Politically incorrect canoes

Benson Gray

Canoe History Enthusiast
Staff member
Canoes are fortunate to have avoided most political correctness assaults. One obvious exception was discussed at https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/14488/ in some detail. The Old Town design shown at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/designs/ud-25-ic/ will probably not be reproduced any time soon. Another similar example is shown in the build record below for a canoe with "K. K. K." on the left bow and right stern.

Benson



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Benson, im afraid it isnt confined to canoes. Here’s a stainless pot i bought for $1 at a yard sale for heating up cans of varnish. imagine my surprise when i got it home and inspected it.
 

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This post caught my eye because the canoe was shipped to Raquette Lake in the Adirondacks so I did a little digging and fell down an (internet) rabbit hole...

I am happy to report that this canoe design was probably practical, not political, as K. K. K. in this context represented "Kamp Kill Kare", an Adirondack Great Camp located just outside Raquette Lake (on Lake Kora) - then owned by NY Lieutenant Governor Timothy Woodruff (the name shown on the invoice). The history of the place is quite interesting; it remains in private hands to this day and just recently opened to outside visitors.

You can read about it, and see lots of images of old canoes in the banner images here: https://www.lakekora.com/about/our-history

Here's an excerpt from that website to put things in perspective:
Tales of the camp under Woodruff’s ownership are that of legendary hedonism in the woods, enjoying the greatest luxuries and most unexpected amusements: gondolas imported from Venice plying the lake, semi-tamed bears kept amongst the cabins, even telephone service as early as 1903. Subsequent owners (the Vanderbilts among them) also indulged certain eccentricities – at one time, tame deer visited each day for freshly made blueberry pancakes; for years, the baseball teams of Yale and Harvard were brought to the property for a few preseason games for the amusement of the owners and their guests.
For those who have time, this 1903 Field and Stream article about a hunting trip to Kamp Kill Kare is an entertaining read https://www.lakekora.com/library/1903fieldstreammagazinearticlev2a.pdf, which ends with this poem. :)

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I wonder if the canoe is still at the Great Camp???
 
Dave,

Don't exaggerate. The price is only $19980.00 which is much better than $20k. This doesn't include the 8% tax of course.

JCC
 
Either way, that would still be a lot just to see if this canoe remains in the boat house.

Benson
 
I'd like to find out. It probably needs new canvas, I think the going rate now for a canvas job is $60,000 :)
 
I wonder if the canoe is still at the Great Camp???

I'd like to find out.

As may be obvious by this post (and some of my others), I enjoy discovering the stories behind old canoes. I'll contact Kamp Kill Kare to see what I can find out about this canoe and will report back here. Given that this place has a history of making fresh blueberry pancakes for white-tail deer I'm hoping that they will entertain answering a few simple questions about an antique canoe! Hopefully more to follow....
 
As may be obvious by this post (and some of my others), I enjoy discovering the stories behind old canoes.
And as it so happens and coincident to this thread you are also the owner of a canoe that might be on the fringes of politically correct in today's world....bomber art on Penn Yan canoes is not an everyday find.
 
Yes, yes... I did purchase what the seller's buddies had affectionately dubbed "The #MeToo Canoe" at an estate sale. I hope no one will fault me for not restoring the aftermarket pinup girl artwork when new canvas goes on.

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