​At their recent meeting on July 21, the WCHM Board of Directors approved the appointment of Benson Gray to fill a vacant Director-At-Large position. The seat had been vacant since the passing of Jim Czajkowski in the spring and has two years remaining in its term. “I would like to welcome Benson to our board,” writes WCHM President Richard Taylor, “We very much appreciate his desire to support our mission to preserve and display objects and skills related to the history, use, and construction of canoes in North America.” Gray was nominated for the board seat by current WCHM Director-At-Large Dan Miller.

​The Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) and Wisconsin Council for Local History (WCLH) have announced that 19 affiliated local historical societies will receive a total of $11,098 through their 2021 mini-grant program. The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum (WCHM) in Spooner, an affiliate of the WHS, is one of the recipients and will receive a mini-grant to support its PastPerfect Conversion project.

​Jim Klosterman from Tamarack, Minnesota, is the lucky winner of the 2021 WCHM canoe raffle. His winning ticket, which he purchased while visiting the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum this summer, was drawn by WCHM President Rich Taylor during the post-dinner program at the second annual Canoe & Brew event held on Sunday September 26th at Pinebrook Farm​. ​The event marks the last regular season open day for the museum, and the Canoe & Brew event celebrates the conclusion of another successful year for the museum as well as the annual canoe raffle drawing.

​The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum (WCHM) is planning to celebrate its 11th anniversary with another “Canoe & Brew” dinner event from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sunday September 26th. This new event was first produced last year in collaboration with two prominent local businesses, Round Man Brewing and Pine Brook Farm, and both are returning to support the party this year.
 
Prior to the dinner, guests can enjoy a brew or two from Round Man Brewing and discuss their beer sampling with the brew master. Then stop by the meet and greet tent and visit with naturalist Haley Appleman from the Cable Natural History Museum, check out some of the museum’s new collections pieces, and take a chance on all the extra raffle prizes we’ll have for the day. Or just sit and enjoy the music of Les Fils du Voyageur and the beautiful autumn rural setting at Pine Brook Farm.

​The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum in Spooner (WI) is planning another cedar-strip building class for the fall. This past May two teams of novices each built a cedar-strip canoe in the museum workshop, and took it home after completing a ten day course on canoe building. "The class went so well we decided to try another session this year with the same instructor," says WCHM Executive Director Jed Malischke.
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Josh Tolkan, graduate of the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building in Port Townsend, Washington, and Artisan in Development at North House Folk School in Grand Marias, Minnesota, will be teaching a Cedar Strip Canoe Building class at WCHM in the fall of 2021.

​​The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum recently took possession of a 17 foot Grumman aluminum canoe with hull #438B-5-17. Originally purchased by their father, the canoe was a donation from Steve Vizanko of Bayfield WI and his sister Debbie Kaminski of Saint Paul MN. Built in Bethpage NY, which puts it prior to 1952, it is a typical post-war piece, constructed just like an aircraft with thousands of flush rivets and airtight bulkheads. One unusual feature is an original cedar floor insert that is still in remarkable condition, as is the entire craft. All in all, it is a fine example in the timeline of canoe history. WCHM thanks the Vizanko family for their donation of this canoe and its story.

​After cancelling its opening day events last year, and remaining closed throughout 2020, the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum (WCHM) in Spooner, Wisconsin, is now making plans for opening the 2021 summer season with its 11th annual Canoe & Wooden Boat Show, to be held in conjunction with Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Day from 10 am to 4 pm on May 29, 2021. This one day free event will also include a museum open house, the unveiling of new displays, ongoing activities in the canoe workshop, and live music and food and beverage in the beer garden.

​The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum will have a booth at the 2021 virtual Canoecopia on March 12-14. This is a great opportunity for all our far flung canoe enthusiasts to attend an event that may have been too far away in the past. Usually held in Madison (WI), Canoecopia is the largest canoe and kayak event in the world. We hope you’ll all take advantage and also visit our booth while you’re there. We’re planning some special treats for the weekend.

​The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum has for the first time held its annual election by mail, and consequently had its largest voter participation in its ten years. Forty-nine votes were cast and four incumbents were re-elected to new three year terms on the WCHM Board of Directors. Those incumbents (and their vote totals) were Jamie Dunn (48) of Spooner WI, Dan Miller (45) of Cape Vincent NY, Liz Vollmer-Buhl (44) of Eugene OR, and Jim Czajkowski (44) of Wauzeka WI.

​The first ever WCHM Canoe & Brew event turned out to be a wonderful day, despite the ongoing pandemic that has caused the cancellation of so many other events this year. Careful planning of pandemic precautions worked well to make everyone feel safe and comfortable. We want to thank Round Man Brewing and Pine Brook Farm for helping us host this new (annual?) event. Also thanks to Led Fils du Voyageur for the social hour music (and serving us dinner) and Second Wind Stringband for the tunes during dinner.
And the winner of the canoe raffle is ...drum roll please... Jim Hart of Wadsworth Illinois! Congratulations Jim, we’re glad to see such a great supporter of WCHM win the 2020 raffle. He’ll be mulling over which canoe to claim in the next few months and we’ll get it to him sometime before the spring season.

