The Summer of the Erie Canal

I had just walked the stage in my master’s regalia at Syracuse University but had not completed my degree. The last step was a summer capstone. After a few weeks off, I began an internship reporting on the Erie Canal.

At first, I was pretty skeptical. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania, and frankly had never heard of the Erie Canal. I was much more interested in writing about the visual arts, which I had luckily covered for the past year in Central New York. After being denied every single internship, fellowship, and job I applied to, my advisor graciously helped me apply for an internship through the New York State Press Association. I was selected as a reporting intern for the Democrat & Chronicle in Rochester, New York.

What was my last resort to complete the last remaining credits for my degree turned out to be an engaging independent research experience. As a trained journalist, my biggest fear has always been unconsciously engaging in extraction journalism, where the media go where the stories are, just for that, and leave without truly engaging and learning from the communities they’re reporting on.

I spent the last few months exploring canal communities and engaging with volunteers and community members. My reporting journey led me through local sections of libraries and dusty historical societies, making unexpected friends. I learned more than I had time for and was quickly inspired by the people I met and their enthusiasm for their heritage.

The construction of The Erie Canal was completed in 1825, almost 200 years ago. The Erie Canal allowed for an economic boom related to westward expansion and commerce. The Canal also sparked growth in canal communities and inspired New Yorkers in literature, art, and spiritual awakenings. Many of the dedicated people who work in the museums and information centers keeping the history of the Erie Canal alive are volunteers, many of whom were very excited to tell me all about their canal towns.

This is the summer of the Erie Canal.

The Peppermint Village

At the beginning of my internship, I was assigned feature stories highlighting Canal communities along the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor between Syracuse and Rochester. One of the towns I visited was a small hamlet in Wayne County called Lyons, once known as the peppermint capital of the world.

I spent many hours in Lyons over the course of three days in the late July heat, eating candy mints and talking with locals. The town is about a ten-minute drive from the exit of the New York Thruway, winding through the picturesque countryside. There are rollings hills of corn crops and farm stands along the road that remind me of my hometown in rural Pennsylvania.

My first stop in Lyons was the H.G. Hotchkiss Peppermint Museum on Water Street. I met Patricia Alena, who is known around town as “Peppermint Patty.” She has a friendly aura and knows everything there is to know about the local history. Over the years, she served as the town historian, taught history and social studies in the local school district, and currently holds the title of president of the Lyons Heritage Society.

After my arrival, she insisted I take the full tour of the building. I asked her a few questions, and then I listened as she walked me through the president’s office, the bottling room, the chemical lab, and the filter room. Each room was thoughtfully decorated with an abundance of peppermint oil supplies and materials.

In the president’s office, there is a large glass display containing several personal items of Anne Dickerson Hotchkiss — the grandchild of H.G. Hotchkiss and the last president of the Peppermint Oil Company. Before her death in 2010, Anne donated the building to the Lyons Heritage Society. Patty tells me that Anne was quite a matriarch, running the family business and supporting its continued success.

Patty explained that these personal items of Anne were not left preserved with the years of oil production supplies and records. Instead, she found Anne’s belongings — intricate art sketches, beautiful china, hair combs, peppermint oil, and photographs — at an estate sale.

“This is all devoted to Anne. I went to the estate sale after she died and we bought some of her personal things. She didn’t give them to us, she didn’t think we would want any of it. But I bought it all,” Patty said. As they say, to be loved is to be known.

On the second floor, Patty showed me the “research room,” a brightly lit corner with a wooden table covered in maps, newspapers, and miscellaneous documents. Along the wall is a bookshelf carefully organized sections of research materials. I was delighted to see a section overflowing with papers labeled “The Erie Canal.”

“If anybody has to come and do research, we have a resource room,” she says. “I started this when we first got the building because I know kids have to do research for school. I was a teacher, so I know what they need.”

The HG Hotchkiss Essential Oil Co. building sits just 15 feet from the former banks of the original Erie Canal. In the basement, Patty showed me a large wooden door where peppermint oil was once loaded onto packet boats and shipped for products like toothpaste and candied mints. Dating back to 1812, the door still bears the initials of early workers who contributed to the construction of the Canal.

An original Erie Canal barge door dating back to 1812 in the basement of the HG Hotchkiss Essential Oil Company in Lyons, New York. Photo by Julia Carden.

