Newsletter Three Rivers Chapter

Wooden Canoe Heritage Association

Issue 40

April 2010

April 17th Meeting 4th Annual Deer Lake Regatta The community of Deer Lake is located in the mountains about 2 miles from Chalk Hill, Pa. We have a 77 acre lake that the community surrounds. We are having our canoe event here on Saturday, April 17th, 2010 at 10:00 am at the Lake’s Pavillion. We will be serving hamburgers and hotdogs and cold drinks. If anyone wants to bring a covered dish it would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Fred Capenos at captainoss@yahoo.com or you can call Fred at 724-438-1027 if you are planning to attend or if you need additional information or directions. Directions to Deer Lake.: At the top of mountain at the Summit Hotel, go 1.8 miles east on Rt 40, turn left at light in Chalk Hill onto Chalk Hill-Ohiopyle Road. Go .5 miles and bear right onto Old Mill Road, Go 1.4 miles and turn into Gate #4 and you have arrived……. HOPE YOU ALL CAN MAKE IT HERE ON APRIL 17TH…SEE YOU THEN……

March 27, 2010 Meeting

By Andy Hutyera, Chapter Head

We gathered for our last indoor meeting of the year at Max Woodworking on Saturday March 27. As folks

arrived they were greeted by an impressive snack table that included fresh warm cranberry pecan rolls complete

with a hand turned wooden serving utensil, fresh strawberries with chocolate dipping sauce, a tray of biscotti, cookies and fresh brewed coffee. A special thanks goes to Dave Donaldson for providing those

wonderful pecan rolls. Our friend Paul Knuth arrived all the way from Edinboro bearing a complete set of Wooden Canoe Journals which he has graciously donated to our Chapter. Mark Zolonis has volunteered to assume custody of the Journals and make them available for loan to our members. They contain many valuable articles published over the years on all topics of building, caring for, paddling and restoring wooden canoes and will be a

valuable resource for our Chapter members. Many thanks to Paul!! After a social time the twenty gathered folks settled down to a wonderful presentation by Sylvan Canoe Club members Tony and Ann Mertz. Tony spent many years as a guide at the Girl Scout Camp on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park and was well acquainted with Omer Stringer. He is intimately acquainted with the many beautiful lakes, streams and campsites of the Park. Tony and Ann discovered their mutual love for wilderness tripping on canoe trips through the Park, and as Tony put it, he just had to marry the girl. Together, they have traveled most of the by ways of Algonquin. Over the years they have accumulated a lovely collection of photographs taken in diverse locations in the Park. We

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were treated to a slide show of many breath-taking views of the lakes, streams, flora and wildlife of the Park as seen during canoe season. Many thanks to Tony Stanton and Ann Mertz for a great program and thanks to Max Peterson for hosting our Winter events.

Tony Stanton giving his presentation

Tony Stanton and Ann Mertz in Algonquin

Update on Becky Mason Event

We are finalizing the details of Becky Mason and Reid McLachlan’s visit to the Mini Assembly this Oct. 10 weekend at Gifford Pinchot Park near Harrisburg. We are asking all those who wish to participate to pay a Fifty Dollar deposit to reserve a slot in this event. The total cost will be One Hundred Dollars per person which will entitle you to two two-hour sessions of solo canoeing with Becky and Reid. There will be three sessions available per day at various levels of experience. We have limited this event to eighteen participants on a first come basis. The sessions will be limited to six participants each. Becky and Reid will also do a slide presentation open to all on Saturday evening. Those of you who wish to participate please send your checks payable to Three Rivers Chapter to our Chapter Head,

Andy Hutyera at 431 St. Clair Ave., Cadiz, Ohio. Andy can also be reached by e-mail at chips@ohio.net. Registration will be open to our members until June 1. If

we do not have eighteen folks signed up by then, we will open the event to members of other chapters. If we have more than eighteen folks who wish to participate, we will start a waiting list in the event of cancellations. This promises to be an exciting event so be sure to sign up early!

2010 WATER SCHEDULE April 17 Deer Lake Regatta May 15 Pymatuning State Park Linesville area June 12 Western Pa. Solo Canoe Rendevous, Cooper’s Lake Campground July 14-18 WCHA Assembly New Hampshire August 7 Lake Arthur Regatta , Moraine State Park September 18 Yellow Creek State Park October 9-10 Mini-Assembly Gifford Pinchot State Park October Three Rivers Chapter Annual Meeting, Sylvan Canoe Club

ALLEGHENY CANOE CLUB SCHEDULE OF EVENTS CONTINUED…………….. May 1 (Canoeing) Oil Creek, Drake Well to Petroleum Center. (Saturday) Meet at 10:am at the put-in at the bike trail parking lot by the bridge at Drake Well. This trip is dependent upon water levels which rise and fall rapidly, so you must contact us ahead of time so that we can let you know if the trip is doable. There is an easy class one Boughton Dam. Cold water precautions advised, Contact Lee Ann Reiners, 814-484-3059 or tidhouse@zoominternet.net Alternate may be biking. May 2 Nature walk on Oil Creek bike trail. (Sunday) Old railroad grades are noted for a diversity of wildflowers, and the Oil Creek Bike trail is exceptionally diverse. Bring you camera and we’ll

