Bill Rom: The Canoe King of Ely
9 Jan
The Quetico Superior Foundation’s Wilderness News publication (which, in full disclosure, we produce in the same shop as Canoeing.com) recently published THIS profile of Ely, Minnesota’s Bill Rom, the long-time canoe outfitter and environmental champion.
Alissa Johnson’s story notes that Rom earned his regal nickname “Canoe King of Ely” in a 1960s Argosy magazine story. By then, the World War II veteran had built his canoe business from a fleet of 10 wood-canvas canoes into an armada of some 400 boats.
Later, Rom would be an advocate for many of the regulations that govern the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness today — aircraft limitations, can and bottle prohibitions, and snowmobile and motorized access restrictions.
Photo of Bill Rom courtesy of the Rom family.
