My personal interests and hobbies.

Vintage canoe research project.

Dialogue with others about this project.

Phase IV -- Other contacts in 2006.

One of the benefits of posting messages in public fora like the WCHA forum is that other people can follow along or accidentally (through Internet searches) find the discussion and contribute. During the previous phase of the research, I heard from Stephen Dean of Fresno, California, USA. He sent me a private message of introduction:

I just found your post re the sailing canoe. My last name is "Dean", and you have a Walter Dean canoe. I've been interested in finding a vintage "Dean" mahogany sailing canoe. If you know of any for sale, OR if you ever decide to sell yours, please contact me by email or phone.

Best regards
Stephen Dean

Now this was an interesting turn of events! I responded to Stephen thus:

2006-09-15:
Nice to hear from you Stephen. I visited the Canadian Canoe Museum last week and they also believe, although are not entirely sure, that it is a Walter Dean. Interestingly, one of the members of the board of directors of the museum is the great-grandson of Walter Dean. Are you related?

He wrote back:

2006-09-16:
Thanks for the response and the photos.

I too visited the Canoe Museum but it was 2 summers ago. We were driving back to Toronto after taking the "Millionairs Tour" on a steam boat on Lake Muskoka.

I was traveling with several people in the car, and one did NOT want to go to a "#$%& canoe museum!!" This person, a Toronto teacher, was going to sit outside in the car and wait. I insisted that I would pay her way inside and she would at least be more comfortable inside than sitting in the car (and probably stewing about the wait time). Reluctantly (and grumpily) she agreed. Inside, her eyes "popped wide open", and she went to every display. Afterwards she said over and over "This is a National Treasure!" She must have said it 10 times!!!

There were some wonderful vintage mahogany canoes on display there that really got me interested in obtaining one.

A "Dean" would be perfect because of my name......and, to answer your question, as far as I know (back to 1820 at least) there is no relation, alas. But, it would make a great story, and who could prove otherwise!!!

I've spent several years researching the subject of restoring wooden boats in general and wooden canoes specifically and have determined it's a "big job" to do it right. Nonetheless, I want to tackle it .

Again, please let me know if you ever decide to sell yours. I am a "motivated buyer"!

Best regards,
Stephen Dean

As a result of my visit to the Canadian Canoe Museum, Jeremy Ward encouraged me to send him information and photos so that he might pursue the canoe's origins further. This was the true impetus to create this website about the research project. Once I had created the first version, I got in touch with him:

2006-09-12: Jeremy:
I wanted to thank you once again for the time you took last week (Thursday) to speak with me and my wife about the vintage canoe we are researching. You requested some photos so that you could see if you could determine the manufacturer and possible age of the decked sailing canoe we have in our possession. I have gone a step further: I created a website with the documentation and photos. Thus, you should have everything you need to do the required research. The information may be found at ../../interests/in_index.htm. The recent thumbnail photos will enlarge to highly detailed photos.

I look forward to any feedback you may provide. Let me know if you require additional information.
David Darwin

The response from Jeremy pointed back to resource people with whom I already had contact.

2006-09-27: Hi David,
Been away for a week and a half on assignment, and see that you've had some feedback! I'm glad that you've found Dick Persson through your posting. He is, as you have seen, an invaluable resource to many (including the CCM), and I probably would have turned to him on this one sooner or later. I did have a look at your site, wonderful images. I do like his suggestion about the canoe likely being a Dean, but bearing the Hicks' brand from its days in their livery.

Thanks for sharing your canoe with us, it's uncommon to see the vintage family pix accompanying a canoe that still exists.

All the best,
Jeremy

2006-11-06: I was surprised this evening to receive a telephone call from John Hicks, the great grandson of O. L. Hicks. He had just stumbled upon the WCHA forum discussion about the canoe. He called from his home in Guelph, Ontario to talk about the canoe. He felt the brand mark on the canoe definitely indicated it had been manufactured by O. L Hicks as the rental canoes made by someone else were not branded but referred to by their name. We spent several minutes discussing the operation of the Hicks livery and manufacturing business. He kindly forwarded two photos taken about 1910-1912 on the Humber River in Toronto, Ontario with several decked canoes included (click photo to enlarge):

I replied to John indicating I did not see anything in the two photos which resembled the canoe I had in my possession. The following day, he forwarded another photo which showed O. L. Hicks and his wife in a decked canoe. By return email I noted: "The picture is getting closer to our craft, but does not have the distinctive torpedo stems that make it so interesting and resembling those made by Dean." To this, John responded:

2006-11-07: Good evening David,

I am copying Dick Persson on my correspondence to you. He too is interested in early canoe builders in Ontario. I will send you photocopies of various newspaper articles that outline the history of the Hicks family on the Humber River. I have no inventory of the number or kinds of boats O. L. Hicks and Son built. I do have pictures of some of individual boats he built.

