How Owning a Paddle Company (Probably) Saved My Life

On mother's day I posted a picture of my Mom and I canoeing in the Haliburton region. This picture was taken sometime in the nineties, and I noticed - while I was looking for a suitable photo to post for this mother's day - that the picture of my Mom and I was eerily similar to most of our photos of past canoe and camping trips. And I thought about how different those pictures would be - if taken now - after owning Badger® Paddles.

Even though I love this picture - there is something missing.

When I started Badger® Paddles a few years ago with my husband, Mike, the business brought many challenges to our lives as well as some wonderful connections with some really amazing people. Badger also allowed me an excuse to research and read paddling stories and blogs from around the world. (One of my most favourite past times). In doing so, I was researching and looking for great content to share with our friends, customers, and followers. But what I didn't anticipate was that, because of Badger® Paddles and because of that research, that one day I would gain a knowledge that could quite possibly save my life in the future.

Mike in his younger days. Again, something is missing.

Thus day after day, I would watch for stories about paddling, canoeing, and kayaking. When I would come upon something I felt would be interesting or entertaining to our audience, I would share it via our social media network on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or even this very blog.

It didn't take long for me to realize that a great number of canoeing stories that hit the main stream media are not feel-good stories. No. They are about drowning. Cold water deaths and other fatal drowning accidents were a definite reoccurring theme in the news. So was the fact the majority of these drowning victims were NOT wearing a PFD or life jacket. It didn't matter how much experience one had in a canoe or how well one could swim. Even the those with an abundance of knowledge and experience were victims of drowning. And time and time again, there was even another recurring theme: If the victims had been wearing their PFD, their lives very well could have been saved.

Nothing missing from this picture!

Interestingly enough, I found you can only become aware of so many of these stories before you start to see yourself in them. Or your dad or your husband. Or even your child. The words "If they had been wearing their life-jackets, they would have survived." became common place in the stories I was researching. After a while, it started echoing in my head when I would get near a canoe.

Fiona paddling on a sunny September day wearing her PFD.
Picture taken by Sean Smith of FatPaddler.com

Now I make sure to wear a life jacket when ever I paddle. A practice that could quite possible save my life one day in the future. I will wear one even on a nice day without any rough weather. I know too much not to after everything I have read and seen and paid attention to. And while it is not always the most comfortable, I now realize that wearing my PFD is a choice that could mean the difference between life and death in an any sort of water incident. Before I had Badger® Paddles in my life, I was one of the many who bring a PFD along but would rarely actually wear one. Having a paddle company has definitely opened my eyes to the dangers of that habit. It is NOT enough to bring it with you. You have to put it on. It could save your life. If you don't believe me - just keep your eye on the news.

Badger Paddles' Tip of the Week - Wax Your Cheese

Badger Paddles' Tip of the Week includes information on paddling, camping, portaging, boat transport, and maintenance tips, as well as any other information that we may find to be useful around our sett.

I don't know about you, but we like to bring cheese with us on our canoe trips. (Quite frankly I can't live without it!) And when Mike and I were just starting out together, he surprised me with a technique* for waxing and preserving cheese that can really make the difference on a long or even short trip into the bush.

Waxing your cheese stops the cheese from sweating and getting that "white stuff" all over it.  And I love cheese so much - it's probably one of the reasons why I married him!

Preserving Cheese for Canoe Trips:

1. Cut chilled cheese** into meal size blocks. 
2. Wet cheese cloth (Mike used J-cloths!) with vinegar (enough to saturate the cloth but not soaking wet).
3. Wrap cheese blocks individually with the cloth wet with the white vinegar.
4. Dip into melted paraffin wax to seal. Repeat.
5. Coat the cheese blocks with the wax enough to have a thick layer when it hardens.
6. Note: Do not have the wax too hot as it will be harder to get a good coat of the paraffin on the cheese, noting that if you don't want to use paraffin - you can substitute cheese wax or even make your own using non-toxic crayon wax.

