Story and Photos by: ROBERT STOPPER, Lyons
The Erie Canal waters glistened. “One, Two,
Three- Break!” The words were loud and clear, and suddenly, WOW kayaks scattered from their assembled
lineup and began an 8.5 mile paddle from Wide Waters Park in Newark to Abbey
Park in Lyons, NY. The date was July 13,
2013. The time was 9:15 AM. They would arrive at their destination at 1:15 PM.
The first
rest and water stop on the excursion was at the Newark Dock and Interpretation
Center. Greeted by Newark Mayor Peter Blandino and Kimberlee Meeks, a Chamber
of Commerce and Village Representative, the kayakers viewed the center,
photographed themselves surrounded by murals, and learned a bit of history
about the village.
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| Kayakers preparing to launch from Wide Waters |
After
locking through Lock 28B and continuing for several miles, the kayakers disembarked
and toured the historical double- chambered Lock E 56 area. They walked above
lock chambers, viewed remains of a 150 year old lock gate, stood on the grounds
of the old lockmaster house, and photographed the former canal store.
While
resting at the E 56 location, WOW opened a bottle which had been floating in
the canal waters. The bottle contained a
promotional flyer, somewhat faded, for a Relay for Life event to be held in
Palmyra in 2011!
The
expedition continued on, and soon locking through E 28A and dropping 19.5 feet
in the water was history. WOW soon arrived at Abbey Park in Lyons, and all
agreed that the 8.5 mile paddle had been really a wow!
Members of
WOW then participated in the Lyons Peppermint Days Celebration. Among other
activities, they toured the NYS Canal Corporation flagship boat the URGER,
toured the Hotchkiss Building, offered sales of autographed copies of their
book, Women on Water, and ended the day by riding in the Fire Department Ladder
Truck in the festival parade!
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| WOW standing above lock E-56 |
The WOW
Kayakers from the North Country included Ruth Dandrea, Kathy DeLong, Carol
Moseman, Audrey Mihalko, and septuagenarian 46er and runner Bonnie Sanderson (Bonnie left Lyons immediately following the kayak paddle and headed for Utica where
she planned to run the Boilermaker on Sunday morning!) WOW was joined by local
kayakers Seth Burgess, Adam Chapin, and Mark DeCracker.
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