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Wooden Boats of the St. Lawrence River, a Review


Buy it, read it, and keep it on the bookshelf!  My review in a nutshell – great book.

However, there is a story behind my review and the book “Wooden Boats of the St. Lawrence River” written by David Kunz and Bill Simpson.  This 127-page book published by “Images of America,” appears in bookshops this month, May 2017.Cover small size Kunz

I met David Kunz through his email submission to Thousand Islands Life for the April 2017 issue.  He wrote a tribute to Chauncey Burtch- River Captain Extraordinaire and wanted to make sure that Chauncey was recognized.  I considered it to be one of those Thousand islands stories that had to be told before it disappeared.

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Once I googled David, I discovered that he was about to publish a book with family friend and fiction author Bill Simpson. (Thomas William Simpson); and better than that, the book was about wooden boats.

Simpson reported that it took one phone call to Arcadia Publishing to interest them, as they recognized a popular subject for the region.  I have to admit that some of the” Images of America” series are a compilation of postcards or photographs with never enough history for my curiosity.

However, with Simpson providing the prose and Kunz supplying the photographs and family history, “Wooden Boats” comes alive. Some chapters have a regular historical review often found in other publications, and those looking for smaller and equally popular family boats, may  be  disappointed, but the heart of the book presents new information about some of the most iconic of wooden boats in the Thousand islands with names you will recognize:  Pardon Me, Finesse and Vamoose.  

I asked David : “Where did you find your research - many sources?  “Majority of the info in my book,” he said, “is from my family archives on Oak Island. I organized all the old letters and photos in my attic at the cottage, looking for material about my uncle Charles Lyon. Charlie's boat Pardon Me is a big attraction at the Antique Boat Museum. There have been people who claim he never used the boat or the classic line ‘He was on board half a dozen times.’ I knew this wasn't true and felt compelled to tell Charlie's side of the story. I wanted to answer the question everybody wanted to know, what made this man at 78 years old, build a monster runabout and only use it a few times?”Vamoose end 2

I also asked if he had found material that I call “Gold.” “When you talk about striking gold I know exactly what you mean. It happened to me twice. It was when I found all of the old documents about Finesse, Vamoose and Pardon Me. It was a gift. There was the only photo of Charlie Lyon on Pardon Me. I also found The log book of rides that detailed the exact dates he was on board, and who went with him on his rides. All leading to my being able to prove that Charlie Lyon used his boats and allowed me to explain what happened.  Pardon Mee Kunz Book 2

He also tells the story about the Vamoose after WWII. “This custom Fitzgerald & Lee boat had survived World War II but then what? It proved that Charlie Lyon had discarded her to build Pardon Me. He claimed she was in disrepair, but it was all a white lie, as an excuse to build a boat to celebrate the War being over. No one has ever found current information about the location of “Vamoose” and maybe this book will solve this mystery - I think it’s going to be big, and may even lead her back to the 1000 Islands."  " I am a big dreamer," he admits. 

And true to form the co-authors emphasized their thanks to the organizations who shared their information with and were so supportive - ABM, ACBS, Alex Bay Historical Society, Mariners Museum, VA, and “Classic Boating Magazine.”  

David went on to say, ”The project would not have been the same without my father John Kunz, Claire Wakefield the curator at ABM, and author/friend Tony Mollica Jr. They helped immensely.  (Note:  Unless otherwise noted, all images are courtesy of the Lyon Family Archives.)

To all of the above and mostly David Kunz and Bill Simpson we thank you.  Yes, buy it, read it, and keep it on your bookshelf, you will refer to Wooden Boats of the St. Lawrence River often.


About the Book


The Thousand Islands’ very name conjures up images of great natural beauty and nautical wonders. They are forested islands replete with storybook stone castles. Exquisite mahogany runabouts can be seen speeding across the placid surface of the mighty St. Lawrence. Names like Boldt, Bourne, Emery, Lyon, and Pullman are embedded in the Golden Age of the area, and it all comes to life in this pictorial history of the river. Images of America: Wooden Boats of the St. Lawrence River tells the story of the rich and powerful men who constructed castles and built classic wooden boats in the Thousand Islands. At the center of the story loom David and Charlie Lyon.