See the original here: CCR- Gear

Then, when you are out on your wilderness trip, you just have to open up one of the waxed blocks of cheese for your meal. It is like having a fresh block of cheese right out of the package every time - a great way to add some flavour to a meal (or snack) on a long canoe trip. And don't be worried about how the vinegar will affect the taste of the cheese. Mike has a real aversion to vinegar (it really bothers him). But he swears by this technique, even reports he isn't bothered by any vinegar taste or by any overpowering smell at all. That's saying something- believe me!

As a side note, I entered this very tip to the Canadian Canoe Routes website not long after the first time I tried it on a trip with Mike - you can still see it here: Tips And Tricks-Preserving Cheese. There was also a photo submitted (see picture above), by a canoe manufacturer in Temiskaming, of my father and I for the Canadian Canoe Routes' website's gear section.

*Mike had learned this technique, among other things, from his professor, Clair Magee.
**This technique is not recommended for really soft cheeses and is best utilized for hard cheeses like cheddar, etc.


Do you have any tips to share? Send us your tips and paddling advice - and if your tip is featured here - we will send you a free Badger Paddles sticker!!! All you have to do is email us your suggestions.

Badger History: not just any little black box

Today our family had a very interesting lunch.  A family heirloom was brought out that, while the monetary value is very little, the item couldn't have been a more interesting & valuable treasure to Badger Paddles and the great-granddaughter of Sidney Badger, Fiona.

This family heirloom was a little black box filled with memories.

It was a wonderful afternoon spent listening to Sidney's daughter (and Fiona's grandmother) Glady, reminisce about her childhood remembering how her father, Sidney Badger, would carry his little black box to the streetcar stop in travel to downtown Toronto, where he worked as a touch-up artist for RCA Victor Radios and Yollie's Furniture.  

"Imagine," Glady said, "he made his whole living for his family from that little black box.  He fed and clothed and housed us 4 children, even during the Great Depression."

She even fondly recalled the "little coloured sticks" that looked like plastic.  These shellac sticks when put under heat, would instantly melt - basically acting as a dent filler which would instantly harden when cooled.  A lost art, the shellac sticks are less available today due to the skills required to use this method and the expense of a burning knife and oven.  Today it is much more popular to use "wood filler".

Interestingly enough,  the box was used by all 3 generations of the men of Badger & Son.    Sidney, his son Don Badger and later his grandson, Mike, all carried on the tradition of bringing the little black box into customer's homes to provide "touch-up" work on their fine furniture and antiques.  This service was used for customer pieces that had a small amount of damage to their furniture's finish and did not need to be fully refinished.

A fine art, touching up the finish on furniture is a very difficult job.  Finishes had to be mixed to be exact thereby ensuring the damaged area was invisible to the eye.  It takes a fine eye for colour and a steady hand to ensure a professional touchup job. Colours and lacquers were mixed on the spot until the artist was satisfied with the match.  Sometimes faux grain had to be "painted" in as well if the damaged finish area was a littler larger then usual.

When Don Badger left the family business in the 80's to his nephew Mike, the only thing he took from the business upon his departure was "Grampa's little black box".

The box was not seen again until recently and upon the passing of Uncle Don where it was located in a garden shed by the family.

"There is was..." Mike recalled over a meal of fish & chips, "under a bench on the floor and hidden by a roll of carpet and tarpaper.  But as soon as I saw it  I recognized it.... I knew it was Grampa's little black box.".

Mike (a.k.a. Poppa Badger) quickly saved the box to ensure it was not overlooked or thrown away.  Thankfully, Mike is a great collector of local history, and was happy to give the box a protected home so that the memories of Grandpa Badger's little black box could be shared with future generations and you, our valued customer.  This box was not only filled with articles from the past, but also with family stories, which are the greatest heirloom of all.

For more history on Sidney (see black and white picture) or Badger & Son, please visit the Badger & Son website's History page.

BADGER UPDATE:  December 12/09
Just this week Fiona received an unexpected phone call from Poppa Badger where he generously and respectfully offered to pass Great Grampa's little black box to her.  Overwhelmed and overjoyed... Fiona accepted the gift that her father was so graciously willing to share with her.  Thank you Poppa Badger!!!  The little black box has been given another loving home and it will be cherished there, always.