Dialogue 5 about the canoe.

Even though there have been breaks in activity since the main part of the research, there continued to be a steady stream of comments from visitors to the website and messages from my regular contacts busy continuing with their own research. It was always a pleasure to receive an email from my main contact in the Hicks family.

Before I could send a reply to John, I received a note from my wife's uncle in Toronto. He said:

I sent a reply to John in which I also passed on the information and article I had just received. I said:

In my other conversations with my wife's uncle I had asked him to check with his brother to see if he remembered anything about the canoe. Unfortunately, this did not turn up anything useful as he wrote (2007-02-07): "I did have a second hand reply from Brenda to my question to Jim about the canoe but I wanted to wait until I had talked to him directly again by phone. So we were chatting last night & basically he doesn't remember too much about it. Just that it was kept in a boathouse on the Humber & he recalls going out in it with Art once or twice on the river. As far as from whom it was purchased or any other facts he doesn't know anything more than I did."

John Hicks continues to be a valuable lead in this research project. I was very pleased to receive his next email.

This was a final detail that all but sealed it in my mind that the canoe sitting in my garage was in fact build by O. L. Hicks. However, John had one more item to share. A couple of hours after his note above he sent a comment and a picture:

I closed the loop on this bit of email conversation with the following note to John, with a copy to Dick:

Comments which arrive from visitors to the website are not always directly related to this research project. They do, however, open up new streams of conversation.

This past winter my husband was refinishing a double sided paddle.To our surprise the old decal of Walter Dean was visible. Then I attended a lecture with my elderly mother at the Swansea Historical Society and the speaker was Mary Lou Borg. She is one of the owners of the most recently restored Palaise Royale. She spoke briefly on the Walter Dean Livery under the Palaise and how the old boat forms are still there ! www.PALAISEROYALE.CA This is her web site.

We have down a number of boat restorations and now would love to have a Walter Dean to restore. That is how I found your very informative site. Did you get your canoe restored? The best place these wonderful old boats can be is in the water being USED. And not to be afraid to use them. We take our Dippy every year off our cottage lake and into the big waters of Georgian Bay/French River.

So happy canoeing
Nancy Howchin
Markham ON

I shared this message with John and Dick, and asked: "Could she be correct that the Walter Dean boat forms are still in the old Palais? I thought they were all burned. Maybe they are forms from another builder. Interesting website which has some old photos including one with the Dean canoes." [Note: the website referred to no longer exists.]

I replied to Nancy, thanking her for visiting and her comments, and updating her on the research so far.

2007-05-18: Dear David,
It is great to hear from you.
I was surprised as you to think that after all these years that the forms would still be there. It is a remarkable story.
I visited Palais Royale web site. It is a beautiful building. I will try to go for a visit sometime.
I did mention to you that the O. L. Hicks' forms were burned behind the Wanita Boathouse (downstream of the Bloor Street Bridge) I believe at sometime in the 1930's.
John

There had not been much activity throughout the summer of 2007, so I thought perhaps the trail had gone cold. I was wrong. I received an surprising message from another member of the Hicks' family in the fall. A new link had been forged.

After a few months, a new, but related, topic came up. This was in regard to the Wanita Tea Room which eventually became the home of the Hicks livery. Some photos and a write-up about the Wanita may be found here.

There was another period of silence for a few months, then, through the wonders of the Internet, another message from a relative of Walter Dean arrived in my mailbox.

Thank-you for visiting my website.

I am not sure how much time you spent reading about the canoe on the website, but the story there indicated that what I at first thought might be a Walter Dean canoe is in fact one made by his competitor, O. L. Hicks. A copy of the bill of sale is on the website as well, but I have attached it here. Although the part of the receipt with the seller's signature is partially absent, it is not hard to figure out the last name is probably "Hicks."

I have had contacts from relatives of Walter Dean over the years (Stephen Dean, Mark Dean), and I will add your email to the list.

2011-11-05 Hello David,
Thanks ever so much for your posts on the history of your canoe. I'm particularly interested in the Hicks family as I'm the great grandson of Octavius Laing. I have a number of historical documents that I received from some senior members of the family and I'm in the process of putting them into some kind of accessible format for the rest of the family.

If you have any particular questions about the family business and the family tree, I will try to address them as part of my ongoing research.

Regards,
Paul Quinn

My mother was Helen V. Hicks, the daughter of Harry Hicks whose father was O.L.

Paul:
Thank-you so very much for taking the time to write. It is absolutely wonderful how this canoe has put me in touch with so many interesting people. I especially appreciate your offer to contribute to my research on this canoe. I am interested to know who it was who sold the canoe to my father-in-law. Family lore has it that O. L. was away from the business and someone else sold the canoe to my father-in-law (an avid boater). Reportedly, O.L. was not pleased as the canoe had some significance to him. If you could look at the image of the receipt I have on the website and could discern who may have signed it, that would be great. (Unfortunately, the receipt was torn and a portion of the signature is missing, but it is clearly a member of the Hicks family.)

Also, if there is anything in the historical documents that might shed any light on the significance of the canoe's name "Dora" that would also be appreciated.

Of course, any info you could supply about the O. L.'s canoe building and livery business would be valuable background. There is much interest by the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) in this kind of information. With your permission, I would love to share anything you might discover with them. I have been mulling doing a story for their magazine about my research on the canoe.

I am so pleased my efforts in documenting the journey was worthwhile. Please let me know if there is anything more I can do to support your efforts. BTW, where are you located?

David

Hello David,
I've recently linked up with another great-grandson of O.L. He's done a wonderful job in researching the family tree. I believe that you've been in touch with him as well. I think that you mentioned somewhere in your notes that John has given you some assistance in your research.

As far as the cheque is concerned. The only W.H Hicks that was around in 1937 was William Henry (Harry). He was born in 1908 and died in a car accident in 1950 in New York. His dad was William John who died in 1958. As far as O.L. being displeased, I don't think so. He passed away in 1930. Maybe Harry sold it and his dad was upset.

I haven't found a "Dora" yet but I'm still looking. I have many pictures and articles about O.L. and his boats. I'll send them along when I have sourced them all.

Cheers, Paul

Again, after a period of almost two years, more contact was made regarding the canoe by another member of the Hicks clan.

2013-09-18 You appear to be the centre of Hicks family geneology through your interest in canoes built by my Great- Grandfather, Octavius L. Hicks. His son, Fred Hicks was the father of my mother, Margaret Briggs, Formerly Marshall. Pauline Dutton referred to in you material was my mother's youngest sister. John Hicks is a son of Lorne Hicks, son of Will Hicks who operated a canoe livery until destroyed by Hurricane Hazel in October 1954.

The personal canoe of O. L. Hicks was in the possession of my Grandmother, Louise Hicks, until her death in 1967. I used the canoe regularly from about 1939 until about 1953. As I recall it was built in the early 1920's. I did some work on it in 1948 under the supervision of Uncle Will, who was a regular visitor in our home.When my grandmother died we decided to give the canoe to John's father, Lorne Hicks, who, in turn gave it to John Bosworth, son of my Grandfather's sister.

One of your pictures show some young women in canoes, one of whom is noted as Josie Meyers, my grandmother's younger sister.
Alan Marshall, Burlington, Ontario

Alan:
Thank-you so much for taking the time to write after visiting my website. I am always fascinated and interested to hear more about the heritage of our canoe. I have heard from many members of the Dean family as well since the canoe designs look similar and they had a livery opposite that of your great-grandfather's on the Humber.

