If you’ve ever strolled down the trail by Lock 24 and seen the volunteers chatting in their chairs on the tiny porch of the Baldwinsville Visitor Center, you might be wondering if they’re working hard or hardly working.
The truth is somewhere in between those extremes; volunteer Mickie Lorenz called the two-hour shifts of directing tourists and locals alike to Baldwinsville’s greatest wonders a “pretty laid-back job.”
“It’s like being at camp — you sit on the porch and read and help people,” Lorenz said.
The Visitor Center, which was created in 2002 by the Greater Baldwinsville Economic Development Agency on land donated by the village, now belongs to the Greater Baldwinsville Chamber of Commerce. Volunteers sit and chat with the boaters who dock at Lock 24, the dog-walkers who trot their furry friends out on the trail along the river and anyone else who happens by. According to GBCC Executive Director MaryAnne Williams, the Visitor Center began as a way to promote local businesses and activities in the B’ville area.
“The Visitor Center always has a list of upcoming festivities and [volunteers] are more than happy to give newcomers a short history,” said Nancy Porter, a volunteer at the center.
Many of the Visitor Center’s volunteers are retired villagers such as Mary Crego, who joined about four years ago.
“It’s just fun to sit there and watch the canal. We get a lot of local people that walk along that trail, too,” Crego said.
While things have been slow lately with heavy rains causing frequent canal closures, Crego said she’s met many interesting boaters during her time as a volunteer.
“In the spring they’re coming up from the Bahamas and they’re heading toward Chicago … in the fall they’re heading south,” she said. “You get some world travelers, that’s for sure.”
Crego said the best part about volunteering at the Visitor Center is interacting with and helping people. She also admires the boats that dock at the lock.
“Most of the boaters, especially if they have something unique, they love to talk about their boats,” she said. “I’m pretty much a landlubber. Nobody’s ever asked me if I wanted to go onboard with them — that would be fun!”
Lorenz likes to dress in an 1800s-style costume for Seneca River Day. “The boaters seem to like it,” she said.
When asked for her top recommendations for B’ville destinations, Lorenz listed the B’ville Diner’s Thursday night car shows, the Baldwinsville Public Library and the Greater Baldwinsville Farmers Market.
Volunteers staff the Visitor Center every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and the center always welcomes new volunteers.
“A lot of local people come by and say, ‘This is a great job.’ It seems to be harder and harder to get volunteers, but it isn’t a hard job,” Crego said. “A couple hours out of your day from Memorial Day to Labor Day isn’t that much to ask.”
To learn more or to sign up for a two-hour shift, contact the GBCC at 638-0550 or [email protected]. Like the Visitor Center on Facebook at facebook.com/BaldwinsvilleVisitorCenter.
