Canoe-Builder Walter Walker Dead at 101
20 Oct
Renowned Canadian canoe-builder Walter Walker of Lakefield, Ontario died on Monday. He was two weeks shy of his 102nd birthday.
Walker was inducted as the first “Canoe Builder Emeritus” in the Canoe Builders Hall of Fame established by the Canadian Canoe Museum. He received numerous awards and certificates for his work in the canoe industry.
Walker’s death marks the end of an era; he was the last orginal link to the heyday of wooden canoe-building.
Walker, who was born in Ancaster, Ontario on November 4, 1907 and who began his career as a furniture-maker, worked for boat and canoe companies in Lakeville and Peterborough, the field in which he eventually earned the distinguished title of Master Canoe Builder.
Walker built and personally presented a cedar strip canoe to Britain’s Prince Andrew upon the latter’s graduation from Lakefield College School in 1977. In 1999, Walker presented a handmade paddle to the Prince when he visited the Canadian Canoe Museum.
The Canadian Canoe Museum, where Walker continued to build boats, wrote THIS remembrance of him.
