Friday, November 14, 2008

Lunchtime Link - Erie Canal shipping revival (NY Times)



Think the Erie Canal's commercial use ended in the time we're singing about when we launch off with "I got an old mule, her name is Sal"?

I can't say whether I thought that or not - certainly knew that NY State's canal system was stilll active, but the Erie Canal specifically? Not sure I would've guessed right if you'd asked me.

But now I'd guess right, thanks to another interesting article in the NY Times.

Thought about posting it after I read it during my morning commute last week, but just didn't have much time for blogging. I was reminded of it after yesterday's MWA conference, which I'm glad I was able to attend - fascinating hearing about the challenges & hopes of both recreational & commercial users of our NYC waterways, all at the same time.

I took a lot of notes & hope to write more about that over the weekend, but this article somehow seemed quite relevant to some of things I was hearing about yesterday & I decided that I'd go find it & toss up a quick link here on my lunch break.

I found the mule team postcard on a page featuring one family's history, 157 Years of Life Along the Erie Canal.

Speaking of mules, here's bit of trivia to close - did you know that ships are moved through the Panama Canal with the guidance of special locomotives? In a nice nod to canal history, those locomotives are nicknamed "mules".

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