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The River: Just another adventure for the books as friends and river rats come to the rescue


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

According to the weather reports I’ve been following, there’s no snow forecast for Christmas this year. Old Santa’s going to be battling temps in the mid-fifties – not sledding weather, and a far cry from when John Harford lamented in his tune, “Steamboat Whistle Blues:”

“I got stuck in the ice on Christmas Eve
And I froze my ass it’s true…
Just a shiv’rin and a-shakin with a Down South case of them
Steamboat whistle blues…”

A steamboating buddy from my gamblin’ boat days, Cap’n Dan, recalled the times his family lived on a shantyboat along the shore at Cairo, Illinois, just above the point where the Ohio River intersects the Mississippi.

A steamboating buddy from my gamblin’ boat days, Cap’n Dan, recalled the times his family lived on a shantyboat along the shore at Cairo, Illinois, just above the point where the Ohio River intersects the Mississippi. Dan’s father, scouting for a place to resettle his family somewhere away from their ancestral home in Middle Tennessee, arrived in Cairo just as the Great Flood of 1937 encircled the vital river port protected by an earthen levee surrounding the town. The father, like every other able-bodied man, was pressed into a work gang and fought alongside the residents battling to strengthen the dike to keep their city dry.   

Once the floodwaters receded, Cairo was one of the few cities along the Ohio River not inundated by the worst flood in the record books. A grateful community offered Cap’n Dan’s dad a plot of ground on the riverbank to grow a garden alongside the floating home his new neighbors helped him build. Gradually, after the family arrived and settled into their shantyboat home, they took root and ultimately prospered.   

The waters of the nearby Mississippi River provided catfish and carp for the table, which was also traded, or sold, to fish-hungry city dwellers in Cairo and nearby river towns. The family raised corn, beans, potatoes, and greens in their garden along the shore. Blackberries, raspberries, apples, and other wild fruits were picked, canned, and stored in the hull of the shantyboat for use until the next harvest season gave them another bounty. 

“We always had a’ plenty to eat, a snug home on the water and clean clothes on our backs, but my folks didn’t have much in the way of money. We made do with what we had. Christmas, though, was always extra special. Weeks before the holiday, Mother and my sisters started making racks of pies loaded with berries we picked earlier that Fall. There were tarts and cakes and all sorts of baked goodies piled high in the kitchen – more’n we could ever eat, so we gave ‘em as gifts to our shantyboat neighbors and folks living in town. We had so much, people thought we wuz rich,” my riverboat pal remembered.

“We always had a’ plenty to eat, a snug home on the water and clean clothes on our backs, but my folks didn’t have much in the way of money.”

Of course, to the men and women on the towboats shoving barges all over the Mississippi River System, Christmas will be “another day at the office,” except for when they gather in the galley (kitchen) for an extra-special meal more astounding than usually served to a crew a long way from their families ashore.   

Somewhere along the Mississippi on the Ingram Barge Company towboat, M/V JOE B. WYATT, Culinarian Terri Christie let slip the menu envisioned for this coming Wednesday’s festive feast aboard the 6,120 horse-power, twin-screw line boat: “Beef Wellington, Ham, Roasted Turkey Breast, and all the Fixings…” From what I’ve seen in Terri’s posts on social media, the crew also plans to exchange gifts.

On another Ingram powerhouse, the M/V DAVID O’LAUGHLIN, operating on the Lower Mississippi below Natchez, Sheila Ladner, the boat’s talented cook with 24 seasons working on the river, confessed:

“I love what I do – cooking. It’s been my calling from the time I was a little girl with my grandmother and made my first biscuits at age five. I’ve been cooking ever since.”

On the Ingram Barge Company towboat, M/V JOE B. WYATT, Culinarian Terri Christie let slip the menu envisioned for this coming Wednesday’s festive feast aboard the 6,120 horse-power, twin-screw line boat.

The nine crew members aboard the O’LAUGHLIN, this Christmas day, will gather around the festive board for Sheila’s “Southern Soul Food Christmas with glazed ham, turkey, and chicken dressing with all the southern trimmings, including homemade pecan and sweet potato pies… and much more!”  

