Family Memory

As a single mom, I needed to find inexpensive, engaging activities located in the city. Kayaking on the millrace was just the ticket! Being on the water, with its unique perspectives, was both safe and exciting. My children loved it, as did I!

Wooly-bearCaterpillars on Willow Boughs

I recall a warm summer afternoon in a canoe paddling the lazy Millrace. In slow motion, the canoe drifted against the shore and into a soft green willow-branch world where each willow branch was host to many soft plump wooly-bear caterpillars.

Fond childhood memories from 1969

One of my fondest childhood memories came from my family renting a canoe and paddling the millrace back in 1969. There were arched tunnels under the streets and it was fun to poke at the green slime and algae beneath them as we slid by on the mildest of currents. It was so enjoyable to see the back sides of buildings -- businesses, fraternities and sororities and we knew from the kegs there'd been fun the night before. Geese, ducks, and small muskrats watched us and it seemed like another world, far removed from the busyness of 11th street so…

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