The riverboat captain is a storyteller, and Captain Don Sanders will be sharing the stories of his long association with the river — from discovery to a way of love and life. This a part of a long and continuing story.
By Capt. Don Sanders
Special to NKyTribune
Flood waters are coming to the Ohio River Valley. As cities, towns, and hamlets prepare for the inevitable, sandbags wait patiently where the townsfolk know from past deluges the river will strike first. Road barriers are standing by alongside the curbs of roads and highways anticipating the signal to drag them into place and barricade those routes, and foreseeing the unavoidable, town after town prepare for the wet invasion.
Flood waters are coming to the Ohio River Valley.
Downstream of Rising Sun, Indiana, Facebook friends of Indy Harry, who lives in an RV next to the river with his pets Lily-the-Beagle and Kitty-the-cat, were warning:
“This don’t look good… better pack your bags and fur babies and head to higher ground!”
…and
“Harry. Keep an eye on that river and be careful.”
But always the experienced riverman, Harry carefully replied:
“I am. Keep in mind I’m 3/4 of the way to the dam and should only get 1/4 of the Cincy rise. It’s at 51.3 feet with 5’ to go. I hope that equates to a foot or two rise here. I sure hope my figuring is right, though.”
Indy Harry lives in an RV next to the river with his pets Lily-the-Beagle and Kitty-the-cat.
Some wag suggested that Indy Harry get a shantyboat and all his worries would be over, but downstream, several miles below Harry, on the opposite side of the Ohio River, a veteran shantyman had already busied himself getting ready for the high water. When asked how the rising water was treating him,” he reported in detail:
“As of yesterday, I’m using the jonboat and keeping it pumped out as well as getting water out of all compartments inside the tug. All lines are okay. Outboard (downstream) spud all out, but as before, sparring out with the walkway and holding in with a two-part line. Pivoting on the inboard (upstream) spud. I’ve been to just over 60-feet like this in the past. Also, stocked up with fuel, water, and food for the duration. The electrical power is fine, so far, but I have the 10 kW diesel, 2 kW Honda gas, and little 2 kW pull-start, air-cooled, diesel tested and ready to go if necessary.”
A check of my sternwheeler CLYDE. found everything in order. Though the paddlewheeler is beneath a covered dock for the winter and directly out of the weather, the rising river may flood the boarding ramp restricting access until the water recedes.
Tuesday 12 February 2019.
Cincinnati Gauge: 53.15; Rising.
On the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, ‘Shanty Man’ had already busied himself getting ready for high water.
The Ohio River rose steadily some-three-feet by 7 am. Indy Harry’s RV-home was mud-bound with water beneath the truck frame, and he was worried about losing his home unless he found help. Several friends were concerned for Harry and his pets:
“Harry, better pack your bags and fur babies and head to higher ground.”
“Please, please be safe Harry. Prayers…”
Harry replied:
“Too much mud to pull out. The RV gets stuck on wet grass. We’re planning something out, now.”
But just in time, Harry could report:
“We got out of the water. Not too awful bad moving. No worries now. Will adjust things in the morning.”
With IN 56 closed at the corner of 3rd Street in Aurora, traffic on that road detoured onto 5th Street, a narrow residential bypass.
Later that night, as water rose onto State Route 56 in Aurora, prompting the closure of the road and adjoining streets at the lowest corner of the town, a Cincinnati television broadcasted a live report from the flooded portion of Route 56. But, thankfully, by that time, the river had already crested and merchants were breathing easier; especially Kevin Caudill, owner of Hoosier Auto Repair near the intersection already underwater. On the wall outside his repair shop, pencil marks recorded past high water stages that once engulfed the building. Though his business was spared another dousing by an angry Ohio River, Kevin’s concerns were for what may be in store later in the year – especially when Spring rains returned.
Wednesday, 13 February 2019
Cincinnati Gauge: 55.23; Falling at Noon.
With IN 56 closed at the corner of 3rd Street in Aurora, traffic on that road detoured onto 5th Street, a narrow residential bypass for the duration of the flood water’s incursion into the town. Sandbags around the base of the Moose Lodge were doing their duty. Just last year, the Ohio River caught the lodge off guard when it unexpectedly rose to 60-feet and ruined much of the clubhouse. Only recently, have repairs been made and kitchen equipment replaced which allowed the Moose to reopen. Inside the lodge house, patrons nervously watched the waters lap at the sandbags while they minced the hot food cooked on the newly-installed stove and washed them down them with cold beverages served from new refrigerators.
At 55 feet on the Cincinnati Suspension Bridge Gauge, the parking lot at the Lighthouse Point Yacht Club surrenders to the floodwaters of the river.
A visit to the CLYDE. proved impossible. At 54 feet on the Cincinnati Suspension Bridge Gauge, the parking lot at the Lighthouse Point Yacht Club surrenders to the floodwaters of the river, and the best I could do was observe from afar that the dock was in apparent good order.
Thursday, 14 February 2019
Cincinnati Gauge: 54.23; Falling at Noon.
When asked again how he and his shantyboat fared thus far during the flood, Shantyman answered:
“No problems and no injuries. Power stayed on. Just a little unhandy using the jonboat – I did have to start the outboard to fetch some of the neighbor’s stuff that was floating away. It took more pulls than it should have as it was pretty cold… and I had the good non-ethanol gas in it, too. But it did start, or maybe I’m getting weak. LOL!”
Just as the river fits snugly wherever it goes while reclaiming old shores, the daily rhythm of human activity quickly adjusts to the inconveniences caused by the high water. Detours are taken, lives rerouted, and seemingly impossible situations soon become the norm until the waters recede and another series of adjustments are necessary to return to life as it was before the river started climbing.
Once the river withdrawals within its banks, those living along its shores will remove the detritus, clean, paint, and make repairs as though the waters will never return. But watermen like Harry, Kevin, and Shantyman understand that the river was teasing this time, and each has an eye looking toward the next time Old Man River comes calling.
Kevin Caudill, owner of Hoosier Auto Repair near the intersection already underwater. On the wall outside his repair shop, pencil marks recorded past high water stages that once engulfed the building.
Captain Don Sanders is a river man. He has been a riverboat captain with the Delta Queen Steamboat Company and with Rising Star Casino. He learned to fly an airplane before he learned to drive a “machine” and became a captain in the USAF. He is an adventurer, a historian, and a storyteller. Now, he is a columnist for the NKyTribune and will share his stories of growing up in Covington and his stories of the river. Hang on for the ride — the river never looked so good.
Click here to read all of Capt. Don Sanders’ stories of The River.
