When it comes to towboats and other watercraft, most crewmembers learn through any hands-on experience that comes their way. Tom Craig is one such engineer. It was by chance that… Read More
Engineer Profiles
I handled crew and towboat operations at Madison Coal & Supply Company (MCS), now known as Amherst Madison, from 1990 until my retirement in 2023. Smitty was chief engineer of… Read More
When editor Frank McCormack approached me about writing a piece about my father, Edward “Smitty” Smith, for this edition of The Waterways Journal, I told him that I would have… Read More
David Wiley’s lifelong passion started in a familiar way: he picked it up from his father. “I grew up working on mechanic stuff with my dad,” Wiley said. “I like… Read More
As a boy, Tim Kilburn and his two brothers were always tinkering with engines. Small engines, like those for lawnmowers, came first. Then they discovered motorcycle engines and those for… Read More
Raised on a farm in Boonville, Mo., a strategic point for the Santa Fe Trail in the 1820s because of its location on the Missouri River, Danny Pethan grew to… Read More
Zach Burkhart is following in his family’s footsteps. Like his grandfather, Burkhart, 28, of Dover, Tenn., is an engineer. But those aren’t the only footsteps he follows. Four other members… Read More
When Johnny Holt and his wife, Connie, got married in December 1986, he was a painter and she was studying to be a nurse. They’d been sweethearts since they were… Read More
Once a land-based mechanic, Bryan Lackey was looking for a different kind of career. Lackey, 51, of Ursa, Ill., used to work on automotive and heavy equipment, but the work… Read More
Ronald Breaux grew up in Bridge City, La., a small community located on the west bank of the Mississippi River and named for its proximity to the Huey P. Long… Read More
