Diving into the Stories of People and Canal Boats on Lake Champlain
Children of the Canals – Oral Histories
Jump to: Cora Archambault | Rose Germaine
Cora Archambault (1904 – 2012)
Cora was born into a canal boat family. Her father owned two standard canal boats and she spent her early years traveling the region’s inland waterways during the 8-month canal season with her parents, brother, and two sisters.
Listen to Cora’s oral history
Click the play button below any of the clips to hear about Cora’s life and memories.
Cora’s memories of when their boat traveled through Richelieu:
How Cora’s family bought and prepared food:
Cora and her siblings’ experience attending school while living on a canal boat:
The boat sinking in Montreal when Cora was 6 years old:
Cora describing the oil lamp that was donated to the museum:
What the interior of her family’s canal boat looked like:
Rose Germaine (1915 – 2000)
Rose’s parents died early in her childhood. After surviving a bout of polio, she grew up on her grandparents’ canal boat under their care. An only child, she attended school near New York City over the winter, like many other children in canal families. Rose lived aboard her grandparents’ canal boat well into her teen years.
Listen to Rose’s oral history
Click the play button below any of the clips to hear about Rose’s life and memories.
Experiencing a storm while on the Hudson River:
During the storm, Rose’s grandparents were prepared to cut the tow lines and even abandon their home if necessary. The Sloop Island Canal Boat presumably sunk in this way. Listening Note: there are some audible clicks in this recording.
The interior of the family boat and what it was like sharing living quarters with her grandparents:
Listening Note: these are two different clips about the boat interior.