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Page 12 NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM August 2025 Newfound Woodworks and A Cosmic Balance
By William nieman
Centuries ago, on the West shore of Newfound Lake, an Abenaki couple worked together to craft a birch bark canoe. It was in keeping with their tradition that a man and a woman should work together to make the canoe. This would ensure the life bal- ance (and the canoe’s balance) required by those Indigenous people’s spiritual law inscribed in the tribe’s four colored “med- icine” or cosmic wheel. The Abenaki’s ancient presence on Newfound Lake has been veri- fied by the artifacts discovered by many archaeological sleuths, in- cluding Bristol’s iconic historian Richard Musgrove, who uncov- ered fire pits and artifacts on the lake’s West shore in 1901. Also, it is widely known that the New- found watershed was rich in the material needed for Abenaki ca- noes, for those Indigenous peo- ple were known to have called Newfound, “Pasquaney”, which, in translation, means “the place with birch for canoes”.
As the Abenaki constructed
their wooden boats, the man worked the cedar framing and in shaping and constructing the birch hull. The woman’s role was the most critical. Without her expertise, the “unbalanced” boat would sink. She had the skills to transform spruce roots into the stitching that would hold the hull together. Additionally, she used her “magic” to regenerate spruce resin into a gummy sub- stance that was applied to seal the canoe’s hull. Thus, the man and woman worked in tandem to fulfill the spiritual balance as en- joined by the cosmic (medicine) wheel.
The Abenaki were driven from the Newfound area by their encounter with “white man’s diseases” and the value placed on their scalps by early colonists. The remnants of the tribe were incorporated into the Wabanake Confederation, which has been reconstituted in recent times.
Today, the boat-building her- itage of the Abenaki is reborn in the canoes, kayaks, and rowboats made at Newfound Woodworks, located on East Danforth Brook
Road, in Bristol. The current owners, Alan Mann and Rose Woodyard, acknowledge their
indebtedness to the lake’s Indig- enous peoples by naming two of their watercraft after the an-
cient tribes. As they point out in their catalogue, “We name the Nipmuc and Abenaki in honor of these native tribes who pad- dled the inland waters of New England.” The couple then adds, “Our most popular canoe is the Abenaki.” Alan and Rose acknowledge another legacy, a more personal one. They are deeply indebted to the insight and work of Mike Vermouth, who founded Newfound Wood- works in 1984. A quote convey- ing Mike’s feelings about their craft hangs on the wall in the company’s office. “Boat building is more about building character than about building boats.”
At present, Rose and Alan use not only natural woods but also contemporary materials such as fiberglass and modern epoxies. The tools employed are modern as well. However, those who han- dle the tools are true adherents to the spirit of the cosmic wheel. Like the Abenaki, Alan and Rose work in tandem. They sometimes work at the same station together, but they emphasize unique roles as well.