This beautiful new double sided entrance sign is a gift from the City of Delphi. It is part of a grant for more city entry signs from another of our partners—INDOT The City installed it and the sign will be more visible when lighting is completed. News Topics Archived news topics WHAT A REWARDING WEEK FOR SEVERAL CANAL SITES The week that included "tax day" (April 15th) was one of the most productive weeks to remember. Lots of progress to report and all a tribute to these diligent community volunteers. It was full of accomplishments and rewards and it involved something big every day of that week. Our work with the two recent buildings brought to Canal Park couldn't be called done until we had proper foundations under them. We had pondered what was best -- then Rich Markins came back to help. He was the retired mason from Valparaiso that worked indoors on the lime kiln in the museum five years ago. Markins wanted to volunteer again so he and his motorhome arrived with trowels and readiness to begin. Little did we know how much could be accomplished in one week. First to tackle was the old railroad baggage building back by the trail tunnel under the old Monon line. We had already acquired rip-rap (large crushed stone) donated by Delphi Limestone Company and mortar sand given by Segal's Gravel. Rich showed us all how to lay the limestone using a board to control the outer wall alignment. And then how to trim the excess mortar from the low wall after setting for a day to harden. This technique worked easily by having the wooden frame building jacked up high and blocked. That took three days of "off and on" work through the week. Our 36th Canal Annual Meeting also occurred within this week. A highlight that evening was the presentation of our first major donation to the fundraising campaign "The Total Canal Experience" by Duke Energy. We were presented a $30,000 BIG check directed to our organization for funding the Mule Barn interactive exhibit we have wanted to build. Pat More, Duke's business relations manager, made the flattering award for their Midwest foundation . Next the eager volunteers tackled the decaying foundation under the old one-room log schoolhouse. When we brought this building from near Idaville a 18 months ago it had sat on logs right down to the ground. The lower logs had disintegrated and needed to be replaced or set on stone. In their place we began building another rip-rap stone foundation like the RR building was getting. This too took several days . Then we worked down by the 1905 Stearns Truss (Blue Bridge) on the adjacent stone arch bridge on Bicycle Bridge Road. This is behind Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen in west Delphi. This stone bridge built in 1905 was missing the cap on the Southwest corner and badly needed "pointing" the eroded mortar in many places. An accident many years ago had toppled the cap stone down into the canal. Then by the end of the week it was Earth Day Workday. Even with rain sputtering away for part of Saturday morning we had community volunteers arrive at three worksites. There was tree planting at the Blue Bridge wetland restoration site and lower trails -- there was extensive trash removal and cleanup out at the Carrollton Bridge site north of Delphi -- and there were jobs to complete in Canal Park. In all Saturday produced an outpouring of eighty-four 4-Hers, Scouts and adults that volunteered to improve our environmental attributes and lend history a hand. These sites are all very important to the trailside interpretive displays we envision. To top it off we had our now famous "OTE MEALS" (free lunch) provided by the local Psi Iota Xi Sorority and chanted our HIP-HIP-HOORAY to end the week. OUR FIRST RELICA BOAT WON'T EVEN FLOAT For the first time in over a century Delphi's Canal Park will sport the likeness of a life-size canal boat. Only challenge is this this one won't float. Plans were drawn by our museum designer Len Mysliwiec, and already the volunteer crew has rallied to begin constructing a "look alike" full scale model of a canal boat. This “on land” playground version should provide lots of entertainment for children and adults as well and it will be outdoors 365 days per year . The life size creation constructed with weatherproof wood and featuring many intreguing crawl space cavities and playground attractions for kids will adorn the "basin" area in front of the Canal Center. It won't be over water but will be level with a slightly elevated sidewalk to give the impression that it is tied up next to a dock. Access will be by a "gang plank" to the deck level while the starboard side will allow a child’s slide and chain ladder for kids to exit into the dry basin. Conceptual interactive designs are being prepared for nine individually unique sites along the Towpath Trail section plus the historic canal crossing site at Carrollton Bridge north of Delphi. This playground boat becomes part of the second site that has been inaugurated with special exhibitry. The first site gained an old historic railroad baggage building 6 weeks ago when it was transported from near Rockfield and placed near the old Monon crossing at the back of Canal Park. The M-W-F volunteer "regulars" have been ready for the challenge of buiding this lifesize boat model since the completion of their last big constuction project (the restoration of the Stearns Truss iron bridge). This building work now is being done inside Ed Gruber's barn that offers a wood stove to take off the chill on these frosty winter mornings. Twenty foot sections are being framed and then these sections will be transported to Canal Park for final assembly later this spring. Cedar was chosen for the sides of the boat as it will weather and retain its rustic looks for many years. Sixteen foot long rough sawn 1 X 8 boards are being fastened to the struts of the frame and the surface “skin” has to bend to conform to the shape of the bow. Inside this bow is a double deck with a "hatch" that will give kids a hide and seek effect while discovering how these historic barges were built and used on the Wabash & Erie Canal in the heyday of the 1840s and 50s. This playground attraction will come a year before the operational Replica Boat--the one that will float and carry up to 35 passengers for a mile long trip on our reconstructed waterway. The tedious planning for this million dollar enterprise is almost complete. Biding is expected to be announced by INDOT early this summer. Completion of this project with its realistic protective warehouse (inside storage at waterlevel) plus the grand dock will come in late spring 2009. This floating boat will be built