When the Erie Canal opened in 1825, many who worked digging the canal went on to work on canals around the country during the “canal craze”.  But many stayed in the area, bought small farms and settled into farm life. Others took jobs in the many factories springing up along the canal, but many others hired onto canal boats or bought their own canal boats, married, had families, and became life-long canawlers.  Hear what their everyday life was like, as well as those who came to experience this engineering marvel by taking a short cruise along the Erie Canal.

Our guest speaker is Cheryl McDonald, a docent for Explore Buffalo.  Before retiring, Cheryl worked as a human resources manager at Chicago Title for twenty years.  After retirement, she took a training program to be a Buffalo tour guide that led to being a founding member of Explore Buffalo.  Cheryl now serves on several committees and gives all four of the Delaware Avenue tours.  In a previous life, Cheryl served as the president of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs-Aurora’s Woman’s Club for two years.  The thing that Cheryl loves most about Buffalo is obviously the people.