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salish Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2001 Posts: 2322 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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salish
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Thu Feb 06, 2020 11:22 am
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Does anyone have any information on these old snowshoes? They were made in the early 70's by a guy named David Schonbrun, who had a business called Northwest Snowshoe, in north Seattle. There is a patent date for him for 1972, but I can find little other evidence of the man or the business. I don't remember this company nor have I seen wooden snowshoes that looked like these before. I do have some information from an author of a Seattle Times Pictorial magazine article who interviewed him in the 1970's, but not much. I was told the shoes were patterned after some Cree designs and they're very well built, but use nylon lacing instead of babiche, ash side rails and mahogany for the cross bars. I would be interested in finding more information on these shoes.
Thank you,
Cliff
My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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Pyrites Member
Joined: 16 Sep 2014 Posts: 1879 | TRs | Pics Location: South Sound |
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Pyrites
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Thu Feb 06, 2020 10:41 pm
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Interesting. Long and narrow. Not a common shape.
Keep Calm and Carry On?
Heck No.
Stay Excited and Get Outside!
Keep Calm and Carry On?
Heck No.
Stay Excited and Get Outside!
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salish Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2001 Posts: 2322 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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salish
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Fri Feb 07, 2020 9:45 am
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Not at all.
My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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bk Member
Joined: 01 Jun 2012 Posts: 266 | TRs | Pics
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bk
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Fri Feb 07, 2020 10:40 am
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There's an article in the Sept. 16, 1976 Seattle Times about him and his company with the intriguing and odd title: "Snowshoe producer 'too stupid to quit' "
The article says he was from Brooklyn, NY; worked at Boeing, got laid off in 1969 when in his mid-50s. He started his business in 1970. One pair of snowshoes in a 16-hour day. Sold them to stores and via mail order. Got it down to 8-hours a pair. Experimented w/diff. materials. Got a program going that trained inmates at Firlands (prison? jail?) to weave the shoes. He sold them to the Coast Guard and Forest Service, etc. He got an army contract in 1976 for 1,600 pairs at $58.75 a piece.
It's not clear where the "stupid" part shows up in the story.
An earlier Times article appears in Feb. 16, 1975. "For a better snowshoe, he went to the Crees" (for the design of two sticks joined fore and aft). There's a number of (bad quality) photos of him and his shoes. (This might be the Seattle Pictorial Magazine article you mentioned.)
There's a Soc. Sec. Death Index listing for his name:
born Jan. 12, 1915 (ssn issued in NY)
died July 1979 (Bothell, WA)
(Another article around 1979 mentions someone by his name having passed as an aside, but no outright obituary otherwise jumps out.)
MyHeritage says:
He married Sarah Rapoport Aug. 23, 1950 in Brooklyn.
==========================
Historical Seattle Times access:
Because of a pretty-much statewide reciprocal borrowing agreement among state library systems, if you live in nearly any county in WA state, you can bring your local library card with you on your next trip to the Seattle area and pop into a Seattle Public Library (SPL) branch (a satellite branch is fine . . . doesn't have to be downtown) and get a SPL card. With that, you can remotely log onto the SPL online database and access the historical Seattle Times. Free. (SPL is the only library that offers that . . . thus the need to use your local physical library card to visit SPL and get a physical SPL card.)
(Otherwise, historical Seattle Times access is some fee, like $25 a month or something, via the Times website.)
MyHeritage Access:
Sno-Isle is one of the very few state systems w/ the "MyHeritage" database. Bring your local physical library card into any Sno-Isle branch and get a Sno-Isle card, too (again, via the reciprocating borrowing agreement).
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salish Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2001 Posts: 2322 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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salish
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Fri Feb 07, 2020 12:03 pm
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AWESOME work, BK, thank you very much. I don't know how you found all of that, but I appreciate it.
Thanks,
Cliff
My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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Malachai Constant Member
Joined: 13 Jan 2002 Posts: 16088 | TRs | Pics Location: Back Again Like A Bad Penny |
Well I don’t think you would have a problem stepping on your shoes with them. Performance in powder could be another question.
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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salish Member
Joined: 17 Dec 2001 Posts: 2322 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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salish
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Fri Feb 07, 2020 1:06 pm
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Hi Mal, yeah, I'll find out.
My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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