Now seven years later, the plane collection, along with additional planes and tools and Wendall’s book collection and documentation, has a permanent home at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking. In the fall of 2008 I visited the Wooden Boat Show and spoke to Tim Lawson about the collection I owned. Following Wendall’s death in 1995, as I moved, I brought the planes with me to Wisconsin in 1996 and then on to Woodinville, Washington in 1998. He also worked with the New Hampshire Historical Society to help them put together a special exhibition of New Hampshire manufactured tools.Īs Wendall’s health deteriorated in the early 1990’s, he asked me to purchase the collection so that it would stay together and not be sold piecemeal after his wife’s passing. Following his health related retirement in 1985, Wendall continued to focus on adding to his collection of Sanborn planes and displayed his planes at a Sanborn family reunion. In the late 1970’s, Wendall decided to focus on planes manufactured by D.P.
At some yard sales the old wooden planes were sold by the bushel basket. It was also during this time that I used to accompany Wendall to yard and flea market sales on weekends when he was adding to his antique tool collection. It was here that I started to learn about woodworking and also developed a deep long lasting relationship with Wendall. In addition to his repair shop at the boathouse, which now had heat, Wendall also had a complete woodworking shop at a converted woolen mill in White River Junction, Vermont where he made furniture. He also manufactured sculling oars for rowers. When he retired in 1985 he was probably the most widely know rigger in the country. Wendall also assisted in six US National Team camps that were held at the Dartmouth College facilities and traveled with the Dartmouth rowers when they competed at the Henley Royal Regatta in England. He followed this work by being selected as the rigger for the 1976 Olympics and the 1984 World Lightweight Championships. Several years later he was appointed as rigger for the US Team at the 1970 World Rowing Championships and in 1971 as the rigger for the Pan American Games Rowing Team. He was the rigger during the first US Rowing mini-camp in 1964. Within a few years he was recognized and admired throughout the rowing community.
Before long he served in a special role, working with the coaches to develop a good attitude and espirit de corps among the oarsmen, giving them a friendly ear and sage advice and always repairing, improving and updating the equipment. “As Badge’s (Wendall’s nickname among the rowing community) ability to work on shells and oars increased, so did his knowledge of rowing and his friendships with coaches and oarsmen. In 1995, Peter Gardner, the coach during Wendall’s years as Dartmouth Rowing rigger, wrote the following tribute to him following Wendall’s death in Nov 1995: Wendall stepped forward to refurbish this boat and from that moment on, for the next 26 years, Wendall was the Dartmouth boatman/rigger. In 1959, the Dartmouth Rowing Club brought a Pocock Rowing shell into the college gymnasium, which had the heat the boathouse did not, in order to strip and refinish it.
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