Ohio River

Breaking down the show at the Louisville’s Portland Museum. #artshow #exhibition #louisville #ohioriver

Visitors explore the shantyboat at the Portland Museum

Aug 3, 2019

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Visitors explore the shantyboat at the Portland Museum (@portlandmuseumky), thanks to all the awesome folks who showed up for the closing reception. #Portland #Louisville #OhioRiver #Exhibition #artshow

Reflecting on the journey here at the end of it

Aug 3, 2019

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Reflecting on the journey here at the end of it. There were things we meant to do, and never got around to, people we meant to talk to that we never met, places we meant to see that we simply didn’t have time for. But overall, the river was beautiful, life aboard the Dotty was…

Beautiful day on the Ohio River in Louisville as we make our way up river to take out

Aug 3, 2019

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Beautiful day on the Ohio River in Louisville as we make our way up river to take out. The shantyboat Dotty on the trailer is headed to the Portland Museum for a closing reception for our exhibit there. #Shantyboat #OhioRiver #Louisville #Trailer

It was humbling to watch the expert at work

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It was humbling to watch the expert at work. The Belle of Louisville’s keyboardist channels Leonard Cohen on the only surviving brass calliope keyboard aboard a steamboat. #OhioRiver #Steamboat #Calliope #BelleOfLouisville #Hallelujah #LeonardCohen #Louisville

Aboard the Belle of Louisville as guests of the ship’s engineering crew

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Aboard the Belle of Louisville as guests of the ship’s engineering crew. The Belle is one of the very last authentic steam powered sternwheelers. #Steamboat #OhioRiver #Sternwheeler #Louisville

The beer fairy came to visit us! Thanks, Louisville

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The beer fairy came to visit us! Thanks, Louisville. #BeerFairy #Beer #OhioRiver #Louisville

We love art! Thanks to Piper who made art for our gallery

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We love art! Thanks to Piper who made art for our gallery and came by with Trapper Haskins (@trapperhaskins) to visit from Tennessee. #visitors #oldfriends #ohioriver #louisville

More Edward Hopper scenes from around Louisville

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More Edward Hopper scenes from around Louisville. #edwardhopper #ohioriver #louisville

On a beautiful sunny morning, I interviewed Paul Hassfurder

Aug 1, 2019

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On a beautiful sunny morning this week after a day and night of thundershowers, I felt honored to interviewed Paul Hassfurder who lives at Payne Hollow. Paul worked with artist and writer Harlan Hubbard at the house for nearly a decade before his death in 1988 at age 88. Paul talked to me about Harlan…

Things afoot in Louisville while you are drinking your morning coffee

Aug 1, 2019

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Things afoot in Louisville down by the river while you are still drinking your morning coffee. #OhioRiver #Riverfront #Louisville #Kentucky

Little-known facts about Louisville, Kentucky

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Little-known facts: Louisville, Kentucky has more bridges than Hamburg, Germany (4,048) and is often called the Versailles of the Ohio River. Louisville has more plumbers per capita (1 out of every 100) than any other city in the Western hemisphere. #Dennis #Venice #Louisville #OhioRiver #Kentucky

See you in Louisville at an artist talk and closing reception

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See you in Louisville. Join us for an artist talk on Thursday 1 Aug at 7pm at Endless Summer Paddle and Coffee and/or the closing reception of our Portland Museum exhibition on Saturday 3 Aug at noon to 4pm. #exhibition #artshow #artisttalk #kentucky #ohioriver #louisville

We call it a Mitch McConnell or a Redneck Russian

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We call it a Mitch McConnell or a Redneck Russian, bourbon fire whiskey, homemade Kahlúa, and cream. Here at the end of the trip, our bar stocks are diminished and we have to get creative. #mixeddrinks #cocktails #mixingpoliticsandcocktails

After the river was cleaned up areas that would be unthinkable real estate investments became desirable

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After the river was cleaned up in the 1970s, areas that would be unthinkable real estate investments became desirable locations. As riverside houses, condos, marinas, and parks were built they displaced folks (often poor people and people of color) who’d made the river their homes for generations. #ohioriver #gentrification #displacement #condos

