The Journey of Two to Creating Ability

CHATFIELD – This story, told with twinkle in his eye and a big, boyish grin, begins 42 years ago when Kevin, returning home to his parents in Freeport, Ill., after serving for five years in the Air Force, saw a woman who caught his eye. He protests that his “Have we met before?” wasn’t a pick-up line as she did look like a childhood neighbor, or the girl next door. Karen had moved to Freeport to teach Special Education. When they started dating, Kevin’s younger siblings were impressed that their brother was dating the hot teacher. Six months later, they were married.

Kevin states, “I am the creative one that’s really ADD, and straight lines in a story are hard!” But Karen, who is calm and organized, keeps him on track. “She’s virtually my opposite, and the only thing we really had in common was our faith, and there’s nothing more important.” Karen adds, “I admire his ability to do multiple tasks at the same time. I’m linear and organized. We are a good balance for each other.” From the admiration in his eyes, Kevin appears to be just as smitten with his wife as he was 42 years ago.

At the time, Kevin worked for Micro Switch—Honeywell as his Air Force training prepared him for an electronics career. While in Champagne, Ill., they added three children to their family before moving to Chatfield when Kevin accepted a job at the Mayo Clinic.

Finding the good during the difficult

The work at Mayo Clinic was high-pressure, and the stress on Kevin caused the couple to re-evaluate this career choice. Karen said that she watched Kevin come home at the end of a workday with shoulders slumped and thought, “Life is too short for this!”. Kevin left his job at Mayo and started doing handyman work. Most of his work was for widows who seemed to wait for their faucets to drip so they could call him. His new job was lucrative in pie and coffee but not so lucrative financially.

These were hard years. They had four young children, money was tight, they had experienced the heartbreak of two miscarriages, and Kevin was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Karen said, “We learned to live on very little.” Kevin adds, “That was a tough two years when we got to know the best of good people. We learned how to serve and how to be served” as members of their church family anonymously met some of their needs.

A friend suggested that Karen and Kevin would benefit from time in the Boundary Waters. This trip gave Kevin the opportunity to create a backpack system that would soften the weight of the canoe on his shoulders, serve as a seat back in the canoe, and be a ground chair at camp. He had a flash of “I can do something useful!” that ignited his desire to create.

Inside the shop, kayaks and canoes hang from the ceiling. In the bottom left corner of the photo are 3D printers used to make pieces of equipment. (Photo by Laurie Byrne)

Find a need, fill a need

At this time, he was working at Riverside Electronics in Lewiston, and his backpack frame was hanging in his office. A co-worker noticed it and suggested that Kevin show it to Mike Cichanowski, the founder of Wenonah Canoes. Although Cichanowski was impressed with the backpack frame, he wasn’t interested in this product. Instead of walking away defeated, Kevin asked, “What do you need?” The answer? Better yoke pads.

Kevin designed a yoke pad and started Chosen Valley Canoe Accessories in 1997. Karen’s mother gave us $200 to help buy supplies to start the company. Meanwhile, Kevin was using his time off on weeknights and weekends to make yoke pads with the help of Karen, who was sewing, and the kids, who were assembling. Eventually, Kevin needed to quit his full-time job at Riverside to focus on this business they were building, and they became the world’s leading provider of yoke pads.

Connections to friendships

Along the way, Kevin met others who would influence the trajectory of his journey and become not only colleagues who helped grow his business, but also good friends. During the winter months, when business would slow, Cichanowski would hire him as a consultant.

He met Dan Cooke from Cooke Custom Sewing, a company in Lino Lakes, Minn., specializing in high-end tarps and packs. Dan offered to sell fabric scraps when purchasing large quantities. This relationship developed into a friendship that took the two on many trips to the Boundary Waters together, often on the fringe ends of the canoeing season. Cooke passed away from brain cancer at the beginning of July 2024. Kevin shares, “You watch parents go, and friends are dying, you put a value on everything. You make sure your friends know you love them.”

Line of kayaks waiting to be customized. (Photo by Laurie Byrne)

Creating ability

At a big industry show for outdoor retailers, Kevin met Peter Axelson, the founder of R&D – Beneficial Designs. Axelson sustained a spinal cord injury and started a company that used research and design to create adaptive technology for people of all abilities. Axelson was looking at a seat that Carr had designed and shared an idea that he had to create an adaptive chair but was struggling with getting it from thought to product.

Carr, always wanting to solve a problem, was up for the challenge. “From that moment on, we were in this world. Disability is a never-ending source of mechanical problems, and most are purely problems to be overcome!”  Once a seat was created, they began looking at ways to create paddles with hand and wrist adaptations so paddlers of all abilities could be active participants.

“So much of what we do is not about the money; it’s about making a difference.”

Kevin volunteers at events nationwide that support persons with disabilities and their families. He recently returned from an annual summer sports clinic with the Veterans Administration in San Diego, California. Veterans from all over the country came to spend a week cycling, kayaking, sailing, and surfing.

His creations go well beyond the paddling world and the portable Sidestep is helpful for independent transfers from a wheelchair to a handcycle. It’s also helpful for someone, such as the elderly, who has fallen and cannot reach a standing position alone. As avid bikers, they feel a product similar to the Sidestep would be a great addition to bike trails for aiding people of all abilities who may need a little help getting on and off their bikes.

Kevin’s invention, the Sidestep, sitting in the shop. (Photo by Laurie Byrne)

The world of disabilities – and adapting to it – is not new to the Carr family.

Jamie, the youngest of the six Carr children, will be 24 next month and has Downs Syndrome. Kevin shares, “Talk about being prepared in advance, I married a Special Education teacher.” Karen said that it was scary when they learned that their unborn baby may have Downs but she “knew that God would be there. We’ve learned enough in this life that we don’t have to have all the answers but it’s going to be okay.” While others their age may be enjoying the empty nest, they realize that is not their reality. Kevin adds, “Jamie is nonverbal and has autistic tendencies so she is an intimate part of our lives moving forward and always will be.” And of course, Kevin created a chain of bikes so that they can ride together.

Karen, Jaime, and Kevin Carr on the Root River Bike Trail. (Photo by Kevin Carr)

What’s next?

At this point there’s not a retirement plan but the work is becoming a bit tiresome. For now, they just do the next thing while having faith that God has the plan. Kevin states, “I know that I don’t own the plan because my plans really don’t come to anything, but his plans are gorgeous and he knows what’s next. I don’t.”

After traveling the windy road of life, Kevin and Karen continue to take the next steps together in faith.