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By Mary Schmidt, Fox Locks Marketing

We’re used to seeing pontoons, pleasure boats, and kayaks through the Fox Locks, but imagine if a pleasure cruiser longer than a football field were to go through a lock. You’d need a really big lock and that’s what we saw on a recent cruise on the Danube River. Our tour passed through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary where we crossed through several locks—most during the overnight hours. We were on board the Avalon Passion, one of the Avalon line’s river cruisers—at 443’ long and 39’ wide, the ship can be a tight fit in a lock if there are other boats present. As a comparison, our locks are between 35’-37’ long!

We started the cruise at Regensburg, Germany, then crossed beautiful hills on the way to Passau, Germany. The Jochenstein Lock is in the Wachau Valley near Passau and provided excellent views through the locks.

The captain invited us onto the bridge to watch the process, but as soon as we were in the lock, he steered the ship from controls located on the port and starboard sides of the ship. There, he got a closer look at the clearance on the sides of the lock—at some points it was only a few inches. Please watch this short video to get an idea of what it’s like to travel through locks that have been in use for commercial and pleasure crafts for years.

Original Article

Blog – Fox Locks

Blog – Fox Locks

http://foxlocks.org/2022/07/18/a-trip-through-european-locks/

Fox Locks

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In: Events, fox locks, Fox Locks in the News, fox river locks, Fox River Locks History, Fox River Navigational System Authority, History & Fun Facts, Press Releases

By Mary Schmidt, Fox Locks Marketing

We’re used to seeing pontoons, pleasure boats, and kayaks through the Fox Locks, but imagine if a pleasure cruiser longer than a football field were to go through a lock. You’d need a really big lock and that’s what we saw on a recent cruise on the Danube River. Our tour passed through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary where we crossed through several locks—most during the overnight hours. We were on board the Avalon Passion, one of the Avalon line’s river cruisers—at 443’ long and 39’ wide, the ship can be a tight fit in a lock if there are other boats present. As a comparison, our locks are between 35’-37’ long!

We started the cruise at Regensburg, Germany, then crossed beautiful hills on the way to Passau, Germany. The Jochenstein Lock is in the Wachau Valley near Passau and provided excellent views through the locks.

The captain invited us onto the bridge to watch the process, but as soon as we were in the lock, he steered the ship from controls located on the port and starboard sides of the ship. There, he got a closer look at the clearance on the sides of the lock—at some points it was only a few inches. Please watch this short video to get an idea of what it’s like to travel through locks that have been in use for commercial and pleasure crafts for years.

Original Article

Blog – Fox Locks

Blog – Fox Locks

http://foxlocks.org/2022/07/18/a-trip-through-european-locks/

Fox Locks

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In: Fox Locks in the News, History & Fun Facts

Lock Tender Jack Willey and his wife, about 1960

This memory was written by Jane Bouressa Smits, a long-time supporter of the locks and we thank her for sharing it!

It is 1960. The bell rings! A boat is coming! Soon lock tender Jack Willey drives down the gravel path behind my house to the Little Chute lock. He is a mentor to my friend Jerry and me, allowing us to open the lock gates by pushing the metal handle around and around and around, engaging the gears that open the locks. We feel powerful moving those heavy gates! He instills pride by letting us help him. He teaches us about nature by pointing out rabbit hutches and identifying birds and flora around his little work station on the locks.

His workroom in the government-provided “lock tender” home has an enormous slanted wooden table (like a drafting table) mounted on the wall. There he sits on a stool and records: the vessel name or number, i.e., Sherry Lyn, MaHenapa, Rusty Pelican, W.S.4990AX; type of boat, i.e., tug, houseboat, sailboat, launch; time signaled; arrival/departure times; direction (up or down river); and number of lockages on the Fox. His wife may be busy preparing lesson plans for English classes at St. John High School. It is all very “official.”

Often, my friend and I either cross the locks or the Little Chute lift bridge to traverse the narrow peninsula that leads from the Little Chute lock to the Combined Locks dam, encountering brush, roots, trees, fallen branches and occasionally poison ivy and poison oak! We light a campfire below the Combined Locks dam (when it isn’t flooded by water) and eat a lunch consisting of Campbell’s alphabet soup and a couple cookies. It is a “wonderland,” and we are free to explore it.

