Inexact measure
Have you ever heard the word dollop? Some use it as an inexact measurement, as in a dollop of salad dressing. I prefer to apply it to things that are more important. As an example a dollop of history. That is where you take a concept in particular in local history settings and try to figure out how to make it interesting for the edge average population. This afternoon, I learned more than I ever thought I wanted to know about a particular canal system in Ohio. Not something I map to visit but it’s good to know how they got her done and they did. Back in a time when you used pick and shovel and plow horse. I admit, I had never thought much about it but if your canal runs out of water it’s just a dry ditch. So for people that built canals they went to great lengths to find a source of water that would continue to flow through the year. A way of allowing your boat to move on. In this case we’re talking about transport boats. The equivalent of the modern truck. In the case of Ohio they moved everything they could. Food, stone, livestock, and on. Getting things from point A to point B in both an uphill and downhill direction. Because that was the other issue. No sense in digging canal when it road would do it. But when you have changes in elevation a canal with water can be an ideal tool. Who knows? Maybe we’ll make this into a tourism trip. Later on. I suspected Ohio, like here, has winter and a frozen canal is of little interest. For the record, there are no canals here where I live. We had the ocean em both could always get water. In fact, what we have now are lots of old wharves that need maintenance because if they’re not being used they decay. Something about all that water. Anyhow that’s my tiny lesson for today. A dollop of history if you will. And the next time I hear a reference to that particular canal I will have a much better mental image of what they’re talking about. Not just align on a map