By David Kunz and Bill Simpson

Simpson books: Thomas William Simpson 

Arcadia Publishing

ISBN: 9781467124010
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Date: 05/01/2017
State: New York
Series: Images of America
Images: 187 Black And White
Pages: 128
Dimensions: 6.5 (w) x 9.25 (h)

Available at the Antique Boat Museum, Clayton, NY.  and Cornwall Brothers Store and Museum, Alexandria Bay. NY


Illustrations: Pages 50, 100 and 104; Click on photographs to enlarge.

By Susan W. Smith, Editor, Thousand Islands Life Magazine.

www.thousandislandslife.com

Please feel free to leave comments about this article using the form below. Comments are moderated and we do not accept comments that contain links. As per our privacy policy, your email address will not be shared and is inaccessible even to us. For general comments, please email the editor.

Comments

Cliff Yates
Comment by: Cliff Yates
Left at: 5:31 PM Monday, May 15, 2017
This is a great book, if not for the photographs alone. Even as a lifelong summer resident of nearby Elm Tree Island in Chippewa Bay, I learned a great deal of local history from the book. Our main cottage was built with stone from Oak Island, so I found many of the stories that related to Oak Island interesting. I have always been fascinated with Frederick Remington and marvel that so many people don't know of him, although I often see one of his sculptures in the Oval Office. I loved reading about his visits to Oak Island. Through the book, I now have a renewed interest in the historical wooden boats of the area.
Cliff Yates
Comment by: Cliff Yates
Left at: 5:31 PM Monday, May 15, 2017
This is a great book, if not for the photographs alone. Even as a lifelong summer resident of nearby Elm Tree Island in Chippewa Bay, I learned a great deal of local history from the book. Our main cottage was built with stone from Oak Island, so I found many of the stories that related to Oak Island interesting. I have always been fascinated with Frederick Remington and marvel that so many people don't know of him, although I often see one of his sculptures in the Oval Office. I loved reading about his visits to Oak Island. Through the book, I now have a renewed interest in the historical wooden boats of the area.
Bill Simpson
Comment by: Bill Simpson
Left at: 6:02 AM Tuesday, May 16, 2017
I first visited Oak Island in the autumn of 1977. My college buddy Hansi Kunz kept telling me about this cool spot his family owned in the Thousand Islands. The guy wouldn't shut up. It was all he talked about. Beautiful coeds surrounded us like buds about to bloom on a magnolia tree but all Kunz could mutter was Oak Island Oak Island Oak Island. So one Friday eve around midnight, neither straight nor sober, we climbed into his Honda, pulled out of Ithaca, and headed north. Somewhere along route we both nodded off, and suddenly THUNK! we smashed into something lying in the road. We could've been 19 year old statistics that night, but no, fate or the loving arms of some Almighty spared us an early death. Wide awake now, we continued our journey. And I can tell you we pulled into Chippewa, crossed the dock, stepped into a small boat with a tiny outboard, and headed out across the water. An instant later the sky turned burnt umber, the sun exploded out of the St. Lawrence, and my life-long fascination with the Thousand Islands began.
Tom King
Comment by: Tom King
Left at: 11:47 AM Tuesday, May 16, 2017
I placed an order for this book on Amazon.ca, and unfortunately, it won't ship until later this month. The price on the Canadian site was $30.02. I am certainly looking forward to receiving it and learning more about the great old wooden boats from the region.
Averell Manes
Comment by: Averell Manes
Left at: 7:05 AM Wednesday, May 17, 2017
When I get to the River this year I plan to buy a copy as a summer treat. I can't wait to read it. Thank you in advance.
Chris Waterbury
Comment by: Chris Waterbury
Left at: 6:21 PM Friday, May 19, 2017
Exciting new book on the most interesting parts of the St Lawrence, the boats and the castles in this book portray some of the best years in St Lawerence River history. Cant wait to share with all my friends and family.