Till hearing from you the only boats I knew to still exist were a canoe like yours in the possession of John Bosworth, a rowing skiff used by Ned Hanlon that the City of Toronto has in storage and a boat owned John Howard who donated High Park that is on display in Colbourne Lodge in the Park. Peter Code used a drawing he made from this boat as part of the logo for his Traditional Boat-building School.

I think sailing canoes were popular. I have a Peterborough lateral strip sailing canoe that was part of the fleet that my grandfather rented on the Humber.

I have attached a photograph of William (Will) John Hicks in a sailing canoe on the Humber. It may be his signature on your receipt.

John

The following day brought an email note from Dick Persson:

2006-11-08: Dear Mr. Hicks,

I agree that the decks of the canoe in the last picture you sent are similar to Mr. Darwin's canoe. However, I am still more or less convinced that his canoe likely was built by Walter Dean. Mr. Darwin's canoe exhibit the following construction details all typical to Walter Dean; torpedo stems, metallic joint batten, close rib spacing, small half round ribs and likely also mahogany planking another W. Dean trait.

It is clear that several builders copied the designs of Walter Dean and made use of some of his construction methods and details. The most flagrant copy was actually made by the Peterborough Canoe Co. In my research I have not found any proof that your great grandfather built metallic joint canoes. However, it seems to be clear that he occasionally purchased canoes from the Deans for his rental fleet. I think it is quite possible that Mr. Darwin's canoe has been a rental canoe in your grandfather's fleet which would explain his possible signature on the sale receipt.

The canoe in the picture foreground is very likely also built by Walter Dean. I am sure it is his model the "Sunnyside Cruiser" exhibiting the typical W. Dean early cruiser stem profile, the Sunnyside cruiser deck, thwart style and placement, metallic joint batten, and close rib spacing with small half-round ribs.

The second canoe in above picture however displays construction details I believe was your great grandfather's. The same canoe seen above is also clearly seen in the picture below.

This canoe clearly shows a different rib style and rib spacing. This rib style and spacing is also visible in the decked sailing canoe paddled by your great grandfather in the pcture below.

Do you have any sales literature or any other business documents from your great grandfather's canoe businesses?

Sincerely Dick Persson

Several days later, John Hicks wrote again to both myself and Dick Persson, providing additional information.

2006-11-18: Dear Dick and David,

Attached is a picture of the last Hicks Boathouse at the mouth of the Humber River taken in 1904. This is the boathouse of my father's childhood memories.

I have also attached a transcript of a recorded interview with my father done in 1987. It is only the first few pages. There are more pages concerning memories of his grandfather who he admired so much.

I have no business documents and only one picture of the boatyard where the bigger boats were built. My father told me the canoes were built in the winter in a two storey barn like building on the north side of Lakeshore Road.

I just remembered that one of my cousins has a half model of a canoe.

O. L.' s house was full of half models of boats built. My sister has one of a sail boat.

I am still in pursuit of good pictures of O. L.'s personal canoe.

Dick I do have a photo album with many pictures taken by O. L. on a trip to I think Bermuda. I know he also travelled to Jamaica.

Again I will have to check but I think he came to Canada in 1871 from the via the Caribbean.

I hope you find this material of interest.

Sincerely,
John Hicks

On November 27, 2006, John sent another email with copies of a few articles written at the time of O. L. Hicks' death. He also included one written in the 1950's that provided a little background on O. L. Hicks' business interests and his character.

On December 5, 2006, John Hicks wrote again to send along a couple of pictures of a very special canoe.

Dear David and Dick,

I was able to get a few photographs of O L Hicks' personal canoe. This canoe hangs from the ceiling of a cottage on a small man made lake in the Newmarket area.

Sincerely, John

The photos of O. L. Hicks' personal canoe are shown here:

.

I responded immediately to John's note (with a copy to Dick Persson), saying:

Thanks John.

This one looks similar to the one I have. The stems are shaped a bit differently, but the overall construction and wood are alike. Too bad there was not a shot of the interior. My wife and I were interested to see the coaming/back supports and how they were shaped. That part has been modified on our craft. They can be seen in part in the photos you sent.

