Long Doug

Article by Cheryl Brink
Standard Free-Holder, October 2011

MORRISBURG - The last weekend of the season at Upper Canada Village certainly wasn't a quiet one. The tourist attraction was buzzing as visitors stopped in to see the handiwork of wood craftsmen from across the region.

"There's generally a lot of interest.'' said the village's Sheila Farrell about the second annual wood lovers' event. "It's amazing how much is going on with wood."

Makers of canoes, violins, furniture, bows and arrows and other items gathered to snow off their skills. "It piques the interest of a lot of people," said Farrell. "They're pretty amazed at the level of talent:'

Doug Long has been building canoes by hand since 1997, when he retired from his job as an engineer. He formed his own company, Mountain-based Longwood' Canoes, and has built over two dozen in the last 14 years in addition to repairs and restorations. "I have always been a woodworker," he said. "And I love the outdoors. To me it was a natural combination:' He said his method is a European spin off of traditional birch bark canoes.

"There's few people building these now," he said, but added that he's connected to a network of similar craftsmen through the Wood Canoe Builders Guild. Long said it takes him about 200 hours to complete a canoe, from the time he chooses the right cedar and cherry wood until he's doing the finishing touches.

He said he enjoys bringing his work to the public during events such as the wood lovers' weekend, so he can share his passion. "Some people know a lot ... and some people know nothing," he said.

Pierre Geneau agreed that the information he provides to visitors is often takes them by surprise. He's worked at the village's mill for 27 years, explaining techniques and the time it takes to cut different woods, which are all used at the site for repairs and construction.

"They really can't believe it's water powered," he said of the sawmill. The wood lovers' weekend was the wrap-up event to a full season at the village. "We're up in our activity by about 9%,"" said Susan Le Clair of the St. Lawrence Parks Commission. "We're up by 10,000 people over last year. That's the really good news about the season."

She attributed the higher numbers to sunny skies, a shiny new train and the discovery centre that opened in August. She said reaction to the additional displays inside the centre has been very positive. "They really seem to love the layout, the look of it, the quality of all the interactive exhibits.'' she said. "We had a lot of really good programs this year," she added. "The team worked so hard on of the special events.''