Coal for Cabbage

Coal for Cabbage.

"We used to trade a lot along the canal. People who had vegetables and things. We'd give them coal and they'd give us cabbages, tomatoes and things like that. There were lock tenders whose wives made good bread. We'd give them coal for bread." , Mrs. Chester Mann , Daughter of a boat captain

, A coal-laden boat coasted through placid canal waters toward the next lock. The captain's family made a grocery list; he evaluated equipment needs. The bachelor canaler behind readied dirty laundry to exchange for clean laundry dropped off last "lock through." Everyone counted coal to trade for services. It was Saturday night and a Sunday in town moved closer with each mule step., The captain blew the conch shell. Recognizing his signal, the locktender's wife reached for her, freshly baked bread and plump tomatoes. Coal would soon be added to next winter's supply. Soon she'd share canal gossip with the boatman's wife while the children played nearby. Later, at the dance, they'd meet again., Small towns grew along locks, offering blacksmithing a place to wet one's whistle and a real bed. Doctors, dentists and pastors treated body and spirit. Dependent upon each other, canalers and townspeople forged an extended family. Later canalers came from these communities, drawn to a way of life very different from "staying home.", Bartering, when canalers and townsfolk traded goods and services instead of paying for them, was an everyday occurrence along the canal.