By any chance, would you have a guess if there is any significance to the name "Dora" which graces the sides of our canoe? Could it be a family member? I just would love to know if it has any significance as families of the era often named their craft after something/someone connected to their family.

So glad you took the time to write.
David

2014-08-05 Hi David,
Paul, Alan and Warren are all second cousins to me. I plan on meeting Paul for the first time tomorrow. We have corresponded for a number of years and share photos and other information. Alan I have not seen in many years. His mother was close to my father as my father lived with the Marshall family when he was young..
Warren lives out on Vancouver Island and I have never met him. He does have new email address.
John

2014-08-22 Hi, I found your site while researching canoe clubs in the Toronto area for my canoeing website (http://cfly.ca/timeless/canoe/canoe.htm). I am trying to find out more about the Humber Bay Canoe Club which lasted from 1914 to 1925. They were set up somewhere on the Humber, likely west of the Parkdale Canoe Club and possibly as far as the mouth of the river. Your photos of the Hicks Boat House got me thinking that the HBCC may have rented space from them as I don't think they actually had a building of their own. Do you happen to know or have seen anything about the Humber Bay Canoe Club in your research? Or anything about Hicks renting to local clubs? Thanks. Liam

Mr. Moore:
Thank-you so much for visiting my website and the additional information and context you provided. I am glad you were able to contact John Hicks. He has been most helpful in my research and documentation effort. Please keep me informed of your efforts to produce a Wikipedia article. This would provide a fascinating link to my canoe.

I'd be interested in knowing the reason for your interest in OL Hicks. Where are you located?

I live in the Palace Pier condominium in Humber Bay Shores. This building is sited on land which is close to the site of lakeshore residence. I have dabbled a bit in Etobicoke history: see rogerdmoore.ca/EMS which has sundry material about the Humber Bay region.
    After a new street in this area was named “Annie Craig Lane” I wrote a Wikipedia article on the ship “Annie Craig”. Wikipedia robot complained that there was no link to the article. After modifying the Eugene O’Keefe article the obvious next step was to write an article on O L Hicks.
    As O L Hicks was a man of many talents, so researching his activities requires a bit of library and Google work. I am getting close to the end. The article needs a few obvious sentences on his adventures in the hotel business.
    One omission in the present draft is that his boat building activities are barely mentioned.

There are some deliberate omissions due to my distrust of sole source information:
A] There is little evidence that Ned Hanlan owned a boat which included an O L Hicks sliding seat.
B] Frank Barber’s long obituary for O L H claims that OLH built seawalls in southern Etobicoke. There is also a false claim that OLH built the existing breakwater at Sunnyside Beach east of the Humber River.

current draft is at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Rdmoore6/sandbox
Regards,
Roger Moore

There was a bit more later that day as he wrote to John Hicks and Denise Harris:

For over two years, there was no communication activity on the website. Then, in late December 2020, another exchange began with Peter Breen (www.breenboats.com) in Toronto.

Hi. I have an older O L Hicks 3 board canoe. O L Hicks and a number stamped into inner keeson. Any information on him and specific dates would be welcomed. I became interested as I played around the old Humber yacht club in the early 1960’s and later owned Lavkies Marina on the Humber that was Barton and Lackies when they relocated across from the original livery after Hurricane Hazel. Peter

I thanked Peter for the contact and explained my research project. I said (2021-01-04),

If you read through the extensive dialogue section starting at the 2006-11-07 date, you will see that I have been in touch with several members of the Hicks family. They have also provided me with several valuable family photographs of the Hicks livery on the Humber River. I even had the pleasure of hosting the great-grandson of O. L. Hicks at my home to view the canoe and its rigging.

I have visited the Humber River area and dropped into the Toronto Humber Yacht Club which stands where the Hicks boathouse used to be before the infamous Hurricane Hazel floods. (See 2007-10-20 portion of the dialogue).

I would love to see photos of your Hicks craft if you would share them.

If there is anything further you wish to know, I will see what I can provide.

David: I have had the canoe for 5-6 years hanging in my museum. I brought her over to the shop in november, as one of this winters projects. I have worked my way through her and am now varnishing her inside and out, as under the two thorough strippings and scrapings, with first red, then green paint, and several of each coats, the original finish was varnish not paint. Mine is an early four board constriction, cedar skinned, with 4 O. L. Hicks tags on each thwart. I will send you some pictures in a month or so when I am finished. I was born in the area, and my first memory is walking down to the Old Mill from our house, and seeing a big fire truck out in the middle of the humber near the washed out stone bridge the next morning, and my dad telling me some firemen were killed. I was born in 1950 so I would have been 4 1/2 years old. I still have the picture in my head. Talk then. Peter.

In response, I said, "You and I are the same age. My Dora craft is varnished - many coats of it. She is also four board construction with brass battens. Perhaps you would appreciate these photos of the Hicks boathouse and of O. L. Hicks - the twin of Dora. Look forward to seeing some photos of your handiwork."

It is all fascinating stuff. If you google, Bartons Boat House, toronto public libraries, you will see Bartons Boat House damaged by hurricane hazel. It is immediately south of the tracks on the west side of the river. There are still wooden pilings in the mud near shore today that you can clearly see that were the support pilings. Have hit a few in the old Lackies Marina days. After hurricane hazel Barton partnered with Lackie and formed Barton and Lackies, and they were moved across the river 400' upstream on the east side, because of plans to build the Q.E.W. This is the marina I purchased in 1970 and ran it till the city expropriated us in 1984. The driveway and concrete launch ramp are still there today and usable. I only have two pictures showing old days. Can you forward the group of pictures he refers to. I only have two you sent. Thanks, Peter.

Rather than forward the pictures, I added them to the website and pointed Peter to them.

Spectacular, Now it begins to make sense. They sure moved around a lot on the same small area. I got my canoes mixed up. I have the O.L.Hicks over in the museum, and am just getting a Captain Robert Maw finished up. He was also one of the early canoe and boat livery guys, with two locations, Humber Bay and Sunnyside. He died in 1908 with nobody to carry on. I have both histories on my mind at the same time. Google him, he was a real character. (eight days across schooner days). He had several schooners and often went back and forth to the old country in season. Peter.

This particular exchange ended here. As it happened, the Wooden Canoe Journal did a story on Peter and his collection in their issue #221, Winter 2021, pp. 10-17. The Hicks canoe was included in an overall photo of the collection.

In response to a repeated request for better photos, Peter (2024-11-1809) provided some photos of this craft in his collection.

I am a volunteer with the Buffalo Maritime Center and we have a Walter Dean Sailing Canoe we would will be putting on display soon.
The canoe is missing the main mast, so we would like to reproduce one of vehicle-specific size and length.
If you have any information the construction of this mast, please forward them to me at my email address noted below.
Thanks, Phillip A. Bobrowski

Phillip:
Thank-you for visiting my website. I am always amazed to see the variety of comments and locations of people who visit.

I do not own a Walter Dean sailing canoe, but one very similar to it. I do have the sailing rig. However, I am not sure how close a match it would be to a Dean setup. I have posed your questions to the other members of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (wcha.org) for a possible link.

One person has a 1910 Walter Dean sailing canoe. Unfortunately, the sailing rig is at their cottage far from home.

I will let you know if I can get some definitive information for you. The Walter Dean sailing rigs shown in catalogues of the era do not give sufficient details.

Thank you for the quick response.

