Bill Mason
Encyclopedia
Bill Mason was an award-winning Canadian naturalist
, author, artist, filmmaker, and conservationist
, noted primarily for his popular canoeing
books, films, and art as well as his documentaries on wolves. Mason was also known for including passages from Christian sermons in his films. He was born in 1929 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and graduated from the University of Manitoba
School of Art in 1951. He developed and refined canoeing strokes and river-running techniques, especially for complex whitewater
situations. He canoed all of his adult life, ranging widely over the wilderness
areas of Canada and the United States. Called "wilderness artist," in one book about him, Mason left a legacy that includes books, films and artwork on canoeing and wild nature. He died of cancer in 1988.
Although he used a variety of Chestnut models in his films, including the "Pal" and the "Fort", his favourite boat was a red Chestnut Prospector, a 16 foot canvas
covered wood canoe that he claimed was the most versatile design ever manufactured, in spite of the popularity of more durable and modern construction techniques and materials. After his death, this canoe was donated to the Canadian Canoe Museum
in Peterborough, Ontario
, where it is on display. His wife, Joyce, and children, Paul and Becky, frequently travelled with him and contributed to his later books and films, and have continued his life work and environmentalism.
informally started calling the dramatic rock spire, in the midst of Virginia Falls
, "Mason's Rock". This usage appears to have become widespread, although it has not yet been made official.
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
, author, artist, filmmaker, and conservationist
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
, noted primarily for his popular canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
books, films, and art as well as his documentaries on wolves. Mason was also known for including passages from Christian sermons in his films. He was born in 1929 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and graduated from the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
School of Art in 1951. He developed and refined canoeing strokes and river-running techniques, especially for complex whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
situations. He canoed all of his adult life, ranging widely over the wilderness
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
areas of Canada and the United States. Called "wilderness artist," in one book about him, Mason left a legacy that includes books, films and artwork on canoeing and wild nature. He died of cancer in 1988.
Canoeing
In his review of James Raffan's 1996 biography of Mason, Michael Peake refers to Mason as "the patron saint of canoeing." To many Canadian and American Paddlers and Canoeists growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, his series of instructional films were the introduction to technique and the canoeing experience. In many ways, Bill, Joyce, Paul and Becky Mason were the "faces" of Canadian Canoeing in the '70s. Mason's good friend, filmmaker Blake James, also frequently appeared in his films.Although he used a variety of Chestnut models in his films, including the "Pal" and the "Fort", his favourite boat was a red Chestnut Prospector, a 16 foot canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
covered wood canoe that he claimed was the most versatile design ever manufactured, in spite of the popularity of more durable and modern construction techniques and materials. After his death, this canoe was donated to the Canadian Canoe Museum
Canadian Canoe Museum
The Canadian Canoe Museum is a museum dedicated to canoes located in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. The museum's mission is to preserve and share the culture and history of the canoe.- History :...
in Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
, where it is on display. His wife, Joyce, and children, Paul and Becky, frequently travelled with him and contributed to his later books and films, and have continued his life work and environmentalism.
Honours
Mason won several honours, including being featured on a Canadian postage stamp in 1998. After his death, a warden at Nahanni National Park ReserveNahanni National Park Reserve
Nahanni National Park Reserve in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, approximately west of Yellowknife, protects a portion of the Mackenzie Mountains Natural Region. The centrepiece of the park is the South Nahanni River. Four noteworthy canyons reaching in depth, called...
informally started calling the dramatic rock spire, in the midst of Virginia Falls
Virginia Falls (Northwest Territories)
Virginia Falls is a waterfall in Nahanni National Park Reserve, Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located on the South Nahanni River, at an elevation of ....
, "Mason's Rock". This usage appears to have become widespread, although it has not yet been made official.
