Luckily Bill Hansen at Sawbill Canoe Outfitters is an expert in the field of canoe repair. The other day, the Wilderness Club paddled our canoe out at 10 a.m. and with the speed and precision of a NASCAR pit crew she was repaired, given a proper cleaning and delivered to our campsite by Bill’s daughter Clare Shirley, her husband Dan Shirley, and their daughter Kit around 2 p.m.! Kit celebrated her 2 month birthday today, making her our youngest #WildernessYear visitor. Clare’s grandparents, Frank and Mary Alice Hansen, started Sawbill Canoe Outfitters 60 years ago and now she and Dan are taking over the family business from her parents Bill and Cindy Hansen.
Clare was five years old when I started working at Sawbill as a teenager. Now she is raising her own family on the edge of the Wilderness. It was such a treat to visit with them and meet Kit on her first wilderness canoe trip.
Protecting the Boundary Waters from Twin Metals and other sulfide-ore copper mines will help ensure that Sawbill Outfitters, and other businesses like it will thrive for another 60 years. Perhaps Kit will be taking over the family business as Sawbill celebrates its 100th anniversary. I sure hope we around for that party!
This place is just too precious to risk and now is the time to act. Please visit Save the Boundary Waters http://ift.tt/1x2erSX and take action today.
#wilderness #savetheBWCA #BoundaryWaters #sawbill #sawbilloutfitters
