by Peggy Merjanian
(Portions taken from an article by T.J. Bartlett, Staff Writer for West Central Tribune, Willmar, MN, September 29, 2001.
(More on The Mikkelson Collection at: www.FallsFlyers.com)
If youve heard of Falls Flyers, its a pretty safe bet youve heard of The Mikkelson Collection. And if you know of The Mikkelson Collection, you probably know of Paul Mikkelson. One doesnt think of one without connecting to the other two.
A BSLOL board member, Paul has had a passion for Falls Flyers for many years beginning when he was a boy rowing a Larson boat. He dabbled for many years while raising a family and building a successful business. With his children old enough to take over the business, Paul now devotes all his time to his hobby.
He began by restoring his old boat which, over the years, had become somewhat of a collectors item. He had such a good time, he decided to find another one. The rest, as the saying goes, is history. He kept finding and restoring boat after boat until his collection grew to the point where he needed more room.
That took him to Willmar, Minnesota where he found an old building which was so run down as to be barely standing. It was a disaster, but he bought it and began bringing it to a usable condition. Paul was merely looking for a place to store and work on his beloved Falls Flyers, but without realizing it, the seeds of a museum were beginning to grow. His collection blossomed, as did the museum concept.
Paul has other passions….like motors – big and small. His collection consists of motors from the first half of the 20th century and an unbelievable 500 toy boats, both inboard and outboard motors – all of which are still in working condition.
The building housing The Mikkelson Collection has recently undergone a $200,000 renovation and expansion with its focus centering on the collection of more than 25 Larson Falls Flyers. Paul has tried to preserve some of the history of Minnesota and upper midwest boating. There are spectacular mahogany boats at other museums, but theyre not the Minnesota boating experience Paul wants to depict. The boats in his display are what he grew up with and used on the lake. His boat has spent its whole life on Eagle Lake.
The Mikkelson Collection, Inc., Antique & Classic Boat Museum & Shop houses a range of boats from one of the first Falls Flyers to be commercially produced in Little Falls by Paul Larson, (see Larson Boat Works article, page 16) to one of the last models from Larson before the company was sold in the 1960s.
Mikkelson says, I have – no question about it – the largest collection of Falls Flyers in the world. Im talking about very rare boats. Boondoggle was the only speedster Larson ever built. Carnival was only one of two split-cockpit inboards and I own them both.
Pauls tribute to the Falls Flyer, named after Charles A. Lindbergh, a native of Little Falls, continues to grow and if we know Paul, what started out as a hobby will be one of the premier boating museums in the world.
Be sure to leave February 9, 2002 open on your calendar. Our first Winter Workshop offering is a tour of the Mikkelson Museum. Call in your reservation today. Dont miss out on this great experience!
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