Offbeat road attraction: New Brunswick, Canada’s Woodmen’s Museum

If you’re on the main drag to get to Campobello Island or going from New Brunswick, Canada to Maine, you’ll want some interesting things to break up hours of driving through forests. I love all kinds of museums, but I understand that there are folks — guys, usually — who wince at vintage displays of dollhouses or oyster forks. Now, there is a seasonal museum to appeal to everyone: Woodmen’s Museum in Boiestown, NB. As I was visiting, massive tractor trailers were hauling loads and loads of logs down the road.

I come from two generations of people in the furniture business. I remember old-timer friends of the family/frenemies/competitors who described how furniture stores — because of the woodworking and repairs — used to also stock caskets. My dad had furniture stores in Chicago and Gary. Our colonial-style home with wood paneling had intricate wooden roll-top desks, pianos, buffets, coat stands. I hated it! I must confess, I grew up in an era where I pined (if that’s not too bad a pun) for pvc bean bags, potato chip chairs, egg and ball chairs, a water bed. Space age! But, no. Ours was a traditional home.

These days, I have appreciation for crafted and carved wood objects and I have many. Now that I cherish them, I’m afraid of “green freaks” who decry lumbering and wish for us to get back to “clean” petroleum-based furnishings, because ignorance seems to be in fashion. They don’t understand that the modern lumber industry leads the effort to maintain the environment and sustainability.

The museum has 26 indoor and outdoor buildings, which definitely gives you a chance to stretch your legs. There are facilities to rent for large groups.

They remind people that to get wood, you have to go into the woods! Thus, the vintage Canadian taxidermy.