amount of water. There was too much water, and it could not pass under the Rock Island Bridge. As a result, the first people the sailors found were asked to come aboard to make the ship sink slightly (Yeater 6). Guests at the opening ceremony included Governor Charles S. Deneen, former Minnesota Governor Samuel R. Van Sant, who was born at Rock Island, and Congressman Frank Orren Lowden. Miss Grace Wheeler, the daughter of the chief engineer, opened the gates for the first time (Hennepin Canal Feeder). The early years were difficult because 1930 marked the beginning of the Great Depression. The Depression affected local businessmen and residents. In that year, overall tonnage on the canal decreased by 40 percent, and only 18,142 tons were transported (Yeater 9). A telephone system was built by the Corps of Engineers so that a lockman could be advised in advance when a boat was coming through the locks. There were 750-pound poles spanning across of the canal. Some of these poles remain standing today (Yeater 10). The canal was not only a route to transport coal, salt, grain, gravel, iron, steel, and many other crops and minerals, but it was a place for recreation as well. Family and friends would participate in picnics, swimming, and most noteworthy, fishing. Fish caught in the Hennepin Canal still hold Illinois records. Swimming was also popular, so popular, in fact, that the local YMCAs held swimming classes in the canal (Yeater 11). The Corps of Engineers employed fifty men full-time, year-round to operate and maintain the canal. The Corps divided the canal into sections. Each section had a lockman and/or a patrolman. Some of their tasks included patrolling banks, repairing breaks, operating the locks, servicing phone systems, etc. The lockmen and patrolmen were provided houses, barns, warehouses, sheds, and workshops. All of the houses had concrete walks and many other concrete things. The houses were never wired with electricity and did not have indoor plumbing. Every lockman and patrolman had a house but one. He did, however, have a houseboat (Yeater 11). Although the canal was not as successful as planned, some good came from it. In 1920, Ray Mechling and Fred Wolf of Rock Falls began a barge line. The canal required smaller barges so the two bought a steam boat and began erecting barges. They bought gravel and transported it to people who were interested