GRAND RAPIDS, Ohio — For years, it was one of those things I wanted to do someday.
That day turned out to be Sunday, on a sunny and gorgeous autumn afternoon made even more spectacular by the dazzling array of fall colors adorning trees along the shoreline of the Miami and Erie Canal near Providence Metropark.
First, let’s state the obvious: The Volunteer, a reproduction of a mule-drawn canal boat, won’t give you the high-octane, fully caffeinated thrill of a major amusement park’s roller-coaster. It won’t kick-start your adrenaline glands or even spike your blood pressure, which is kind of the point: It appeals to the turtle in us, not the hare.
After so many years of being curious about it, I found the nifty little trip along the canal, a gentle glide at that, to be a fun way to catch a whiff of nature and learn a little history along the way.
Think of it as a hidden gem in our multifaceted Metroparks Toledo system.
A ride aboard the Volunteer offers a chance to slow down, take a break from our hustle-bustle world, and let your mind wander back to what life was like during a simpler time in 1876, when trains were seen as a technological marvel and the future of travel.
For my particular trip as one of about 25 passengers aboard the 12:30 p.m. excursion, we got an introduction from Metroparks Toledo cultural programmer Kevin Camacho, who was portraying a fictional character named Elias Boone.
Running commentary (as well as a song) aboard the Volunteer came from another of the park district’s cultural programmers, Russ Franzen, who was portraying a fictional character named Josiah White.
Both wore period garb.
Kids of all ages attended, including us grown kids and several grandparents who enjoyed getting their grandchildren out of the house and away from video games for an afternoon.
Our first assignment came from Mr. Camacho’s Elias Boone, who pointed to a line in the concrete landing and encouraged everyone to let their minds wander back to 1876 once they crossed it.
Mr. Franzen’s Josiah White character jokingly encouraged people to make room for hogs that would have to come aboard if the Volunteer completed its 220-mile journey to Cincinnati, which, just so you know, would have taken six days.
So how fast does a two-mule team pull a fully loaded canal boat that can hold up to 65 people, hogs, crates of chicken, and other cargo?
Usually, no faster than 4 mph, which is a good thing: The speed limit along the canal was 5 mph.
Let’s put that 4 mph into perspective.
As I witnessed on Sunday, the canal boat glides along the water at a nice pace, yet it’s fairly common for young couples pushing baby strollers or dog walkers to move along the towpath at a slightly faster clip. That brings us to another point, the nine-mile towpath itself.
How did it get its name? Because it was, historically, the path where mules towed flat-bottom boats along the waterway.
By now, you must be wondering about those poor mules and the work they do pulling the Volunteer when it’s filled with tourists or, back in the day, with cargo.
No need to worry, according to their owner, Jake Coolman, who said the work isn’t nearly as arduous as it seems because of how buoyant the boat becomes as it skims across the water and is pulled with long rope.
“Once you got the boat moving, that inertia took over. The mules are just kind of walking along,” Mr. Coolman said.
He’s been using the same two mules, Sally and Molly, for the past 18 years. Both are now 22 and are expected to live well into their 40s, he said.
Both mules make themselves available for petting after each ride and have become so used to pampering they give him a certain nod when they want more attention.
“They know how to milk it,” Mr. Coolman said. “They’re little drama queens. They’re kinda spoiled.”
The physics of the boat movement is pretty interesting in that two men do the mule-like duty of pulling the boat past Lock No. 44 themselves because of a section where topography can be a little tricky for the animals.
They do it with ease at that lock, one of the country’s last functioning 19th-century limestone locks.
As Mr. Franzen said of the mules: “They’d be working a lot harder pulling a plow in a farmer’s field than pulling our boat.”
One of the more humorous anecdotes along the trip is when Mr. Franzen explains how bathing was done back then.
Canal boat workers would be handed a bar of soap and told to jump in the 4-feet-deep water, wash up, and catch up to the boat while it was moving.
And for those too short to bathe in 4 feet of water?
“We’ll just tie a rope around you and pull you back,” he said. “Now, folks, that is a matter of convenience and comfort.”
Sheila McGill of Bryan said she was pleased to do the trip with her two sons, Hoyt McGill, 10, and Rhett McGill, 12.
“It was awesome. It was a lot of fun. It was something different,” Mrs. McGill said. “We’ve never done this. We’d do it again.”
The two boys were a little bashful and didn’t say much.
But their grandmother and Mrs. McGill’s mother, Faye Retcher of Ney, Ohio, in Defiance County said their trip aboard the Volunteer had special meaning to her.
Mr. Coolman used to ride the school bus she drove when he was a student in the Central Local School District, home of the Fairview Apaches. The district is in a rural part of Ohio west of Defiance and south of Bryan.
Jodie McFarland, Metroparks Toledo canal experience coordinator, said the canal boat ride is popular among school groups. In May, it had 31 school groups take a ride aboard the Volunteer as part of a field trip that also often includes a visit to the historic Isaac Ludwig Mill.
“Most people get a better understanding of life once upon a time,” he said. “Most get a better understanding of the history of the canal and how it affected not just Providence, but Toledo as well.”
Mr. Franzen agreed, telling me he’s noticed a number of visitors are New York state residents eager to learn more about the Erie Canal’s history
“It’s a step back in time, to a time that was very important to Ohio’s history and northwest Ohio’s history,” Mr. Franzen said. “It’s just something unique.”
Hurry if you still want to go this year.
Next weekend is the Volunteer’s last before it goes back into storage for the winter. It operates on select days from May through October each year.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $4 for children ages 3 to 12. No admission is charged for children ages 2 and under. Tickets for Metroparks members and senior citizens are $6. More information about taking a canal boat ride is available on the Metroparks Toledo website. Parking, a ticket booth, and more is at 13200 S. River Rd., the site notes.
First Published October 23, 2022, 10:38 p.m.
