Kirk Wipper

Wipper formed the Kanawa International Collection of Canoes, Kayaks and Rowing Craft.[1] His collection, which consisted of more than six hundred individual watercraft, including kayaks and canoes, became the basis for what would become the Canadian Canoe Museum.[1] In 1957, Wipper was gifted a dugout canoe, which is believed to have been crafted in 1890.[1] Wipper soon began collecting other watercraft, which grew to approximately one hundred fifty pieces by the late 1960s.[1] Wipper constructed a facility to house his collection at Camp Kandalore, a summer camp he owned in the vicinity of Dorset, Ontario.[1] However, his growing collection outgrew this building, necessitating a search for a new facility.[1] Wipper was contacted by a group of individuals, including several affiliated with the Trent University, who were interested in moving his collection to a permanent exhibition space in Peterborough, Ontario.[1] Wipper agreed to the proposal and a board of directors was formed for the project in 1989.[1] In 1994, Wipper donated his entire collection to the new Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough.[1] He remained active in the museum as a volunteer and consultant.[1]

Wipper became a faculty member of the University of Toronto's School of Physical and Health Education in 1950.[1] He worked as an assistant professor at the University of Toronto until his retirement in 1987.[1] Wipper then served as the director of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award of Canada and the President of the Royal Life Saving Society of Canada following his retirement from academia.[1] Wipper also founded Camp Kandalore in Ontario and co-founded the Canadian Recreational Canoeing Association.[2]

For many years he created and headed up one of Canada's leading camps for boys (girls would later be included in 1992[3]) with canoeing and the outdoors as its primary focus. This is possibly one of his greatest accomplishments because Camp Kandalore set the bar for summer camps in all of Ontario by emphasizing mentorship and skills development while embracing the outdoors and nature as partners in a young boy's journey to manhood.

Throughout his years at Kandalore, he led an extensive canoe tripping strategy. However, in the past decades (post 1990's) through separate ownership a focus on in-camp residential experiences emphasizing activities became of greater focus to the camps operation.

In 2002, Wipper was named to the Order of Canada and the Order of St. John.[4][2] He was also a recipient of the Ontario Bicentennial Medal and the Government of Canada Centenary Medal.[1]

Kirk Wipper died from a choking accident related to Parkinson's disease while eating dinner with friends and family in Petersborough on March 18, 2011, at the age of 87.[1][2] He was survived by his wife, Ann.[1]