Birch Bark Canoes - Ever Make One??

Hi All,

When I was watching the news last night and saw the guy building the birch bark canoe, it brought back a memory that I haven't thought about in years. I went to a one room school so we most likely didn't have all the activities that larger schools have, but every Friday we had some sort of art or craft session. Usually in October before Columbus Day we would make little birch bark canoes like the Indians used to make. They were probably 8 to 10 inches long. Can't really remember how we actually made them, but do remember cutting the bark off the white birches near the school, soaking the bark in water and using a big darning needle with string to sew up the ends. The guy on Channel 3 last night is building one that will actually be used on Lake Champlain for the big anniversary coming up in 2009.

As I went back up and reread the story, noticed I said cut the bark off the white birches near the school. Guess that wouldn't be acceptable now, but back in my day, we all brought our jack knives to school in our pocket and that is what we used to cut the bark off the trees.