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walk along the trail checking out the wildflowers and stretching our legs a bit after what is sure to be a long Pa. Winter !! see the creek you paddled on Saturday from the perspective of the bike trail on Sunday. Meet at 1:00pm at the bike trail parking lot by the bridge at Drake Well end of the trail. We’ll walk the trail for a ways and see how far we get- distance to be determined by us as we go along. Contact same as above. May 29-30-31 (Wilderness Canoe Camping) W.B. Susquehanna River (Saturday and Sunday and Monday) The paddling distance for this trip is around 55 river miles from Shawville to Keating,Pa. The trip requires 2 nights of primitive camping, Call first Burt Marting 724-475-2302 June 5 (canoeing) French Creek, Utica to Franklin,Pa. (Saturday) meet at 11:00 am at the Justice Trail Canoe access ramp , it’s located the bike trail head parking lot near the Salt Box building on the east side of the Allegheny River near the Route 322 bridge in Franklin. Call first, Don Ward , 814-676-0752 June 19 (canoeing) Allegheny River the town of Buckaloons to Tidioute (Saturday) We’ll meet at the put-in at 10:00am This section of the river is moving flat water with a few riffles here and there, a distance of about 15 miles. From the east or west along Route 6--- exit Route 6 at the Route 62/Tidioute/Tionest a interchange. Pass the Buckaloons turnoff, cross the river and take the Blair Warehouse ramp on right. Circle around the bridge . From the south along Rt. 62, follow Rt.62 almost to Route 6. Before you get to the bridge over the Allegheny , exit onto the Blair Warehouse ramp. At the merge, turn left and follow that driveway to the bridge underpass, park there. Contact Lee Ann Reiners at Tidhouse@zoominternet.net or call 814-484-3059. June 20 Hike on Tanbark Trail (tentative) (Sunday) for those of you who might want to stay an extra day after paddling the Allegheny on Saturday. We might get up a walk on Tanbark Trail if there is interest. Contact Lee Ann Reiners.

PADDLEPALOOZA Andy Hutyers had heard fom Chuck Huffhine that he is trying to put together a display of a few wooden canoes for the Paddlepalooza event to be held in Columbus Ohio on April 30 and May 1 at the Ohio Fairgrounds. If you are interested in attending please email Andy at chips@ohio.net or 740-942-2936

TREASURER’S REPORT Don Bottman, Treasurer Balance as of March 31, 2010 $ 894.13 with 27 paid members. If you haven’t paid your dues for 2010 please remit $ 20.00 to Don Bottman 336 Nicholls Hill, Belle Vernon,Pa 15012 Make checks payable to: WCHA Three Rivers Chapter.

F Y I Launch Permits - Don’t forget you must have a current 2010 Pennsylvania Launch Permit. Walter Walker donation- The membership has a $100.00 donation to the WCHA in memory of Walter Walker. Richard Greene - The store manager for the WCHA and Assembly store is dealing with some health issues and I’m sure he ‘d appreciate hearing from our membership. His address is Richard Greene 70 Wendy Lane Glen Mills, Pa 19342

CALL FOR PHOTOGRAPHS

To: All WCHA Members From: Lew Markle, Volunteer Coordinator of WCHA Calendar Project Date: March 28, 2010 Re: WCHA 2011 Calendar

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The WCHA Board has recently authorized the production and sale of an official WCHA Calendar for 2011 and (hopefully) subsequent years. This will be a high quality, all color calendar that highlights the canoes and canoeing adventures of our membership. All proceeds from the sales of these calendars will go to the WCHA. I have agreed to act as the Coordinator for the calendar project, but I need your help!! I am asking the membership to submit photographs from which we can select 12 or so for the first edition. Photos can be of any canoe related subject matter – canoe portraits, canoe shops, action shots, etc. – anything that would be a good representation of WCHA and be fun to look at for a month! All photos should be digital, color, and of the highest resolution possible. Please send in no more than 3 photos for 2011 – save some good ones for next year! Please include a brief description of the canoe, location, or other relevant information, including the name(s) of the Owner and the photographer. We hope to have this calendar ready for sale at this years Assembly, so time is of the essence. Please send your photo submissions to me by April 23, 2010, either by email at lmarkle@markleenterprises.com , or mail a disc to me at 11180 Centerline Road, South Wales, NY (USA) 14139. I can be reached at (716)655-0098 if you have any questions.

Thanks in advance for your help on this project! Lew Markle

PADDLING THE WEB April – Paddling the Web – Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum Bruce Kerman

At our February meeting, former WCHA president Bill Conrad spoke of the history of the WCHA, some of the early members, and how the organization got started. In this talk, Bill mentioned founding members Jeff and Jill Dean and a new canoe museum in Spooner, Wisconsin, being started with canoes from the Dean’s collection. I thought that it would be interesting to take a look at the web site for this new museum. The web site for the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum can be found at – http://www.wisconsincanoeheritagemuseum.com/index.html

The museum is actually not open yet, but is planning for its opening on May 29, 2010. The museum is an institution devoted to the preservation and interpretation of the cultural heritage of canoes and canoeing in North America. The building features both an exhibit hall and a work shop. The exhibit hall features displays comprised of canoes from the collection of Jill Weber Dean and Jeff Dean. It

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includes significant craft from the golden age of North American canoeing as well as work by important contemporary builders. The building traditions of the eastern seaboard, the mid-west, and Canada are all represented, providing the museum visitor a fascinating opportunity to experience the evolution of canoe design and manufacture in proper historical context. The canoe shop is a 2,500 square foot, state of the art facility designed to celebrate the rich legacy of canoe craft while inspiring and educating a new generation of builders. Participants in canoe shop programs experience traditional and contemporary construction and restoration techniques through instruction by skilled mentors. So, if you find yourself in Northwest Wisconsin this summer, you might want to stop in at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum. If not, just take a look at the web site for the museum.

HAPPY EASTER