It may be some time before I can properly begin the “build” process for the mast, as I am still designing and constructing the sling-cradles for our canoe collection display. A couple of them had been stored incorrectly and are in need of “cleaning”. The determination has been made to NOT try to restore them, as that would take us well beyond the need for a museum display.

However, knowing the correct mast configuration would be of great importance when presenting a Walter Dean. So, with that in mind, I can certainly wait for more information.

Just sourcing the proper Sitka Spruce might take even longer. (Heheheh)

I know It may not be of huge interest for the Wooden Canoe folks, but, if everyone hasn’t heard, the Buffalo Maritime Center will begin the construction of “The Seneca Chief” very soon; a full-size replica of the canal ship used by New York’s Governor Clinton in the opening of the Erie Canal.

The keel has been laid in the Longshed building at the Buffalo Harborfront, but additional construction has continually been postponed due to CoVID restrictions. The fun part is that, once allowed, “volunteers” will be able to participate in every step of it’s build. Right now, a group is taking stock 3/8 inch brass rod and turning it into nearly 900 8-inch stove bolts.

Anyway… Everyone is invited to come, watch, and even work. *(At this time, there are some limitations to the extent of participation.)

Hello David. Thank you for sharing all the details of your family's canoe! I'm a member of the WCHA and currently preparing a video presentation for their 2021 Virtual Assembly focusing on the historic liveries, canoe clubs and builders in Toronto. I'll be citing your website for viewers interested in more details for the "Hick's" section. Not sure if you still have John Hicks' contact info. Hoping to get in touch with him to give credit for his various photos of the Hicks' boathouses over the years.
Appreciatively, Murat Vardar

Murat:
What a coincidence. Just this morning I saw the list of presentations for the Assembly and yours jumped out at me. I am very interested in learning more. I recently was contacted by Toronto builder/restorer Peter Breen. He also has a Hicks canoe similar to mine in his museum.

I have not been in touch with John Hicks for a while. His email was [ ].

I was also recently contacted by someone from the Buffalo Maritime Center. They have a Walter Dean Sailing Canoe they were getting ready to display.

A fellow named Roger Moore was compiling a Wikipedia article on OL Hicks which is now published at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavius_Hicks.

Let me know if I can be of any further assistance. I will have to make sure my website is really ready to go with the latest info.

The video presentation that resulted from Murat's efforts is available for viewing. The section on the builder Hicks and canoe Dora start about the 18:15 minute mark.

Not sure if this is still a viable site, but I am looking for someone who has an interest in Walter Dean Canoe & boat co.
My father was a paddler out of Toronto. I have a small display paddle with Walter dean logo. I would like to give it to someone or a museum who might appreciate the history.
Not sure where to start. Kay Dubie

Thank-you for reaching out. I am sure there are some people or organizations which would be interested in what you have.

I am a member of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (woodencanoe.org). There are members from the USA, Canada, England and elsewhere. There is also a Facebook group: Fans of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association. I could post your query and see if there is interest.

I believe at least one of Walter Dean's relatives is a member of the WCHA. You may wish to communicate with Jeff Dean - [ ]

Walter Dean's grandson was in touch with me several years ago. Mark Dean's email at that time was [ ].

Another thought is the Canadian Canoe Museum (canoemuseum.ca) in Peterborough. They may be interested in adding the item to their collection. Jeremy Ward is the curator.

My heritage canoe, as you may have seen from my website, originated in Toronto. It was made by O.L. Hicks, a direct competitor of Walter Dean on the Humber River.

Let me know if I could be of further assistance.

Good morning David
Thank you for responding to my email. I will follow up on your suggestions and try to find a home for this little paddle. I grew up spending a good deal of time in a canoe and still feel it is the best place to see our beautiful country. I am now in my eighties and have to rely on memories to enjoy the experience but still love it.
Thanks again. kay

At this time, that is the extent of the story, but it continues to evolve in many interesting and unexpected ways. I am indebted to the people who operate the WCHA and those who make the forums such a valuable resource. It is so nice to know there are many people interested in learning, sharing and preserving historical artifacts, in this case wooden boats.

