Many stories are told about the workers who built the Erie Canal. Other stories focus on the men, women and children that lived and worked on the canal. Lockport is fortunate to have a plethora of stories that have been passed down by a grand lady who grew up on a canal boat. The stories this week and next tell the personal experiences of Edith Kohler who was born on the Erie Canal and lived to be 100 years old in Lockport. These remembrances were told to others during the waning years of her life. Edith Kill Kohler’s first home was a steam canal boat that traveled the Erie Canal between Buffalo and New York City. Her grandfather, George Kill, and her father, Dan Kill, were “canawlers". Her grandfather started working with his boat on the original Erie Canal during the 1830s. His first boat was called the “Bissel”. The first cargo boats were hauled by mules and horses, but eventually steam powered units were developed that carried cargo as well as the family living quarters. Edith’s home was a steam powered canal boat that pushed one cargo boat and pulled three more with huge ropes called hawsers. The cargo consisted primarily of wheat, which was loaded in Buffalo and carried to New York City. Return trips brought soap, wallpaper and clay that were loaded in New York City and carried to Buffalo. The clay was delivered to the Hall Brickyard and was used to make bricks. The Hall Brickyard was owned by a Mr. Helmer, who lived in Lockport.

Edith’s father, Dan Kill, was married in 1887 at the age of 24 years. Their new boat, the “William Hengerer,” was being built at the same time he and Hattie E. Hawley of Rapids, New York were being married. They started sailing the William Hengerer in 1888. Edith was born on board that boat in 1901, while the boat was docked in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, and the Hengerer was her home until 1925 when she married Clayton Kohler. Her grandfather, George Kill, died in 1904, but her father continued to operate the canal boat. At first he had to hire a pilot because he did not have a canal pilot’s license, but he eventually got his license and was the pilot of the Hengerer.

The William Hengerer was a 90- by 25-foot “middle caboose” boat (galley in the middle of the boat). The living quarters of their home was one room, which included the cook room, or galley, and the bedrooms, which were beds that opened down from the wall. There was a table along one wall where meals were served. The meals consisted of meat and potatoes three times a day. The family and the crew all ate together. The food was usually purchased at either end of the canal, New York City or Buffalo, and stored in a huge ice chest that held 200 pounds of ice. There were also stores along the canal where additional supplies could be bought. Sometimes, Edith’s mother would put a stone in a sock along with some money and then throw the sock over the side of the boat to a “canal-side” farm stand. The farmer would then throw back some radishes, onions, or other fresh food items. Edith’s mother baked the bread on board. Edith remembers that sometimes it was so hot onboard, that when her mother would bake over the wood stove, she would perspire so hard the moisture would run down to her waist. Entrance to the living quarters was made through a door on the deck, then down several steps into the room. There was also a “living room” on deck, a section of the deck that was protected by an awning where, on hot days, it was much cooler than the room below deck. Edith recalls having a problem with seasickness when cooking in the cook room, especially on hot days.

The laundry was done on board the boat with water that was dipped from the canal and heated on the wood stove. There was sometimes a problem after a storm when the canal water was riled up. Then they would have to wait until the dirt settled and the water cleared before they could dip out the water to do the wash. Edith thought the water was very polluted and not fit for swimming. Others related that the water from the canal was used for drinking.

Edith’s father or grandfather hired the crew from among the men who came applying for the job. There were six crewmembers, that worked three men to a shift. Edith remembers one man who had no nose, possibly lost to cancer, who was hired against her mother’s wishes, but there never was any problem with him or with any of the other crewmembers. They all lived together, ate together and worked together. The only time there was a problem was when the men had free time and began drinking. When it was time to sail sometimes one man would bring a bottle of liquor on the boat, but Edith’s father would find it and throw it overboard. This disturbed Edith because she was always afraid it would make the man angry and he would attack her father. However, there never was any problem. The common belief that canal people were all drinking people was quite upsetting to Edith. The fact is that the boat owners and their families lived a life not very different from any land-based family. Crewmembers did drink when they were not working but drinking was never a problem on board their boat.

To be continued ...

Doug Farley is director of the Erie Canal Discovery Center. Contact him at 434-7433. The Discovery Center is closed for the season. Call for arrangements to visit.