If I Had a Mule, I’d Name her Sal…

Yep, the Erie Canal!

I had dinner plans in Rochester with a high school chum and her husband, so I decided to take a leisurely drive through the countryside. I could take the Thruway back to Buffalo after the sun had set.

The first stop on my trip was Lockport. As luck would have it, I arrived there just as a boat was getting ready to go though the lock. (I have a lot of good luck!)

You can see that the surface of the water that the boat is on is lower than the water right in front of the gate.

You can see the first sets of gates opening.

Now, the inner gates are open and the outer gates are starting to open.

There were a lot of signs to read that told some of the story of the digging of the canal. After I watched the boat go through the canal, I walked around and read some of them.

I was watching the action on locks 34 and 35.

Back in the 1970’s I took a canoe trip from Shady Hollow, in North Tonawanda, to another Girls Scout Camp on the other side of the locks. I remember actually going through one of the locks. We looped ropes around the bollards on the side of the canal and used them to help steady ourselves. The funny thing is, I only remember one lock! We must have gone through two locks, minimum. Funny what the mind holds on to and what just slips away.

The canal was first proposed in 1807 and construction began in 1817. DeWitt Clinton, mayor of New York City, pushed for the construction of the canal, and for a long time, it was called “Clinton’s Folly” and “Clinton’s Ditch.” After much politicking  and deal-making, it was finally begun when he was governor of the state. He was voted out of office and removed from the Canal Board, but managed to regain the office and took part in the ceremonies opening the canal in 1825.

The canal is about 360 miles long, connecting the Hudson River with the Great Lakes. There are 36 locks on the canal, which makes it possible for ships to overcome an elevation differential of about 565 feet.

The canal was a great boon for the young country, as it made the movement of people and good faster and easier and could be done at a small fraction of the expense of overland transportation.

It seems that this country has been dealing with the question of immigrants all along. The Irish were enticed to come over to dig the canal for $12 a month and room and board. Something tells me that those weren’t 40 hour weeks, with time off on Saturday and Sunday. Of course, there were not unions back then, and if you didn’t like the job you could look for another. “No Irish need apply” was a sign that hung in many places of employment.

They were hired to dig and blast through the rock of “Lockport Mountain”. That was the first time I’d ever heard of this part of the country referred to as a mountain.

Work would continue through the winter. They would drill holes and fill them with water. When it froze, they would remove the rock that broke off.

There is a brig across the canal that is one of the widest bridges in the world, according to one of the plaques.

I walked along the canal toward the next bridge. Once I got there, I looked back and could see the smaller lock next to lock 35. I think one of the plaques said that it was used as an auxiliary lock. I think I also read that it was the dimensions of the original locks. There were an awful lot of signs to read!

This is the far side of lock 35. It is holding back the water until a boat wants to go downstream.

And here is lock 34. The water level is the same as downstream.

I guess if you can’t get to Paris to profess your undying love, a bridge across the Erie Canal will do. If you don’t know about the love locks, here is a little information for you. Just click on the link above.

I continued my stroll along the canal. When I got back to the Big Bridge, the tour boat was coming back through the lock. Now they reverse the procedure. Sail in, closed gates, empty the lock they are in, fill the lock in front of them, open gates and sail out.

Maybe I should have been a civil engineer. I am fascinated with the infrastructure of our world.

On my way back to Bart (the Big Ass Red Truck) I strolled through a picnic being held in a parking lot next to a church. They offered me a hot dog, which I gladly accepted.

This really points out our immigrant background. It was founded in 1859 as a German church, as you can see in the cornerstone. A German church founded on the bank of the Erie Canal, which was built with a lot of Irish labor. In reading further about the Canal, I learned that German masons were also involved in its construction.

After enjoying my time in Lockport, I set out again. I stopped at a farm stand between Lockport and Medina. I bought some of the most delicious peaches I’ve ever had and chatted with the farmer. I asked him if he know how to get to the tunnel under the canal. I had been there years ago, but couldn’t remember exactly where it was. He gave me directions and I set off to find it.

And, I did find it. I even drove through it. Of course, it is a one lane road at that point.

This must be some of that fine German masonry. The farmer told me that it sprung a leak a few years back and had to be repaired. I would say that’s not too bad for a piece of engineering that is 192 years old and is filled with water!

The road ran along side the canal for a bit, and I got to see what the mules would have seen.

I still had a little time left before my expected arrival time at my friends’ house, so I decided to visit Mount Hope Cemetery.

By now, you are thinking that I must be one weird person. First, I get all excited by a 190 year-old canal and then I visit a cemetery.

The cemetery itself is filled with spectacular examples of funerary art. That alone is reason enough for a visit. But, this cemetery contains the graves of two important individuals; Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony.

I entered the cemetery, and started driving about the hilly terrain. I thought, “This is nuts! I’ll never find anything in here!” The place was huge. I was about to try to find an exit, when I turned my head to the right and saw a sign:

So, I stopped my truck. I got out to look for the grave and to pay my respects.

His first wife is buried here.

The second wife got the larger marker.

After paying my respects, I zigged and zagged around a bit until I finally found a map. It turns out that I had almost found Susan B. Anthony’s grave on my own.

By the time I had found what I was looking for in Mount Hope Cemetery, it was time to meet up with my old friend, Linda and her husband, Charlie.

I’m not sure if I had seen Charlie since he was festooned with streamers on his wedding day! Linda and I had gotten together from time to time over the years. We chatted about this and that, and then Linda leapt up and got the sweatshirt I made for her back in the 1970’s, memorializing her rabbit, Snograss.

After visiting for a while, Linda and Charlie took me to dinner at The Burger Barn, which is a restaurant in the Wegmans flagship store.

Ah, yes, the obligatory food photo:

And then, after dinner, we went to the produce section for Fun with Melons.

Some things never change!