Interviewing Paul Hassfurder at Payne Hollow surrounded by butterflies

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Interviewing Paul Hassfurder at Payne Hollow surrounded by butterflies. #ohioriver #paynehollow #interview #harlanhubbard #harlanandannahubbard #butterfly

Flowers from the lower garden at Payne Hollow

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Flowers from the lower garden at Payne Hollow #flowers #ohioriver #paynehollow #harlanhubbard

Great to spend a few days with Paul Hassfurder who is carrying on Anna and Harlan Hubbard’s legacy at Payne Hollow

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Great to spend a few days with Paul Hassfurder who is carrying on Anna and Harlan Hubbard’s legacy at Payne Hollow. The house is unspeakably beautiful, simple, efficient, and clever. Paul is a gracious and generous host in the Hubbard’s tradition and dearly loves the magic of the old homestead. We talked for hours and…

The charming streets of Madison, Indiana

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The charming streets of Madison Indiana on an overcast morning. and it’s true that everyone in southern Indiana goes to Madison to vacation, but it still doesn’t feel touristy. #Madison #OhioRiver #Indiana #SouthernIndiana

We met the American Queen again near Madison, Indiana

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We met the American Queen again near Madison, Indiana. This was sent to us from a fan. #sternwheeler #shantyboat #playingchicken

Welcoming committee in Carrollton, Ky

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Yesterday as we passed Carrollton, Ky. a crowd who’d been waiting for the arrival of the shantyboat gathered to welcome us and entice us shoreward. But we had had a very social morning in Warsaw and needed to anchor out and get some quiet time. We headed up the Kentucky River upon whose shores many…

Harlan Hubbard’s Studio and Prints

Jul 28, 2019

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If you read Shantyboat, you know that Harlan Hubbard build a house and later a studio that he and Anna lived in before they built their shantyboat. We got a tour of Harlan Hubbard’s house and studio in Fort Thomas, Ky. Also, we had a chance to peruse a large collection of prints re-struck from…

Good homes will be furnished these helpless children

Jul 28, 2019

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While we were in new Richmond, Ohio, I interviewed Beth Dearwester who told me about several generations of her family who lived aboard a shantyboat in a shantytown at the mouth of Mill Creek in Cincinnati and were considered disreputable riffraff, occasionally charged with fighting, petty theft, and “loitering.” It was common place for children…

People ask us all the time, “What do you eat?”

Jul 28, 2019

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People ask us all the time, “What do you eat?” We eat extraordinarily well aboard the shantyboat. Today an Egg McBenzy, a bagel sammich with cream cheese, eggs, bacon, and strong coffee. #breakfast #bestmealoftheday #Shantyboat #food meals

A sad goodbye

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Today we dropped Age at Aurora, Indiana where he headed for his plane back to New Zealand. He served as shipmate for three weeks on this trip and we are sad to see him go. #shipmate #ohioriver #indiana

The green rolling lawns of Warsaw, Kentucky and an unexpected encounter

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The green rolling lawns of Warsaw, Kentucky. As we came near the public docks, we saw a figure running full tilt down the hill, jumping over picnic benches, pounding onto the docks, right to the water’s edge and yelled to us, “Where’d you get one a them thangs?” #kentucky #ohioriver #warsaw

Skipper Benzy going hard in rough water

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Skipper Benzy going hard in rough water #ohioriver #roughwater

Rising Sun, Indiana

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A few things: I used to live in Indiana 25 years ago so it is nice and a little strange to be back and hear the cadence of Southern Indiana and feel the particular way air feels on a summer day. In Rising Sun, people met us at the dock and knew us by name…

On the shantyboat Dotty, even the captain swabs the deck

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On the shantyboat Dotty, even the captain swabs the deck. #swabbies #shantyboat #mud

Hmm. Unexpected engine trouble strands us in a backwater

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Hmm. Unexpected engine trouble strands us in a backwater. After some troubleshooting, fixed. #EngineTrouble #OhioRiver

