Voices From the Past
Bill Mason 1929-1988 - Canoeist, painter, and film maker
"So the first white man arives in North America and he looks out over
the land and he calls it a pristine untouched wilderness. That's got
to be the greatest compliment that anyone could pay to the native
peoples that had lived here for thousands of years....and it's still
possible to catch a glimpse of what that wilderness used to be..... and
I think that the best way to do that is in a canoe, the most beautiful
and functional craft ever created.", from the film "Waterwalker"
"It's really tough", from the film "Waterwalker", as Bill Mason
relaxes on the shores of Lake Superior.
"This love or passion for canoes that some people have isn't something
that you can explain. I'm not sure that you can be born with it but as far
back as I can remember I was fascinated with canoes. They flunked me in
grade one because all I would do is draw pictures and make models of canoes.
They thought I was a slow learner but I figured that I didn't need all that
other stuff that they were trying to teach me because I knew what I was
going to be... I was going to be a canoeist.", from the film "Waterwalker"
"All of my life people have been telling me that you should never travel
alone..... but it's interesting. I've never been told that by anyone who's
ever done it.", from the film "Waterwalker"