*My personal interests and hobbies.*
	Vintage canoe research project. Dialogue with others about this project. Phase V -- Other contacts from 2007 to date. Even though there have been breaks in activity since the main part of the research, there continued to be a steady stream of comments from visitors to the website and messages from my regular contacts busy continuing with their own research. It was always a pleasure to receive an email from my main contact in the Hicks family. 2007-02-04: Dear David and Dick, I hope you both have had a great start to the new year. Like Dick, I too would love the opportunity to see your boat David. Would you like me to contact John Bosworth to see if a visit could be arranged? I will also contact a step sister of my father. This woman spent many summers as a girl on the Humber when William Hicks was renting canoes at the Wanita. Her name is Nellie Bloor and she lives in Orilla. I met her many years ago and she had plenty of pictures from the Humber. I am sure we can get some more pictures of canoes. I remember Nellie telling me she could remember when all the wooden forms the Hicks' canoes were built on were discarded and burned behind the Wanita. Take care. John Before I could send a reply to John, I received a note from my wife's uncle in Toronto. He said: Anyway, something that may be of interest to you re the canoe although not directly related to it. Was watching a program called Structures on our local Rogers Cable channel. It was about the Palais Royale, a recently restored dancehall on Lake Ontario at Sunnyside. Was surprised to find out that it started life as Walter Dean's Canoe factory & livery around 1922. His Sunnyside Torpedo canoes were very popular. Evidently a few years later the canoe business went bust & the upper floor was converted to a dance hall named the Palais Royale. It was quite the spot during the 30's & 40's. It's been restored & kept much of the original features including the arched openings on the lake side through which the canoes would be brought out to the water. My curiosity led me to do a google search about the Palais & I found an article by Mike Filey in the Toronto Sun which you may find interesting so I'm attaching it. Hope you enjoy it. I sent a reply to John in which I also passed on the information and article I had just received. I said: 2007-02-05: John: Thanks so much for the note. It may be a bit premature to start planning a visit with Mr. Bosworth, but I am interested. I am not sure what is up with my summer just yet. I am considering making a trip at least as far as Dick's with the canoe on top of the car. We could see if there was a possibility of combining visits and research and such to cover the many avenues that are opening up. In my other conversations with my wife's uncle I had asked him to check with his brother to see if he remembered anything about the canoe. Unfortunately, this did not turn up anything useful as he wrote (2007-02-07): "I did have a second hand reply from Brenda to my question to Jim about the canoe but I wanted to wait until I had talked to him directly again by phone. So we were chatting last night & basically he doesn't remember too much about it. Just that it was kept in a boathouse on the Humber & he recalls going out in it with Art once or twice on the river. As far as from whom it was purchased or any other facts he doesn't know anything more than I did." John Hicks continues to be a valuable lead in this research project. I was very pleased to receive his next email. 2007-02-11: Dear David, I would love to see your boat. If you take it to show Dick maybe I could come over and meet the both of you. My father was born in 1910 and I remember him telling me many times about the Palais Royale. It truly was the hot spot of the time. In Mike Filey's book "I Remember Sunnyside, The Rise and Fall of a Magical Era" you can find some great pictures of Walter Dean's boat building factory on page 64. I did contact Nellie Bloor, my father's step sister. She lived at the Wantia on the banks of the Humber from 1937 to the mid fifties. I am sure it was from the Wantia that your father in law purchased the boat. It was from the Wantia that my grandfather ran his small rental business. Nellie told me all the torpedo designed canoes that my grandfather rented were Hicks built. (emphasis added) She also said that the traditional canoe designs they rented were Peterborough built. Nellie has a great memory. She could name the two Longitudinal Cedar Strip canoes made by Peterborough. She told one exists and is her son's back yard. She told me there was another one called the Ann. Nellie had no idea that I had the Ann. When the Wantia was closed my step grandmother sent the Ann to my father thinking he would appreciate it because it had my mother's name. What my father really wanted was one of the Hicks built canoes. Nellie is going to look through her pictures to see if she has any good canoe photographs. If she comes up with anything I will forward them to you and Dick. John This was a final detail that all but sealed it in my mind that the canoe sitting in my garage was in fact build by O. L. Hicks. However, John had one more item to share. A couple of hours after his note above he sent a comment and a picture: I have looked at the attached picture of my father a hundred times and not until today did I realize it was the Palais Royale and Dean's boathouse and factory in the background. I closed the loop on this bit of email conversation with the following note to John, with a copy to Dick: 2007-02-13: John: What a pleasure to receive your latest note. It is always fascinating for me when additional historical information is found to add to my evolving quest to research my canoe. Ms. Bloor seems like a good source of first-hand information. I cringed when I read the part of your earlier note about her watching them burn the wooden forms for the Hicks' canoes. Ouch. When I showed your note to my wife she said, "You are not taking that canoe on the car!" I will have to convince her of the feasibility of the task before any trip planning I guess. (The canoe does belong to her and her two sisters after all.) Thanks also for sharing the picture of your father with the Palais Royale and Dean's boathouse and factory in the background. I will try to get the book you mention from the library. Until the next time, David Comments which arrive from visitors to the website are not always directly related to this research project. They do, however, open up new streams of conversation. 2007-05-07: Hello David This past winter my husband was refinishing a double sided paddle.To our surprise the old decal of Walter Dean was visible. Then I attended a lecture with my elderly mother at the Swansea Historical Society and the speaker was Mary Lou Borg. She is one of the owners of the most recently restored Palaise Royale. She spoke briefly on the Walter Dean Livery under the Palaise and how the old boat forms are still there ! www.PALAISEROYALE.CA This is her web site. We have down a number of boat restorations and now would love to have a Walter Dean to restore. That is how I found your very informative site. Did you get your canoe restored? The best place these wonderful old boats can be is in the water being USED. And not to be afraid to use them. We take our Dippy every year off our cottage lake and into the big waters of Georgian Bay/French River. So happy canoeing Nancy Howchin Markham ON I shared this message with John and Dick, and asked: "Could she be correct that the Walter Dean boat forms are still in the old Palais? I thought they were all burned. Maybe they are forms from another builder. Interesting website which has some old photos including one with the Dean canoes." [Note: the website referred to no longer exists.] Dick replied the following day: "Fantastic news if it is correct. One would think that space would have been cleaned out many times over the last 75 years. I also received a note yesterday from Nancy Howchin. On another note, are you planning a trip this way this summer? I am really curious to see your canoe David, as well as Mr. Bosworth’s canoe if possible to arrange." I replied to Nancy, thanking her for visiting and her comments, and updating her on the research so far. 2007-05-18: Dear David, It is great to hear from you. I was surprised as you to think that after all these years that the forms would still be there. It is a remarkable story. I visited Palais Royale web site. It is a beautiful building. I will try to go for a visit sometime. I did mention to you that the O. L. Hicks' forms were burned behind the Wanita Boathouse (downstream of the Bloor Street Bridge) I believe at sometime in the 1930's. John There had not been much activity throughout the summer of 2007, so I thought perhaps the trail had gone cold. I was wrong. I received an surprising message from another member of the Hicks' family in the fall. A new link had been forged. 