The Boatman Reunions

From 1834 to 1900, The West Branch Canal ran from Northumberland to just below Lock Haven.  The North Branch was built in 3 segments, beginning in 1828 and competed in 1856.  It ran from Northumberland to the New York State Line.  The Stretch of Canal between Shamokin Dam and Selinsgrove was known as The Susquehanna Division. 

In other words, the Canal was a big part of West Branch life, from 1834 until 1900. 

Canal Boatman's Reunion, with Canal Boat Replicas on the lake, at Rolling Green Amusement Park in 1926.

 The men who worked on the canal began holding reunions in 1915.  The early reunions were held at Rolling Green Amusement Park, in Snyder County Pa.  Later reunions were held at the Recreation Grounds in Port Trevorton.

Reunions were held on the last Saturday of August. At rolling green, a  program was held in the theatre, in which the veterans told stories from their days on the canal.  

A program from the 34th Annual Boatman's Reunion in 1949.  The first reunion for the Canal Boatmen was held in 1915, at Rolling Green Amusement Park.

I'll not work on the railroad;

I'll not work on the farm;

I'll work my way to Rolling Green, 

and spin a boatman's yarn.

Each year a new button was produced, some bearing a photo of mules or boatmen's captains. The buttons were sold for twenty-five cents to help fund the reunion.

Reunions were held at Rolling Green, and later the  recreational field in Port Trevorton.    The last reunion was held in 1956. 

My genealogical connection - My paternal 4th great grandfather, Jacob Freed, was a boatman in Chapman Twp, Snyder County.  He died long before the reunions began.

================

REUNIONS BY YEAR

===================

1915

Pennsylvania Canal Boatmen Reunion, August 24, 1915 at Rolling Green Park. .

 Confirms that PA Canal traffic ended in 1898;

 Liverpudlians held important positions in the Boatmen’s Association;

John “Dad” Koch, of Liverpool (1842-1919), took the last boat through the Clark’s Ferry outlet lock;

 Mrs. John Trimmer, most likely Alice Trimmer, wife of John S. Trimmer of Liverpool, gave the reunion speech.

The day of the reunion was rainy, but as Mrs Trimmer of Liverpool said, "Water, why, that is just what boatman want, and more than all, they desire it in the canal again."

Over 500 boatmen and boatwomen were present. 

"Included in the list are not only the captains, bowmen, driver and lock tenders, but also their wives, although no name is recorded unless the parties were identified in the canal operation."

The article about the event , part of which is shown above,  spanned nearly two full pages of the Selinsgrove Newspaper.  To make it more readable, I've cropped it into sections, which can be found here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-first-boatmans-reunion-1915.html

===============

1916

1500 Attended the 1916 reunion - quadruple the number from 1915.  Only 800 badges had been made to be distributed, and many were disappointed.  "These souvenirs were in such high demand that fifty cents [the equivalent of $14.50 in 2024] was not an uncommon price offered to fortunate possessors."   [The math is off in this article - the attendance tripled, not quadrupled]

==============

1917

At the 1917 Reunion, a gavel that had been made in 1833 out of a piece of wood taken from a part of the first section of boat to pass through Hollidaysburg was presented to the Society by Mr H. Bobbs of Huntingdon.

==============

1925

Held at Rolling Green

Charles M. Shive Spoke

==============

1926

Canal Boatman's Reunion, with Canal Boat Replicas on the lake, at Rolling Green Amusement Park in 1926.  The theater, seen in the background, is where the program was held.  There the boatmen would share their stories & tales from their time as boatmen.

The Miniature Canal Boats were constructed by John Sheets in 1887, in Liverpool Pa.  They were gifted to the State Of Pennsylvania to be displayed in the State Museum at Harrisburg, in 1945.

12th Annual Reunion Held at Rolling Green

================

1927

A canal bugle nearly a century old was blown to mark the opening of the 13th annual reunion.

In 2023:

Susquehanna Jack, the storyteller of Frontier Pennsylvania demonstrating a horn used on Canal Boats, at the Degenstein History Buffs this afternoon. Captains would use the horn to alert the lock tenders that they were approaching, so that they could get the lock gates ready.

See the video here - 

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=209050674996134

================

1928

14th Annual Reunion held at Rolling Green in 1928

Henry Shoemaker attended in 1928

=====================

1929

=======================

1945

The Miniature Canal Boats were constructed by John Sheets in 1887, in Liverpool Pa.  They were gifted to the State Of Pennsylvania to be displayed in the State Museum at Harrisburg, in 1945.

============

1946

The Fry Brothers at the 1946 Reunion

Each Wearing Their Pin

George, Samuel, & Emmanual "Manny" Fry

===========

1949

In 1949, the Reunion was held "in the canal basin on Port Trevorton."

The oldest in attendance was 87 years old, the youngest, 53.  23 men who actually boated on the canal, and fie women who traveled on the boats, were among the 300 in attendance.

==============

1950

===========

1951

The Boatman Reunion, 1951

The 36th Canal Boatman Association Meeting was held on in August of 1951, at Port Trevorton.

The oldest canal boatman present was Horace H. Neitz of Newport, "who boated along the Juniata and who operated a dredge."  He was 84 years old.

=============

1952

Although I had read that the reunions ended in 1951, I found this article describing the reunion in 1952 .  Somewhere around 1949  the name on the buttons changed to "The Ex-Canal Boatmen".  It's possible this was when it was no longer the boatmen, but the sons of the boatmen continuing the reunion tradition.

======================

W.C. Fortney, Milton Pa

At just 9 years old, W.C. Fortney began boating, driving "three old plugs" from Liverpool to Harrisburg. They were towing the Wissahickon, which carried load of cord wood for the brick yards near the state capitol.

Next he drove mules for several years on the West Branch of the canal, for Captain Shoemaker of Liverpool. The boat was the "William Lewers of Williamsport."
Next Fortney hired with the Weaver line, which ran a number of boats on the short trip between Berwick, Bloomsburg, Danville & Northumberland.

This ended Fortney's apprenticeship.

In 1878 Fortney started in buisiness for himself, with one boat.
That first summer, he hauled lumber from Williamsport to "points west". He recalls hauling to the Linden, Jersey Shore, and Larrys Creek depots.

Later he secured a pair of double boats, and began operations on the North Branch canal. He hauled coal and other materials from Nanticoke to the south, going as far east as New York City.

Fortney set a record, making a trip from Nanticoke to New York with a load of coal, and back, in just 21 days. It was the shortest time any canal boat had made the 300 mile trip.
In 1889 Fortney returned to the West Branch of the canal. The floods of 1889 and a894 caused him considerable loss, but he continued working the West Branch until canal operations ceased in 1900.

At the 1921 reunion, canal men recalled falling asleep while driving mules, and being awakened suddenly when they struck chilly waters. They spoke of being picked on by tough gangs in the coal regions and of the temptations of passing by orchards.