For Immediate Release: June 29, 2005
CANAL CORPORATION’S TUG URGER WILL PARTICIPATE IN
WATERFORD’S ANNUAL STEAMBOAT MEET
The New York State Canal Corporation today announced that the historic Tug Urger will participate in Waterford’s annual Steamboat Meet on Friday, July 1 and Saturday, July 2 at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers in Waterford, New York.
“The Canal Corporation is proud to have the Tug Urger in attendance at Waterford’s Steamboat Meet,” said Director of the New York State Canal Corporation Carmella R. Mantello. “We invite everyone attending the 2005 Steamboat Meet to visit the Urger and broaden their knowledge of one of New York’s oldest treasures- the Canal System- and experience the more than 30 historic vessels expected to attend the festival.”
Christened the Henry J. Dornbos in Michigan on June 13, 1901, the Tug Urger became property of the New York State Canal Corporation when the Corporation was created in 1992. Since that time, the Urger has served as an official “ambassador” for the historic 524-mile waterway.
Today, the Urger visits Canalside communities, presenting New York’s fourth-grade students with an interactive hands-on history lesson on the remarkable Tug and the historic Canal System.
For more information about the Urger’s educational programs or public boat tours, call 518-436-2799 or visit the Canal Corporation’s Website at http://www.canals.state.ny.us/cculture/tugboat-schedule.html. Dates and events are subject to change and are weather dependent.
For more information about Waterford’s Steamboat Meet, contact the Waterford Harbor Visitors Center at 518-233-9123 or visit the Website at www.town.waterford.ny.us.
The New York State Canal System is comprised of four historic waterways, the Erie, the Champlain, the Oswego and the Cayuga-Seneca Canals. Spanning 524 miles across New York State, the waterway links the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes and the Niagara River with communities rich in history and culture.
In late May 2005, Governor Pataki unveiled his vision for establishing the Erie Canal Greenway and, ultimately, the Empire State Greenway, connecting the Niagara, Erie and Hudson River Greenways. The Canal Corporation and an interagency task force will conduct an outreach campaign to gather input and ideas and develop a comprehensive set of recommendations to create the new Erie and Empire State Greenways and examine certain roles and responsibilities currently assigned to the Canal Corporation. The recommendations will be delivered in a report to the Governor by December 2005.
For more information about NYS Canals, please call 1-800-4CANAL4 or visit www.canals.state.ny.us.