River buffs museum in Monongahela, Pa.

I was going through some old photos and came across this. These are two of the officials with the Monongahela River Buffs Museum in Monongahela, Pa. They have some very nice artifacts there.

Larry Durdines, OBL mate and a good man

Last month I received word that Larry Durdines died at the age of 58. I worked with Larry on the riverboats run by Ohio Barge Line, and I'm sorry to hear he died so early.

He had two blogs. http://tenmilecreekcountry.blogspot.com/ about his home town. Also http://larrythekidman.blogspot.com/ a site with some of his humor.

Larry was a good man. He was a pain in the butt mate, though. Of course, as I recall, they all were. Larry was always a little excited. He was excited to be alive, even if it meant going out on the tow to wire up 15 coal barges for the trip from Clairton, Pa., down to Kenova, Ky., which was dirty work often done in the rain, heat or cold. But he was always ready for it and ready to give you a smile. I guess he was just more into deck work than I ever was. He told me, later, that it was "man's work."

I'm sorry he's gone. We always talked about getting together and drinking some and talking about the old river days. We got laid off back in 1984-85, I believe it was, and I never went back on the towboats. I lost track of Larry, then one day at a festival in Greensboro, Pa., here he walked up, in a tie-died t-shirt. Smiling.

A little break in the heat

It was pretty hot for the Morgantown area last week, up in the mid 90s. But this weekend we got a break and had a nice day for a river cleanup on Sunday. Maureen and I cleaned up the area behind the Ruby Park amphitheater; then went up through the lock to hit the mother lodes along the west shore. Maureen took before-and-after shots, with some nice flowers along the shore. (Click to see larger image)

I have said this before, but it bears repeating: litter behind the dam will often drift upriver and deposit along the shores. So, when we clean up these areas along the shore, we are actually getting the litter from behind the dam. Do nothing and it all goes back to the dam during the next high water.

Here we go into the lock as the gates open, and another of Maureen, deckhand and first mate, with our catch for Sunday. We do a lot better than most people fishing. It's a great workout for older people such as Maureen and me. We were pretty tired by the end of the day.

Things you learn...

I never knew a bowling ball would float. Not until I picked one out of the Monongahela river on July 5. I thought it was just an air filled ball, like so many others we've picked out of the river.

Well, the things you learn out there. I have to tell you I was surprised when I went down to the docks a day after the big Morgantown fireworks display and didn't find a whole lot of litter left behind by my fellow Americans celebrating Independence Day. I may have to give them a benefit of a doubt. Perhaps they decided to have a little respect for a change. Perhaps.

But what about those Mayflys! They picked the evening of July 4, 2010, to transform themselves from their nymph form to flying adults. As we watched the fireworks from the deck of the Monongahela Monitor, we could see a solid swarm of millions of mayflys over the river. They were covering the boats and docks. We were amazed at this natural phenomenon.

Speaking of nature, anyone know what this is? My first mate spotted this and took the photo during a cleanup on July 3. There's always a lot of pretty stuff to see down on the river.

Catfish tournament day

I was asked by the Morgantown Convention and Visitors Bureau if I'd like to participate in the Cabela's King Cat Tournament last Saturday, and I agreed to take kids out on the Monongahela Monitor. It would be fun for the kids and also give me a chance to get more people familiar with the river and the anti-litter program.

(Above, Jim Steward with catfish boats at the Ruby Park dock).

I took one boatload of kids and parents out and let each of the kids steer the boat. Everyone really had fun. Then, when I came back in, the dock was so full I barely had a spot to unload everyone. All the boats with participants in the catfish contest were in to have their fish weighed.
Anyway, got my folks ashore, and this guy with a cane comes ambling up and says, "I wanna go for a boat ride." I said for him to come aboard and that we'd leave as soon as I got a few more passengers. He was Jim Stewart, a resident at the Bartlett House, a home for the homeless here in Morgantown.
By that time more boats were trying to dock, and I had to back out with only one passenger, Jim. Turned out to be a special trip. "It's my birthday!" Jim said. "I'm sixty-five and I've never been on a boat before," he told me.
Jim was so delighted to take the ride. He beamed. "This is fun!" Well, Jim was just like a kid, and if my goal is to get more people to appreciate the Monongahela River, then it was certainly accomplished Saturday. I find that the river makes people happy. I've done kayak tours on the river and trips on the Mon Monitor (for free as I have no license), and yesterday evening after a kayak tour for a family from Missouri, I got to thinking, "This river makes people happy." It's a phenomenon. It really happens.

Down on the river in June

We are having some hot weather this June, but it's not bad. I had my first swim in the Mon Saturday. We did a litter cleanup and I was washing down the Monongahela Monitor's deck and dropped my bucket into the river. As I saw it disappearing, I jumped in and grabbed it. It was great.

The Farley family joined me again. Ben, with mom Michelle and dad Rick Farley. We gathered in more than we expected. Thanks, you guys!

It is a little disconcerting to see what's in store for us though. Here is a photo by Mike Hardy who took his boat up through Morgantown Lock Sunday morning (my wife Maureen and I saw him go up while we were having a coffee on the Mon Monitor in the shade below the dam). Mike went up through Hildebrand Lock and said he'd never go again.

Do you see the bass competition boats in that mess? (Click to enlarge). I wonder, Mike said, what they were thinking. Probably the same as you Mike: they are going to leave never to return. Something must be done! There is a meeting about this Friday.

Another photo from Saturday's cleanup. Note the blue barrel, tire and, yes, a small refrigerator....

Met a guy last night

Yesterday evening I took a couple friends out for a kayak trip, even though it was very warm. I like to take folks under the fountain down by the Ruby Park to cool off, and this worked well. Plus, we stuck to the west bank in the shade.

But what I wanted to mention is Larry. He was fishing off the Wharf District docks. He said he likes to fish down there in the night, as the minnows are attracted by the lights on the dock and, thus, the bigger fish such as smallmouth bass.

Larry has the history of the United States tattooed on his left arm. Signing of the Declaration; Washington crossing the Delaware; Mount Rushmore; wars, and Arlington National Cemetery.

He's got Johnny Cash, Archy Bunker and some family members on his other arm.

I enjoyed talking to him and wished I'd had a camera. It was a very nice moment along the Monongahela River. Perhaps I'll see him again. I want to write a book about the people I see down there.