Wooden Boats of the St. Lawrence - a prime-video

Susan W. Smith -

How often have you said, “A picture is worth 1000 words?” Now, what if those pictures were put into a book and then, what if those same pictures were put on your screen or your iPhone? And what if, instead of text there was sound, words and real people who you recognize, telling a story? And finally, what if the whole production lasts 52 minutes and at the end you’re sad that it’s all over?

Well, lots of questions and certainly food for thought.  It was back in 2021 that David Kunz and Bill Simpson compiled a number of photographs of the Pardon Me, and other Thousand Islands wooden craft.  Then they compiled them all in a beautiful soft-cover book (one that feels like very soft leather). (see TILife's review: Thousand Islands Life, "Pardon Me" by David Kunz and Bill Simpson)

But that was not good enough for those two!

Trailer for documentary "Wooden Boats of the St. Lawrence River." Narrated by Bill Simpson. This film tells the story of the world's largest runabout, Pardon Me.

Over the past two years they gathered some of the real River Rats who know all about our Thousand Islands wooden boats, and they started to interview them in front of a camera. This summer, the results are available for all of us to enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/Wooden-Boats-St-Lawrence-River/dp/B0D84CC37R

I am nodding my head as this is an extremely small price to pay for history that is simply amazing.  

With over 300 photographs, countless interviews in the almost hour-long media experience, it is anything but boring.  I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity and I hope you will let David and Bill know how much you appreciate their hard work.

The credits are just as interesting because the list of River Rats is most impressive!

So thanks Dave and Bill for all you are doing to preserve the history of our River.

By Susan W. Smith, info@thousandislandslife.com