MARQUETTE - Earlier this summer, a small red canoe was found in Noisey Bay, Canada, with a phone number and the initials AM carved into it. Belonging to 11-year-old Aurora Mlsna of Marquette, the little boat was a long way from where it started out.
The little canoe is based on a similar one in the iconic children's book, "Paddle to the Sea." Written and illustrated by Holling C. Holling in 1941, it follows the progress of a little wooden boat carved by a young boy that begins in a snow bank in Canada. It then traveled to the Great Lakes and eventually to the Atlantic Ocean. Since that time, schoolchildren all over the country - and the world - have followed Paddle's journey with some making a boat of their own.
This particular journey began three years ago in Judy Smith's second grade classroom at Cherry Creek Elementary School.
"In the fall, I started out and would read a chapter a week," Smith said. "It was part of our social studies, because it would it be some history, some geography and some economics."
As she read the book to the students, Smith tailored a specific lesson each week to something in "Paddle to the Sea. She introduced copper pennies for the class to consider and also had fishermen and wood carvers come visit the class.
"The theme for our class was: 'Each day is a new journey.' And for each week Paddle took a journey, so did we."
As the year wound down, the students made their own "Paddle to the Sea" boats or "Paddles," which were carved by a parent and then decorated by the students, including their initials, should it ever be found. Throughout the school year, the students did fundraising in order to pay for a trip to the Pictured Rocks in Munising and while they were there, if the students chose to, they could release their boat into Lake Superior.
"The idea was, if their boat was found, I would get a phone call. And I would see whose initials were on the boat and I would call and tell that child," Smith said. "Our of 20 kids (a year) that would throw them in, at least half of them would be found once."
And Mlsna, now a soon-to-be sixth grader, was a little surprised to discover the journey her Paddle had already made.
"I actually I kind of forgot about it until then. I wasn't really thinking about it too much," she said. "I got a call from my teacher, Mrs. Smith and she told me my boat had been found somewhere in Canada."
But nonetheless, the experience has been unique for Mlsna.
"I felt it was pretty cool because I'm not sure there was a ton of people from my class that their boats had been found," she said.
Since she learned her boat has discovered, she has decided that instead of wanting her Paddle back, she would like it returned to the water to continue its journey. Mlsna said the boat resembles what it looked like when she put it Lake Superior three years ago, although it has obviously seen some wear and tear.
"The colors are faded and gone in some spots and there was a little Indian in it and it fell out along the way."
She theorized that the lake simply moved the little red canoe along where it wanted to.
"I guess that the current and the waves moved it along the lake and it washed up on the rocks," Mlsna said.
Smith, who taught the story for many years and took numerous classes to drop their boats in the water, said that the one thing that many students remember from their elementary school years is that trip to Pictured Rocks.
"It was just a lot of really good stuff that came out of it, to tell you the truth," Smith said. "It's making memories for the kids. It's the fun of the journey and wondering where it will end and not always taking the easy route and it's a love of our lakes, and of Michigan, because primarily it's Michigan that they are around."
Claire Abent can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her e-mail address is cabent@miningjournal.net.