Dick, I am wondering what your feelings are about this canoe shown in the photos. Is it possible the one I have, with the Hicks brand inside, was in fact made by O.L. Hicks using a form similar to the one in John's photos? I suppose O.L. Hicks could have copied Dean's torpedo stem design since Dean's boathouse was immediately across the Humber from his own.

John, is the canoe and cottage in Newmarket in the Hicks family? Is the canoe still used?

Fascinating, all of this.
Thanks. David

First thing the following morning (2006-12-06), I received a telephone call from Dick Persson. We had a wonderful chat about this canoe and canoes in general. He had viewed the two latest pictures from John Hicks and noted the rib spacing was obviously different from that used in a Dean canoe. It is possible O. L. Hicks may have tried to copy the Dean design, but the ribs were too wide in this one for metallic battens. Dick spoke to me about a book he is writing tracing the history of major Canadian canoe builders from 1860 to 1960. He also spoke about the viability of using my canoe again, surmising that it was good looking and would be a joy to paddle. He concluded our conversation by saying, "You have a very rare canoe."

I am coming to realize how true this statement may be. Whether the canoe was made by Walter Dean or by O. L. Hicks, it is a rare specimen of canoes made in that era.

A few days later, I heard from John Hicks again, responding to my questions in the last email to him.

2006-12-10: Dear David,

The boat now belongs to John Bosworth, a grandson of O. L. Hicks. Before it came into Mr. Bosworth's possession it was owned by Pauline Dutton, a granddaughter of O. L.

This canoe was O. L.'s personal craft. In has been in the family since O. L.'s death.

The photos I sent were taken last summer by another relative who was visiting the Bosworth home. I am sure Mr. Bosworth would show the canoe to anyone who was interested. I know of one time in the last twenty years when this canoe has been in the water.

I too noticed the similarity in seat backing with the old photos of your canoe.

I am delighted that you use any information that I send you on your web site.

I have attached a photo of a Hicks made blade that has a brand and a label. This straight brand with only the name also was used to mark their paddles.

Sincerely,
John

On December 23, 2006 I received a comment from a web site visitor. This hinted at a potential new source of information.

Hi David,
You might get some further information by contacting my cousin, Bob Harmer. Bob just turned 99 and is as sharp as a tack. He was a long-time member of the Toronto Argonauts Rowing Club and spent a lot of time in the Sunnyside area. Please contact me direct for his contact information.
George Chisholm
Oakville, Ontario

I replied to George the same day, saying:

George:
How nice to hear from you. Thank-you for following up on my website story about the canoe. I would be most interested in communicating with your cousin if he has some recollections about the Sunnyside beach and the canoes which were in use there. This whole exercise has become a wonderful adventure and I am getting to know some great people.

George replied very promptly and gave some additional details about his cousin and his involvement in the boating around Toronto.

Hi David,
I haven't spoken much with him about the area but at his birthday party last week I asked him about a canoe my father bought from him about 15 years ago. It was a 16' Peterborough and he told me that he bought it new in 1960 from Eaton's, where he worked in the men's department for years. My dad wanted to buy it so that he and I would each have a canoe. I have the Peterborough 14' which he bought well used as a livery boat from Metro Marine here in Oakville in the late 40s/early 50s. Bob thought he should charge my father what he paid for the boat new - $60. It's now in Calgary but needs some repair. Right now I have 3 canoes. My son found an unknown 14 foot cedar plank/canvas boat in Latchford near Temagami a couple of months ago and then I picked up 16' Bastien very cheaply. They both need work.

Bob and I also talked about Sunnyside cruisers and other boats. He lives in a retirement home here in Oakville. His phone number is (deleted). If you are ever down this way from Ottawa, you could visit him but he could probably answer some of your questions over the phone. He may have email as well - many of the retirement homes do.

I'll also ask another cousin if she has any appropriate photos of the area. Her father and my father spent a lot of time seaflea racing in that area and at the Ex in the 20s. Her father was Dominion Champion twice.

Unfortunately the Toronto Marine Museum is closed. They moved from Stanley Barracks in the parking lot at the CNE to a new building, changed their name to The Pier Museum and then promptly shut down. You may be able to access the archival part of their collection through the City of Toronto Archives or the Provincial Archives.

Good luck with your quest and Merry Christmas.
George

I have not communicated further with George nor his cousin.

The research continues:

• Phase V - Other contacts from 2007 to date.

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