As a young Samuel Clements once said there is a strong pull to the Big River!
Hence this Houston Bayou Lad caught the fever and away I went. The old boat "Virginia-K" probably isn't floating anymore but it looked a lot like the one pictured here. We had 27 sleeping rooms , 32 hundred HP , twin screw's and a huge walk in freezer. My favorite co-worker was Mildred Hogg the cook. She was kin to the Hogg Family but man could she be mean to us lowly deckhands.She was up at 3 am every day and made home made biscuits EVERY morning. If she got mad at me she would pour hot grease in the garbage can bag and .....she did this once when I replaced her stove light bulb and it vibrated loose and hit her on the head one morning. I never admitted I did it but paid the price of another melted garbage bag. My job to replace daily.
From Houston to St Paul to Nashville , St Louis and back I have the many memories of seeing the Great Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee Rivers and a few more in between.
Once in Debuke Iowa , because the river was out of it's banks and flooding we were tied up for 27 day's. Got to know most everyone in that little town because the Captain let me take the skiff to town daily. I was never so proud when I told the town folks we were nearly out of drinking water and they insisted we pull up to their Fire plug near the river and fill up . What a grand sight all the town folk gathered up as we pulled that big boat up practically up Main Street to take on water from a fire plug. The local news paper was there taking pictures as I held the fire hose and acted important.
There are literally hundred of Riverboats like this one you can see at Dick's Towboat Gallery http://www.towboatgallery.com/The_Towboat_Gallery.php?pic=96&tnc=64 and if you have ever rode one it may be listed.
Sadly for the History Buff the Virginia-K is not there?
It was a really old converted steam ship from the 1930's I think and was the pride of Houston Barge Lines in the 70's along with it's sister ship the Texas.
Those "DEADLIEST CATCH" crabbing boats don't have nothing on the River Boats except a very popular TV show and expensive cameras and all.
After learning to play the fiddle, throw a 2" rope , braid a bumper and paint red lead,earning my US Coast Guards Merchant Mariners Document I had to retire. At 18 when you get a serious girlfriend back home it makes it impossible to stay gone for 30-45 days at a time.
What a ride that was for nearly 1.5 years of my youth. What really keeps me interested is how this History is so close to my own family's travels in the 1800's when they too got off a River Boat, in Jefferson Texas. We hope to one day learn exactly which boat they rode into Jefferson from Alabama.
We have found the boat they got here on from England and that was in the 1600's so this Jefferson docking has got to be in a document somewhere?
FYI
ReplyDeleteTHE SISTER BOAT OF THE VIRGINIA-K WAS THE TEXAS PICTURED ABOVE:
Texas (#71-24) was photographed at Norco, La., on February 21, 1977. (She is now 182 x 40 ft.) She was originally the Valley Line steamer Tennessee (see slide #287-16). Her hull was shortened 20 feet and she was repowered with 4,000 hp. (total) diesels at Parker Bros. Shipyard, Houston, Texas, in 1964. She was removed from service in 1984. Photographer doesn't know what became of her. Copyright Capt. Jeffrey L. Yates.