2007-10-20: David: Your website came up in response to my Google search for genealogical information on the Joseph Laing Hicks family (I am-- and I think John Hicks must be also-- a 2end great grandson of Joseph). What caught my attention was the possible connection between your canoe, "Dora", and the Hicks' Boat Livery. A couple years' ago, my wife and I travelled to Toronto, armed with a few newspaper clippings. We found the site of the original Hicks' Boathouse, just downstream from the Old Mill on the Humber River. We knew from the newspaper clippings that the Boathouse was moved down river when the water level of the river dropped as a result of development upstream. Then came Hurricane Hazel in 1954. The flooded Humber all but wiped out the inventory of the Boathouse. William ("Pappy") Hicks, and his wife ("Ma"), sold what was left of their Boathouse to the Toronto Humber Yacht Club. When we walked into the yacht club and introduced ourselves and our connection to the Hicks family, a couple of guys exclaimed, "Do you mean Pappy?". They brought out their archives scrapbook, and we swapped stories and newspaper clippings. This is all a little away from the subject of your canoe, but in our family photos is one of the Hicks' Boat and Canoes Boathouse. On the float in front of the building are 5 canoes, 2 of which appear to decked fore & aft, and could be of the same design as your 'Dora". I'd send that photo to you, but this website doesn't seem to allow that. If you're interested in following up, drop me a note. I don't remember how much information about the Boathouse is in the Yacht Club archives, but it's worth a phone call. I'd be interested in having John Hicks contact me also, as one of our family has put together a great deal of information on the Hicks family. John and I are grandsons of brothers, William and Norman Hicks. Warren Weston Bailey Qualicum Beach, BC I forwarded Warren Bailey's message to John Hicks as he requested. Warren added this short note a bit later: "I now see that you have the photo already, and have most of the history also. I'd still think it worthwhile to check with the yacht club. I'd still be interested in hearing from John Hicks." Of course, I passed his message along to John Hicks. I also thanked Warren for visiting the site and providing another contact with the Hicks family. As noted in another part of the website, I did visit the yacht club as he suggested. A couple of days later, John sent me a note: "As coincidence would have it last Christmas I contacted a Bailey who had posted a message on an ancestry site seeking information on one of O. L. Hicks' brothers. I going to assume that the woman I corresponded with is the sister in law of the man who posted the message on your site. I will send him a note. Thank you for the connection." After a few months, a new, but related, topic came up. This was in regard to the Wanita Tea Room which eventually became the home of the Hicks livery. Some photos and a write-up about the Wanita may be found here. Walter Dean interests. There was another period of silence for a few months, then, through the wonders of the Internet, another message from a relative of Walter Dean arrived in my mailbox. 2008-06-13: Mr. Darwin: In doing a little research on the internet, I've come across your website describing in great detail a canoe you owned that was manufactured by Walter Dean in the early 1930's. My great grandfather and my grandfather Walter Dean were the builders of your canoe, and I am greatly interested in seeing and photographing it. In addition, my father (also named Walter Dean) may be able to provide you with more specific information on the boat, since information has been passed down to us gradually over the years. We both live in Barrie and would be interested in seeing your boat - I own an unrestored Sunnyside Cruiser made by Dean's boat works, and I love seeing anything my grandfather made. You are free to contact me. Mark Dean I responded to Mark shortly thereafter. Mark: This research into the origin of Dora has been a fascinating journey. Through it, I have made the acquaintance of many wonderful people, as well as discovered, and become a member of, the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association. Although at first I believed I was in possession of a Walter Dean created sailing canoe (as indicated by the Peterborough Canoe Museum during my visit in 2006), subsequent discoveries and research have pointed to this being a O. L. Hicks canoe constructed around 1915-1920. Since Hicks and Walter Dean had boat works and liveries directly across from each other on the Humber River, it is no doubt possible that they each copied or improved upon various boat designs over the years. If you or your father happen to have information or documentation about Walter Dean and his designs, I would strongly suggest, if you have not already done so, sharing these with the Canoe Museum and the WCHA members. There are several people at both organizations who are compiling histories or writing books about Canadian canoe history. I will add your correspondence to my website as I am sure this voyage of discovery is not by any means terminated. Of course, if you are still interested in seeing Dora, she is hanging in my garage in Ottawa and is quite accessible. If there are additional photos you would like to see beyond those on my website, I would be pleased to take them and send them to you. I would also be interested in any photos or history of the Sunnyside Cruiser you have in your possession. Thank-you so much for writing. David Darwin It would be five months before John Hicks was in touch once again. That conversation about the Hicks home is related elsewhere. After a couple of years of silence, some more activity occurred. 2010-04-10: David I am looking at a Walter Dean Launch. Can you give me any information of web site where I may find information on the boat. Specifically on how to determine the year of manufacturer and what finish (painted or bright) the would have probably had when it was made. Thank you Bob Brown I responded two days later and wrote: Bob: Thank-you for visiting my website. I assume you got there by searching for "Walter Dean." I don't have a lot to offer you with regard to watercraft other than canoes. I belong to the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (wcha.org) and there are many members there who are involved in boat repair and restoration. I suspect there is a similar group or organization dedicated to non-canoe watercraft such as yours. One thing you might try is contacting the grandson of Walter Dean, Mark Dean, at this email address: coriandmark@hotmail.com and see if he can offer you any advice. I don't think he would mind my providing you with his email since he indicated he was interested in anything to do with the work of his grandfather. Other than this, I can only suggest doing various Internet searches, which I suspect you have already done. Where are you located, by the way? David Bob completed the dialogue later that day, saying: Thank you for responding to my query. I live in Cape Vincent, NY, across the St Lawrence River from Kingston, Ont, I am in the process of contacting Don Curtis, another of Walter Dean’s grandsons. If he does not have the information I will give Mark Dean a try. Thank you again Bob Almost a year passed until the next comment came through the website. The name was not provided. There was a Dean connection though [2011-02-26] . "My husband is a great-grandson of Walter Dean and has many interesting stories for your collection. Could you e-mail me a copy of the "Bill of Sale" mentioned so I could frame it as a gift for him. Afterwards, I will pass this link along so that you can share info.: I responded a couple of days later: Thank-you for visiting my website. I am not sure how much time you spent reading about the canoe on the website, but the story there indicated that what I at first thought might be a Walter Dean canoe is in fact one made by his competitor, O. L. Hicks. A copy of the bill of sale is on the website as well, but I have attached it here. Although the part of the receipt with the seller's signature is partially absent, it is not hard to figure out the last name is probably "Hicks." I have had contacts from relatives of Walter Dean over the years (Stephen Dean, Mark Dean), and I will add your email to the list. Other Hicks family connections. Some comments received are well-meaning, but off the mark. However, others bring new family connections. 2011-11-05 Hello David, Thanks ever so much for your posts on the history of your canoe. I'm particularly interested in the Hicks family as I'm the great grandson of Octavius Laing. I have a number of historical documents that I received from some senior members of the family and I'm in the process of putting them into some kind of accessible format for the rest of the family. If you have any particular questions about the family business and the family tree, I will try to address them as part of my ongoing research. Regards, Paul Quinn My mother was Helen V. Hicks, the daughter of Harry Hicks whose father was O.L. Well, this was exciting. Another member of the Hicks family was offering to assist with my research. This is so much appreciated. I responded: Paul: Thank-you so very much for taking the time to write. It is absolutely wonderful how this canoe has put me in touch with so many interesting people. I especially appreciate your offer to contribute to my research on this canoe. I am interested to know who it was who sold the canoe to my father-in-law. Family lore has it that O. L. was away from the business and someone else sold the canoe to my father-in-law (an avid boater). Reportedly, O.L. was not pleased as the canoe had some significance to him. If you could look at the image of the receipt I have on the website and could discern who may have signed it, that would be great. (Unfortunately, the receipt was torn and a portion of the signature is missing, but it is clearly a member of the Hicks family.) Also, if there is anything in the historical documents that might shed any light on the significance of the canoe's name "Dora" that would also be appreciated. Of course, any info you could supply about the O. L.'s canoe building and livery business would be valuable background. There is much interest by the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) in this kind of information. With your permission, I would love to share anything you might discover with them. I have been mulling doing a story for their magazine about my research on the canoe. I am so pleased my efforts in documenting the journey was worthwhile. Please let me know if there is anything more I can do to support your efforts. BTW, where are you located? David Paul was back to me in a couple of days: Hello David, I've recently linked up with another great-grandson of O.L. He's done a wonderful job in researching the family tree. I believe that you've been in touch with him as well. I think that you mentioned somewhere in your notes that John has given you some assistance in your research. As far as the cheque is concerned. The only W.H Hicks that was around in 1937 was William Henry (Harry). He was born in 1908 and died in a car accident in 1950 in New York. His dad was William John who died in 1958. As far as O.L. being displeased, I don't think so. He passed away in 1930. Maybe Harry sold it and his dad was upset. I haven't found a "Dora" yet but I'm still looking. I have many pictures and articles about O.L. and his boats. I'll send them along when I have sourced them all. Cheers, Paul Again, after a period of almost two years, more contact was made regarding the canoe by another member of the Hicks clan. 2013-09-18 You appear to be the centre of Hicks family geneology through your interest in canoes built by my Great- Grandfather, Octavius L. Hicks. His son, Fred Hicks was the father of my mother, Margaret Briggs, Formerly Marshall. Pauline Dutton referred to in you material was my mother's youngest sister. John Hicks is a son of Lorne Hicks, son of Will Hicks who operated a canoe livery until destroyed by Hurricane Hazel in October 1954. The personal canoe of O. L. Hicks was in the possession of my Grandmother, Louise Hicks, until her death in 1967. I used the canoe regularly from about 1939 until about 1953. As I recall it was built in the early 1920's. I did some work on it in 1948 under the supervision of Uncle Will, who was a regular visitor in our home.When my grandmother died we decided to give the canoe to John's father, Lorne Hicks, who, in turn gave it to John Bosworth, son of my Grandfather's sister. One of your pictures show some young women in canoes, one of whom is noted as Josie Meyers, my grandmother's younger sister. Alan Marshall, Burlington, Ontario I wrote back the same day: Alan: Thank-you so much for taking the time to write after visiting my website. I am always fascinated and interested to hear more about the heritage of our canoe. I have heard from many members of the Dean family as well since the canoe designs look similar and they had a livery opposite that of your great-grandfather's on the Humber. By any chance, would you have a guess if there is any significance to the name "Dora" which graces the sides of our canoe? Could it be a family member? I just would love to know if it has any significance as families of the era often named their craft after something/someone connected to their family. So glad you took the time to write. David Less than a year later, along comes another contact tied to the Humber River. 2014-07-27 a visitor to this website, Ken Maxwell wrote: Hello David, I find your research re your canoe very interesting. I live in Humber Bay and have spent many hours canoeing on the Humber river.. Swimming as a child,canoeing as a youth and today with my fiberglass canoe. I also look after all canoeing members at the Toronto Humber Yacht Club. In 1943 I bought a canoe from Wellwoods Boat Livery near the mouth of the river. It was between the Lakeshore Road and the train bridge. on the west side of the river. Cost I believe was 10 dollars for my Sunnyside Cruiser. To this day I do not know if the builder was Walter Dean Or Mr Hicks. I built lea boats, one on each side, Installed a short mast and built a lug type sail, two booms and an old recut jib sail to fit. It was my sailboat ! My girlfriend and I sailed up and down the river plus inside the breakwall to the western Gap. We stopped may times at Hicks Boat (Wanita) Livery for a cold pop I stowed the canoe in the boat Wellwoods. (1st name Jakes), I believe the cost was 3 dollars a month but not sure. Now, why I write to you. I belong to the Toronto Humber Yacht Club once the site if Hicks Boat Livery and once the Wanita Tea Garden.. I have a few pictures of Hicks locations on the Humber River. Would you be able to tell me where he had the first locations prior to the Old Mill site. I believe he moved from there to the Wanita site in 1925 which burned down completely in 1967. was the first one south of the Lakeshore Road or north? For the yacht club history records it would be nice to be able to have a record and also inform the members not only our history but history of the Humber River. Sincerely, Ken Maxwell (85) Humber Bay, Ontario 2014-07-31 I replied to Ken with some information on hand: Ken: Thank-you so much for your note. It is always fascinating to see the comments generated from the website. It has been a rewarding experience. I certainly appreciate the details you provided about the rental fees and activities around the Humber River so many years ago. Now, as to your question. A lot of what I learned about Hicks and Wanita came from my visit several years ago to your club and surrounding area. I was offered a copy of the THYC history covering the 1956-2006 period. But I still may be able to be of minor assistance. Like you, others have found the website and written (or called) me. Several of them happen to be relatives of OL Hicks. It just so happens one of them wrote to me yesterday after a silence of several years. So, what I propose to do is to contact them on your behalf and see if they might provide you with the information you are seeking. I will encourage them to get in touch with you directly. If you have not done so, may I suggest you read the Dialogue section of the website starting at Phase III where the Dean and Hicks family members contribute to my research. Please keep in touch with any developments regarding the Hicks boating history. I have copied below a couple of excerpts from emails previously received from the family. I suspect this information may already be known to you, but just in case. David (I included some additional information from my files.) I immediately composed a note to the four Hicks family connections I had and passed along Ken's question about the boathouse locations. Paul Quinn replied almost immediately deferring to John Hicks to respond to the question. It only took an hour for that to occur. The gist of the conversation is related on the Hicks background page. John helped close the door on this particular chain of messages: 2014-08-05 Hi David, Paul, Alan and Warren are all second cousins to me. I plan on meeting Paul for the first time tomorrow. We have corresponded for a number of years and share photos and other information. Alan I have not seen in many years. His mother was close to my father as my father lived with the Marshall family when he was young.. Warren lives out on Vancouver Island and I have never met him. He does have new email address. John Around the same time, I had a conversation with John Hicks about a different kind of boat built by O. L. Hicks. That exchange is documented on another page. I also received another of those "out of the blue" messages. 2014-08-22 Hi, I found your site while researching canoe clubs in the Toronto area for my canoeing website (http://cfly.ca/timeless/canoe/canoe.htm). I am trying to find out more about the Humber Bay Canoe Club which lasted from 1914 to 1925. They were set up somewhere on the Humber, likely west of the Parkdale Canoe Club and possibly as far as the mouth of the river. Your photos of the Hicks Boat House got me thinking that the HBCC may have rented space from them as I don't think they actually had a building of their own. Do you happen to know or have seen anything about the Humber Bay Canoe Club in your research? Or anything about Hicks renting to local clubs? Thanks. Liam I passed on his query to my contacts in the Hicks family. Liam eventually did find some info about his quest as it is documented at http://cfly.ca/timeless/canoe/HumberBay.htm John Hicks turned up a related piece of history: 2015-06-12 Hi David, I found the attached stuck in a family bible and thought you might be interested. Regards, John John Hicks wrote to me and Dick Persson with some very interesting news: 2016-07-13 Hi David and Dick, I hope you are both well. It has been some time since I last wrote. Last week I saw O L Hicks' canoe for the first time. The canoe is now in Collingwood and I hope its next stop is the Canoe Museum in Peterborough. It is now in the possession of Margaret Aquilina, last surviving grandchild of O L. It has been her goal to get this boat from her brother's estate and find a home for it at the Canoe Museum. Margaret is a sharp 90 years old and I have been trying to help her get the boat moving towards the museum. On its trip from the Newmarket area to Collingwood a cousin who was transporting the canoe gave it a dip in the water on Lake Simcoe. The attached pictures were taken at both Lake Simcoe and Collingwood. I thought you would enjoy the pictures. It still has the original coaming. Unfortunately the canoe had a vigorous sanding by three cousins in the 1940's. Unlike yours I do not see the manufacture brands. Also unlike yours it is not design for sailing. I have more pictures if you are interested. I also added a picture of O L Hicks and his second wife the widow of Charles Nurse in the canoe. She died in 1924 so that helps date the picture. Regards, John I replied immediately: Thank-you so much for sharing John. Many aspects of the canoe shown in the pictures match my Dora. The coaming is the most obvious difference. I received a note from Ken Hicks asking if he could visit me and see the boat when he is in Ottawa next week. I am hoping I will be able to set a convenient time to do that. Quite something to have a message from two different members of the Hicks clan in the same week! David John Hicks was in contact again with a couple of photos: 2016-11-02 Hi David, I thought you might like to see the attached photo. My dad's cousin Margaret and her husband recreated a moment from the old photograph of O L Hicks and his wife. As you can see the canoe in Margaret's possession is a twin for yours. However it is very different from the canoe depicted in the old photograph. The bow and stern are rounded and the spacing of the ribs is much wider in the canoe depicted in the old photograph. However the decks have some similarity. I made a wrong assumption in thinking that the canoe in the picture was the same canoe that had been passed down through the family. I am assisting Margaret in having her canoe donated to the Canoe Museum. Regards, John I replied later in the day: Thanks so much for sharing. It was a treat having Ken Hicks visit me this summer and look over the canoe and sailing rig. It was an opportunity to get the boat down from storage, clean it up, and put it on show for one of the family members. I am sure the Canoe Museum will be pleased to have your cousin's canoe in its collection. With the new building being planned it may even be able to display more of the immense collection of canoes. 