The Conception of the Erie Canal
While the Erie Canal took only 8 years to dig, getting to the point where people could start digging was a nearly 100-year-long process. This talk looks at the early efforts to harness New York’s interior waterways and the political wrangling that almost kept the “Eighth Wonder of the World” from happening.
Pathways of Resistance: The Erie Canal and the Underground Railroad
This constantly evolving talk examines the experience of African-Americans along the Erie Canal Corridor, with a particular focus on the struggle for abolition. While parts of this story are unpleasant, slavery, racism, and resistance are critical to understanding our society today
Erie Eats: The Erie Canal Foodways Project
Food is the most basic building block of human life. We all need it to survive and thrive. But where does our food come from? How does it get to where we can eat it? Who decides what products will be available to us to eat? The answers to all of these questions, for people in Upstate New York and throughout the United States, were radically transformed by the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 and continued to change dramatically over the next 200 years as the Canal itself changed.
The Beer-ie Canal Was A-Risin’: Brewing on the Erie Canal
The Erie Canal was a transformative waterway for various industries along its route, including brewing, which flourished from Albany to Buffalo. This discussion examines the Canal’s beer boom in the 19th century and its new one in the 21st.
Discover the Erie Canal’s many connections to the earliest days of professional baseball, told through the stories of some of the game’s biggest stars and others long forgotten.
Program Series at MCLS Member Libraries:
Parma Public Library
Erie Eats: The Erie Canal Foodways Project
Tuesday. October 24 at 12:00 PM.
Greece Public Library
The Beer-ie Canal was a Risin’
Tuesday, October 24th at 2:00 PM
Gates Public Library
Erie Eats: The Erie Canal Foodways Project
Tuesday, October 24th at 6:00 PM.
Lyell Branch Library
Pathway of Resistance: The Erie Canal and the Underground Railroad
Wednesday, October 25 at 11:00 AM
Irondequoit Public Library
The Center of it All: Baseball on the Erie Canal
Wednesday, October 25 at 1:00 PM
Webster Public Library
Pathway of Resistance: The Erie Canal and the Underground Railroad
Wednesday, October 25th at 6:30 PM
Penfield Public Library
The Conception of the Erie Canal
Thursday, October 26 at 2:00 PM.
Fairport Public Library
The Beer-ie Canal Was A-Risin’
Thursday, October 26 at 6 PM.
Derrick Pratt is the Director of Education & Public Programming at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, NY. A lifelong resident of Chittenango, NY, Derrick received a B.A in Social Studies Education from SUNY Cortland and a M.A. in Museum Studies from Syracuse University. Prior to his job at the Erie Canal Museum, Derrick served as Director of Programs at Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum for 3 years.