The Auer Family Boathouse

A Documentary by Myles David Jewell

Most time capsules are buried, but it doesn’t take much digging to unearth the reservoir of stories contained in Burlington, Vermont’s Auer Family Boathouse. Built in 1928, the weathered, boxy structure still breathes life into the mouth of the Winooski River today.

Spanning nearly a century, from 1928 to 2020, the Auer Family Boathouse has stood at the edge of Lake Champlain in Burlington’s Northwest corner. Withstanding the Great Depression, World War II, and present day with the current coronavirus pandemic, the Boathouse has faithfully opened its doors to those seeking an escape at the lake. Looking at the barn red building hidden in the trees from the Burlington Waterfront Bike Path, one might pass it off as run down seedy past time. However, if you do make the trek down the pitch and step inside, one will immediately be immersed in the past. The Auer Boathouse is a time machine, filled with artifacts from before the world of today. Old fishing poles hang from the ceiling and line the walls, the old cash register doesn’t ring up over five dollars and sits on a glass case containing penny candy.  “As a matter of fact,” owner Christine declares, “that glass case was the candy case from the old theater in town where my mother would play the piano during the movies.” The most impressive piece in the Boathouse might be that player piano; a well-loved instrument no one plays better than Christine. Having to play with your feet as well as your hands, you won’t be able to keep up with her 92 year old bones as she has mastered this physical feat to perfection. Every little artifact in the Boathouse has a story and if you ask, both Christine and Charlie Jr. will bring the past back to life.