The River: Call from an old friend serves as reminder that life, like the mighty Mississippi River, flows on

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

Naturally, the river way of life, like the waterways we follow, is fluid and constantly flowing. People come and go. Friends are made but drift away. But what better treat is there than hearing from an old friend again?

Imagine my delight hearing Cappy Dave Dickenson on the phone, a voice I hadn’t heard in nearly ten years. Dave was, and remains, the sternwheel pleasure boat ALOHA owner, a vessel he found and purchased on the Great Kanawha River near Charleston, West “By God,” Virginia, in October 2015.

Cap’n Dave’s itinerary to paddle his new boat, via the interconnecting waterways, to his home on the Arkansas River in northeastern Oklahoma involved no stop at Aurora Bend on the Middle Ohio River. But then, just above the bend, the ALOHA busted her paddlewheel shaft. Of any town on the river, the ALOHA picked the right one to break a shaft.

Soon, Dave had the unified assistance of some of the best mechanics and “gofers” on the river. Captains Ron Abdon and Robert Lischkge, Aaron Richardson, Glenn Fielhauer, and I aided Dave in many ways. My job involved photo-recording the visit, running errands, and swapping tales with Dave and others gathered to help. Robert and Glenn — skilled professional mechanics — assisted Dave with their technical skills and opened their shops as necessary. Aaron aided as needed, while Ron stayed constantly at Dave’s side during the repairs. Enduring friendships made throughout the unscheduled interlude remain unwavering nearly a decade later.

As I’d heard, Dave was undergoing some serious health issues, much like I’ve experienced myself. At first, his voice broke, and I wondered if he could talk. Instead of dwelling on health concerns, our conversation turned to recalling the extended voyage of the ALOHA. Dave’s voice strengthened with each memory as he recollected the epoch journey.

“As a boy of 12,” Dave explained, “boating was a dream I yearned to live. At Cannelton, near Tell City, Indiana, my aunt owned an old home built on a sweeping curve of the Ohio River. Near the back of her house, next to the kitchen, a massive pile of ancient mussel shells, dredged from the river, remained from meals long prepared and eaten by residents more than a century earlier. While sitting there, watching the river as a sternwheel boat passed, I promised I would own a paddlewheeler someday. The ALOHA answered my dream.”

After repairing the ALOHA’s paddlewheel shaft, we all took a test run with Cap’n Dave. During my trick piloting the paddlewheeler, she ran great. As we all gathered on the dock at the now long-gone Aurora Marina, the ALOHA turned her head downstream and paddled off and out of sight. Pictures taken by fans along the river chronicled its progress along the way. Before long, the ALOHA ran into high water and strong currents on the Lower Ohio. According to Cap’n Dave, the river was so high that the floodwall gates were closed at Paducah.

“After tying off, I could see over the top of the floodwall. The current and the debris were so intense I had to find shelter on the Tenessee River. Against the torrent, the sternwheeler only made one mile per hour. Kentucky Dam Lock, due to shutdown, stayed in operation until we limped through the gates in the dark. We were the last ones through. The lock stayed closed for two weeks. Though closed for the season, the marina at Kentucky Dam Village allowed the ALOHA to stay gratis until the flood waters subsided and we could continue on our way.”

Once the ALOHA reached the Lower Mississippi River, Captain Dave remembered the current being so fast that the paddlewheeler sometimes zipped downstream at 20 mph. Those unfamiliar with the potential currents on the Lower cannot imagine the velocity that great river can obtain. Years earlier, I logged the DELTA QUEEN several times, averaging better than 20 mph downbound over a six-hour watch.

With all that water racing to the sea, the level of the Lower Mississippi River quickly fell in depth. After the ALOHA passed Tiptonville, Tennessee — the site of Reelfoot Lake, a lake formed when the devastatingly powerful New Madrid Earthquake of 1811 sliced off a chunk of the Mississippi forming the large parcel of water now regarded as a prime fishing reservoir — the paddlewheeler grounded on the sand at Stewart’s Bar, Mile 867. While passing towboat crewmembers relayed photos of the grounded sternwheeler to various river-themed Facebook sites, the falling water soon left the ALOHA and crew stranded high and dry. All Cap’n Dave could do was wait for a rise in the river to float them off the sandbar.

“Being stuck on the ground was probably one of the greatest times of the whole trip,” Dave confided. “Folks living in the area stopped by in their boats and supplied us with everything we needed. After a while, even the wildlife got used to us. A pack of coyotes came by every night and checked on us.” Eventually, rains up north caused a rise in the lower river, and the ALOHA floated free.

At Memphis, fierce winds became another issue. Above the infamous Memphis Bridges, wind-blown waves “looked 17 feet tall,” Dave said. A deckhand, helping him on that stretch of river, became impatient to get through the Memphis harbor and off the boat.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!” the deckhand urged.

Against his better judgment, Cap’n Dave shoved the ALOHA into the seething waves. As he did, a colossal roller swept over the boat above the Hernando DeSoto Interstate 40 Bridge, nearly swamping the tiny ark. Only Cap’n Dave’s boat-handling prowess kept the ALOHA from swamping. The paddlewheeler sought shelter at Mud Island, but not before an angry ‘father of waters’ claimed a coil of expensive line and several deckchairs.

“After that experience,” Dave recollected, “we stayed in Memphis for several days until I worked up enough courage to face the Mississippi River again.”

The 137 miles between Mud Island and the new mouth of White River, the entrance to the Arkansas River waterway went smoothly. The ALOHA eventually climbed another 300 miles up the Arkansas River to her new home in Oklahoma. On Friday, May 20, 2016, at 1:30 p.m. my time, I received an email from Captain Dave Dickenson:

“Made it home. Need to mow the grass.”

A decade slipped past in the blink of an eye. As I searched for inspiration for this week’s river column, I reached out to Capt. Dickenson, a friend I’d lost touch with over the years. Though our conversations had become fewer and farther apart, it was clear it had been too long since we last spoke.

I found my river friend facing serious health challenges with the same courage and determination he’d once used to conquer the mighty Mississippi River’s most daunting obstacles. Cap’n Dave told me he had aspirations for further fluvial adventures. With medical science’s help and prayer’s power, I know he will see his dreams come true.

Please remember Captain Dave Dickenson in your prayers.

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.

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Purchase Captain Don Sanders’ The River book here

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.

Order your Captain Don Sanders’ ‘The River’ book here.