The Passing of a Legend
I have always been, at least for the past 40 years, an enthusiastic canoeist. My travels have taken me from the rivers of Nebraska to much wilder waters of Alaska, and many wonderful areas in between. I always find myself drawn back to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota.
This week, a legend passed away in Ely, Minnesota. The following article, from the Star Tribune in Minnesota, says it better than I can,
Joe Seliga, Master Canoe Craftsman, Dies
The 94-year-old was known for wood-framed canvas crafts he and his wife made in Ely, Minn.
Matt McKinney, Star Tribune
Last update: December 19, 2005 at 12:08 AM
Hundreds of wood-frame canvas canoes today bear the following message, a sort of love poem, written in black ink on the frame. It goes like this: "Built by Nora & Joe Seliga."
Husband and wife canoe builders, the Seligas churned out hundreds of meticulously handmade canoes from their Ely, Minn., workshop. The output slowed five years ago when Nora died. Early Sunday morning, the Seliga line stopped altogether when Joe died at the age of 94. The cause was cancer.
"He was a pretty amazing guy," said Jeanne Bourquin, who also makes canoes in Ely. "There was always this little sparkle in his eyes and kind of a grin. I didn't think he was ever going to die."
Seliga was still at work less than two weeks ago, planing a partially finished canoe with the help of his son-in-law, according to his family. The legendary Seliga canoes were always a part of the family's life, said his daughter JoAnn Nilsen, of Cottage Grove.
"We lived with it all of our lives," she said. "It was just something that they did and we never thought anything of it."
The news of his death Sunday circulated quickly among the legions of canoers who knew him by his work.
Joe Smith, the caretaker at Camp Widjiwagan about 20 miles from Ely on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, said he was taking calls from people around the country who were phoning to confirm the news.
The camp has more than 50 of Seliga's canoes in its fleet. Seliga was known for stopping by there unannounced, just to share advice and to visit with young campers.
The canoes are especially suited to travel in the northern lakes area, Smith said, because they're maneuverable in rivers but able to track well across open lakes. Seliga canoes have traveled north of the Arctic Circle.
"I feel very confident when I'm in his canoe," Smith said. "Where I feel especially honored is that I got to know him beyond just the canoe making. Even in his 90s, if you mentioned certain lakes or places where he had been, he would just light up."
Works of art
Early in his life, Seliga worked full time in the mines around Ely and nearby Babbitt. He started to make his famous canoes on the weekends and evenings after repairing one that had been damaged on a trip he took with his father.
He and his wife built more than 650 canoes in his lifetime. Each would take between 100 and 200 hours. The list of customers waiting for a canoe was at least 60 names deep. The canoes were cheaper when Seliga started out, but in recent years they sold for somewhere around $4,000 apiece. Many thought of the canoes as works of art.
There was no sign on his workshop, which is attached to his house in Ely. Everyone in town knew him, so there was no need.
Bourquin said she was in town one day some 15 years ago when Seliga's workshop went up in flames. She helped him save what they could before they went out for lunch. Seliga by this time was in his early 80s. He had no intention of slowing down.
"We went over to Hardees after we dragged his stuff out of his shop, and he was talking about all the changes he wanted to make in his shop," said Bourquin, with a laugh. "He just never stopped."
His figure was commonly seen around Ely. He was the guy who stopped by, often, to chat, said Steve Piragis, a local outfitter. "He actually came to me years ago, wanting to get some foam to put into his yoke pads," said Piragis. "He visited my shop almost every day."
Like most people who knew Seliga, Piragis said he was amazed at his friend's ability late in life.
"He was 94 when he died today, and you wouldn't know he was over 50," he said.
His output fell after Nora, his wife of 68 years, died. Together they made 10 to 12 boats a year. Recently he told the Star Tribune he hoped to make five a year on his own.
Seliga, born in 1911, said that one of his earliest memories was of lying on his back on the bottom of a canoe, seeing the ribs of the boat, hearing the swish of the water.
A book about his life, "The Art of the Canoe With Joe Seliga," by Jerry Stelmok, was published in 2002.
The family plans to hold a memorial service in late spring. In addition to Nilsen, Seliga is survived by three sisters and one brother; a son, Richard Seliga of Ely Lake; daughter Nancy Richards of Ely; nine grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren.
