The canawlers who plied the Ohio and Erie Canal in the early 19th century enjoyed their beer, especially when they got to the summit at Akron. There, boats passing through the extensive series of locks connecting the Ohio River and Lake Erie watersheds would back up traffic for hours, kind of like the interchange at interstates 70 and 71 during a light snow.While waiting, the operators, or "canawlers" as they were commonly called, would leave the boys who drove the canal-boat horses [...]
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