2017-01-22, John Hicks wrote once again: Hi David, I received a call yesterday from Margaret Aquilina who owns the other Hicks canoe. She said a friend was looking at it yesterday and noticed numbers in two places. I asked her for a photo which is attached. I went to your website and the numbers look similar to the ones you have depicted in your gallery. I thought this might interest you. Also the Canoe Museum is going to accept Margaret's canoe as a donation. Regards, John I replied the following day, saying: Thanks for sharing this John. Yes, the numbers look very similar. I note mine is 40 earlier (115) than this one Mary is donating. I had considered donating mine to the CCM, and may do so in the end. But I would still like to get it into the water first. David Book author connects. 2018-05-18 from Jessica Dunkin, PhD: Hi David, I stumbled across your website because I was in search of a photo of a canoe livery from the turn of the twentieth century or thereabouts. I'm writing a chapter about the canoe for a book on Canadian symbols and I wanted to include the following photo: http://web.ncf.ca/aa686/photos/canoe/hicks3.jpg. First off, would you be okay with the photo appearing in the chapter? Second, if you are okay with that, is there any chance that you have a larger version of the photo? Because it's a print publication, the photo needs to be high resolution (suitable for 300 dpi printing). The designer told me that it needs to be 3x as large as the version currently available on the website. Thank you so much for your time. I look forward to hearing from you. Best, Jess I responded the same day, saying: Jessica: A pleasure to hear from you. It is always interesting for me learn of the various ways and reasons why people stumble upon the canoe section of my website. The picture you reference is not mine. It came to me from a relative of the owner of the livery - O. L. Hicks. You would have to contact him for permission and to obtain a larger version of the image (which I think he has). I believe he has other images of the boathouse in his possession. He is John Hicks and I last contacted him (2017) at [...]. Let me know if I can be of any other assistance. David Wikipedia article on O. L. Hicks 2018-11-01 from R. Moore: I have been doing some research on O L Hicks with the objective of writing a Wikipedia article. John Hicks was kind enough to send me the photo which you have titled "hick4.jgp" You have a sentence: "He kindly forwarded two photos (hicks3 and hicks4) taken about 1910-1912 on the Humber River in Toronto, Ontario with several decked canoes included." which links to hicks3 and hick4 I have had some discussion with John Hicks on the photo hicks4. FROM John Hicks RCVD October 16, 2018 at 12:47 I think the attached picture (your hicks3) of O L Hicks standing in front of his second boathouse was taken the same day. His daughter, Hannah Hicks, is in the canoe nearest him. She is also in the second photo (your hicks4) in the canoe in the center of the photograph. Hannah was born in 1888. So I think Hannah is a teen so it could be about 1904. Maybe it was a regatta day on the Humber. You can see who I suspect is Ned Hanlan performing for the crowd in the background. This photograph would have been taken from were O L is standing in the first photograph. You are looking west and can see the Hicks Humber Hotel in the background. END JOHN HICKS MSG Ned Hanlan died in 1908 so a date of 1904 is plausible. The text above "BOATS & CANOES" which someone has attempted to obliterate says "L. N. Devin's". Devin was a competitor of Hicks. Another photo from the same day can be seen here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Hanlan#/media/File:OLHicksNedHanlan1904.jpg I responded a couple of days later with a question of my own: Mr. Moore: Thank-you so much for visiting my website and the additional information and context you provided. I am glad you were able to contact John Hicks. He has been most helpful in my research and documentation effort. Please keep me informed of your efforts to produce a Wikipedia article. This would provide a fascinating link to my canoe. I'd be interested in knowing the reason for your interest in OL Hicks. Where are you located? I was pleased to receive a response the following day: I live in the Palace Pier condominium in Humber Bay Shores. This building is sited on land which is close to the site of lakeshore residence. I have dabbled a bit in Etobicoke history: see rogerdmoore.ca/EMS which has sundry material about the Humber Bay region. After a new street in this area was named “Annie Craig Lane” I wrote a Wikipedia article on the ship “Annie Craig”. Wikipedia robot complained that there was no link to the article. After modifying the Eugene O’Keefe article the obvious next step was to write an article on O L Hicks. As O L Hicks was a man of many talents, so researching his activities requires a bit of library and Google work. I am getting close to the end. The article needs a few obvious sentences on his adventures in the hotel business. One omission in the present draft is that his boat building activities are barely mentioned. There are some deliberate omissions due to my distrust of sole source information: A] There is little evidence that Ned Hanlan owned a boat which included an O L Hicks sliding seat. B] Frank Barber’s long obituary for O L H claims that OLH built seawalls in southern Etobicoke. There is also a false claim that OLH built the existing breakwater at Sunnyside Beach east of the Humber River. current draft is at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Rdmoore6/sandbox Regards, Roger Moore There was a bit more later that day as he wrote to John Hicks and Denise Harris: I am getting near the end. I have added some material on Royal Oak Hotel, boathouse migrations and boatbuilding. Could you please take a look and see if I made any obvious errors. John and Denise responded with more facts and pictures to assist Roger in completing his article. Denise raised an issue about the name of a boat: "One question on the name of the launch “Visident” mentioned in the Retirement section. I’ve always seen the name as “Visitant, a word meaning a mysterious visitor. The attached photo of a trophy won in 1910 indicates that Visitant is correct (unless there are two different boats.)" John Hicks confirmed the information: "You are right Denise it is the Visitant. The cup now lives in a closet at my house. I have attached a picture of the Visitant plus I found another picture of the Flotilla." Roger appreciated the information: "I have corrected spelling of Visitant (I was guided by the Lorne Hicks transcript). “Launch” may be the wrong noun for this vessel. Given Lorne Hicks description of the many uses of this boat, I am not certain how to describe it with a single noun or phrase." Denise provided some perspective on the photo of Visitant: "Wonderful photos, John! You keep digging them up from some magic place, for which I am grateful! The one of the Visitant is great. I think that’s OL’s second wife, Mary, on the left – correct? Do you know who the younger adult woman on the right is? The others are less clear." Trust John to have the answer: "You are right, the woman on the left is O L Hicks' second wife, the widow, Mary Nurse. The younger woman in the middle with her head turned is Louise Hicks (nee Meyer, daughter of Pauline Meyer of Sunnyside). The little girl is her oldest daughter Margaret. The younger woman of the far right is my grandmother, Cora Hicks (nee Swackhammer) wife of Bill Hicks." With that exchange, this segment of conversation concluded and the publication of the article on Wikipedia took place. The Peter Breen collection. For over two years, there was no communication activity on the website. Then, in late December 2020, another exchange began with Peter Breen (www.breenboats.com) in Toronto. Hi. I have an older O L Hicks 3 board canoe. O L Hicks and a number stamped into inner keeson. Any information on him and specific dates would be welcomed. I became interested as I played around the old Humber yacht club in the early 1960’s and later owned Lavkies Marina on the Humber that was Barton and Lackies when they relocated across from the original livery after Hurricane Hazel. Peter I thanked Peter for the contact and explained my research project. I said (2021-01-04), If you read through the extensive dialogue section starting at the 2006-11-07 date, you will see that I have been in touch with several members of the Hicks family. They have also provided me with several valuable family photographs of the Hicks livery on the Humber River. I even had the pleasure of hosting the great-grandson of O. L. Hicks at my home to view the canoe and its rigging. I have visited the Humber River area and dropped into the Toronto Humber Yacht Club which stands where the Hicks boathouse used to be before the infamous Hurricane Hazel floods. (See 2007-10-20 portion of the dialogue). I would love to see photos of your Hicks craft if you would share them. If there is anything further you wish to know, I will see what I can provide. Peter was quick to reply: David: I have had the canoe for 5-6 years hanging in my museum. I brought her over to the shop in november, as one of this winters projects. I have worked my way through her and am now varnishing her inside and out, as under the two thorough strippings and scrapings, with first red, then green paint, and several of each coats, the original finish was varnish not paint. Mine is an early four board constriction, cedar skinned, with 4 O. L. Hicks tags on each thwart. I will send