American Faces #83 - One man's junk...

American Faces No. 83

John Parks loves the hunt. There’s a conspiratorial gleam in his eye when he talks about his latest find. His friends and fans call him Johnny Junk.

“People started calling me Johnny Junk when I was a kid,” says John, “The guys in the local gas station would give me old spark plugs and junk parts. I was always dragging stuff home.”

His dad loved old cars. His mom collected antiques. “I didn’t have a chance,” he says.

Johnny Junk & Co. in downtown Anoka, Minnesota, looks like a man-caver’s dream, full of vintage beer and gas station signs, car memorabilia, old RC airplanes and antique “big boy toys” of all kinds. The store’s an homage to John’s long-time passion for automotive and motorcycle artwork and the small-town culture of yesteryear.

“As a kid, I’d go with my dad to car shows and swap meets and ask him to drop me at the gate. I’d buy stuff right off the trucks as they came in, picking the cool stuff before anyone else saw it,” says John.

Eventually he’d collected so much that John’s family suggested he open a store, just to help clear out the stash. But he says as much comes in the doors as goes out. “I have more stuff now than when I started,” he says.

John’s regular gig is commercial design, plus hand-lettering and custom pin-striping on hotrods and motorcycles. He also makes customized period signage, re-creating the signs his customers grew up seeing in their hometown or the family cabin.

The Johnny Junk & Co. store, filled with John’s custom replica artwork, beloved automotive memorabilia and vintage signs, is an easy blending of old and new. It has a comfortable nostalgic vibe that invites folks to hang out and visit for a while, like they used to.

Maybe that’s why John claims the store is “just a hobby.”

“I like taking time to hear people’s stories about the stuff they bring in. I probably don’t spend as much time as I should negotiating prices,” says John, “If I really had to make a living at it I wouldn’t be having as much fun.”

As you go about your day, take time to stop and visit with someone new, take in the moment, and hear a story. You may just meet a guy like Johnny Junk, and find the treasure of friendship in surprising places.

Photos by: Nielsen Studios

Writing/editing by: Scott Whitman

American Faces #82 - The Northstar paddler

American Faces No. 82

If you’ve been following this American Faces series for a while you’ve probably detected a few common themes (yes, Shawn has an obvious photographer crush on dudes with beards, but we’re not talking about that). Hopefully you’ll have noticed we love stories about artisans, makers and creators. And we’re drawn to hero stories, where someone conquers the “monster” to achieve their dream, or maybe just survives to fight another day. And we’re always fans of everyday American heroes – folks making a difference in simple ways, making the world a nicer place for all of us.

This post (American Faces No. 82) is one of those rare stories that features a person who’s “all that,” bringing all the best plot-lines together in one package. Meet Ted Bell, founder of Northstar Canoes in Princeton, Minnesota.

If you’re a fan of canoe racing, or someone who geeks out on the art and science of building hand-made composite canoes, you’ll already know about Ted Bell. Ted is the guy you’d want to autograph your canoe paddle, or his rookie year canoe-racer card, if they have those. He’s kind of a big deal.

Ted is known as a champion solo canoe racer and a pioneering canoe-builder, but despite a lifetime of running out in front the pack, both on the water and in the design shop, Ted attributes his success to the team he’s gathered around him. “I’m just a canoe builder,” says Ted, “It’s all about surrounding myself with really good people.”

Walking through the Northstar Canoes shop it feels like a family business, and in many ways it is. Ted’s long-time friend and fellow canoeing legend, Theodore "Bear" Paulsen, serves as General Sales Manager. Charlie Thompson, the company’s Technical Director, has been designing and building canoes alongside Ted for years. A few of the folks in Ted’s shop have been with him for decades. For all of them, it’s more than a gig. These folks are artisans. For Ted and his core team, it’s a full-on passion.

“I just love what I do, I love paddling, and I’ve surrounded myself with people who share that same passion,” says Ted, "While I've learned a lot over the years, what's just as important is this team here and what we’ve done together – always working on the next best thing, each year refining on what's come before."

Ted first honed his canoe-building craft at Wabash Valley Canoes in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and eventually bought the company. He sold Wabash Valley around 1986.

Ted moved to Minnesota where he spent a number of years at famed adventure outfitter Midwest Mountaineering in Minneapolis, growing their paddling and watersports business. But before long, Ted was back in his garage, tinkering with new canoe designs, and building canoes to take Boy Scouts to the Boundary Waters.

It was about this time that with the help of his friend and renowned outdoor writer and wilderness canoe guide, Cliff Jacobson, Ted purchased Cliff’s namesake “CJ Solo” mold from Old Town Canoes. With that mold, and designs he retained from Wabash Valley Canoes, Ted was back in the canoe-building business.

