THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY SERIES
Rita Kohn and William Lynwood Montell
Series Editors
LIFE ON
THE OHIO
Captain James Coomer
Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Copyright 1997 by The University Press of Kentucky
Paperback edition 2004
The University Press of Kentucky
Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,
serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre
College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University,
The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College,
Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University,
Morehead State University, Murray State University,
Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University,
University of Kentucky, University of Louisville,
and Western Kentucky University.
All rights reserved.
Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008
www.kentuckypress.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Coomer, James, 1928
Life on the Ohio / James Coomer.
p.cm. (The Ohio River Valley Series)
ISBN 0-8131-2000-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Ohio RiverSocial life and customsAnecdotes. 2. Ohio RiverDescription and travelAnecdotes. 3. Coomer, James, 1928 Anecdotes. 4. Ohio RiverBiographyAnecdotes. 5. River steamersOhio RiverAnecdotes. 6. River lifeOhio RiverAnecdotes. I. Title. II. Series.
F520.C661997
Paper ISBN 0-8131-9108-4
This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
| Member of the Association of
American University Presses |
Nice? Its the only thing, said Water Rat to Mole.
Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing
absolutely nothinghalf so much worth the doing as
simply messing about in boats.
Kenneth Grahame, Wind in the Willows
To my children and grandchildren:
my son CAPTAIN JIM COOMER,
a fourth-generation river man
and father of SARAH ELIZABETH;
SUSAN KELLY, mother of BLOSSOM and ANDREW;
MELISSA BELLEN, mother of CAMILLE and ANDREA;
and JENNIFER, who died too young, the mother of DENINA.
Contents
Illustrations
Types of barges
Series Foreword
The Ohio River Valley Series, conceived and published by the University Press of Kentucky, is an ongoing series of books that examine and illuminate the Ohio River and its tributaries, the lands drained by these streams, and the peoples who made this fertile and desirable area their place of residence, of refuge, of commerce and industry, of cultural development, and, ultimately, of engagement with American democracy. In doing this, the series builds upon an earlier project, Always a River: The Ohio River and the American Experience, which was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the humanities councils of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, with a mix of private and public organizations.
The Always a River project directed widespread public attention to the place of the Ohio River in the context of the larger American story. This series expands on this significant role of the river in the growth of the American nation by presenting the varied history and folklife of the region. Each books story is told through men and women acting within their particular place and time. Each reveals the rich resources for the history of the Ohio River and of the nation afforded by records, papers, and oral stories preserved by families and institutions. Each traces the impact the river and the land have had on individuals and cultures and, conversely, the changes these individuals and cultures have wrought on the valley with the passage of years.
As a force of nature and as a waterway into the American heartland, the Ohio and its tributaries have touched us individually and collectively. This series celebrates the story of that river and its valley through multiple voices and visions. Life on the Ohio is Captain Jim Coomers chronicle of his personal and profession odyssey as a third-generation pilot, the family calling now being continued by his son. Captain Coomer pays tribute to the unfairly neglected workhorse of the river, the harbor tug, whose land-based crews are on twenty-four-hour call to keep the ever-moving caravan of long-distance tows supplied, fueled, serviced, and repaired. Coomer also tells of life as seen from the pilothouse on the big boats, a principal mode of getting raw materials to their destinations that far outranks any other method of transportation in tonnage and economy. The Ohio River alone ships more cargo than the Panama Canal; the Ohio and the Mississippi move some 260 million tons a year; and Coomer has been there, a pilot and a captain on the towboats. He tells it like it is. If hes short on nostalgia, hes long on reality. If hes hard on himself, hes soft on the natural beauty of La Belle Riviere. The Ohio is a working river, and Coomer is a working Ohio riverman. Rendered in his distinctive voice, Life on the Ohio illuminates one mans experiences from soon after World War II to the recent past and helps us understand a specialized industry without which, as a nation, wed be economically endangered.
RITA KOHN
WILLIAM LYNWOOD MONTELL
Series Editors
Foreword
Of course, Im partial to river themes. Ive traveled the length of the Ohio River quite a few times, writing articles and video documentaries about river history and culture. On some trips, I went by steamboat, but mostly I hitched rides on towboats, my favorite way to travel the waterways. And I can tell you this: Captain Coomer gets the river right. The sounds, the smells, the sights, the movement of the boats, the way the people talk. Reading these sketches, you can feel the warm steel of the towboats deck rumbling under your feet.
You dont need to have traveled the river to enjoy these stories; I read most of them long before I began my own river adventures. When I started reading, I asked myself if I really cared about the horsepower of an engine or the length of a tow and ended up fascinated by such details, but only because I was laughing so hard at some of the anecdotes Captain Coomer tells. As he says, the river produces a unique breed of people.
As I read further, I found myself thinking, Why, the mans a poet. The episode called Who Could Ask for More? is a fine evocation of a glorious river day. Many of the others show a poetic appreciation and love of the Ohio. Captain Coomer experiences it in its many moods and seasons: calm and stormy, day and night, summer and winter.