Ordinary scenes from shantyboat living

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Ordinary scenes from shantyboat living: a bath in the river, making eggplant and green tomato Parmesan, and doing dishes. #shantyboat #whatdoyoueat #eggplantparm

Shantyboat on the Great Miami

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Shantyboat on the Great Miami River under a train bridge. #shantyboat #trainbridge #greatmiamiriver #sunset

Cincinnati’s Roebling Bridge

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If you noticed that it looks similar to the Brooklyn Bridge, any Cincinnatian will happily tell you that it was designed by the same person, preceded the Brooklyn Bridge, and its design helped perfect the latter. #Cincinnati #OhioRiverBrooklyn #BrooklynBridge #Bridge

Mystery ship slowly working its way beneath the waves

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Mystery ship slowly working its way beneath the waves of the Ohio River #ohioriver #wreck #sunkenship #concinnati

Again way to go, Cinci, direct access to the river

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Again way to go, Cinci, providing direct access for folks to sit right near the river right downtown. No fences, just steps right to the water. #Cincinnati #OhioRiver

Bar One on a very very short tired bar crawl, O’Malley’s in the Alley

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Bar One on a very very short tired bar crawl, O’Malley’s in the Alley. #Cincinnati #BarCrawl #Cincinnati

Way to use the riverside, Cinci

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Way to use the riverside, Cinci. I wonder what was here before the swanky riverfront park and the ball park. #Ohio #OhioRiver #Riverside #Riverfront

Cincinnati downtown

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Cincinnati downtown. #ModelRailroad #NScale #TiltShift #OhioRiver #Cincinnati

Cincinnati’s purple people eater bridge, a former street car, pedestrian, and wagon bridge

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Cincinnati’s purple people eater bridge, a former street car, pedestrian, and wagon bridge, now turned into a pedestrian bridge and event space. #RustBelt #PostIndustrial #UrbanInnovation #Cincinnati #OhioRiver

What’s up Cincinnati? We are in you

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What’s up Cincinnati? We are in you. #OhioRiver #Shantyboat #Hooters #Skyline #Bridges #Cincinnati

The Little Miami and the treasure it yields

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The Little Miami and the treasure it yields. We imagine there is an old eroded dump somewhere upstream depositing old porcelain and glass bottles into the stream. #LittleMiami #Treasures #Seaglass

Age on watch as we carefully explore the Little Miami River

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Age on watch as we carefully explore the Little Miami River. #OhioRiver #Tributary #LittleMiamiRiver #Cincinnati

Age messing about in the jonboat while we are anchored

Jul 24, 2019

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Age fooling around in the jonboat while we are anchored in an inlet. #shantyboat #johnboat #jonboat

Like an Edward Hopper painting in real life

Jul 24, 2019

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Like an Edward Hopper painting in real life. #lifemirrorsartmirrorslife #edwardhopper #powerplabt #ohioriver

The entire crew of the shantyboat Dotty for a few hours

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The entire crew of the shantyboat Dotty for a few hours. Soon Jeremiah was to head off to his flight out. #shipmates #crew #shantyboat

Benzy having a dude seriously with Squirlsey

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Benzy having a dude seriously with Squirlsey, who she hasn’t seen since the start of the journey. #reunion #dudesrsly #shipmates #shantyboat

Join us for an open house in New Richmond, Ohio at Skipper‘s River Café

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Today, we will be hosting an open house in New Richmond, Ohio at Skipper‘s River Café. Please join us 4pm to 8pm. #OpenHouse #OpenBoat #OhioRiver #Ohio #NewRichmond #Exhibition

What happens when you buy exotic vegetables in rural Ohio?