Matt McKinney • 612-673-7329
http://www.startribune.com/stories/466/5789810.html
This week, a legend passed away in Ely, Minnesota. The following article, from the Star Tribune in Minnesota, says it better than I can,
Joe Seliga, Master Canoe Craftsman, Dies
The 94-year-old was known for wood-framed canvas crafts he and his wife made in Ely, Minn.
Matt McKinney, Star Tribune
Last update: December 19, 2005 at 12:08 AM
Hundreds of wood-frame canvas canoes today bear the following message, a sort of love poem, written in black ink on the frame. It goes like this: "Built by Nora & Joe Seliga."
Husband and wife canoe builders, the Seligas churned out hundreds of meticulously handmade canoes from their Ely, Minn., workshop. The output slowed five years ago when Nora died. Early Sunday morning, the Seliga line stopped altogether when Joe died at the age of 94. The cause was cancer.
"He was a pretty amazing guy," said Jeanne Bourquin, who also makes canoes in Ely. "There was always this little sparkle in his eyes and kind of a grin. I didn't think he was ever going to die."
Seliga was still at work less than two weeks ago, planing a partially finished canoe with the help of his son-in-law, according to his family. The legendary Seliga canoes were always a part of the family's life, said his daughter JoAnn Nilsen, of Cottage Grove.
"We lived with it all of our lives," she said. "It was just something that they did and we never thought anything of it."
The news of his death Sunday circulated quickly among the legions of canoers who knew him by his work.
Joe Smith, the caretaker at Camp Widjiwagan about 20 miles from Ely on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, said he was taking calls from people around the country who were phoning to confirm the news.
The camp has more than 50 of Seliga's canoes in its fleet. Seliga was known for stopping by there unannounced, just to share advice and to visit with young campers.
The canoes are especially suited to travel in the northern lakes area, Smith said, because they're maneuverable in rivers but able to track well across open lakes. Seliga canoes have traveled north of the Arctic Circle.
"I feel very confident when I'm in his canoe," Smith said. "Where I feel especially honored is that I got to know him beyond just the canoe making. Even in his 90s, if you mentioned certain lakes or places where he had been, he would just light up."
Works of art
Early in his life, Seliga worked full time in the mines around Ely and nearby Babbitt. He started to make his famous canoes on the weekends and evenings after repairing one that had been damaged on a trip he took with his father.
He and his wife built more than 650 canoes in his lifetime. Each would take between 100 and 200 hours. The list of customers waiting for a canoe was at least 60 names deep. The canoes were cheaper when Seliga started out, but in recent years they sold for somewhere around $4,000 apiece. Many thought of the canoes as works of art.
There was no sign on his workshop, which is attached to his house in Ely. Everyone in town knew him, so there was no need.
Bourquin said she was in town one day some 15 years ago when Seliga's workshop went up in flames. She helped him save what they could before they went out for lunch. Seliga by this time was in his early 80s. He had no intention of slowing down.
"We went over to Hardees after we dragged his stuff out of his shop, and he was talking about all the changes he wanted to make in his shop," said Bourquin, with a laugh. "He just never stopped."
His figure was commonly seen around Ely. He was the guy who stopped by, often, to chat, said Steve Piragis, a local outfitter. "He actually came to me years ago, wanting to get some foam to put into his yoke pads," said Piragis. "He visited my shop almost every day."
Like most people who knew Seliga, Piragis said he was amazed at his friend's ability late in life.
"He was 94 when he died today, and you wouldn't know he was over 50," he said.
His output fell after Nora, his wife of 68 years, died. Together they made 10 to 12 boats a year. Recently he told the Star Tribune he hoped to make five a year on his own.
Seliga, born in 1911, said that one of his earliest memories was of lying on his back on the bottom of a canoe, seeing the ribs of the boat, hearing the swish of the water.
A book about his life, "The Art of the Canoe With Joe Seliga," by Jerry Stelmok, was published in 2002.
The family plans to hold a memorial service in late spring. In addition to Nilsen, Seliga is survived by three sisters and one brother; a son, Richard Seliga of Ely Lake; daughter Nancy Richards of Ely; nine grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren.
Matt McKinney • 612-673-7329
http://www.startribune.com/stories/466/5789810.html
posted by Iron Blue Dun at 5:31 PM
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