As a young boy growing up in Catlettsburg, Ky., our house backed up to the earthen floodwall about a half mile from the mouth of the Big Sandy River. In… Read More
Ashland Oil & Refining Company
Ashland Oil & Refining Company (AO&R) was founded in 1924 as a subsidiary of the Swiss Oil Company called Ashland Refining. Paul G. Blazer was placed in charge of… Read More
This column has previously detailed vessels built by Petersen & Haecker Ltd., Blair, Neb., a shipyard that was established in the late 1930s on the right bank of the… Read More
In the last column, we began looking at a letter written by noted historian and author Capt. Frederick Way Jr. to M.C. Dupree, marine superintendent of Ashland Oil & Refining… Read More
A question posed to me on a social media post recently has prompted this column. Multiple boats with the same name can cause confusion, particularly when the boats in question… Read More
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was established in 1932 by the Hoover administration to help fight the Great Depression. At the outbreak of World War II, it became a part… Read More
As detailed in this column when writing about the 300 hp. Senator Combs in the October 10, 2022, issue of The Waterways Journal, Ashland Oil & Refining Company… Read More
For this special Wheelhouse issue of The Wateways Journal we will look at two important “firsts” that changed the lives of pilots for the better. In late… Read More
By 1929, great strides had been made in the Western Rivers towing industry regarding diesel propulsion. Many small diesel sternwheel boats were in operation, as well as the… Read More
