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Tom Kilboy: Balladeer of the Erie Canal

June 3, 2022 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

The Historians LogoThis week on The Historians Podcast, David Brooks, education director at Schoharie Crossing State Historic site in Fort Hunter, takes a look at life on the wild side of the Erie Canal with tales about the Kilboys, including balladeer Tom Kilboy.

On December 22nd, 1938, Works Progress Administration (WPA) worker R. P. Gray met Tom Kilboy. Gray was part of the Federal Writers’ Project, created to provide employment for historians, teachers, writers and librarians.

Kilboy was interviewed in his apartment at 2307 Broadway, West Troy – today’s Watervliet – about his life working the canal at its east end where the canal joined the Hudson River. Gray’s notes from the interview are now held in the Library of Congress.

You can listen to the podcast here.

Schoharie Crossing in Fort Hunter, where the old Erie Canal crossed the Schoharie Creek, is now open for the season.

You will find more podcasts and stories at bobcudmore.com.

For a full list of this week’s New York Almanack podcasts announcements click HERE. 

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Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Erie Canal, Labor History, Musical History, Podcasts, Schoharie Crossing SHS, Watervliet, WPA

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