The Story of Monarch Canoe
The 1927 Wooden Canvas Canoe
A Little Bit of History
The Old Town Canoe Company made it’s first canoe in 18981. An iconic American brand, Old Town Canoe was known in its early days for making wooden canvas canoes with beautiful craftsmanship. The story of my grandfather’s canoe begins in 1924, when Old Town Canoe began construction of a 17-foot wooden ‘Otca’ canoe. The process would take 3 years, with the final coat of varnish being applied on January 31st, 1927. The Otca was sold to the University of Madison.
In the 1970s, my grandfather—Richard Walker aka “Grandpa Dick”— would purchase this canoe from the University of Wisconsin, and make it a family canoe. Many adventures were had on the banks of the Yahara river and beyond.
In the late 1990s I rode in this beautiful canoe for the first time, also along the Yahara River, too young even to paddle myself. I sat in the middle while my dad and grandpa paddled.
Around 2006, this canoe underwent a metamorphosis. Grandpa Dick took her to the North House Folk School on the North Shore of Lake Superior to have her totally refurbished. As far as I can tell, the gunnels, keel, and canvas were all replaced at this time. The ribs are still originals.
The canoe emerged as a Monarch, with a fresh new red pain job to match.
In 2013 my father, frandfather and I took Monarch Canoe on the turbulent Lake Superior—the largest of the Great Lakes. We went for an excursion near the Apostle Islands, exploring the famous Lake Superior “Sea Caves” for the day in some drizzly weather.
The End of an Era
When my grandfather passed away in 2019, this canoe was left to me. A great honor, I intended to take care of her, and to appreciate her by taking her out on the water. It’s a shame to see a boat cooped up inside too much.
When I went to pick up the canoe from Madison, the first trip I took was a throwback: right back on to the Yahara River. My uncle Brad and I took her for a spin, paddling the river and onto Lake Mendota as well!
Monarch Canoe came back to Minnesota with me, to have a few repairs done, and to prepare for my trip in the boundary waters. Portaging is essential for those trips, so a top priority was replacing the center thwart with a portage yoke.
Once those repairs were complete, it was time to take Monarch for a spin! I took an amazing trip in the northeastern corner of the Boundary Waters Canoe area. It was great to get to know Monarch and her character, how she handles with the flow, and the winds, and how she feels packed to the brim with camping gear. All told, she held up to the rigors of portaging wonderfully! A wooden canoe always looks stunningly beautiful on the water; the feeling cannot be matched by a royalex plastic, or even kevlar in my humble opinion. In addition, the bright red of this canoe makes for a sharp contrast with the environmental greens and blues.
I was very pleased with the way Monarch stood up to the rigors of a Northwoods trip. With that victory behind us, it was time to go south.
New Journeys
The Yahara River flows into the Rock River, which in turn flows in to the Mississippi River at Davenport, Iowa, where it turns south and heads towards the Gulf of Mexico. I opted for a terrestrial route to get there, strapping Monarch canoe on my vehicle. Next stop was Quapaw Canoe Company, located on the Lower Mississippi River, over 1000 miles downstream from Madison.
Ever since then, she has been living in Clarksdale, Mississippi, at the base of Quapaw Canoe Company. Here she is at home surrounded my countless other canoes and kayaks, so she always has someone to talk to. Down south, she has explore the Sunflower River in our backyard, Merrisach Lake, the Lower Arkansas River, and the Mighty Mississippi. She’s living a good life here.
On the Name
When I inherited this canoe, I didn’t want to be too quick to name, it. I wanted the name to come naturally. She was named Monarch for these reasons:
As far as I can tell, she was originally a dark green canoe. Now a bright red after the 2006 repairs.
When she is on land, turned upside down, her bright red color attracts butterflies looking for pollen, including monarchs!
On the drive down to Mississippi, she picked up a monarch butterfly. This was the first thing we saw when unloading here
It follows the pattern of other homemade wooden Quapaw Canoes, many of which are insects as well. She joins the ranks of Junebug, Junebug II, Ladybug, Grasshopper, Cricket, and Dragonfly Dawn canoes!
Cousin Junebug II Canoe
Etc.
https://www.oldtowncanoe.com/heritage
Excellent post.
How did you uncover the history of the canoe?