Aboard the CLYDE, my stern paddlewheel replica with the same name as the first towing vessel built for Cole, Ingram, & Kennedy Lumber Company in 1870, Ingram Barge’s predecessor, the holiday season, once passed, will be welcomed. The CLYDE is available for sale, and nothing in the way of selling a boat, no matter how special, is considered by anyone until the year-end holidays are over.   

Earlier this past week, on Tuesday, 17 December 2019,  at 10:12 am, Shantyboat Mike Fletcher sent a message saying he and Cap’n Ron Abdon, the “go-to man” on the stretch of the Middle Ohio River between Markland Dam and the Ohio-Indiana border, were moving Ron’s houseboat and floating dock from where they’d spent this past summer at Rabbit Hash, to somewhere below town.  

“Have a good time,” I answered.

On the Lower Mississippi below Natchez, Sheila Ladner, the boat’s talented cook with 24 seasons working on the river, confessed: “I love what I do – cooking.

All was quiet until 2:29 pm when Shantyboat sent a more urgent text:

“We are broke down. Tied-off on KY side opposite Magic Valley (on the Indiana side of the river).”

Here I was sitting at my desk wondering what I could do to help my friends tied up in the trees on a swift, rising river with the wind chill playing havoc on their efforts to get their tiny fleet underway. They were in the boonies, especially now that no small craft were running about on the water at this time of year. I couldn’t just ignore their plight, so I reached out to a couple of rivermen in the area. A message to Captain Josh Lakin on the LUCKY LADY ferry had him calling  Jim McDaniel, a local boatman. Though Jim put his boat away for the season, he started calling around to his contacts for help.  

A phone call to the only boatman who could get a boat on the scene, Cappy Dave Miller, found him moving equipment around his Sunset Marina, in Aurora, to higher ground with the water coming up. Miller and Cap’n Ron had talked earlier, but the cell phone connections where Ron’s boat languished was sketchy, at best. For whatever reason, communications from behind my desk remained stable, and though tempted to drive to Rising Sun to see if I could look across the broad Ohio and see Mike and Ron, I quickly realized I could do my best work where I was.

Shantyboat Mike called several times with news of what they were attempting to get the houseboat engine running. After replacing a couple of new impellers on the raw water pump, the engine started, but there was no filter screen on the intake line. Mike was concerned if they got underway and the engine stopped again, they might be looking down on the sloped rakes (bows) of empty coal barges below them at the East Bend Power Plant. They would be helpless to keep from going beneath the barges if they lost power in such a strong current.

Rivermen: Capt. Don Sanders, Cap’n Ron Abdon, Capt. Josh Lakin, & Shantyboat Mike Fletcher.

Though Ron had the engine running, the two men debated whether to shove off and risk the loss of power after they were underway, or stay securely tied to a tree. Still, without any prospect for immediate rescue, I suggested:

“You’re heading downstream, but afraid of tangling with the empties below you at the powerplant if your engine shuts down again. Push far-enough out into the river, so if the engine quits, you’ll drift past the barges where you will have time to restart the engine or else figure out how you’re going to land at your destination.” 

If they followed my advice or not, I don’t know, but another text message told me they were underway with the engine was running smoothly. 

At 5:22 pm, Mike texted: “We made it!”

Less than five minutes later, I read, “Just got tied up. Running power lines now.”

My response: “ Another adventure for the books. Glad you’re both safe. Tell Ron, ‘Good job,’ and I’ll let Josh and David know you old river rats survived another day.”

Consequently, what was possibly a life-threatening situation, instead, energized a behind-the-scenes effort among a select group of experienced rivermen who would have found a safe solution no matter the circumstances. Had Shantyboat Mike and Cap’n Ron needed assistance beyond our group, we knew that answer, too.

The CLYDE, my stern paddlewheel replica with the same name as the first towing vessel built for Cole, Ingram, & Kennedy Lumber Company in 1870, Ingram Barge’s predecessor.

 
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.


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6 Comments

  1. Jessica C Yusuf says:

    Another informative peek into lives on the river, from family to friends. Much appreciated!

