Author: Capt. David Smith

As with the last column, a photo shared by a friend recently stirred many memories. It was of a vessel headed to a final resting place after a long career… Read More

There are times when a single photo can cause a flood of memories to wash through the mind. This happened recently with a photo depicting a partially beached hull with… Read More

In a ceremony held along the banks of the Muskingum River in Marietta, Ohio, on April 11, ground was broken for the new Ohio River Museum to be built there. Read More

One of my favorite quotes about the passage of time is from the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” “Life moves pretty fast,” Bueller says. “If you don’t stop and look… Read More

In 1952, there were still many steam towboats roaming the Western Rivers of the United States. American Barge Line had seven in its fleet, all DPC prop steamers built during… Read More

A photo was taken recently of two boats beached out on the bank at Ledbetter, Ky., near Paducah. They were apparently placed there for dismantling and scrapping. Both of these… Read More

This column has previously detailed two towboats built by the fledgling Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Company that eventually morphed what’s now commonly known as “Jeffboat.” Those boats were the Progress… Read More

The last column looked at the Harper C. Patton that was built by Hines in 1954. A recent event involving a bell has prompted this look back at another boat… Read More

Having “grown up” around towboats and rivermen, then working actively on the river for more than 50 years, this writer has heard of many superstitions and omens of “bad luck”… Read More