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
The river world I lived in is quickly disappearing, and it’s happening fast. As a youngster, I was first interested in the river and the steamboats paddling around on the Ohio River; several steam towboats still operated, along with a couple of steam passenger boats. But across the Western Rivers System, including the Mississippi and its other tributaries, the number doubled.
These days, in the beginning of the second quarter of the 21st Century, only the NATCHEZ in New Orleans and the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE in Louisville remain in service. Plans, however, are in the works to return the former Steamer JULIA BELLE SWAIN to steam again at Nashville, Tennessee, on the Cumberland River, but renamed NASHVILLE. That’s a 30% increase with just one boat added.
Then there’s my old steamboat, the DELTA QUEEN. She’s still in one piece, tucked away in an obscure waterway near Houma, Louisiana, awaiting better days. But so far, no knight in shining armor has galloped to her rescue. Who would have thought, just a few years ago, that the world would forget and abandon the once most-beloved steamboat? That’s what happened when traditional river people no longer controlled the river passenger boat trade, allowing outsiders with more capital than compassion slip in, decimating 200 years of fluvial heritage while recreating their own version of the river vision.
The pile of brochures arriving through my daily mail from these riverboat cruise businesses grows steadily. None of them appeal to me very much. I’m not interested in menus filled with rich, fattening victuals, complimentary alcoholic beverages, or bus tours of Midwestern towns while the boat paddles on to the next burg, where those same weary bus riders will meet it. I’d rather sit in a comfortable deck chair on the cruising boat watching the passing sandbars, cottonwoods, willow trees, and stone dikes than tour the oldest house in Whereversville, Iowa.
Let’s face it. My river days are now limited to a folding desk in front of the computer my son, Jonathan Hartford Sanders, built for me. It’s the best computer I ever had. Roll over Dell, HP, Microsoft, Apple, and the rest. You’re not the only game around. Only yesterday, my sister Mary told me that her grandson Jesstin “builds computers from scratch.” When I was a youngster, I felt accomplished building a birdhouse with hand tools. More than just the river, the world around me has changed in my lifetime.
For the past few months, after discovering that people actually look at my online steamboat and river posts, I’ve been uploading at least ten pictures daily from my collection, which I’ve been gathering from the internet over the past 18 years. Just last Saturday, my photos were viewed 137,664 times, my record. For this, I spend two to three hours, or more, retrieving what I hope are appealing photos, adjusting them for the best light and exposure balance, and adding a narrative about the subject. Normally, I post them using Facebook’s “Planned Content,” which lets me schedule when I want the pictures published. Although I may not be cruising down the mighty Mississippi River, I have my own niche to share and discuss the river with others.
The SPRAGUE, the largest steam towboat ever built, always gets plenty of attention whenever its pictures are posted. My son Jonathan also created a short video narration on my experience with the SPRAGUE(11) Facebook. Everyone especially loves her mammoth, 40-foot square paddlewheel with 21 sets of white oak buckets and hickory wheel arms. According to Captain Frederick Way, Jr., in his Way’s Steam Towboat Directory:
“This big ‘brushpile’ got to be a major problem in her latter days when suitable lumber was impossible to procure, and her buckets had to be spriced out of odd-sized lengths. She did not turn her paddlewheel more than seven rpm until the wheel diameter was later reduced, and usually turned 9.25 rpm during her Combine days.”
An unexpected side feature of the posts has been the stories viewers share about their own experiences in similar situations or events my posts remind them they also encountered. For example, when Betsy Crouch recalled when the SPRAGUE was towed from Vicksburg. Mississippi for display in Pittsburgh in 1959, she posted:
“When they brought the SPRAGUE to Pittsburgh, I got to ride on the crew change boat at Parkersburg. My dad was friends with the captain who took ‘Big Momma’ the rest of the way upriver.”
Others tell of careers on passenger boats, towboats and barges, or perhaps as a diver for the U.S. Corps of Engineers for 30-some years. Many add their thanks for reviving old but pleasant memories of their days on the waters of North America’s Western Rivers. Perhaps this uncomfortable chair in front of the glaring screen has become my substitute for the pilothouse window glass. I’m getting used to the change of scenery.
Although I may say I’m getting comfortable sitting in front of a computer screen, reminiscing about old times on the river, I’m just fooling myself, and trying to fool you too. What I really need is at least one more healthy dose of moist river air and to feel those waves rocking the boat beneath me. But until then, I’ll just have to accept things the way they come. Doggone it.
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.
Purchase Captain Don Sanders’ The River book
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.