KAUKAUNA, Wis. (WBAY) – Flowing north from Lake Winnebago to the Bay of Green Bay, Wisconsin’s Fox River has 17 dams and locks–the last operating hand-operated lock system in the United States.
During the summer months in Kaukauna, Fox Locks tender Pat Spaay is the expert on the job.
“I grew up in Appleton, right off of Oneida Street, which is very close to Lock Number 1,” Spaay explained. “We used to build rafts and get in the lock tender’s way, and he would not be very happy with us. That old man wasn’t happy with us, and now I’m the old man of the locks, so everything comes full circle.”…