Tribute to the River, Part 7

I had hoped to dig a little more into the history of the sternwheel towboat Juanita before I wrote this, but as usual, life had other plans for me this week. I didn't want this to hang out there forever, so let's go with what I have.

I've liked seeing the Juanita since it worked the AEP harbor at Lakin, W.Va.

(Photo taken in 2010, I think)

In the 1980s I went up there as I worked on a story for The Herald-Dispatch of Huntington, W.Va., about the three remaining working sternwheelers on this part of the Ohio at that time -- the Lady Lois of Catlettsburg, Ky., the Donald B of the Maysville, Ky., area and the Juanita. While at Lakin I met a man named Worthy Love, who worked on the Juanita and was more or less attached to it.

The Juanita has sinced passed into the ownership of Tom Cook of Dunbar, W.Va., on the Kanawha. When I worked in beautiful downtown Charleston, W.Va., for a while, sometimes I would take U.S. 60 and from to work instead of Interstate 64. I would see the Juanita tied up at Dunbar when I wasn't focused on traffic.

In March 2014, when I separated from one employer in Charleston (my decision), I stopped at a park in St. Albans to think about what was ahead for me. Seeing the Juanita go by made me feel bretter.

At the Tribute ot the River a few days ago, I walked past the Juanita when I asked its owner, Tom Cook, something. He invited me on board and gave me a short tour of the boat and a bit of its history. It seems the Juanita didn't have any construction plans. It was all figured out as they went along.

(A nameplate Tom Cook had made for the Juanita. It's mounted on the boat's exterior instead of inside the boat so more people can see it.)

(Tom Cook shows the sign on the lower deck of the Juanita. It's similar to the one the boat bore when it was owned by O.F. Shearer & Sons, although that sign was a bit larger and was painted on the side of the boat instead of mounted there, Cook said.)

(Engine room of the Juanita)

It was an interesting tour of both history and the present, and I'm glad Mr. Cook invited me aboard.

And that's about it regarding sternwheelers for now. Maybe I'll use the sternwheeler festival in Pomeroy, Ohio, at the end of this month as an excuse to get a few more pictures and to go back into Meigs County. From Racine up, trhere's some beautiful country along the river this time of year.

Tribute to the River, Part 6

 I thought I would try a few in black and white for a change.

The plan is to have Part 7 ready by tomorrow night, but it will take a little more research, so it may have to wait until Friday.

Tribute to the River, Part 5

Just two more nights. Please be patient. I hope you all will like Part 7 to wrap it up.

More photos from Friday evening. The last shot is my favorite of this bunch.

Tribute to the River, Part 4

 Here, without comment, are photos from Saturday's grand opening of the new Point Pleasant River Museum and Lakin Ray Cook Learning Center building.

The next entry will be more boat and landscape pictures.

Tribute to the River, Part 3

Two more photos.

No, I don't intend to drag this out forever. For yesterday and today I'm posting the ones that would be the most newsworthy, for lack of a better term. I need a couple of days to go through the 400 or so that I shot and pick out maybe a dozen of the best to post here.

First, crowds gathered on Main Street today in anticipation of the ribboncutting of the new building for the Point Pleasant River Museum and Lakin Ray Cook Learning Center.

While we were inside, we got the first of four or five gullywashers. Between the first two, the sky teased us with white clouds on a Carolina blue background.

Right after I took this picture, sprinkles started. The downpour didn't come until an hour or so later, but they were intense when they hit.

August has been pretty good to me photographically. Every time I think I can go through what I got in an outing, another opportunity comes along. That means I will probably have something to do on the long winter nights to come.

Tribute to the River, Part 2

Four more photos from yesterday evening. Quick edits. Better ones to come, but I wanted the folks at the festival to see some before I go back up there today.

An overview taken when I got there.

On this one I cheated a little. The original is at an awkward angle, and when I straightened it out, I had to ask Photoshop to fill in a couple of small spaces in the upper left and lower right corners. I hate doing that, and when I do I normally advise the viewer of what I did.

Boats and more boats.

This one from the Nemacolin I had to work with a bit. I had to shoot from an awkward angle, and the lens distortion caused some problems. I need to come back to it one evening when I have plenty of time to work with it. 

2024 Tribute to the River, Part 1

 I just got back from an hourlong drive up to Point Pleasant WV to see the sternwheelers at the annual Tribute to the River festival. I went up there after working my eight hours after my day job, and I was there until night. There were too many pictures to take.

Here are two quick edits. I'll do more detailed work om them later.

First, the Juanita as seen from the Nemacolin.

And the wheel of the Nemacolin.

As I said, it's late and I'm tired. I have pics from a tour of the Juanita (one of my favorites since I first wrote about it some 40 years ago) and some of the Nemacolin sternwheel, along with pics of other boats and such.

More tomorrow and maybe the next day.

M/V Jean Akin and wood chips

 I saw the Jean Akin come down the river today pushing what looked like 12 loads of wood chips and three loads of coal.

I don't know anything about the trade in wood chips except that I've seen several Crounse boats pushing them lately. I don't know where they come from or where they're going. If anyone does, I would appreciate a heads up.

M/V Mary Artie Brannon

 Returning to its tow at Virginia Point Park at Kenova WV.

Watching the boat go by