Fast forward to 2012. It warms my heart that the same peninsula is broadened, paved, made safer and open to the public to enjoy and explore. People bike or stroll down Little Chute Heritage Parkway Trail that connects Island Park with Heesakker Park.

Fast forward to 2016. Mr. Willey’s home is now open for rental, so people are able to stay and experience the Fox Locks area up close like Jerry and I did when we were youngsters.

Fast forward to 2021. The Heritage Parkway Trail is extended mostly through the generosity of the David and Rita Nelson Family to become the David and Rita Nelson Family Heritage Crossing. An approximately 1100’ pedestrian bridge was built crossing over the Fox connecting Little Chute to Kaukauna. Also included is a 3/4 mile asphalt trail extending from the Kaukauna side of the bridge into downtown Kaukauna. More extensions of the trail system are planned.

Jayne Bouressa Smits and her friend Jerry taken about 1960

Thankfully, individual citizens, communities, and organizations such as Friends of the Fox, Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway, Fox River Navigation Authority and Fox Cities Greenways have the foresight and drive to develop and preserve our heritage. They provide opportunities for future generations and make me . . . feel like I’m 10 again!

Jayne Bouressa Smits

Original Article

Blog – Fox Locks

Blog – Fox Locks

http://foxlocks.org/2021/10/08/lock-tenders-little-helpers/

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Where else can you spend your summer on the water, be part of living history, and get paid for it?

The Fox Locks are hiring for seasonal lock tenders–and since we are the only fully-restored hand-operated lock system in the nation, this is a unique job. The locks are opened and closed using a hand operated turnstile (it’s not hard to open the locks) and you can learn more about the operation in this short video:

For Scott Thompson, 2020 will be his 12th year as a lock tender and he loves it because he’s outside and no day is just like the day before. He also likes the unique history associated with the lock system.

“Working these locks is like instant time travel back to the late 1800s,” Thompson said. “Chatting with the boaters can be entertaining too. They’re usually full of questions about the locks and quite appreciative of the manual labor put into helping them get through.”

If you’re a newbie to the lock system, it was originally constructed in the 1850s and was the first transportation system in the State of Wisconsin. To learn more about the history of the lock system, visit this link. 

The job is ideal for someone who loves working outside during a nice Wisconsin summer, likes interacting with the public, and wants to be part of the 170-year history of the Fox Locks.

To apply, visit our careers page and follow the directions!

Original Article

Blog – Fox Locks

Blog – Fox Locks

http://foxlocks.org/2020/03/17/summer-jobs-open-be-a-lock-tender/

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In: dePere lock, fox locks, Fox Locks in the News, Fox River Locks History, Fox River Navigational System Authority, History & Fun Facts, Important information, Little Chute lock, menasha lock, What's going on?

Another fantastic season for the Fox Locks is in the books! Thank you to all of you who traveled through the locks and every year we hope to make improvements in the experience. Many don’t remember that the locks system has not been in operation since the early 1980s, so an entire generation has grown up without the experience of traveling through the historic lock system.

Speaking of history, here’s a quick look at notable dates and events for the lock system:

1825 Construction of Erie Canal completed, idea of connecting Green Bay and Prairie du Chien via water becomes reality.

1848 Wisconsin becomes a state.

1849 Construction begins on Fox & Wisconsin River improvements

1851 Contracts awarded for lock construction at Kaukauna and Little Chute

1866 Wisconsin Improvement Company, owner of the lock project, declared bankruptcy

1870 Green Bay and Mississippi Canal Company takes over management of the locks

1872 United States Army Corps of Engineers acquires navigational control of the waterway

1886 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers abandons Wisconsin River portion of locks system

1922 Dredging for commercial traffic on the Fox River halts

1959 Last vessel navigates the full length of the Fox River

1982 Army Corps of Engineers recommends the lock system is dismantled

1984 Local citizens and elected officials start a campaign to fund and keep the locks open

1993 Individual locks named to the National Register of Historic Places, part of the National Park Service.

2001 State statute 237 creates the Fox River Navigational System Authority

2004 Ownership of the lock system is transferred from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the State of Wisconsin

2005 Repair and renovation begins on the lock system

2015 All locks are restored to full operational functionality

Fall 2015: Menasha Lock voluntarily closed due to discovery of Round Goby in Little Lake Butte des Morts.

Original Article

Blog – Fox Locks

Blog – Fox Locks

http://foxlocks.org/2019/09/16/fox-locks-timeline-history-at-a-glance/

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