Dan Sterling was the Lockkeeper at the lock at Dam 5 in the early 1900s.
He and his wife stand by the lower lock gates.
Lock 44 locktender and family - Harvey Brant
Harvey Brandt tended Lock 44 at Williamsport from 1916 to 1924 when the canal closed. He and his wife continued to live in the lock house until 1961. He was paid $22.50 per month to tend lock twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and rented out canoes to tourists to subsidize his income (Craig Williams. "Canal lock tender remembers busy days". Morning Herald, 9-26-1985).
During times of low water, canal boats would choke the prism waiting for the water levels to rise so they could resume their trips either up or downstream. This summer shot of canal boats in an empty canal bed could have been the result of drought or possibly the canal bed had been drained for repairs. Mule feeding troughs can be seen dotting the towpath with people walking in the background.
Two boys sit on this boat that is headed downstream as indicated by the fact that the back of the boat is at the upstream end of the lock. The water has been released from the lock, lowering its level in the lock. When that process is complete and the water in the lock is at the same level as the water in the downstream level of the canal, the large mitre gates at the lower end of the lock will be opened to let the boat out.