by a marine contractor, likely out of state. Much of the money for this federal grant has been secured but time is nearing when the Canal Assoc. must remit the 20% match to start the construction contract. Donor support for this and many unique interactive displays and graphic panels is now being sought. A fundraising campaign titled "THE TOTAL CANAL EXPERIENCE" is being launched. Exclusive donor "naming" of various sized exhibits and graphics present an opportunity that contributors will have for a selected display they like. For further information on any of the trailside interpretive items or for general support of the match needed for the operational replica boat ask for a prospectus via email admin@canalcenter.org Note: We are needing a source of 2 or 3 inch thick by 14 inch wide cedar, poplar or other suitable weatherproof material for use on the gunwale above the deck. Various lengths of these boards could be used but a total of about 150 lineal feet are needed. Perhaps some good salvage material from a barn or outbuilding might be located. A HIKE IN THE DEER CREEK VALLEY “Young Austin Smith along with 110 other people of all ages enjoyed the hike to High Bridge last Wednesday. This ‘day after Christmas’ narrated outing was organized by Delphi Historic Trails” according to chairman Dan McCain. “It began on a nice day that became and even warmer day by the time it ended two hours later. That warmth encouraged Austin to shed his coat and give it to his father Gil to hold.” The hike returned by the Delphi and Wabash Valley Traction Company Trolley back to the Canal Center for refreshments before disbanding. Two days later Gil finally relocated Austin’s winter coat when Dan announced that “some kid left a coat in the Canal Center.” The mood of many avid hikers— young and old—kept pace with the kids. It culminated in a very special outing. See a slide show of the hike created by Tim Criswell. “Hikers observed the Deer Creek Valley from high up on the north rim in the first half of the narrated trek. This vantage allowed a special birds eye view from atop the old Monon High Bridge. Up to that point the hike was on the level stone trail.” Then McCain announced that the hearty hikers that wanted to see specifically where the Heartland Highway will come across the valley could go on for the second half of the walk. More than half the crowd followed on the “off trail” cross country route – that’s where the expended energy and sun’s warmth came into play. It was a beautiful day. Sites were viewed in the valley depicting the history and beauty of this area just east of downtown Delphi. Early pioneer settlement landscapes, the Bossard Falls, Slate Bluff, the old mill damsite near Robinson’s Run -- all were viewed with consideration of where the massive cuts and fills of the new four lane highway will affect the area. This was the largest “day after Christmas” crowd in the fifteen year history of the event. Next spring a similar hike will be offered to explore the south side of Deer Creek Valley where the old Pioneer Road, waterfall and beautiful overlooks afford an appreciation for the Bowen Woods. This area may become a landlocked isolated nature area after the new highway is completed. INDOT is committed to “Context Sensitive Solutions” planning in an effort to not destroy these natural, cultural and historic assets. According to McCain, “one mission of the Trails Association is trying to accomplish is to get INDOT to provide trail access across Deer Creek to join the Monon Trail with the Bowen Trace.” Other important points of contention are focused on the massive earthen cuts and fills that may detract from the beauty of this valley as well as the concern for an elevated “at grade ‘T’ intersection” planned for the east entrance to Delphi. “Other members of this local committee involved with evaluating INDOT’s plans are affiliated with the local historical organizations, the Rural Historic District and local governmental representatives,” according to co-chair Anita Werling. If the public wishes to respond to INDOT on matters of the road’s impact on this specific valley crossing east of Delphi you may pick up information at the Canal Center Reception Desk. Or, as Werling suggests “the Heartland Highway’s website: http://sr25study.in.gov may be accessed for more information.” DEDICATION DAY BROUGHT OVER 200 PEOPLE On a ‘special’ Sunday in November over 200 people came to celebrate the completion of the 1905 Stearns Truss iron bridge. For a hundred years it set in Pulaski County over Big Monon Ditch. Now the bright BLUE span adorns the canal behind Pizza Hut / Dairy Queen in west Delphi. The site and restoration work is finished and sports a view of the rehabilitated mainline Wabash & Erie Canal section and its stub or "side cut" going to the east. The crowd roared Hip-Hip-Hooray when the final 'golden spike' was driven into the White Oak deck by the primary volunteers that completed this project. Grants from Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Historic Landmarks Foundation and Central Indiana Community Foundation’s Efroymson Fund were matched by many private donations of dollars and materials. Disassembly work started near Medaryville in early 2006 and the initial move brought the mass of iron on a single semi trailer to Delphi by March 3rd of that year. Thousands of hours of work by the core volunteers and supplemented by a total of 78 willing helpers made this project a successful community restoration effort. The area surrounding the bridge is historic. It once hosted industrial uses of water power from two millraces exiting the canal. Paper mills were located on the west side next to the towpath. High quality rag paper products in the mid 1800s were produced by these two mills. There were warehouses on the east side for storage and receipt of canal cargo in the heyday of the canal. Also onsite, in conjunction with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, are two wetlands that were restored to interpret habitat for Indiana’s native plant species. A special feature on dedication day was dialog about the Winamac Bridge Company and the Stearns patent used to produce this span. A highlight was the 1903 Winton automobile owned by Dr Peter Kesling from LaPorte and driven by his son Adam. Some photos show another man accompanying Adam and he is Cecil Richards, one of the engineer's who assisted in the Winton restoration. This car traveled across the US from coast to coast in 2003 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the nation's first transcontental crossing by a similar 1903 Winton. 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