Canal and Lehigh streets and further south along the towpath were filled with people who turned out to see the many exhibits at the Walnutport Canal Festival. As a passerby said, "It's a small festival but has something for everyone's interest." The festival was held Oct. 21 with near perfect weather.

The lock has not been repaired since a storm destroyed the gates last year. The Rev. David Mohr said they are having problems getting permits because it is considered a public waterway.Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Robert Costello, stopped to talk to the Rev. David and Mrs. Grace Mohr who were selling tickets to tour the Locktender's House.Allan and Carla Messinger had a skunk that came alive when a hand was placed in the skin. There were other skins and Indian tools and artifacts but the exhibit focused on those who were in the Civil War. Some even fought for the South after the Trail of Tears had forced many Cherokee to move to Oklahoma.Ely Parker was a brigadier general for the Union. He was a full blood Seneca chief who had trained as a lawyer but was not allowed to take the bar exam. He changed his career path to that of an engineer.Parker tried to raise a regiment for the Civil War. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant took him into the Army as an engineer. He had good handwriting and the surrender document at Appomattox was written by him. His widow charged $1 to see the original document.Stan Watie, a Cherokee, was also a brigadier general. Several members of the tribe were assassinated because they sold their land to the white men before the Trail of Tears. The ones who went west were the ones who joined the Confederacy.After the war Watie got rich growing tobacco but ran into tax troubles and died poor.Black Beaver, a Delaware chief, was a guide for John J. Audubon.Pat DeVries displayed her wheat designs, some of which were original. They used both the straw and the grain.Boy Scout Troop 66, Slatington, built a rope bridge and let people walk across it.Gary Weaver, a reenactor, said the first soldiers to head south to protect Washington had to switch trains in Baltimore. The residents of the city were unhappy but the final straw was when they saw three black men in the northern group.They started throwing stones at them with only minor injuries. The Union soldiers did not have ammunition with them but shot caps. Only 34 men in the five companies carried muskets.President Abraham Lincoln came out the next day and shook everyone's hand. They became known as the First Defenders and later became the 25th Pennsylvania.Squire Terwilliger was making Appalachian Mountain Style brooms and brushes. One of the tables he uses is a copy of an 1810 table owned by his instructor who had bought it at an auction.His sign said he would accept Spanish milled dollars, USA coinage but no pound sterling.He knows a geneticist from Rutgers who developed a red broom corn and uses it mixed in with the normal corn.One broom is made with a violin bow for a handle and an antique wrench is the handle of a brush. "I can make a broom out of anything that does not move," said Terwilliger.The Pig Placement Network said it has 80-100 Potbellied Pigs that need a home at any given time. The one at the festival was wearing a hat and glasses and enjoyed eating a pumpkin.At the far end of Canal Street Victoria Lear and Logan Bachman were entertaining. Victoria is the songstress at the Slatedale Memorial Day programs.The children's activities included pumpkin painting, pick-a-pop, and a duck shoot involving plastic ducks.