Getting ready for summer

My river helper Chris with the Monongahela Monitor at Mark's Marine Repair. We got the tarps off her that had covered the boat during the winter, but the top isn't up and in place in this photo.

The Monitor must be laid up each winter for a couple reasons. The 28-foot boat would be a target for large trees that might come down the river in the winter if there's a flood, and also the 130 hp inboard/outboard engine must be drained of water to prevent freezing. It's simply better and safer to have the boat at Mark's during the winter.

Hope to get the boat out this weekend (4/13-14) or next weekend. Then, river cleanups begin in earnest.

Leave a comment, etc, if you want to help out.

Getting the Monongahela Monitor Ready to launch!

The weather is in our favor now, and I'm taking the tarps off the boat and getting her ready to launch soon!

In the grip of Winter

I spell Winter with a capital letter,
and acknowledge that in its fatal "grip"
doth downward the soul descend.

Whether light, that lacketh in the Dim
of darkened Days, is the problem,
I'll admit no knowledge,
Or whether a spirit that dwelleth
in light of the Summer's Sun set the anchor so that,
winds who blow in gray winter taketh away our soul, as did the fish
die and disappear and an epoch change,
and the old die, too.

This, it may well be debated, is Time's trick upon us,
that we must bide the hours slowly as if in Infinity, nay! Eternity.

Ah, summer!

Here are some nice photos sent in by Sue and Jeff from their trip along the river between Morgantown and the Pennsylvania border.  Thanks, Sue and Jeff.

The Flatboat Project

Hey, I'm really excited about the Flatboat Project, sponsored by the Morgantown Museum Commission. We're going to build a flatboat, a common vessel on the Mon River from the late 1700s through much of the 1800s.  It will be at the Ruby Memorial Park in Morgantown, very near where the city's original entrepreneur, Michael Kerns, build boats for pioneers traveling west.  The Flatboat Project begins on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, with a reception and exhibit at the Morgantown History Museum on Kirk street, 7 p.m.  Free and open to the public.  Please come.

Monongahela Monitor is in the boatyard for winter

Got the Monitor into Mark's Marina boatyard just before Sandy hit.  End of the season.  Did a few cleanups of litter on the river this summer, but mostly concentrated on getting two more kiosks up and establishing the no wake zone for Morgantown.  Will miss being out on the Monongahela.  Looking forward to next summer.
Thanks for all you support.

Final kiosk installed at Star City

 I'm going to be honest about this: I'm so glad the final kiosk is finished!

After a number of blisters and cuts and bruises and hours and hours of work, the last of three information kiosks is now in place. (Click for larger views of photos).

I want to thank several people who helped make this idea become a fact: That would include Charlie Huguenard and Joe Douglass at Longview Power Plant for funding, Kevin Nuce and Robert Lloyd at Star City for help in site preparation and Mary Davis with Greenspace Coalition for keeping track of expenses.   Also thanks to Anthony Giambrone for taking the idea to Star City's leadership for support.

This took longer than I expected, but it's hard to do weekend projects such as river cleanups and kiosk construction and also work for WVU.  Regardless: Number one is at Deckers Creek (finished in 2010); number two is at Walnut Street (completed in spring 2012) and the Star City riverfront kiosk is number three (completed in late summer 2012).  I can tell you that the one at Deckers Creek (for which Charlie and Joe actually dug post holes) is definitely working: we've emptied the litter barrel several times this summer.

You can see our messages about litter if you click on the photo to enlarge.  The left side has a river history, an appeal for better public consciousness about litter, and a no wake notice (regarding the Morgantown no wake zone).  The right has DNR information on invasive aquatic fishes and the fish tagging program, sent by Frank Jernejcic of the WV DNR.

Special thanks to Chris Wilson and Biao Qiu who helped with construction and some very tough digging at the Walnut Street location. Aslo Jennie Terman, my daughter, and David Helsabeck helped with the final stages of the Star City installation.

NOTICE: Our river cleanup schedule for September is:  Sept 2, Sept. 9, Sept 16.  If you want to be part of the crew, let me know.  Contact me at tterman@mail.wvu.edu. These will begin at the Morgantown Marina docks at 9 a.m. and we usually finish around 1:30 p.m.