secrethistory
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Kentucky Breakdown: Truck-Stop Angels (3/3)
About 12 miles up the road I turn into a truck stop. Next door: a big-rig shop. Maybe they’ll recommend a mobile mechanic. The tech says, “Oh, we can go get it and fix it here. Lemme call the boss.” After a cigar and a little rye, the boss—Bobby—crunches into the lot at speed and…
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Kentucky Breakdown: The Hinge Breaks (2/3)
If your tires are where the rubber meets the road, your hubs—the things you’ve probably never thought about—are where your vehicle meets the spinny bits. Inside are steel bearings carrying the whole rig while the wheel spins. Big job, big heat, so they live in a bath of heavy grease to keep them happy. What…
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Kentucky Breakdown: Smoke Signals (1/3)
This is a tragi-comic story that begins in King City, California in 2019 and ends with me alone and desperately stranded on the shoulder of a busy-yet-remote Kentucky highway, less than an hour from Cincy, with smoke pouring from a sizzling, popping trailer wheel hub. But let’s back up. After 35 years I’m leaving my…
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A love letter to New Orleans on the hour of my departure
From the moment I stepped off the boat, you tangled me up in your rhythms. You overwhelmed me with trumpet blasts and pot liquor, with the way your air clings sweet and heavy, like a whispered secret you don’t want to forget. You fed me oysters and red beans and offered up chance meetings like…
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Breaking the Quarter Rule
I swore I wouldn’t go into the Quarter–especially not Bourbon, with all its touristy kitsch. But promises can either be helpful or they can be chains. So we break the rules. Woke up, slammed a coffee, and got right to it: trailering Dotty for her trip to Cincinnati. After that, we owed ourselves something good.…
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Windell Curole Knows the Coast
We rolled back into Thibodaux the other day to interview Windell Curole, the now-retired longtime general manager of the South Lafourche Levee District—and a literal lifesaver for coastal Louisiana. Windell grew up fishing and trapping along Bayou Lafourche, learning its rhythms before levees even existed. In 1980 he took the helm of the Levee District;…
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JoJo and the Bistro
Way back when we were in Morgan City, we had the chance to talk with Jo Ann Blanchard, aka JoJo, who owns The Bistro and JoJo’s, two side-by-side restaurants on Front Street. She grew up right there and has seen many decades of changes, back to when the floodwall was small enough for kids to…
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The Harvey Canal at Sunset
The sunset coming into New Orleans via the Harvey Canal didn’t quit. Every time we rounded a bend, it gave us something new—industrial cranes in silhouette, sugar mills turned to shadow, bridges tipped to the sky. The water lit up like neon oil, and even the rust looked holy. This is how the river delivers…
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What Happened in Simmesport
Well, the case has been heard and I can finally tell the full story—a tale of white supremacy, weaponized power, and small-town corruption. June 26, 2025. Simmesport, Louisiana. We tied up at an unmarked patch of riverbank. No signage. No fences. No purple paint. Just a strip of land beside the water, quiet and ordinary.…
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Finding the Delta Queen
In a weird bit of serendipity, we ran into our old friend the Delta Queen tucked away in an obscure side channel off the Intracoastal Waterway. Last time we saw her was in Chattanooga during Tennessee River fieldwork back in 2016. Now she’s looking a little sad and lonely, but still unmistakably herself.
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Word of Mouth in Houma
Great pop-up exhibition this morning in Houma, Louisiana. No museum, no press, no institution behind it—just word of mouth and the power of the socials. And yet… a couple dozen folks showed up, curious and full of stories. They packed into the little boat, asked thoughtful questions, lingered on the dock to chat. A reminder…
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The Dubuque Visit
Today’s pop-up exhibition in Houma has me thinking of past visits, especially one that’s stuck with me for nearly a decade. Back in 2015, while docked in Dubuque, Iowa, we had a visit from a big family—five kids, I think—but it was two sisters, Lexie and Gracie, who stole the show. They were so curious,…
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Two Voices from Thibodaux
Today we had the great pleasure of interviewing two incredible folks in Thibodaux: Quenton Fontenot, fisheries biologist and professor at Nicholls, who spoke about the health of our waterways—from phytoplankton to redfish—and how Cajun culture is inseparable from the water it grew up beside. Misty McElroy, photographer and storyteller, shared memories of growing up on…
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Summer Reading: Shanty Boat Girl
Three covers. One torrid tale.Shanty Boat Girl by Kirk Westley: my summer reading, theoretically. When we first started the project, I assumed we’d have nothing but time—while floating, while docked, between interviews and cooking. In reality, there’s barely space for pure leisure. The demands of the boat, the work, and just basic survival keep us…
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Secret History Pop-Up: Houma, July 26
Secret History Pop-Up in Houma – Sat July 26, 9AM–Noon📍Terrebonne Parish Marina Park, Bayou Terrebonne We’ve floated and trailered our way down rivers and bayous all summer, and now the Secret History shantyboat lands in Houma. For one morning only, we’re throwing open the doors to the public. Come aboard, meet the crew, hear what…
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Dwayne Crawford and Bayou Chêne
Unexpectedly met Dwayne Crawford cruising by on the Intracoastal, checking his fish and crab traps.We talked about where he was born and raised—Bayou Chêne.He brought us several big catfish for dinner and, being a generous, full-service sort of fellow, even offered to fillet them for us.