​The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum (WCHM) is planning to celebrate its 10th anniversary with a first annual dinner celebration from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sunday September 27th. Dubbed “Canoe & Brew,” this new event will be in collaboration with two prominent local businesses, Round Man Brewing and Pine Brook Farm, and will feature a fabulous country chicken and rib dinner in a wide open farm setting. “One of the great attributes of Pine Brook Farm is the large event space they have, both indoor and outdoor,” says event organizer Debbie Koehn. “We’ll be utilizing their wedding barn, so we’ll have plenty of room to social distance and we’ll be making plans accordingly to hold a safe event.” To insure safe space, the event will be limited to 50 attendees. Reservations are highly recommended.

​The rich and long history of North America's most important watercraft, the canoe, will be the subject of a presentation and book signing by author Mark Neuzil at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum in Spooner (312 N Front St) on Friday, January 17, 2020. The talk and signing begins at 7:30 pm and is free and open to the public.
 
Neuzil is professor and chair of the journalism program at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a frequent speaker and writer on environmental issues and is the author or co-author of eight books, including “Canoes: A Natural History in North America” (with Norman Sims). He has worked for the Associated Press, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and was a licensed wilderness guide and summer park ranger in his younger days.

​Greg Elonen from Superior (WI) is the lucky winner of the 2019 WCHM canoe raffle. His winning ticket, which he purchased while attending the WCHM Canoe & Wooden Boat Show on May 25th, was drawn by Vicki Shaffer of Edward Jones Investment Advisors in Spooner during a ceremony at the museum on Sunday September 29th at 3:00 PM. It was the last regular season open day for the museum, and the ceremony was held during a small party celebrating the conclusion of the season as well as the annual canoe raffle drawing.

​The 2019 Annual Assembly of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) will be held at Paul Smith’s College in Paul Smiths, New York on July 16-21, 2019. It’s an annual event that brings together WCHA members from around the world, and this 40th annual Assembly will feature centenarian canoes. They expect to have over 300 new, vintage, and historic canoes on display, plus workshops, programs, on-water events, and sales of canoes, paddles, accessories, and building supplies.
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For more information visit www.WCHA.org or call 603-323-8992.

Volunteers were waiting at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum in Spooner last Friday May 17 for the expected arrival of an antique Old Town “War Canoe.” It would take a number of people to move this large craft, built to be paddled by as many as ten people at a time, so those volunteers would be needed when the canoe arrived.
 
“War Canoe,” or the racing of large canoes with eight to ten paddlers, was a popular sporting activity for canoe clubs throughout the latter part of the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries, especially in Canada. This particular canoe is owned by Mike Cichanowski, founder and CEO of Wenona Canoes, and is being lent to the museum for the summer of 2019. The canoe will reside in the museum canoe shop to undergo a summer’s long restoration project while being available for viewing by the visiting public.
 
The canoe arrived about 2:15 PM, and there was plenty of help on hand to unload it from a specially modified trailer, move it indoors, unwrap it from its shrink wrapped protection, and gawk at this nearly 100 year old marvel.

​A traditional Ojibwe birch bark ceremonial canoe, donated to the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum by Rochelle Lamm in 2017, is being loaned to the Prairie du Chien Chamber of Commerce for display at their Travel Wisconsin Welcome Center. Prairie du Chien is located just above the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers, and is the oldest European settlement on the Upper Mississippi River. The Welcome Center is located on Main Street just south of the downtown area, and provides the busy tourist trade with information on what to see and do in the area. WCHM delivered the canoe and it was installed in the center by city workers on March 11.

WCHM invites participants for its 11th annual Canoe & Wooden Boat Show, to be held in conjunction with Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Day on May 25, 2019. This one day free event will also include museum tours and open house, the unveiling of new displays, ongoing activities in the canoe workshop, and live music and food and beverage in the beer garden. Now is the time to make plans to be an exhibitor and display your canoe, wooden boat, or other canoe related items of interest.

​The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum (WCHM) 2019 canoe raffle is underway. Tickets are available now for $20 per ticket or six for $100. A limit of only 500 tickets will be sold. The winner will once again have a choice of one of two canoes. The first canoe is our newly built (soon to be completed) 15’ tandem cedar canvas canoe built on the original MacKenzie-Yost Duet form. The second canoe is also a tandem rigged 15’ cedar canvas canoe with walnut trim built on the MacKenzie-Yost MyPal form. Thank you to Jamie Dunn and his crew of volunteers for his hard work in construction of both of these excellent boats built in the WCHM canoe shop. The drawing will take place on Saturday September 28th, 2019 (the last day of the season for the exhibit hall).

