Who are the Canalboys?
Historically, the Canalboys were the lowest of the low. They were the young men who drove the mules that pulled the boats that plied the canal. Poor, often orphans, many sought to be arrested in the late fall so they could spend the winter warm (and fed) in a local jail.
These canal boys are Paul Ryan, Derrick Pratt, and Terry Morris. Derrick is the Program Director at the Erie Canal Museum of New York State in Syracuse. Terry is a research librarian from Dewitt with a love of stupid facts. Paul is a former Wall Streeter who fell in love with the canal while riding the Amtrak from NYC to Syracuse. Paul and Terry are friends from kindergarten in Buffalo who found Derrick derelict in a local gin mill one night insisting to no one in particular that Dewitt Clinton should have been President. This is the bonafide origin story of the Canalboys and makes as much sense as any Batman movie we’ve seen..
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Paul Ryan
FOUNDER
Born in Buffalo, NY, Paul Ryan worked on Wall Street for 35 years. He founded Hayfield, a middle-market consulting and advisory firm. Paul has held several C-suite positions with various hedge funds throughout his career and also played a leading role in many early-stage companies. While teaching history to at-risk youth in New York City the importance of the Erie Canal made itself apparent to Paul and he has been reading and researching this topic ever since. Paul earned an AB in Economics from Harvard University and a JD from Fordham University.
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Derrick Pratt
HISTORIAN/STORYTELLER
Born in Syracuse, Derrick is the Director of Education & Public Programming at the Erie Canal Museum. A native of Chittenango, NY, Derrick received a B.A in Social Studies Education from SUNY Cortland and a M.A. in Museum Studies from Syracuse University. Prior to his job at the Erie Canal Museum, Derrick served as Director of Programs at Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum for 3 years.
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Terry Morris
NEPOTISM HIRE
Born in Buffalo, NY, a few blocks from Paul Ryan, Terry has always loved libraries and research. In his career, Terry worked at various library vendors in sales and support positions spending nights hidden in the stack at university libraries researching his yet unpublished History of the Entire World 2024BC-2024AD. He holds a Master's Degree in Library Science and a BA in Basket Weaving from the University at Buffalo.
