Here's 2 blurbs, and although they don't have the pix you're looking for, they do have some things to say about Ole Lee (your boat's builder):
Although many of the boats in the show come from all over the U.S. and Canada, in the early to mid 1900’s, Lee Craft Boat Company and Stan-Craft Boat Company were among the foremost builders of wooden boats. Both of these businesses were located on the western shore of Flathead Lake.
Between 1938 and 1971, Lee Craft Boat Company built and sold over 2,870 wood and fiberglass boats. Ole Lee Jr.’s love for the craft developed early on when as a boy he helped his dad, Ole Lee Sr., an immigrant from Norway, build small fishing boats in his spare time on Flathead Lake. A few years out of high school, with some experience under his belt, and a small amount of money, Ole Lee, Jr. put his business plan into motion. Ole purchased a waterfront lot on Somers Bay and erected sales and storage buildings. His first sale was a custom 13’ fishing boat that sold for $125.00. Getting the business off the ground was not easy for Ole but he never gave up, working hard to develop his craft. After a few years, word began to spread throughout the West and Midwest about the high quality of boats being built on the west shore of Flathead Lake. By 1940, Lee Craft boat sales were doing very well; the staff was working double shifts to keep up with demand. Ole expanded his showroom and began offering outboard and inboard fishing boats and runabouts in various lengths and models. By 1954, Ole started to phase fiberglass boats into his inventory, and wind down the production of his wooden boats. Finally, after 33 years in the business Ole decided it was time retire and spend more time with his family, and on his other interests. Ole passed away in 2003, but his boats live on.
From:
Montana boat show
"Lee Retires After 33 Years In Boat Building Business"
Lee and his wife, Pat, began the enterprise in April 1938 using $850 in borrowed capital. He manufactured Lee Craft boats out of wood at that time and some are still in use today. The last wooden boat was made in early 1960,s and the fiberglass line, which was started using a hull design developed by Lee and his staff, was started in 1958 and will continue to be manufactured at Somers under the new owners.
Lee has no idea how many boats the firm has manufactured over the past three-plus decades but in recent years production has been around 100 boats a year ranging from the popular 14 footers to customized 25-foot models.
In reflecting over the last years, Ole, as he is called by almost all his customers, recalled the first employee of the firm was Les Averill who now owns and operates Flathead lake Lodge near Bigfork. Today the firm has 16 full time workers.
He recalls warmly many boat shows in Spokane and Seattle and other points over the years at which his Lee Craft creations have met with excellent response from buyers. He estimates his boats are scattered all over the 'lower 48,' Alaska and many provinces in Canada.
What pleases him most is the fact that customers have returned to buy larger or newer Lee Crafts over the years. He mentioned one customer in Missoula that recently purchased a fourth Lee Craft, the first one being a wood model. Also a point of pride with Ole is the fact that many of the commodores of boat clubs in Montana favor Lee Crafts as their personal boats.
The 17-foot and 19-foot versions of the current Lee Crafts have been well accepted he said.
His future plans are indefinite. There will be a lot of odds and ends to take care of. Immediately after that he plans to do some hunting, and fishing and pleasure boating with emphasis on the pleasure. Naturally, he prefers a Lee Craft.
At 58, Lee has earned the right to take it a little easier but he is still young at heart in that he will not accept retirement. He plans to enjoy himself more and still will be active in taking care of his real estate holdings.
His wife, the former Patricia Flynn of Kalispell, looks forward to a new life also so she can get better acquainted as well with their four children and six grand children. She has worked side-by-side with Ole over the years and feels she is entitled to go along on a hunting or fishing trip herself. They will make their home in the house they built just north of the Lee Craft plant overlooking Flathead Lake.
And while Ole has decided to cut the ties that kept him at the marina from dawn to dusk on many days during the height of the boating season, he will not be abandoning the boat business completely. He says he will be spending some time in a sales capacity as time permits while the new owners get their feet on the ground.
Ole said he wished to thank all his friends and patrons for their support over the years and he hopes they will continue to give this support to the new owners.
Ole, who was born 58 years ago in Olso, Norway, with the help of his wife, Pat, Parlayed an $850 loan into a high six-figure business enterprise. After 33 years, they have earned the right to take it a little easier and there would be very few among those who have known them over the years that would quarrel with their right to do so.
From:
Ole Lee pt1
And:
Ole Lee Part 2
From the Kalispell News April 13, 1989 by James C. Ryan
Flathead's Ole Lee: more than a builder of boats
The company was known for close to 43 years as Lee Craft, but for those boating enthusiastss who were fortunate enough to own one of Ole Lee Jr.'s wood or fiberglass creations, it could well have been named ''Lee-Craftsmanship.'' You see, ''good enough'' was never good enough for Ole Lee when it came to building boats for his thousands of loyal customers.
Even today, that same craftsmanship and dedication comes through as he shows visitors around his home and lush grounds on the north shore of Flathead Lake. From his manicured lawn and perfectly constructed stone walkway to his picturesque pond stocked with plump and contented rainbows and eastern brooks, Ole insists on doing things right.
While any story about the Flathead's most famous boat builder should center on his nautical accomplishments, a writer would be amiss to ignore the man behind the company . For all his world-wide fame...having sold his Lee Craft boats in almost every state and a number of foreign countries..he is a man in his mid-seventies who has tasted great financial success from his endeavors, but is just as proud when explaining the newest project around his home. At a time in his life when most men and women are content to sit back in their recliners and watch the rat-race rush by, Ole fills his days planning his schedule for tomorrow. While his yard rivals any professionally landscaped home in the valley, he describes his next project. A new walkway here...an added tree there...it is a picture postcard that would put the Garden of Eden at shame. With a quick step and a ready smile, Ole skips from one topic to another...but always pointing out that everything he designs fits together...perfectly...just like the 3000-plus boats he and his loyal crew built over the years. ''There were several -insisted on,'' Ole recalls as he flips through the volumes of scrapbooks he keeps in his family room. ''We had to build good dependable boats at a reasonable price.''
And they did!
Ole was in his mid 20's when he built his first boat, a 13-foot wood fishing craft of cedar and plywood that sold for about $125...as near as he can recall.
From 1938 thru the mid 1950's, Ole and his team turned out a variety of wooden boats...ranging in size from 13-20 feet...but halfway through that decade, Ole realized that the boating public wanted better and faster transportation over the water. Working two shifts per day, he started turning out the popular Lee Craft fiberglass pleasure boat. A testimony to his drive for quality can be seen every day of the summer on Flathead as parades of Lee-Craft vessels still head out for open water in search of ''the big one that keeps getting away.''
Ole retired from the boat-building business in 1971 when he sold the company, but he didn't retire from life. That fact is driven home by the magnificent trophy animals he has mounted on his walls. He explains that virtually every year he makes a journey up to Alaska for a round of fishing and big game hunting. Majestic bighorn sheep, elk and caribou attest to his hunting prowess.
Whether it be building boats, putting a in a new patio, taking down a trophy elk...or coming up with a new ''project'' to keep him active, it is evident that Ole Lee has found the secret to success: whatever you do, do it well...and enjoy yourself along the way.
From:
Ole Lee Pt2
Good luck w/ your project
