Whistles and calliopes

What drew the biggest crowd on a weekend morning at the Point Pleasant Tribute to the River festival was when they started up the steam boilers and blew the old boat whistles. Too bad I didn't think to get the names of the boats these whistles came from.

My grandfather lived along the Ohio River in the days of steamboats. I've been told in his later years he sat on his back porch and identified boats by the sounds of their whistles. He died when I was very young, so I have no memory of him. Still, I would have liked to have seen his reaction to hearing these whistles.

One other participant reacted to the whistles. At times, a brown dog howled along.

Later, this girl played a Scott Joplin tune on the calliope.

And a man who looked and sounded like an experienced callipolist played.