The tugboat Urger near the Statue of Liberty in New York City
As part of the New York State Canal Corporation's annual educational outreach tour, Urger — the tugboat — spent four days docked in the Seneca Falls Canal Harbor.
After spending the first 20 years of its existence carting fishermen around Lake Michigan, the Urger — originally dubbed the Henry J. Dornbos — traveled to New York to serve as a maintenance tugboat until 1986.
Following four years of retirement, the Urger sailed into a new profession by serving as a museum to teach children of all ages about New York's historical canal systems.
"The Urger is an enduring symbol of the rich history of the Erie Canal and our greatest ambassador for promoting tourism along this vibrant, scenic waterway," Howard P. Milstein, chairman of the New York State Thruway Authority and Canal Corporation, said. "We are proud to share this iconic vessel and her compelling history with visitors and residents in the Finger Lakes region, and we encourage anyone who can to come aboard for a tour."
Today, Wednesday August 22nd, Joan and I went to visit the Urger. Our main goal was to visit with Heather's life-long friend Capt. Wendy Marble. Wendy and Heather took summer jobs as deckhands working for Mid-Lakes Navigation. Both went on to obtain captain licenses with Wendy making it a career.
Wendy and her crew, Deckhand Gary Nelmes, Deckhand Michael, and Engineer Rick Marcellus gave us the royal tour.
Urger Wheelhouse
At the conclusion of our visit Wendy mentioned that several members of Clan Cameron had been on board earlier in the day.
Wendy & Joan
by the way, the top photo is by Will Van Dorp. ask Wendy.
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