Bishop, Edwin. Audio interview about wooden boats and traditional snowshoes

• Main Author: Crane, Katie
• Other Authors: Bishop, Edwin
• Format: Audio
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Objects; Woodworking; Boats; Snowshoes; Newfoundland; Canada
• Online Access: http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/ich_avalon/id/8598

Edwin Bishop discusses building wooden boats and making traditional wooden snowshoes. 00:00 First time making a wooden boat, finishing his brother's boat; 00:49 Building a boat while his father was in Ottawa and having to do it himself; 01:45 Last year he swore he built his last boat but he's already building another; 02:22 Boat building was a family and community tradition; 03:33 Learning was watching his father build boats, looking at YouTube videos, and visiting the Wooden Boat Museum; 05:32 Loves learning about new kinds of boats from other boat-building cultures; 05:50 Challenge deciding on the design of the boat and getting materials to build the boat; 07:18 Meeting other boat lovers, and learning from other boat builders; 09:06 Makes boats for himself but they ultimately end up in other people's hands; 11:11 A good boat is a cranky boat, a good boat has a round bottom; 12:22 A poem about boats; 15:55 It seems like the wooden boat building tradition will carry on, the importance of the Wooden Boat Museum; 18:12 Started building snowshoes because he had to learn how to repair his own; 20:08 Preferred to make traditional wooden snowshoes, used to sell them; 20:56 Tried to make his own rawhide but it was too messy to continue; 21:52 The process of making snowshoes, and varieties he learned to make; 25:00 Places he has sent or sold his snowshoes; 25:59 Knowing these skills connects him to his past, feels spiritual; 27:57 Knowing these skills connects generations, the importance of teaching young people about traditional skills; 30:27 The important of the Wooden Boat Museum and teaching young people these skills, the importance of folklorists documenting and celebrating traditional skills, the importance of bringing these skills to schools; 33:12 Hook making, coopers, cobblers; 35:06 Hesitant to do public speaking, but getting better