“That’s an original canal door. That’s kind of one of my favorite artifacts to tell you the truth. And on the front it’s got where people who worked the canal have their initials carved in. I love it, it’s so cool,” Patty said.

Before I left, she asked me if we could take a picture. We posed in front of the Hotchkiss Mural on the front of the Hotchkiss Peppermint Building. Artist Dawn Jordan painted the mural in 2009 through the Mural Mania organization that also began in the town of Lyons. Patty pointed herself out in the mural, depicted on an early canal packet boat with the Hotchkiss family.

We had another visit planned before I left, and I assured her I would keep her updated on the project. She also pointed me in the direction of several other spots around town, including the Evolve Christmas Store that takes up three buildings in the historical downtown district.

“You have to see the Christmas Store downtown before you leave! Tell them Peppermint Patty sent you,” she said before giving me a hug as I left.

The Trail of Hope

While in Lyons, I also met up with resident and business owner Mark DeCracker.

I had met Mark prior to my reporting outing in Lyons. I previously interviewed him for a story about a new art installation at the Liz and Dave Beebe Camillus Erie Canal Park in Onondaga County. Mark is the founder of Mural Mania, a mission to preserve local history through artwork.

He started Mural Mania in 2007 and Erie Restoration Interests Everyone (ERIE) with the goal of renewing forgotten portions of the Erie Canal: “The canal was just being forgotten and I couldn’t believe it. They were using the old locks as dumping grounds. We went from just one mural in Lyons to 85 murals from Fairport to Syracuse. We have over 55 murals in Wayne County alone,” he said.

After meeting with Mark I quickly learned just how passionate he is about local history. Mark lives and works in Lyons, so I asked him if we could meet again to discuss the town in more detail. He agreed and offered to give me a tour of the community’s Trail of Hope, a handicap accessible nature trail in Lyons.

The Trail of Hope located near the Community Center in Lyons, New York. Photo by Julia Carden.

A blue ball left along the Trail of Hope. Children from local church groups volunteer to maintain the gardens at the trail in Wayne County. Photo by Julia Carden.

When I met up with Mark, he had multi-color paints on his hands — he had taken a break from working on the latest painting from Mural Mania to meet with me. He led me through the trail, pointing out plants and recalling stories of different visitors who have walked the paths. Mark is fast-paced, receiving several phone calls during the tour while remaining engaged.

We passed a group of teens, some were painting, some were weeding. We stop so Mark can help volunteers open an old can of yellow paint and find gardening tools. The trail is a quarter-mile loop, filled with native plants and flowers with a colorful butterfly garden at the center.

I asked him if there were any mint plants in the garden. “This is all mint,” Mark said as he reached down, ripping off a mint leaf and eating it. “I tried to plant flowers here, but mint overtook it all. I’m going to get a little sign here to label it a mint garden.”

He showed me the different types of mint plants growing rampant throughout the trail. Spearmint leaves appear more round, while peppermint leaves are smaller and usually a darker shade of green. You can spot a mint plant by its square stem. Most plants have rounded stems, he tells me. You can also smell the mint.

After a tour of the Trail of Hope, Mark offered to show me a few of the murals around town. I politely agreed. He jumped in his Ford F150 and told me to follow him. I was a little confused about the plan, but I got in my car and followed him out of the Community Center parking lot.

We drove through the school zone and back into the hamlet that consists of a few blocks of historic storefronts and old houses that reminded me of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. The road signs in the heart of town are white and decorated with red markers that read “Lyons.”

Mark guided me through the business district, slowing down and pointing out his truck window in the direction of several murals on the sides of brick buildings. I thought this would be disruptive, as we were driving about 5 mph (about the same speed limit for boats on the Erie Canal), but community members didn’t seem to mind. Several townies offered friendly smiles and waved to Mark as we passed.

Life is slow and simple in Lyons.

The Erie Canal in the Wild

On my way out of Lyons, I decided to stop along the Erie Canal in the outskirts of the town, where the waterway exists in a more natural state. I found the Canandaigua Outlet, which flows about 34 miles north to Lyons.

The outlet empties into The Erie Canal near the G. Winston Dobbins Memorial Park and the Southside Canal Park in Lyons. There wasn’t much traffic on the road I followed to find the outlet, but the few cars that did pass waved as I walked along the water. The outlet was quiet and beautiful.