The riverboat captain is a storyteller, and 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. It first appeared in August, 2019.
By Capt. Don Sanders
Special to NKyTribune
Reflections
Captain Jesse Paul Hughes (1875-1973)
Cap’n Jesse lived nearly a century, and I only remember him as an older man. Cincinnati premier river buff, R. Dale Flick, I know for sure, was close to him in Cap’n Jesse’s waning days, but my only personal involvement with the iconic Ohio River Master and Pilot was in the summer of 1972 when I was the Captain of the DELTA QUEEN, and we were landed nose-to-nose with the BELLE of LOUISVILLE at the Louisville waterfront.
Aboard the BELLE, moored above the QUEEN, sitting quietly alone on the rounded wooden benches which, some say, came off the ISLAND QUEEN, was the legendary Cap’n Jesse, himself. All around the forward area of the BELLE, the boat was alive with loud talk and excitement as passengers and crew members from both vessels mixed and exchanges greetings.
In all that humdrum, I saw Captain Jesse sitting by himself staring straight ahead and looking like an ancient steamboat artifact on display. Not knowing if the old gentleman would respond or not, I bent close to his ear and whispered,
“Captain Jesse, would you like to go aboard the DELTA QUEEN.”
Instantly, the ancient captain vigorously shook his head up-and-down in agreement and shot up from the hard bench. Off he went, nearly at a gallop, with me holding onto his arm trying to keep up with the centenarian as he flew across the BELLE’s landing stage, down the cement tarmac, and onto the bow of the DELTA QUEEN before his caretakers knew their charge was absent.
Within moments of discovering the elder captain was missing, across the stage of the DELTA QUEEN flew Captains C. W. Stoll, Doc Hawley, and Roddy Hammett in hot pursuit! As they approached Cap’n Jesse and me intending to repossess their ward, I assured my friends,
“He’s fine. Just leave him be. Captain Jesse only wants to be back aboard the DELTA QUEEN one last time.”
Some years later, his daughter thanked me for taking her father aboard the steamboat that meant so much to him – one final time.
Steam Towboat IRONSIDES / W. K. FIELD & Capt. John Emory Edgington (1870-1966)
The steam towboat IRONSIDES was built in Pittsburgh in 1869 and ran under that name until 1913. She was taken into the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal & Coke Company of Pittsburgh which, formed in 1901, and was better known as the ‘Combine.”
The sixty-some steamboats the Combine operated in its twenty-years of service were recognized by the letters “RC.” for “River Coal,” or “River Combine,” painted on the sides of their boat’s pilothouses, as seen in this classic photo of old IRONSIDES taken in front of the Cincinnati Public Landing.
In 1913, the IRONSIDES became the W. K. FIELD. By the next year, she was the oldest operating wooden towboat afloat on the Western Rivers.
In 1922, the W. K. FIELD was in command of my old friend and crewman, Captain J. Emory Edgington, photographed, here, by Capt. Jim Swartzwelder, Pittsburgh, at the steering wheel of the Steamer AVALON; sometime around 1960, or ’61. The venerable steam towboat operated until 1927 – a span of some 58 years.
Captain Edgington was 89, and I was 17 when I started steamboating with him on the excursion boat, the Steamer AVALON. Whenever the elder pilot wanted a letter “posted,” or his “grip” carried to the bus station when he was ready to leave the boat, he always asked for me. I still feel honored that such an illustrious steamboatman requested my assistance when I was such a young fellow.
Awaiting Coal-Water
Pittsburgh was the starting point for the Combine steamboats and their precious cargoes of Pennsylvania sweet coat loaded into flimsy wooden barges. Once “coal-water” was promised, the steamers made ready and rode the crest of the rise all the way downriver as far as New Orleans if there was sufficient water.
Quite often, the Combine pilots would be many miles away from the Combine fleet “lookin’ at the river” where the water was low enough to get an idea of how the channel would look once there was enough depth for the loaded coal barges.
The men kept in touch with “back home” at every chance they had by mail, telegraph, and even telephone messages. But as soon as word came to “get back as quickly as possible; a rise is coming,” they grabbed the nearest, fastest train for Pittsburgh. By the time the pilots arrived, their towboats were, quite often, already fired-up, in-tow, and awaiting them.
As one old gentleman recalled, “I had to drop my grip in the hallway under the pilothouse and didn’t get to unpack it until the next day.”
It could be that frantic to “catch the wave,” so to speak, when coal-water came.
Reflections On the Tag End of Life
The old-time steamboat men tried to tell us young bucks how swiftly the years would fly, but we laughed, unable to comprehend the passage of the seemingly long years ahead. In what appeared but a moment in time, the youthful face in the mirror drooped, grew gray, and looked tired.
Even the poets published their warnings on soft paper pages:
“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Old time’s a’ flying… and the flower that blooms today, tomorrow will be dying.”
And, “Youth is nimble full of grace. Age is lame of tardy pace.”
That day of reckoning soon arrives for all those blessed to survive the trials and tribulations of youth and grow into their “three scores and ten” years. Be warned! Grab those rosebuds; quit wasting precious moments – “for the flower that blooms today, tomorrow will be dying.”
Or as Captain Albert Sidney Kelley so often reminded, “They tried to tell us…”
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 shares his stories of growing up in Covington and his stories of the river. Hang on for the ride — the river never looked so good.
Enjoy Captain Don Sanders’ stories of the river — in the 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 NKyTribune, is 264-pages of riveting storytellings, 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.
Order your Captain Don Sanders’ ‘The River’ book here.
Fitting and poignant tributes to past river legends and their days, and their steamboats of yore. Heartening to imagine that just maybe they are now standing Heavenly watches on ethereal craft on that River of Life with its crystal tide forever flowing! Thanks, Capt. Don and NKYTribune for another weekly excursion on the river and with its people.
Ah, Captain Don, you are such a gifted writer! And the story about one member of Steamboat Royalty escorting another over to the Delta Queen, followed frantically by a group of more Royalty, is a good one.
Captain Don has surely “gathered his rose buds” & eloquently shared them. He tells of these great rivermen in a way, so the ones who knew them or of them have great memories revived. While newcomers can appreciate these legends & their contributions . My dad knew Capt Jesse, not only as a pilot, but wharfbost manager for Greene Line ,so many more great memories came alive.
Now people can gather Capt Don’s rose buds of his great legacy in his awesome book. Put it on your Christmas list, either to gift others or request under your tree!