you some pictures in a month or so when I am finished. I was born in the area, and my first memory is walking down to the Old Mill from our house, and seeing a big fire truck out in the middle of the humber near the washed out stone bridge the next morning, and my dad telling me some firemen were killed. I was born in 1950 so I would have been 4 1/2 years old. I still have the picture in my head. Talk then. Peter. In response, I said, "You and I are the same age. My Dora craft is varnished - many coats of it. She is also four board construction with brass battens. Perhaps you would appreciate these photos of the Hicks boathouse and of O. L. Hicks - the twin of Dora. Look forward to seeing some photos of your handiwork." Peter was familiar with the boathouse pictures, but not their location. "I have seen those pictures many times. Can you tell me where those boat houses are. With the rr tracks beside I always thought one to be right by the gardiner where the barton boat house was on the north side of the tracks. The other picture is another location as there are no tracks, possibly sunnyside or humber bay ?? Let me know your thoughts." In response, I sent along the information I had obtained from John Hicks. Peter was pleased to receive it. It is all fascinating stuff. If you google, Bartons Boat House, toronto public libraries, you will see Bartons Boat House damaged by hurricane hazel. It is immediately south of the tracks on the west side of the river. There are still wooden pilings in the mud near shore today that you can clearly see that were the support pilings. Have hit a few in the old Lackies Marina days. After hurricane hazel Barton partnered with Lackie and formed Barton and Lackies, and they were moved across the river 400' upstream on the east side, because of plans to build the Q.E.W. This is the marina I purchased in 1970 and ran it till the city expropriated us in 1984. The driveway and concrete launch ramp are still there today and usable. I only have two pictures showing old days. Can you forward the group of pictures he refers to. I only have two you sent. Thanks, Peter. Rather than forward the pictures, I added them to the website and pointed Peter to them. Spectacular, Now it begins to make sense. They sure moved around a lot on the same small area. I got my canoes mixed up. I have the O.L.Hicks over in the museum, and am just getting a Captain Robert Maw finished up. He was also one of the early canoe and boat livery guys, with two locations, Humber Bay and Sunnyside. He died in 1908 with nobody to carry on. I have both histories on my mind at the same time. Google him, he was a real character. (eight days across schooner days). He had several schooners and often went back and forth to the old country in season. Peter. This particular exchange ended here. As it happened, the Wooden Canoe Journal did a story on Peter and his collection in their issue #221, Winter 2021, pp. 10-17. The Hicks canoe was included in an overall photo of the collection. In response to a repeated request for better photos, Peter (2024-11-1809) provided some photos of this craft in his collection. Buffalo Maritime Centre request. On 2021-02-10, an unusual request came in: I am a volunteer with the Buffalo Maritime Center and we have a Walter Dean Sailing Canoe we would will be putting on display soon. The canoe is missing the main mast, so we would like to reproduce one of vehicle-specific size and length. If you have any information the construction of this mast, please forward them to me at my email address noted below. Thanks, Phillip A. Bobrowski Being a member of the WCHA, I am always willing to provide assistance if at all possible. I answered, Phillip: Thank-you for visiting my website. I am always amazed to see the variety of comments and locations of people who visit. I do not own a Walter Dean sailing canoe, but one very similar to it. I do have the sailing rig. However, I am not sure how close a match it would be to a Dean setup. I have posed your questions to the other members of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (wcha.org) for a possible link. One person has a 1910 Walter Dean sailing canoe. Unfortunately, the sailing rig is at their cottage far from home. I will let you know if I can get some definitive information for you. The Walter Dean sailing rigs shown in catalogues of the era do not give sufficient details. Philip provided some background on his request. Thank you for the quick response. It may be some time before I can properly begin the “build” process for the mast, as I am still designing and constructing the sling-cradles for our canoe collection display. A couple of them had been stored incorrectly and are in need of “cleaning”. The determination has been made to NOT try to restore them, as that would take us well beyond the need for a museum display. However, knowing the correct mast configuration would be of great importance when presenting a Walter Dean. So, with that in mind, I can certainly wait for more information. Just sourcing the proper Sitka Spruce might take even longer. (Heheheh) I know It may not be of huge interest for the Wooden Canoe folks, but, if everyone hasn’t heard, the Buffalo Maritime Center will begin the construction of “The Seneca Chief” very soon; a full-size replica of the canal ship used by New York’s Governor Clinton in the opening of the Erie Canal. The keel has been laid in the Longshed building at the Buffalo Harborfront, but additional construction has continually been postponed due to CoVID restrictions. The fun part is that, once allowed, “volunteers” will be able to participate in every step of it’s build. Right now, a group is taking stock 3/8 inch brass rod and turning it into nearly 900 8-inch stove bolts. Anyway… Everyone is invited to come, watch, and even work. *(At this time, there are some limitations to the extent of participation.) Unfortunately, no further information was forthcoming from the WCHA members. WCHA Assembly 2021. About two months later (2021-04-10), a WCHA member was in touch. Hello David. Thank you for sharing all the details of your family's canoe! I'm a member of the WCHA and currently preparing a video presentation for their 2021 Virtual Assembly focusing on the historic liveries, canoe clubs and builders in Toronto. I'll be citing your website for viewers interested in more details for the "Hick's" section. Not sure if you still have John Hicks' contact info. Hoping to get in touch with him to give credit for his various photos of the Hicks' boathouses over the years. Appreciatively, Murat Vardar I responded later in the day: Murat: What a coincidence. Just this morning I saw the list of presentations for the Assembly and yours jumped out at me. I am very interested in learning more. I recently was contacted by Toronto builder/restorer Peter Breen. He also has a Hicks canoe similar to mine in his museum. I have not been in touch with John Hicks for a while. His email was [ ]. I was also recently contacted by someone from the Buffalo Maritime Center. They have a Walter Dean Sailing Canoe they were getting ready to display. A fellow named Roger Moore was compiling a Wikipedia article on OL Hicks which is now published at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavius_Hicks. Let me know if I can be of any further assistance. I will have to make sure my website is really ready to go with the latest info. The video presentation that resulted from Murat's efforts is available for viewing. The section on the builder Hicks and canoe Dora start about the 18:15 minute mark. Another Walter Dean connection. Another two months pass before the next connection is made. Not sure if this is still a viable site, but I am looking for someone who has an interest in Walter Dean Canoe & boat co. My father was a paddler out of Toronto. I have a small display paddle with Walter dean logo. I would like to give it to someone or a museum who might appreciate the history. Not sure where to start. Kay Dubie I was pleased to offer what information I could. Thank-you for reaching out. I am sure there are some people or organizations which would be interested in what you have. I am a member of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (woodencanoe.org). There are members from the USA, Canada, England and elsewhere. There is also a Facebook group: Fans of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association. I could post your query and see if there is interest. I believe at least one of Walter Dean's relatives is a member of the WCHA. You may wish to communicate with Jeff Dean - [ ] Walter Dean's grandson was in touch with me several years ago. Mark Dean's email at that time was [ ]. Another thought is the Canadian Canoe Museum (canoemuseum.ca) in Peterborough. They may be interested in adding the item to their collection. Jeremy Ward is the curator. My heritage canoe, as you may have seen from my website, originated in Toronto. It was made by O.L. Hicks, a direct competitor of Walter Dean on the Humber River. Let me know if I could be of further assistance. This conversation concluded with the following: Good morning David Thank you for responding to my email. I will follow up on your suggestions and try to find a home for this little paddle. I grew up spending a good deal of time in a canoe and still feel it is the best place to see our beautiful country. I am now in my eighties and have to rely on memories to enjoy the experience but still love it. Thanks again. kay At this time, that is the extent of the story, but it continues to evolve in many interesting and unexpected ways. I am indebted to the people who operate the WCHA and those who make the forums such a valuable resource. It is so nice to know there are many people interested in learning, sharing and preserving historical artifacts, in this case wooden boats.
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Date of last revision: 2024-11-19. Material Copyright � 2024 David Darwin

Vintage canoe research project.

Dialogue with others about this project.

Phase V -- Other contacts from 2007 to date.