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What happens when you buy exotic vegetables in rural Ohio? This Super Kroger had virtually every food known to humans. But our sweet checkout clerk had never seen nor tasted Japanese eggplant. I gave her the recipe for Eggplant Parmesan. #ExoticVegetables #CaliforniansInTheMidwest #AvocadoToast #Eggplant #FruitsAndVeg

Shipmate Benzy arrives in Cincinnati

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Shipmate Benzy arrives in Cincinnati to join us in New Richmond #cincy #cincinnati #shipmate #arrivals

The Seven Wonders of Portsmouth

Jul 22, 2019

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in Field Reports, Oral History

Post by honorary shipmate Andrew Feight Shanty Dotty on the Ohio, tied up at the Anchor Pad in Portsmouth, Ohio (18 July 2019). Earlier this week I had the pleasure of sitting for an interview with Wes Modes. Funded with a grant from the Ohio Humanities Council, Wes and his two shipmates (production assistants) are…

It’s noon somewhere. Jeremiah and I hit the river

Jul 22, 2019

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It’s noon somewhere. Jeremiah and I hit the river in the shantyboat while Age takes the truck to meet us in New Richmond. #OhioRiver #BreakfastBourbon #Logistics #Winter #Ohio #Whiskey

Reading time from Harlan Hubbard’s Payne Hollow

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Reading time from Harlan Hubbard’s Payne Hollow dangling my feet in the river while Age casts fruitlessly in the dusk while the frogs and crickets provide the soundtrack. #harlanhubbard #paynehollow #shantyboat

Ghost sign in Augusta, Ky. What is Polarine anyway?

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Ghost sign in Augusta, Ky. What is Polarine anyway? Our friend Sally Baldwin answered our question. #ghostsign #ohioriver #augusta #kentucky Ghost sign in Augusta, Ky. What is Polarine anyway? #ghostsign #ohioriver #augusta #kentucky

Shantyboat Dotty arrives in Augusta, Kentucky

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Shantyboat Dotty arrives in Augusta, Kentucky. #shantyboat #kentucky #ohioriver #augusta

Scenes from around Ripley, Ohio

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Scenes from around Ripley, Ohio The Beebe Chapel CME Church whose pastor Rev. James Settles is the great-grandson of ex-slave, courageous Underground Railroad conductor, and church founder Joseph Settles. #ohioriver #ripley #ohio #slavery #church #undergroundrailroad #abolishion #emancipation #ruins

Shipmate Jeremiah offers a sharp salute as he steps ashore

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Shipmate Jeremiah offers a sharp salute as he steps ashore on an important mission to retrieve the truck far upriver. #mission #shipmate

Storm coming in at Ripley Boat Club

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Storm coming in at Ripley Boat Club #storm #ohioriver #thunderstorm

The sprawling discussion with Andrew Feight, professor of history at Shawnee State

Jul 20, 2019

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I had a chance to interview Andrew Feight, professor of history at Shawnee State University. We had a sprawling discussion about the nature of history, who gets to tell it, and whose history gets told. We also talked about Portsmouth history, its role in the Underground Railroad, labor history, and integration, the Shawnee people who…

The charming and colorful George Hausser

Jul 20, 2019

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in Oral History, Video

I interviewed the charming and colorful George Hausser while we were in Marietta, Ohio. What does a 14-year-old shantyboat kid say to a townie kid who attempts to bum a cigarette? #Interview #OhioRiver #Marietta #BummedCigarette #BallSweat

Squirlsey riding out rough seas on the Ohio River

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Squirlsey riding out rough seas on the Ohio River. #squirrel #shantyboat #harlemprotocol

Jeremiah at the helm and the Kentucky hills in the distance

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Jeremiah at the helm and the Kentucky hills in the distance downriver. #blindcontour #singlelinecontour #ohioriver #drawing #shantyboat

A reminder of what happens if you’re not ready for the river to drop

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A reminder of what happens if you’re not ready when they lower the water level in the pool. Age and I have had a couple close calls while beached, one in the middle of the night on the Tennessee River that involved digging a channel for the boat, full power reverse, and pulling violently with…

We are underway again, and the river landscape has changed dramatically

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After nearly a week in Portsmith, we are underway again, and the river landscape has changed dramatically. The exposed sandy riverbanks dotted with silver maple, sycamore, cottonwood, and black willow rise to meet an endless plain of corn that roll away to distant green hills. #OhioRiver #SouthernOhio