Books
- Path of the Paddle ISBN 1-55209-328-X, on the technique of Canadian style canoeing
- Song of the Paddle ISBN 1-55209-089-2, on wilderness canoe travel
- Canoescapes - a compilation of text and his paintings
Films
- Wilderness Treasure (1962) - won a Canadian Film AwardCanadian Film AwardThe Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually except in 1974 when Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation that year....
in the category of Travel and Recreation in 1963 - The Voyageurs (1964)
- Paddle to the SeaPaddle to the SeaPaddle-to-the-Sea is a 1941 children's book, written and illustrated by American author/artist Holling C. Holling. It was recognized as a Caldecott Honor Book in 1942....
(1966) - nominated for Best Short Film, 1968 Academy Awards40th Academy AwardsThe 40th Academy Awards honored film achievements of 1967. Originally scheduled for 8 April 1968, the awards were postponed to two days later, 10 April 1968, because of the assassination of Dr... - The Rise and Fall of the Great LakesThe Rise and Fall of the Great LakesThe Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes is a 1968 Canadian short film. It is a humorous geography lesson where a tour of the Great Lakes is made by a lone canoeist who experiences most of the cataclysmic changes of ages of lake history...
(1968) - BlakeBlake (film)Blake is a 1969 short documentary by Bill Mason about his friend and fellow filmmaker Blake James, who pilots his own plane. The film was produced by the National Film Board of Canada . Awards for the film included two Golden Sheaf Awards and an Etrog Award for Best Film under 30 minutes...
(1969) - on the passion of flying, about his friend, fellow filmmaker and pilot Blake James, nominated Best Live Action Short Film, 1970 Academy Awards42nd Academy AwardsThe 42nd Academy Awards were presented April 7, 1970 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. There was no host.This is currently the highest rated of the televised Academy Awards ceremonies, according to Nielsen ratings.... - Death of a LegendDeath of a LegendDeath of a Legend was the first of three documentary films by Bill Mason about wolves, helping to dispel the image of wolves as "evil" and demonstrating their role in maintaining the balance of nature. Released in 1971, Death of the Legend was the first documentary to feature footage of wolves...
(1971) - a documentary on the threats to wolves - Cry of the WildCry of the WildCry of the Wild is a 1972 feature-length documentary film by Bill Mason and his second of three films about wolves. The film is a personal account of the two years Mason spent shooting his first film on wolves, Death of a Legend, incorporating footage from the earlier film...
(1972) - a film on timber and Arctic wolves - Goldwood (1974) A journey to a past family homestead on a now deserted island.
- In Search of the Bowhead WhaleBowhead WhaleThe bowhead whale is a baleen whale of the right whale family Balaenidae in suborder Mysticeti. A stocky dark-colored whale without a dorsal fin, it can grow to in length. This thick-bodied species can weigh to , second only to the blue whale, although the bowhead's maximum length is less than...
(1974) - adventure film of a whaling expedition - Wolf Pack (1974) - a short film on wolf packPack (canine)Pack is a social group of conspecific canids. Not all species of canids - notably the red fox - form packs. Pack size and social behaviour within packs varies across species.-Species which exhibit pack behavior:...
interrelationships, including among wolves the Mason family kept on their own property. - Face of the Earth (1975)
- Path of the Paddle (1977) - a series of films on the techniques of canoeing
- Song of the Paddle (1978) - a film of one of Bill Mason's family wilderness canoeing trips
- Coming Back Alive (1980) - an instructional film on recreational boating safety
- Pukaskwa National ParkPukaskwa National ParkPukaskwa National Park is a national park located south of the town of Marathon, Ontario in the Thunder Bay District of northern Ontario, Canada. Established in 1978, Pukaskwa is known for its vistas of Lake Superior and boreal forests...
(1983) - a film covering one of Mason's favourite areas, the Pukaskwa region of Lake SuperiorLake SuperiorLake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
. - The Land that Devours Ships (1984)
- WaterwalkerWaterwalkerWaterwalker is a 1984 documentary film by Bill Mason, a Canadian outdoorsman, painter, canoeist and environmentalist, who made many films on the art of canoeing and on the appreciation of nature...
(1984) - a feature-length film of Bill Mason's journey on Lake Superior