TESTIMONIALS

 

 

            Doug:

            Thanks for yet another well-done job.

            Steve James

 

            Hi Douglas:

            Thank you very much for all the improvements made to the green Chestnut!

            And thank you especially for the sawhorses to keep the Chestnut safe.

            I really appreciate your kindness in letting them go.  We will think of you

            with each paddle we take!

            Thanks again,

            Vanessa Whyte

 

            Dear Mr. Farr:

            Our neighbours at camp in McGregor Bay, Art & Laura Shannon, showed us

            their newly refurbished Chestnut canoe and we were mightily impressed with

            your skilled craftsmanship.

            Sincerely

            Mary Bridges

           

 

            Doug:

            Many thanks for the repairs to the canoe.  I talked with my dad today and he

            was very pleased with the results.

            My brother, Doug, was going to use the canoe this week – my Dad told him

            he would know if he scratched it!

            Ted Hill

 

            Hi Doug:

            We have had many compliments about how great the canoe looks.  You did

            a great job and I appreciate the time and care that you spent on my canoe.

            Hope you have a good rest of the summer and keep up the good work!

            Paul Crampton

 

 

            Dear Doug:

            Enclosed are two shots relating to the 14' Prospector you brought back to life

            so well last winter.

            The smaller photo shows the little lass on the St. John River, about 15 miles

            above Edmundston, N.B. Grand weather on both occasions, as you can see.

            The canoe is very agreeable to paddle.  Only thing is, when alone, no one to

            ooh and aah with.

            Best to you and your wife

            Roger MacGregor

 

            Dear Doug:

            We very carefully loaded “The Stream” into the big boat and tenderly

            transported it to the cottage.  It is now wrapped in blue plastic and up

            on sawhorses protected from wind and sun by the trees.  We are almost

            afraid to put it in the water! 

            Thank you for your meticulous re-construction and beautiful carpentry and

            painting.   We will treasure the canoe and we promise to look after it.

            We also enjoyed the booklet you put together.  It is an interesting and

            useful record of what you did and the canoe.  Future generations at the

            cottage will be able to refer to it.

            Thanks again, Doug

            Dorothy Brace

 

            Dear Mr. Farr:

            Thank you so much for taking the time to provide explicit instructions on

            how to re-paint my canoe.  I showed everyone your letter and they all admired

            your thoroughness.

            The canoe is safely stowed in the rafters in the cabin and I'll have my work cut

            out for me when we come back next summer.

            Thank you again for writing.

            Sincerely,

            Mary Bridges.

 

            Hello Doug

I’m not sure we’ve communicated directly before this, but I am now (along with Will Greenley and my sister, Denise Allen-Macartney) very , very proud and happy co-owner of  the beautiful 18’ Chestnut Voyager that you so lovingly and expertly restored. I saw it today for the first time and I am truly thrilled.

 

I know Will told you some of its history, but probably couldn’t convey how important it is to my family. Our father died last August at 80. He came to Canada from Devon in 1950, and one of his greatest sources of pride was that canoe, purchased in 1973 and taken on many family trips, including one when we were lost for 5 days in La Verendrye Park. It’s a dramatic tale and some day, when I get to buy you a drink in thanks for your work, I’ll happily tell it to you. The long and short, though, is that it feels very much like we have done Dad  a great honour by asking you to restore his beloved canoe. He would be amazed at how lovely it looks.

 

I really hope one day to thank you in person for all you’ve done, and for having done it so very well.

 

I do have one request – could you please reprint the title page of the book that documents it’s renovation so that it is called Will, Tom and Denise’s Canoe? You could just alter the title page and e-mail me a pdf to print. I’d like to be able to show the booklet to my mom, and, others and it would be nice for it to have our family’s names on it, too.

 

Thanks again

 

Tom Allen