Man travels nationwide to acquire celebrity signatures for iconic Friday the 13th canoe, plans to stop in Salina

First film of “Friday the 13th” original canoe with signatures of people apart of the movie franchise. Courtesy of John Miller

By: NICOLAS FIERRO

Salina Post

A man who has been traveling across the country to acquire signatures for an iconic movie prop, is planning to stop in Salina to receive the last one from a well-renowned celebrity.

John Miller, acquired the original canoe of the very first “Friday the 13th” movie and has been traveling across the country to get signatures from all who have been apart of the iconic horror franchise.

Miller is planning on making a stop in Salina on Sunday, October 25 to get his last signature from Kevin Bacon, during “The Bacon Brothers” concert at the Stiefel Theatre. Bacon played as “Jack Burrell” in the 1980 film.

According to Miller, this canoe has the most signatures with 80 plus, than any other Friday the 13th movie prop in history. He has acquired other signatures from celebrities such as Robert Englund, Alice Cooper, Crispin Glover, all the actors who played Jason Voorhees and Corey Feldman. 

List of celebrities. Courtesy of John Miller

Miller started this journey 5 years ago. As time progressed, he stated that he “put it in his will” to donate back to the original campsite of where the first movie of the franchise was filmed.

“Everytime a Friday the 13th person pops up that I don’t have, I go and get them,” said Miller. “It is very well known in the convention circuit, very well known around the country to Friday the 13th collectors, there has been YouTube videos done on it. It is a pretty big thing.”

He got the canoe by acquiring it from a junkyard in Iowa, after visiting the original Boy Scout camp in New Jersey, where the movie was filmed. He contacted the Boy Scout camp in Iowa to get the canoe.

When he arrived to Iowa, he was looking for a canoe that had the “#6.” He found it and officially acquired the original canoe of the first movie.

“We have had offers from people that were in Friday the 13th to buy this canoe, but I just can’t sell it, I can’t do it,” Miller said.

Miller added, he received an offer of $100,000, but declined.

Not only does he have the original canoe, but he also has collections like the “Nightmare on Elm Street” motorcycle and gas cans from the films. In his spare time outside of his fulltime job of being a social worker, he collects items from Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street.

Once Miller arrives to Salina, he invites all Friday the 13th fans to check out the canoe. 

He continues this journey with his wife.