purchased. I have not missed my annual canoe trip down the Namekagon for over 40 years. We also enjoy canoeing other rivers including the Brule River (flowing north into Lake Superior) which is our favorite waterway. I have been collecting paddles for many, many moons by means of salvaging, bartering, and buying. The old paddles are getting harder and harder to come by. I have worked for Graco Inc. (a Minneapolis based manufacturing company) for 25 years after graduating from the University of Minnesota with a Manufacturing Management degree. Our favorite canoes at the Spooner Museum are the guide models with the comfortable seat for the client. I truly love the water, and I am fascinated by all boats.
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Deane WilkinsonAfter being introduced to kayaking and canoeing in CA by my husband, my real interest in canoeing began in 2006 after moving to Spooner WI. We began canoeing local rivers immediately. Eventually we learned about the boundary waters and coordinated a family trip and the passion of canoeing grew from there. We watched the feed store building as it was transformed into the museum and we have been involved as Key Masters since day one. My interest in becoming a board member is to further my knowledge about canoes in our history to not only enrich my life, but the lives of the visitors we meet at the museum. It is my hope to bring ideas to help raise interest in the community and with our youth. We have learned a great deal about the skills of canoeing and even competition opportunities. I have watched the WCHM grow year after year and I want to bring what I can to continue its growth
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Jamie Dunn
Organizational Papers
WCHM Articles of Incorporation
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WCHM By-laws
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WCHM 2017 Board Manual
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