A Pub Crawl in Portsmouth

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So we went to Kroger to do a little supply run in Portsmouth before we leave tomorrow morn. A hot hot day and we wanted to make the mile walk back to the shantyboat more interesting. A bar crawl! So picture us in each of these bars with three heavy grocery bags and Hazel around…

Jul 18, 2019

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Every morning while we are on the river, we put together a daily newsletter that bundles up everything you might have missed that day. Sign up and we’ll keep you up to date on the people we meet, places we drift through, crises, and bar crawls. We will jealously guard your privacy and won’t do…

Further scenes from Portsmouth Ohio

Jul 17, 2019

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Further scenes from Portsmouth Ohio #OhioRiver #SmallTown #Portsmouth #Walkabout

Apparently it rains in Southern Ohio

Jul 16, 2019

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Apparently it rains in Southern Ohio. 10 minutes later it was sunny and we were drying out #rainstorm #shantyboat #ohioriver #southernohio #rain

Looking at Portsmouth history through flood wall murals

Jul 16, 2019

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Amazing flood wall murals in Portsmouth by renowned Louisiana artist Robert Dafford A great look back at Portsmouth history. My only disappointment was that with all of Portsmouth abolitionist and Underground Railroad History, there were no murals reflecting that proud tradition. #FloodWall #Murals #PublicArt #OhioRiver #Portsmouth

Tuesday Farmers Market in Portsmouth

Jul 16, 2019

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Tuesday Farmers Market in Portsmouth #farmersmarket #ohioriver #portsmouth

Gallipolis Daily Tribune: Shantyboaters seek river people secrets

Jul 15, 2019

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in Press

Gallipolis Daily Tribuneby Dean Wright GALLIPOLIS — A trio of shantyboaters landed in Gallipolis Tuesday to speak with locals about the life and culture of the region as they continued a journey from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and on through Louisville, Kentucky, on the Ohio River. Jeremiah Daniels, Wes Modes and Adrian Nankivell are three companions floating…

Age caught a large Blue Catfish which we turned into dinner

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Age caught a large Blue Catfish which we turned into dinner. There IS a danger of PCB and mercury in Ohio river fish. The fish and game folk suggest limiting your consumption. Somewhere between one a week and one a month. This is the result of a century of chemical pollution on the Ohio River…

Shantyboat supermarket run in stolen golf cart

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Shantyboat supermarket run in stolen golf cart. #OhioRiver #Portsmouth #AwesomeMarina #BorrowedGolfCart #Shantyboat

People ask us all the time

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People ask all the time #Pooping #BucketShitter #CompostingToilet #Shantyboat #ArtGallery

Scenes from a Sunday morning walk around Portsmouth

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Scenes from a Sunday morning walk around Portsmouth ? #SundayMorning #Walkabout #StreetScenes #SmallTown #OhioRiver #RainbowFlag

In 1944, artist Harlan Hubbard built a shantyboat on the banks of the Ohio River near Cincinnati

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in Dispatches, Shantyboat

In 1944, artist Harlan Hubbard built a shantyboat on the banks of the Ohio River near Cincinnati. He wrote that he scavenged 12×3 timbers from a building being demoed to build the hull of the boat. A common building style in the area that I’ve noticed is 12×3 floor joists set into the brick on…

When the captain’s away, the mice will play

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Here is what happens on the shantyboat when the captain is away. Sunday shantyboat cleaning! #Shantyboat #SundayCleaning #TimeLapse

Dari Creme in Portsmouth OH

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Dari Creme in Portsmouth OH #dq #icecream #shakes #softserve #ohio

The Portsmouth Marina and the Kentucky hills. Where’s Dotty?

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The Portsmouth Marina and the Kentucky hills. Where’s Dotty? #shantyboat #marina #ohioriver #ohio

The Case.

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The Case. #shantyboat #mystery #foundobjects #bodyparts

Who wouldn’t want a luxury home beside the river?