  2. Ronald L Sutton says:

    Once again a well told tale. Onlookers who think the River is smooth sailing, please note; Stuff Happens. This tale shows the benefit of Experience; a lot of experience and Knowledge calmly weighing the solutions and alternatives. The saying, ‘When in Danger or in Doubt, Run in Circles, Scream and Shout’ has NO place here. Note Capt. Don’s realization that he is Most Useful right at his Desk, rather than riding to the rescue.

  3. Joy Scudder says:

    Really enjoyed this story, Captain Don. Nothing quite like the comradery of those on the water. Miss that most of all.

  4. Pete OConnell says:

    Always something happening on the river…
    Enjoyed this tale as usual.

  5. Michael J. Fletcher says:

    OK here’s the rest of the story. This is Shantyboat Mike. We left Rabbit Hash on Ron’s houseboat with a big heavy steel float over 40′ long on the hip. Had to get out of there because the river was rising fast to just below flood stage.Current was bad & huge drift was clobbering him. Steel houseboat over 50 yrs old. We ran the engine for a while before we cast off & it seemed ok. We usually drag a small boat along for this kind of mission but we didn’t. What could possibly go wrong? About a mile downstream we discovered that the temperature gauge had become erratic & could not be trusted so we ran with the engine hatches open and used an infrared temperature gun to monitor the temp. We could only run 1500 rpm with that big ol’ float on the hip else we couldn’t steer. Engine was cooling well so we were checking it maybe every 10 minutes. We were already out in midstream so as to miss the empty fleet as Capt. Don advised us later. Just below Rising Sun we looked astern to check for traffic & saw what we first thought was steam but was actually white smoke from the exhaust hoses about to burn off. I ran back & saw the engine so hot it was ready to catch fire. It was knocking from preignition. It wasn’t going to live much longer like that. I yelled at Ron to hit the shore NOW! ANYWHERE! Shut it down ASAP & grab a fire extinguisher. We ended up nosed into a huge drift pile. I jumped off the float with a big old length of leaving line & choked a big tree that was tangled in there. Didn’t have time to put my coat on had to jump. Ron had to shut the engine down or else go up in flames. Then I looked back at the dock & saw that the line was not tied off. Yes I should have checked that but if I had, there wouldn’t have been time for me to make it to shore. The swift current spun the whole shebang around & it started downstream with no power. The line was paying out & about to go in the drink as the boat drifted out. Ron ran out of the boat & checked the line off on a dock cleat with about 3 feet to spare. When the line came taut I was too far away to get back on the boat. So I was freezing in the wind chill on the shore. My coat was on the boat with my cell phone in it. I was about 1 1/2 miles from the nearest sparsely traveled road. If Ron hadn’t caught that line he would have gone around the bend in the fast current and right under the rakes of the empty barges. He would have drowned & I might have frozen. He got the engine restarted & shoved back upstream to where I was. We tied off better & started working on the 50+ year old engine. We made calls but no one was in a position to help us. It was nearly the shortest day of the year & we were burning daylight. We had a bag of used water pump impellers & a few tools. The hoses were really stiff & hard to deal with in that cold. Ron got the water pump off & installed the two best impellers we had. It worked. We test ran then shoved off again. We avoided the empty fleet but when we came abreast of the East Bend plant a freeze plug blew out the side of the engine block (most likely because of the previous overheat) so then we were sinking. We rigged two sump pumps running off a little Honda generator. The engine raw water pump was pumping water in & the sump pumps were pumping it back out but barely keeping up. We made it in that way with a little more drama due to a whirlpool & strong eddy at the mouth of the creek where we were headed. We got tied up just at dark. There wasn’t really enough daylight for anyone to have saved us. We just had to save ourselves. Murphy’s law strikes again. It was more excitement than two old river dogs in their mid 70s had in mind for the afternoon. If it just hadn’t been so damn cold…….

  6. Cornelia Reade-Hale says:

    Another great adventure on the river and story of the fantastic men that live and love the river. Thanks for sharing the tale of skills hard learned and honed by years of practice. Love the team work at it’s best ,from desk communications to shore line expertise,to engine room tinkering.

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