Roy graduated from high school, went to Mohawk College, then worked for a couple of years. Finally, he decided to follow his earliest dream and qualify as a pilot. There were a few frantic years of driving back and forth to St. Catharines Flying Club to get his private pilot's licence, then his commercial licence. A stint in Gimli, Manitoba earned him his instructor's licence, followed by a job at Welland Airport. All this time, Roy thought about the canoe languishing in the barn, but didn't have time to do anything about it.

The next step in his career was bush flying out of places like Gogama and Sioux Lookout, then flying with scheduled Bearskin Airlines. Now, Roy and his wife Lisa and their two boys are nicely settled on Thunder Lake near Dryden.

Through all of this, there was never any opportunity to get back to the canoe. This fall, Roy made up his mind that he was coming for it. He arranged for his brother Paul to move the canoe, still only half finished, to his home. This necessitated some delay as Scouter Myers removed the 30 years of accumulated flotsam and jetsam from around the canoe, and made it accessible. There was a good chance that the canoe would be too fragile to move, but fortunately, it was in good shape.

Paul moved the Canoe, and with his father's help, spent about a month adding gunnels and seats to get it ready for the Big Move. By the time, his part of the job was finished, Paul really didn't want to part with The Canoe which had taken on a personality of its own. In early November, when the family was scheduled to fly down, Roy set out two days early and drove the 1,200 miles.

When he laid eyes on his canoe for the first time in 30 years, I'm sure there were tears in his eyes. The Canoe is a seventeen-and-a-half cedar strip vessel, and it is beautiful. All that needs to be done when it reaches its home on Thunder Lake is some sanding and resin.

On Nov. 10, The Canoe was securely lashed to the roof of the van and set out its destiny on a lake in northern Ontario. In spite of snow squalls and gusts of wind, The Canoe reached its destination safely. Next summer will see its long-delayed launch, no doubt with some ceremony and a lot of emotion.