Ted officially formed Bell Canoe Works in 1988, and left Midwest Mountaineering in 1995 to run Bell Canoe Works full time. The company soon began designing recreational and touring canoes in addition to racing craft, quickly earning a reputation for building fast, light and highly stable composite canoes for paddlers of all types. After a near 20-year run of building world-class composite boats, Ted sold Bell Canoe Works in 2006.

But the passion for canoe building kept calling, and after a five-year hiatus, Ted was soon back in his garage, building canoes again. He thought it would be a hobby business.

“I thought I’d maybe build 30 canoes a year with a few friends, make some money to pay for some adventures,” says Ted, “But once people heard I was building boats again, it really took off. One of my first orders was for 50 canoes. We had to ramp up pretty quickly.”

Ted re-launched his canoe works as Northstar Canoes in 2012 and “it’s grown faster than Bell Canoe did,” says Ted.

Northstar Canoes currently employs about 25 people full-time, running their shop at full capacity, bringing new designs to the market, and selling about 1,800 hand-made canoes each year through a network of about 30 dealers across the Northern US, Canada, the UK and Finland.

Ted and his team at Northstar Canoes view their mission as helping other people discover the joys of paddling.

“We want to make canoes that create great experiences for all kinds of paddlers, whether experienced backcountry veterans, or beginners on their first Boundary Waters trip,” says Ted, “Our boats are known for stability in rough water, and for durability.”

Ted, Charlie and Bear all know that having a great experience in a canoe is also about aesthetics. To that end, every Northstar boat is a work of art.

“We design for performance, but we also care about how the boat looks and feels, the finishing details. Our boats look different, with our exclusive black and yellow weave fabric, and the carbon fiber or wood gunnels. We take pride in the details,” says Ted.

Ultimately, Ted Bell wants the rest of us to join him in discovering a lifelong passion in paddling.

Ted says, “I love building boats. I love canoeing. I’ll be doing this until I die.”

To stoke your passion for paddling, visit the Northstar Canoes web site for information concerning canoes and how composite boats are made. Then, pick up a paddle and go test one! If you really want to see and learn all-things canoeing, join the Northstar team at Canoecopia 2023 – the “largest paddlesports consumer event in the world,” March 10-12 in Madison, WI.

Photos by: Nielsen Studios

Writing/editing by: Scott Whitman

American Faces No. 81 - My Heroes have always been COPS

American Faces No. 81

My heroes have always been cops (informal term for police officer). I know that is not how the song goes and that my blog title may be somewhat unpopular. Having said that, let me provide some backstory to my feelings. My dad was a law enforcement officer who served from 1963-1996 for the City of Plymouth. He was my hero as well as others he served alongside; this is where Dave D. enters. He was one of the other heroes.

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I met Dave in the 1970’s when I was just a little kid, and he was a young officer. I remember looking up at him with his dark uniform, shiny badge, and great big smile. Well at least that is what I think I remember. One memory in particular sticks in my brain. Dave was over at my house with my dad. He proceeded to tickle me, and my reaction was to call him a “PIG”. I knew when I said it that it was a very derogatory word for a police officer. Well, the mere utterance of that word from my lips sent my dad into disciplinary action with me in his sights. I think 9-year-old me would have been in less trouble had I had whiskey in a glass and a stubby cigar in my mouth than to have ever uttered those words. Ok, now with that background and my early years’ connection to Dave let me give you the 411 on him (Fancy lingo I know;-)) Dave was a compassionate police officer who did his best to make the world a better place from 1973 until his retirement in October of 1997 Dave mentioned times when he would stop and grab a burger for the person who was in the back seat of his patrol car. He wanted to care for the person, not just condemn the criminal. He knew he might be the last smiling face to be seen for a while.

Being a cop is not an easy job. There is incredible stress with the occupation. I saw that stress in my dad and I know for certain Dave experienced it also. That stress changes the way an officer looks at life, wondering if he will be home after his shift or not and seeing some of the worst aspects of human life. Knowing what a cop’s life is like is why cops are my heroes. They took an oath to “Serve & Protect” at all costs. Dave D. did that. Was he perfect? Nope but neither are you the reader, nor me the writer. So should we then let the media form our opinion. I think not!

So next time you see an officer say hi, wave to him or her over the steering wheel, say thank you or maybe pay the food tab at a restaurant. Or if you are funny and weird like me, bring donuts and coffee to your local police department and tell them they are welcome at your home anytime!