282 Building the Bark Canoe - webapps8

Birch Bark CanoesMiriehart sews together sheets of bark with the split root of the black spruce.made them for about 10 years andgave them away all the time/' he says."I kept thinking I should be able tomake them better."As Hafeman's technique improvedand his fame spread, orders pouredinto his shop. For the U. S. ForestService, he built a 25-foot canot dunord, the craft the voyageurs used tocarry trade goods and furs across theGreg Breinitig is associate editor of theVolunteer and a free-lance writer. LayneKennedy is a free-lance photographer.This story first appeared in the August1991 issueof Country Journal. Originalphotographs are in color.interior waterways of North America.He supplied a canoe to the WhiteHouse in 1967 for the dedication ofthe Sylvania Wilderness Area inMichigan's Upper Peninsula. TheMinnesota Historical Society boughta 36-foot canot de maitre, the voyageurs'Great Lakes canoe. It tookHafeman an entire summer to build,and when finished it was too big tosqueeze into the exhibit area.Minehart was fascinated byHafeman and his boats. He wouldspend long hours hanging aroundthe boat works to help. Finally,Hafeman asked, "Why don't youspend the summer? You've learned so50 THE MINNESOTA VOLUNTEER