the boat as part of Oxford’s Christmas on the Creek celebration. When the necessary work or equipment are more extensive, Tom Campbell and Campbell’s Boatyards lend a hand ~ or a crane. In January, Campbell and his crew came out to the Community Center with a crane and carefully lifted the Pedler off her cradle, and took her indoors for a more thorough restoration. She had sat outside in the elements for eight years. To continue her life as an Oxford icon, she needed a lot of work. Campbell and Daryl Frey, Campbell’s Service Manager, found just the shipwright for the job. Chris Neustadt learned the ins-and-outs of wooden boatbuilding while working at Cutts and Case Shipyard in Oxford. When he surveyed Yankee Pedler, he had an idea what he had ahead of him. “Wooden boats are like sponges ~ they soak up water,” Neustadt said. “When I first saw her, I knew it was time to get out the fien saw and go to work. We had to pull out the rotten wood, which included her keel, frames, and some of the cabin.” They salvaged what they could, made patterns, and went to work. “Part of what we are doing is to try to minimize the overall ongoing maintenance that has to be done, and to make the boat safer,” said Frey. “The goal is to have her back on her cradle at the Community Center by Oxford Day in April.”
An extensive amount of work was required to put Yankee Pedler back into shape. The longstanding efforts of Campbell’s and the Murrays have not gone unnoticed. The team was recognized by the Oxford Museum with its 2014 Douglas Hanks Jr. Preservation Award, which recognizes the extraordinary efforts of individuals and groups in preserving the unique heritage of Oxford and the surrounding area. It was recognition well deserved. The work being done now further raises that bar. “We have never attempted anything as big as what we are doing now,” said Larry Murray. When Yankee Pedler makes her way back to the head of town, she will be in the best shape she has
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