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Who wouldn’t want a luxury home beside the river? Historically, the smelly, polluted river would not be a desirable location and there would have been shantyboats along these banks full of people at the fringes of society. #displacement #wealth #fringe #gentrification #cleanwater #ohioriver

Derelict ferry or barge or paddle wheeler or something

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Derelict ferry or barge or paddle wheeler or something near Greenup, Kentucky. #derelict #kentucky #ohioriver #boats

Showy sunset in Ironton OH.

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Showy sunset in Ironton OH. #shantyboat #sunset #ohioriver #ironton

People ask us if we swim in the Ohio River

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People ask us if we swim in the Ohio River #ohioriver #swimming #underwear

Nancy tracked us down in Ironton, Ohio

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Judy, Karen, and Nancy Buell who you may remember from her story about her family’s shantyboat tracked us down in Ironton, Ohio and regaled us with banjo tunes and stories. #ohioriver #familystories #shantyboat

Arrived in Ironton, OH a town people upriver suggested we stop

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Arrived in Ironton, OH a town people upriver suggested we stop. #ohioriver #smalltown

Clutch MOV: A Secret History of American River People

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in Press

Clutch MOVby Sarah Arnold Though once abundant along the shores of the Ohio River, shantyboats are no longer a common sight. These small, crude houseboats were often built and lived in by itinerant workers, miners, dockworkers, and displaced agricultural workers during the late 19th century and into the 1940s, but largely disappeared from river life after…

Sunset light in Huntington on the Ohio River.

Jul 11, 2019

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Sunset light in Huntington on the Ohio River. #ohioriver #huntington #sunset #shantyboat

Bill Martin is the dockmaster at Gallipolis

Jul 11, 2019

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Bill Martin is the dockmaster at the excellent Gallipolis Boat Club. He treated us with hospitality, generosity and humor. #boatclub #OhioRiver #gallipolis #generosity

Spent the day with Bobbette Braxton of the John Gee Black History Center

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Spent the day with Bobbette Braxton who told us about her family and Black history in Gallipolis, segregation, the color line dividing town, her work on civil rights, and the John Gee Black History Center. She took on on a tour of the Pine St Colored Cemetery and other important locations to Black history. #blackhistory…

Important business in Gallipolis

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Important business in Gallipolis. #BeBest #MilwaukeesBest #DockLyfe

Look who joined us here in Gallipolis

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Look who joined us here in Gallipolis! Here on his sixth Secret History river journey, please welcome Jeremiah! #everyone #shipmate #allriver

Remo’s Dogs

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Everyone we met in Gallipolis told us Remo’s had the best dogs in the area. A humble little place where many of the people in this little town stop in for lunch. Rob Rocchi, the owner, already knows your order from last time. The secret, he says, is the sauce that is his Grandma’s recipe. …

Gallipolis, One of those mysterious towns that’s full of generous welcoming people

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Gallipolis, One of those mysterious towns that’s full of generous welcoming people. When we pull in unannounced, uninvited to the Gallipolis Boat Club, Bill greets us at the dock: “Do you need gas? Dock anywhere is fine. Need electricity? Need water? Use our showers! Here’s some beer couzies, Gallipolis Boat Club windbreakers, A list of…

American Electric Power on the shores of the Ohio River and a Mystery

Jul 9, 2019

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American Electric Power on the shores of the Ohio River. Researching how clean these coal-fired power plants are lead me to another less straight-forward story. Try googling “modern coal power plants pollution.” Your first half dozen hits will be the Institute for Energy Research whose optimistic outlook is featured in a google sidebar: Modern coal plants,…

Age fishing as we lazily drift down the Little Kanawha River

Jul 9, 2019

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Age fishing as we lazily drift down the Little Kanawha River #horizontalfishing #ohioriver #latergram

The Incident

Jul 8, 2019

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The Incident. All agreed, mistakes were made. Lessons were learned. But at least our bilge is now very clean and, after a little work, dry. #shantyboat #mistakeweremade #bilgewater