Hall of Fame

John’s passion for antique boats goes back to his childhood when he spent summers on the Eagle River chain of lakes in Wisconsin watching wealthy lake residents go past in their mahogany boats. Housed at Fort Mahogany on Gull Lake, Minnesota, his collection of 30+ boats is one of the largest and rarest collections of classic wooden boats. John loves that antique boats allow you to experience them exactly as they were enjoyed ahundred years ago. He collects boats because few hobbies are so rich in style, stories, and history and considers himself a steward of the boats in his collection.

The Anderson Collection of boats represents a lifelong passion for and commitment to wooden boating. Lee Anderson is an enthusiastic collector of classic boats and cars and is committed to philanthropy and higher education. Lee remembers boating with his father and has shared his collection and love for antique boats with the world through both his museum and his books. The Lee Anderson Collection, Volumes 1-3 are available in our Museum Store. The ABM will always be grateful to Lee for his stewardship of the museum’s 1928 Baby Gar, Cicada.

The late Bill Danforth was the Executive Director at ABM from 1989-2000 and generated a momentum that was nearly impossible to squelch. During his tenure, ABM experienced the most significant growth than it ever had under any other director. Under Bill’s leadership, the Friends of the Museum program was started and continues to thrive. Bill’s vision for the Buildings and Grounds for this campus is what led to ABM’s campus as seen today. Bill recognized the benefit of the ACBS connection and steadily pursued a common goal both organizations have – preserving and fostering the appreciation for the boating hobby.

The late Lewises were both ardent boaters and among the founders of the Antique Boat Museum.  Their tangible love for the River, old boats and the Museum helped establish ABM as a vibrant institution. Jim Lewis was well-known in antique boating circles for the number and variety of antique wooden boats he bought, restored, showed, and gave to various museums.  In addition to collecting and restoring antique motor boats, Jim participated in many major sailing races.  Tony was one of the few women to compete in the Antique Race Boat Regatta driving her E-class racer Riot, and her favorite red racing jumpsuit hangs in the ABM Boardroom.

Carl Mammel found his interest in antique wood boats in the early 1980s with the purchase of a 1940 Garwood and a 1946 Chris Craft. This was the beginning of a collection of many rare outstanding vessels. He has donated a number of boats to the Legacy of the Lakes Museum in Alexandria, Minnesota.  As a director and one of the founders of the Legacy of the Lakes Museum, he recognized the value of the lake traditions and legacies and the need to preserve for future generations the memories that make Minnesota so special.

Tony Mollica first wrote professionally in his teaching career in communications. Writing for pleasure evolved from his activities with the Antique and Classic Boat Society and the Antique Boat Museum as well as his life-long interest in the history of boat building. He has published articles in various marine periodicals including Classic Boating, ACBS Rudder, Gar Wood News, The Antique Boat Museum’s Gazette, MotorBoating, Lakeland Boating and The Chris-Craft Brass Bell Quarterly. He is also the author of eleven published books, many of which are available in local book stores and our own Museum Store.

Anthony S. Mollica was inducted into our friends, the Hagerty Marine Hall of Fame in 2012. His first book, Gar Wood Boats, Classics of a Golden Era, was selected as the Classic Boating Book of the Year in 2001 and ranks as one of the most popular classic boating books of all time. He served as a Trustee of the Antique Boat Museum for twenty years. Tony is a popular speaker on the history of 20th century American boatbuilders and often serves as judge at vintage boats shows.

The late William J. (Bill) Morgan was one of the individuals most responsible for reviving wooden speedboat building in North America.  Best known for resurrecting the Hacker-Craft brand, whose boats he manufactured in Silver Bay, New York, Morgan also restored and built replicas of more than twenty Gold Cup racers of the 1930s.  Morgan himself was a racer, competing in the Gold Cup, the President’s and National Sweepstakes races, as well as in the Silver Cup and the Canadian National compiling an impressive record of victories.  Morgan donated his personal collection of Gold Cup raceboats as well as a rare 1923 Gold Cup Packard engine and volumes of archival material to the Museum. Several of these boats are on display in the Quest for Speed exhibition located in the Morgan Building.

Allan Newell is a life-long antique boat enthusiast and passionate 1000 Islands steward who has restored many rare boats with meticulous care. Allan personally researches his projects until no rare source rock is left unturned which leads to his spectacular and award winning results. He founded the Chippewa Bay Maritime Museum in 2015 to share his collection , is a Trustee Emeritus of the Antique Boat Museum, and member of the Museum’s International Advisory Council. Newell was a classic hydroplane racer in the 1960s and staged the first ever vintage hydroplane show at the Chippewa Maritime Museum in 2021.

The late Chris Smith was part of the Smith Family that owned and managed the Chris-Craft Corporation for over 50 years. Chris possessed a marvelous memory for the precise operations and details of each step in the Chris-Craft’s boat building procedure. He may have been the only person who had experienced the complete building procedure and also understood the Smith family’s management style that resulted in the company’s decades of success. Chris shared his knowledge to give readers a remarkable inside story of a great American boat building company in the book Building Chris-Craft: Inside the Factories.