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
Who remembers the catchy tune popularized back in the 1950s, “Something’s Always happening on the River?” Walt’s Boat Club had it on the jukebox, and whenever it played, I always felt a little extra pep in my step as it blasted over the speakers outside the headboat. As I later discovered, Captain Richard “Dick” Bissell wrote it — “Oh, the river is the only life for me…”
I met Cap’n Bissell a couple of times when the AVALON stopped in Dubuque, Iowa, his hometown. He came by the boat to see Captain Ernie Wagner and Mate Doc Hawley. I was just a kid deckhand; he didn’t pay any heed to me, but I’ll never forget him.
This week’s column isn’t about Captain Richard Bissell, though he’s worthy of any praise I could conjure, and more. Currently, the inland waterways community is abuzz with anticipation. River Roots, the 2025 version of Tall Stacks, is slated for the Cincinnati riverfront in a couple of weeks. Oddly, I haven’t heard much about what’s going on with Roots.
No one has mentioned it to me, except for a few friends who said they’d see me there. But with nearly 9 1/2 decades behind me after going through the health issues I’ve traversed, I’m not sure how much I can endure walking on those hard cement and cobblestone landings. When I called my buddy, Chief Engineer Kenny P. Howe, Jr., to ask if he planned to attend the fluvial festivities, he expressed the same sentiments about attempting to navigate those broad expanses on the Cincy riverbank, which troubled me.
Hearing from someone with some clout earlier in the year could have provided fodder for this column. Something I’m always seeking. But, then, the following message unexpectedly appeared in my online message box:
“Hey Cap, hope all is well, and you’re gearing up for River Roots! We’re holding Capt. Hawley’s induction ceremony into the Rivers Hall of Fame on board the NATCHEZ on Thursday, October 9th. We will start letting folks on at 9 a.m., and the ceremony goes from 9:30 to 10 a.m., if you’re free and able to attend.”
WOW! The note from Captain Matthew “Bubba” Dow, Director of Marine Ops for the New Orleans Steamboat Company, owners of the Steamer NATCHEZ and diesel-powered paddlewheeler, the CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, like Captain Bissell’s sprightly tune, put an extra pep into my step. I replied that I would try my best to be there for Cap’n Doc Hawley’s induction into the National Rivers Hall of Fame ceremony.
Later, I contacted my brother Bob Sanders, also a veteran steamboatman from his youth, and we made preliminary plans to attend Doc’s inauguration together. At least we have a beginning planned, but once we get there, we may transport ourselves back to our youthful days on the river and stay the day.
Besides the steamboat NATCHEZ, the century-plus elder Steamer BELLE OF LOUISVILLE plans to be present. What’s a steamboat celebration without the BELLE, anyway? Not much. BB Riverboats’ flagship, the BELLE OF CINCINNATI, formerly my old casino boat, EMERALD LADY, will be center-stage, too. Several more boats also have plans to attend.
I’ve noticed on social media pages for the major boats that the crews are getting them spiffed up for the upcoming trip to “Rag Town,” as Cincinnati was known to steamboatmen of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, for the quantity of rags the boats carried home for the papermaking industry, which thrived there. On the NATCHEZ in New Orleans, the signboards recently received relettering in fresh paint, a job Cap’n Doc relished during his long, storied career on the river. Doc was a “stickler” for a pristinely maintained boat — something that rubbed off on me when he was my boss on the AVALON and the DELTA QUEEN. I’m sure the crew of the New Orleans steamboat has the same affliction acquired after a long affiliation with Cap’n Hawley.
The BELLE OF LOUISVILLE’s veteran pilot, Captain Pete OConnell, found himself busy repainting the signboards, restoring the “Christmas tree” filigree atop the pilothouse, and then fabricating rope bumpers, or “possums,” for the trip to River Roots. During lulls on days when the BELLE wasn’t cruising, the marine crew was in the wooden paddlewheel, fine-tuning it for the journey. After the week-long celebration, the BELLE’s slated to paddle to the shipyard for her five-year inspection conducted by the US Coast Guard. Those five-year periods roll around quickly.
While all the excitement seems focused on the October festivities, various voices in the background lamented the absence of the DELTA QUEEN. Several inquiries have reached my ears recently, wondering if the QUEEN will be in Cincinnati for the upcoming aquatic event. But, when told that seeing the DELTA QUEEN in October next month was an impossibility, the voices replied, “Nothing is impossible.”
Whether seeing the QUEEN at Roots is impossible or not, the probability is astronomically small. The positive note on all that, though, is the certainty that several DELTA QUEEN fans are concerned about the future of the once most cherished steamboat on Planet Earth. Will she be rescued from festering in a Louisiana backwater and find redemption as either a passenger-carrying overnighter, or perhaps as a hotel/museum with the steam plant intact and restored to operation on limited cruises for special events like steamboat races and excursions?
As one of the “voices” said, “Nothing is impossible.” I trust that when the riverboat community gathers from all over the Western Rivers next month, the DELTA QUEEN will be on the voices of many gathered there. When another future River Roots-Tall Stacks celebration comes around again, hopefully, the DELTA QUEEN will be in attendance.
After all, nothing is impossible.
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
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.
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