The Story of the Chestnut Canoe

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, and the author of Kurlek, Margaret Laurence: The
Long Journey Home, and As Though Life Mattered: Leo Kennedy’s Story.

The canoe is a Canadian icon, a symbol both of our history and of our
land. Pre-eminent among the many canoe-making firms was the Chestnut
Canoe Company, which was incorporated in Fredericton in 1907.

Kenneth Solway, canoe builder and writer, traces the evolution of the
craft, from the aboriginal birchbark canoe, through European
innovations, to the rise and fall of the Chestnut canoe. He devotes his
final chapter to a profile of famed canoeist Bill Mason (“Bill used
his well-loved Chestnuts as a medium to explore the driving forces of
his life”).

Solway’s history is illustrated with archival photographs, detailed
sketches that explain the technicalities of the wood-and-canvas design,
and pages from original canoe-company catalogues. For three-quarters of
a century, thousands of these canoes were built in New Brunswick under
the motto “Since 1897 Handcrafted Excellence.” Some 60 model forms
have survived, and are used today by other canoe makers, including
Solway.

This fascinating history of craftsmanship and trade would make a fine
supplementary text for a course on Canadian history and business.