by Randy S » November 7, 2010, 1:44 am
I remember the "good ol' days" when the fence was about 4 feet high with a stand of bleachers behind it (looking from the boat to shore). A crewmate I once had would spend a few hours before each lock visit, putting a handful of whatever we were carrying into "penny candy" paper bags. He would write the name of the boat, the date and what was in the bag on each one. He sold them to the viewers for $1 each as souveniers. Yup, folks would pay a buck for a handfull of rocks, coal or taconite. He would also throw peanuts into the crowd. Invariably, someone would ask why he was tossing peanuts at them. He would simply state - "Well, Y'all are the ones behind the fence." Never failed to get a laugh out of everyone.
I remember the "good ol' days" when the fence was about 4 feet high with a stand of bleachers behind it (looking from the boat to shore). A crewmate I once had would spend a few hours before each lock visit, putting a handful of whatever we were carrying into "penny candy" paper bags. He would write the name of the boat, the date and what was in the bag on each one. He sold them to the viewers for $1 each as souveniers. Yup, folks would pay a buck for a handfull of rocks, coal or taconite. He would also throw peanuts into the crowd. Invariably, someone would ask why he was tossing peanuts at them. He would simply state - "Well, Y'all are the ones behind the fence." Never failed to get a laugh out of everyone.