That the whitest kid in the canoe is also the fattest? And by today's standards, he's not even fat.

[Or even by the standards of 1955. Are you mistaking his seatmate's hand for paunch? - Dave]

Ah jeeze, Dave. Why do you have to look so closely? Yes, I attributed a hand to be belly fat. Although raised and lived most of my life in Texas, for five years I lived in upstate NY. There were many things I liked about that part of the country. Not least among them was I was not the whitest guy everywhere I went.

The canoe length discussion prompted a quick photo mensuration exercise. Using IrfanView, I measured the pixel length of the canoe and the pixel length of one of the younger boys (seated, half-height). I assumed he was about 12 years old with average full height of 54 inches and used the lower end of recent height tables to account for shorter humans about 70 years ago. Using different half-height points for humans, this proportional calculation produced canoe lengths ranging from 22 to 24 feet. I defer to canoe experts, but this canoe appears longer than normal.

[If Art is 6 feet tall, the canoe, at 3.4 Arts, is around 20 feet long. - Dave]

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I can't quite guess the length, but that's a beautiful "war canoe" to carry that many kids. I've got an 18-foot Old Town "High Water" from 1929, and it's really only good for about four people, and those on the light side. I'm guessing at least 25 feet here. Looks like the counselor has taught them how to paddle properly, too. He's clearly the king of the J-stroke back there.

The other thought I have is "hope they know how to swim," because skinny boys like that don't float well in the case that the canoe tips. I remind my skinny sons of that often!

[Like yours, this canoe looks to be about 18 feet long -- at most. - Dave]

Maybe. What I also know, though, is that my canoe rides pretty low in the water when loaded with about, I'd guess, two thirds of the weight in that canoe. So if it's only 18 feet long, it's wide.