Published: April 25, 2008 03:49 pm            

ERIE CANAL DISCOVERY: Erie Canal cook

We have learned much about life on the Erie Canal from one of its best friends, Richard Garrity of the Tonawanda’s. His remembrances of growing up on the canal help us to picture the scene in our minds eye. The following narrative is graciously attributed to Mr. Garrity.

“A cook was a very essential part of the canal boat crew, but by the 1900s, very few cooks were left on the Erie Canal. As most boatmen had their wives and families with them on the boats, there was no problem about a cook. If the captain was single or a widower, he tried to hire a married steersman so his wife could cook for the whole crew. These couples were usually hired at a joint wage and living quarters in a cabin near the front of the boat was typically included.”

“It was a hardship for any boatman to operate a pair of boats without a cook. The four-man crew each worked six hours on the job and six hours off, and with no cook it was usually the captain who had to get out of bed ahead of time and prepare the meal. The steersman or the off-duty driver washed the dishes and cleaned up the cabin. The cooking left something to be desired and the cabin had a much lived-in look. No one got his proper rest.”

“A captain who had his wife and family on the boats lived a fairly comfortable life as the woman prepared the meals on time, did the washing and ironing, kept the cabins clean and made the beds. She also saw that the captain had a bath occasionally so that he did not get lousy as many other canallers did.”

“During the canning season many canalmen’s wives purchased fruit and vegetables at locks or canalside stores or from farmers along the canal. She canned and preserved things in the cabin of the boat and when the boat was layed up, in the fall, the canned goods were taken home for winter use. On the final trip in the fall many families purchased two or three barrels of different kinds of apples, twenty bushels of potatoes, thirty heads of cabbage, and quantities of beets, turnips, squash, etc. These were stored in the earthen-floored cellar and used during the winter.”

“The first day or so after leaving Tonawanda, fresh meat was usually on the menu. After that, the ice was gone and smoked and salted meats were the general fare until the boat stopped at the canalside grocery where the depleted larder was again filled. There were many of these stores at intervals along the canal. A few of the locks had stores on them and supplies could be purchased while locking through.”

“Canalside stores stocked anything a canal fleet needed in the way of patent medicines, cooking pots, tinware, candy, food, shoes, clothing, rain gear, and dry goods. Also available were supplies such as hay, oats, straw or shavings, harnesses, horse collars, whiffle trees, towlines, horse bridges, fenders, pike poles, hardware, etc. It was also possible to replenish cooking and drinking water at these places. Kerosene, or coal oil, had to be obtained from these supply points as oil lamps were the only type of illumination used on the canal boats at that time.”

“At one time, there were three of these canalside stores between Tonawanda and Lockport. They were called the Four Mile Grocery at Martinsville, the Seven Mile Grocery at Pickard’s Bridge, and the Twelve Mile Grocery at Pendleton.”

“When two boats were lashed together, cooking and eating were usually done on the stern boat. When the boats were separated, a basket of food was prepared for the steersman who stayed on the head boat. If this was used up, the steersman ate ashore until the boats were again joined. Fuel for cooking and heating was never a problem on lumber boats because the boatmen sawed up what lumber was needed for firewood from the cargo. Homemade bread, pies, cookies, etc. were baked in the oven of the cookstove in the cabin.”

“On arriving at Tonawanda, if a boatman wanted to hire a cook, he was usually told to look up “Old Nell.” If the boatman was desperate, she was hired. Nell was said to be a good enough cook. Although, as a rule, she only lasted one round trip, for, on returning to Tonawanda, she would draw some of her wages and go ashore to visit. On returning to the boat from her visit, she would be drunk as Satan and having a bottle of whiskey with her, she would not bother about getting any meals. A big argument would then ensue and she would get fired. Nell was quite a peppery and noisy gal when full of whiskey. After being fired from her cook’s job, she would mumble and curse about the unappreciative qualities of the boatman who had fired her. I don’t know which disappeared from the local scene first, the Erie Canal boats or Old Nell.” (R. Garrity, Recollection of the Erie Canal, Tonawanda NY, 1971)

        

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