The River: River Roots Festival provided visitors a timeless gathering of old-fashioned riverboats

The riverboat captain is a storyteller. Captain Don Sanders shares 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

October 2025 may go into the astronomical archives as the “Month of Comets.” Astronomers say at least a record number of seven celestial visitors are swarming our Solar System this month. But down on Planet Earth, residents of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, from New Orleans to Cincinnati, witnessed a fluvial visitation of the “Crescent City Comet,” the Steamboat NATCHEZ, as she raced to and from the recent River Roots festival in the Queen City.

Last week’s column described the excitement generated along the inland waterways, from Natchez to Cairo, Metropolis, Paducah, Cannelton, Louisville, and past Rising Sun and Aurora, as the steam-powered Comet thrilled thousands of well-wishers along the shores with whistle salutes and old-timey calliope tunes.

At Roots, over 13,000 festive voyagers flocked aboard the NATCHEZ for a memorable ride of a lifetime along a river route long accustomed to steamboat visitors. As I write, the “Crescent Comet Comet” streaks past Helena, Arkansas, some 566 miles above New Orleans. By the time you read these words, the NATCHEZ should be dozing at her moorings at the Foot of Toulouse Street in the French Quarter. The River: Taking in the sights, sounds as riverboats make their way to America’s River Roots festival – NKyTribune

Despite the five days of River Root’s celebratory festivities along the cobblestoned Cincinnati Public Landing, once the center of activity for countless arrivals and departures for riverboats in days long gone by, my only presence was at a ceremony aboard the NATCHEZ honoring the late Captain Clarke Campbell “Doc” Hawley’s inclusion into the National Rivers Hall of Fame.

Robert E.“Bob” Sanders, a veteran steamboatman with service time aboard the DELTA QUEEN as a striker engineer and deck watchman, accompanied me, his older brother, to the occasion held in the aft dining room on the Boiler Deck. Attending were steamboat friends I hadn’t seen in years, even decades. Though I would like to name everyone in attendance, my allotment for these pages would be insufficient to list them all. However, I should thank Captain Matt Dow, Director of Marine Ops, New Orleans Steamboat Company, and his officers and crew for their gracious hospitality in hosting Cap’n Doc’s ceremony.

John “Corky” Bickel and David Tschiggfrie, both steamboat vets and members of the Board of the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, orchestrated a moving ceremony for Captain Hawley. After the events, everyone without a paid fare for the morning excursion had to vacate the NATCHEZ as quickly as possible—Bob and I among them.

While a crowd of at least a thousand people patiently waited to board, my brother and I departed the vessel and found a seat on a low concrete wall atop the cobblestone grade. The chill morning river breeze easily whipped through my black, woolen uniform sweater and the three shirts beneath it. Though we hoped to remain and watch the NATCHEZ depart on the cruise, I suggested that we leave on account of the cold– a move I wouldn’t have considered just a few years ago.

The NATCHEZ, of course, wasn’t the only boat in attendance at River Roots, though it certainly gained the most attention. The boat closest to my heart, however, was the only other steamboat in attendance– the 111-year-old BELLE OF LOUISVILLE, the first steamboat I worked on, 66 years ago, when it was named the Steamer AVALON.

Quite surprisingly, Phillip Johnson, Chief Administrator of the DELTA QUEEN, brought the three-chimed Lunkenheimer whistle from the QUEEN and attached it to the steamline on the roof of the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE, and blew it during several of the BELLE’s cruises. Phillip, his gracious wife, Susan, and their three lovely children enjoyed rides on both the Louisville and New Orleans steamboats. A photo captured the Johnson Family at Phillips’ favorite location on the BELLE, the engineroom. During my ownership of the Rafter CLYDE, Phillip served as the tiny paddlewheeler’s Chief Engineer and Co-pilot.

Besides the two steam-powered boats, several diesel-propelled paddlewheelers also journeyed from the farthest reaches of the Western Rivers. The entire list included:

Although not listed on the official roster of River Roots, a few smaller paddlewheelers also made their appearance. Most notable were the sternwheelers SEWICKLEY and the STANDARD. Even Captain Jake Orcutt’s CLYDE, my former boat, made a short emergence at the Serpentine Wall on the Cincinnati Public Landing. Cap’n Ron Abdon from Aurora Bend and his tiny sidewheeler, L’IL ATTABOY, also paddled around among the much larger riverboats.

Like all things in life, the River Roots festival finally concluded last Sunday. Most of the boats waited until the next morning to rest the crews and get ready for the long trips home. On a bright sunny Monday morning, the “Crescent City Comet” blew a last salute at the cobblestone landing, backed around, and headed south. The BELLE OF LOUISVILLE paddled across the river to Covington, where she tied up at the old MIKE FINK steamboat-style restaurant parking lot to refuel before setting off upstream for a shipyard visit for her five-year U. S. Coast Guard inspection and recertification. The other boats drifted away shortly after, and by noon, the once bustling Public Landing was quiet again.

Was River Roots a successful enterprise generating the necessary responses to ensure a comeback in the future? The reports on how well the event performed, or did not, are yet to be concluded. But whatever is said, those who attended the event on the hallowed cobblestone grounds, or watched the “Comet and Shooting Stars” of the rivers passing by their hometowns, will never forget the memories of witnessing such a timeless gathering of old-fashioned riverboats.

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, sharing his stories of growing up in Covington and his stories of the river. Hang on for the ride — the river never looked so good.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Purchase Captain Don Sanders’ The River book

ORDER YOUR RIVER BOOK HERE

Capt. Don Sanders The River: River Rat to steamboatman, riding ‘magic river spell’ to 65-year adventure is now available for $29.95 plus handling and applicable taxes. This beautiful, hardback, published by the Northern Kentucky Tribune, is 264-pages of riveting storytelling, replete with hundreds of pictures from Capt. Don’s collection — and reflects his meticulous journaling, unmatched storytelling, and his appreciation for detail. This historically significant book is perfect for the collections of every devotee of the river.

You may purchase your book by mail from the Northern Kentucky Tribune — or you may find the book for sale at all Roebling Books locations and at the Behringer Crawford Museum and the St. Elizabeth Healthcare gift shops.

Click here to order your Captain Don Sanders’ ‘The River’ now.