​The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum (WCHM) began 2018 with 140 dues paying members. It entered 2019, its tenth year, with a membership drive and a goal of finding 50 new members. The four month drive was completed on February 1st after receiving 81 memberships, 30 renewals and 51 new members, for total revenue of $5,590.

“We are very pleased with the results of the drive,” says WCHM Executive Director Jed Malischke. “By becoming members of the museum,” explains Malischke, “these folks have joined a community of people who believe the heritage of canoes is worth preserving for future generations.

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It seems that every canoe has a story that is important to someone. Maybe it's a family heirloom that you cherish? Maybe it’s an adventure you want to remember? Or an ongoing love story perhaps? Maybe it’s a special river, lake, or place you recall? Maybe it's a continent that was explored, history that was made, a heritage worth preserving.

The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum (WCHM) wants to preserve them all, the canoes and the stories, so on the eve of their tenth anniversary, they are looking to expand their membership base in order to support their continued growth as an institution based in Spooner, Wisconsin. “By becoming a member of the museum,” explains WCHM Executive Director Jed Malischke, “You will join a community of canoe preservationists and story tellers, working together to make sure future generations can see our canoes and hear our stories.” And as an extra incentive for anyone signing up with their 2019 membership dues before January 31st the museum is offering a free waterproof phone pouch as a thank you gift.

Jane Palmisano from San Antonio (TX) is the lucky winner of the 2018 WCHM canoe raffle. Her winning ticket, which she purchased while on a visit to the museum this past summer, was drawn by WCHM Board member Lynn Herman during a ceremony at the museum on Sunday September 30th at 3:00 PM.

It was the last regular season open day for the museum, and the ceremony was held during a small party celebrating the conclusion of the season as well as the arrival of a new canoe donated to the museum. Former WCHM President Mike Johnson presented the museum with a donation of a restored 1947 16 foot Muller canoe (#24773). The Muller Boatworks has been making boats in Minnesota since 1872. The same family still owns and operates Taylors Falls Canoe & Kayak Rental to this day.

Jane now has her choice of one of two canoes or $1,000 cash. The first canoe is a 15 foot cedar canvas tandem canoe built in the WCHM shop in 2017 on a MacKenzie-Yost MyPal form. The second canoe is a solo rigged 14 foot cedar canvas canoe built on a form designed by Jerry Karbon. Jane plans to visit the museum soon to make her choice and expects to depart with one of the two canoes in tow.

The new WCHM display celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act has turned out to be quite popular with museum visitors. Entitled “Wisconsin’s Moving National Park,” the display focuses on the Namekagon River in Wisconsin, which together with the St. Croix River forms the St Croix National Scenic Riverway. “Everybody that visits the museum loves the new display, especially the wall size map of the Riverway,” claims WCHM Executive Director Jed Malischke, “They all want to look up where they have been on the river, or where they are planning to go.”

​Robert Morris from the Brewery Creek Small Boat Shop in Vancouver, British Columbia, and author of the illustrated instructional book "Building Skin-on-Frame Boats", will present “Caribou Kayak: Building Boats to Survive” at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum in Spooner, Wisconsin, on Wednesday August 1st. It will be an evening of high arctic video, photographs, and storytelling. The presentation begins at 7:30 pm and is free and open to the public.

The Netsilingmeot kayak is primarily a caribou hunting boat. Survival in the high arctic was measured not just with food, but in the number of caribou hides a man could supply his family for clothing. Hip-wide and nearly twenty feet long, every aspect of the Netsilingmeot kayak’s design was optimized for lancing and killing caribou as they crossed rivers. In the age of aircraft, skidoos and ATVs, caribou no longer need to be chased down and lanced from a kayak. Why then were Morris and shop mate Mark Reuten invited to work with elders in the community of Kugaaruk to reestablish local kayak building traditions?

​On Saturday May 26, from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM, the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum (WCHM) in Spooner (WI) will be celebrating Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Day.  This free annual event marks the season opening of the museum and the unveiling of a new annual exhibit. The main attraction of the day will be the Canoe & Wooden Boat Show. A wide array of antique canoes, boats, and canoe related materials will be on display, with collectors, builders, and canoeing enthusiasts in general bringing their gems to display, trade, sell, or just simply talk about.

​Due to a cancellation, one opening has become available for the spring paddle making class at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum on May 11-12, 2018. The class is limited to eight participants, and all the available spots filled rapidly when the class was first announced two months ago. But a last-minute opening for one person had now become available for this real hands-on experience, so quick registration is recommended. For more information or to register call 715-635-2479 or email to [email protected].

In this two-day class participants will actually make a canoe paddle in a design of their own choosing, using traditional and modern tools and techniques.