Benson Gray, a historian with the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association and member of the Gray family, some of the founders of the Old Town Canoe Company, will talk about how a small town in Maine became, for a long while, the center of canoe building for the planet. It’s an amazing story of how a small shop grew to a worldwide phenomenon!

We at White Rose Canoe find this story particularly fascinating because the shop was for many years the location of Fernald’s Marine on the Parker River. Fernald’s was for a time the largest Old Town Canoe dealer in the country. We still have lots of folks coming into the shop commenting that they (or their parents/grandparents) bought their canoe from Fernald’s. And as I’m writing this we have a gorgeous 1972 Old Town Guide 16’ wood and canvas two tone and a 1998 Old Town Katahdin 16’ fiberglass family canoe, both originally sold from Fernald’s. Clearly, what goes around comes around!

This session will meet in person at White Rose Canoe, 291 High Road, Newbury, MA 01951. There will also be a Zoom meeting for those who aren’t able to join us in person.

Please click here if you are interested in attending. If the mail link doesn’t work, then please send an email to whiterosecanoe@gmail.com. Please include a phone number where we can reach you in case there is a last minute change.