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The Wooden Canoe Heritage Association

WCHA Historians' Network

In addition to the historical and identification resources available on this website, the WCHA also has a netowrk of regional historians who may be consulted with. These folks have a strong knowledge base in canoe history and identification and have volunteered to be part of this network. The historians also have a reference library of canoe catalogs and related material that can be made available for research.

How it works: Members can review the Historians listed below to find one close to them. Contact that historian and set up an appointment to have a boat looked at and identified, or to use the catalogs. Have your member number ready, as this is a service for the membership. If you have a specific boat you wish to look up, you may want to make sure we have catalogs of that company. You may then go view the material, but please be considerate of your host's time.

Due to the legalities concerning copyrights, company ownership, and other issues, we are not offering copies for sale at this time. If and when we get the necessary permission, we may offer them in the future.

We hope to make this a growing program both in number of historians and in the information we can provide. If you have any old catalogs you would like to share copies of with us, please contact the network chairman, Al Bratton at his address below. Periodically we will try to make more information available through the network.

Happy Paddling,
Al Bratton, Historian Network Chairman


Historians Network List

  • Al Bratton, Chairman
    Woodstrip Watercraft Co.
    1818 Swamp Pike
    Gilbertsville, PA 19525
    Telephone: (610) 326-9282
    Electronic mail: canoeal@aol.com
  • Scott Barkdoll
    Skywoods Canoe Company
    2861 Route 74 E
    Shoreham, VT 05770
    Telephone: (802) 897-5141
    Electronic mail: skywoods@sover.net
  • Larry Bowers
    West Coast Canoe Co.
    PO Box 143
    Campbell River, BC V9W 5A7
    Telephone: (250) 287-7348
    Electronic mail: canoes@islandnet.com
  • Pat Chapman
    McFarland Lake Canoe Co.
    1714 Dickinson St. NW
    Olympia, WA 98502
    Telephone: (360) 352-4191
    Electronic mail: mcfarlandlake@earthlink.net
  • Gil Cramer
    The Wooden Canoe Shop
    03583 County Rd. 13
    Bryan, OH 43506-9741
    Telephone: (419) 636-1689
    Electronic mail: gcramer@cityofbryan.net
  • Bob Diraimo
    Nashua River Craft
    25 Thornton Rd.
    Nashua, NH 03063-1117
    Telephone: (603) 595-9066
    Electronic mail: nshrivcrft@aol.com
  • Michael Grace
    605 Sugar Pine Dr.
    Melbourne, FL 32904
    Telephone: (321) 733-9460
    Electronic mail: mgrace@fit.edu
  • Benson Gray
    20 Fox Run Rd.
    Falmouth, ME 04105
    Telephone: (207) 797-5661
    Electronic mail: benson@maine.rr.com
  • Russ Hicks
    7900 Columbia Hwy
    Eaton Rapids, MI 48827
    Telephone: (517) 663-3882
  • Dan Miller
    Dragonfly Canoe Works
    205 Mammoth Spring Rd
    Wynantskill, NY 12198
    Telephone: (518) 286-1373
    Electronic mail: drgonfly@nycap.rr.com
  • Dick Persson
    Headwater Wooden Boat Shop
    PO Box 254
    Buckhorn, ON K0L 1J0
    Telephone: (705) 657-2601
    Electronic mail: boat@headwatercanoe.com
  • Will Ruch
    Ruch Canoes
    Minett Post Office
    Muskoka, ON P0B 1G0
    Telephone: (705) 765-5390 Telephone: (705) 657-2601
    Electronic mail: wruch@aryntel.net
  • Pat Smith
    West Hollow Boat Co.
    6880 West Hollow Rd.
    Naples, NY 14512
    Telephone: (716) 374-5014
    Electronic mail: WHBC@frontiernet.net
  • Rollin Thurlow
    Northwoods Canoe Co.
    336 Range Rd.
    Atkinson, ME 04426
    Telephone: (207) 564-2700
    Electronic mail: nwcanoe@juno.com