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Dotty’s Mark on a Barge in Amelia
Maritime graffiti on a barge in Amelia.Not sure who left this.Looks familiar, though.Dotty, doing her best to be remembered.
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Scenes from Morgan City
Salt air, shrimp boats, and history. Scenes from around Morgan City with our pal Angela.
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What Came Up with the Anchor
Sometimes you pull up the anchor…And sometimes you pull up the anchor and a transatlantic telecommunication cable.
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Angela and the Fishing Life
Pro fisher Angela (@swissarmieknife) is teaching Age and me a few things about the fishing life, anchored here at the Berwick lock. She’s got curiosity, skills, and a tackle bucket full of secrets. We’re just trying to keep up.
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Lucinda Williams on the Radio
Bayou Teche near Centerville with @lucinda_williams bumpin on the radio nearing the Centerville Bridge to meet Age in the truck to take out and drop back in on the other side of the Atchafalaya Cut.
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Growing Roots in Franklin
I was gonna make a joke that we’ve been in Franklin so long we’ve established a garden around the boat, but the reality is maybe we have a lawn of water hyacinth now, but in the next hour the river’s clear. The current is somewhat inexplicable due to the floodgates at Calumet being closed and…
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Tiger Verdin Is an Unstoppable Force
This guy, Tiger Verdin, is an unstoppable force in beautiful Franklin Louisiana. Here’s a guy who is the public relations director for the city, but also plays an important role in the community theater, is an advocate for Main Streets, is a purveyor of public pocket parks, is a mama hen to local businesses—I don’t…
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Freddie DeCourt, Mayor Who Builds Things
The other day I interviewed the mayor of New Iberia, Freddie DeCourt. Freddie was an interesting guy and an atypical mayor. I don’t usually have a whole lotta interest in politicians—I’m usually much more drawn to tradespeople, engineers, construction folk, builders, artists—people who do stuff with their hands. Freddie feels more like the cut-up class…
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Breakfast After the Battle
To celebrate our survival from last night’s Battle of Fausse Pointe—in which hundreds of mosquitoes gave their lives and our side suffered only deep psychological trauma—Age and I made a breakfast fit for battle-hardened swamp goblins: fresh-caught drum and Gulf shrimp over dirty rice. Also, hooray! We weren’t eaten by the murmuration? shiver? menace? bureaucracy?…
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Lake Fausse Pointe
Floating on Lake Fausse Pointe, ringed by ancient cypress and draped in stillness. The light shifts, the moss sways, and the whole world slows down to the rhythm of water.
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Cribbage under the Moon
An enjoyable evening playing cribbage with Age while the moon was showing off over Bayou Teche at New Iberia.
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90° at Midnight in New Iberia
Last night docked in New Iberia, it was hotter than a stolen tamale in the devil’s lunchbox. 90° at midnight, 250% humidity, and air as still as a corpse. Even with a fan pointed straight at me, my cozy loft bed felt like punishment. Around 5 AM, I gave up. Came down, took a sponge…
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The Bridge That Wouldn’t Open
Let’s say you arrive at this glorious beast of a bridge,and they tell you they can’t open it, something’s busted, the electricians are on their way, might be hours, might be more, and so you shrug and make tea and kick your feet up and stare out the wide-open doorway where the swamp crowds in…
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What It Takes to Open a Swing Bridge
What’s it take to open a seldom-used swing bridge for a shantyboat? Turns out, it takes a skid steer, a hydraulic auger, a custom-fabbed attachment, a couple police cars, and a utility boat. Oh, and one absolute hero named Andre from the Louisiana Department of Transportation. We radioed ahead thinking it might be a button…
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Dotty Back on the Teche
Shantyboat Dotty back on the water in Bayou Teche. Prepping and launching are definitely harder solo, but I’ve learned to just be slow and methodical. Slightly complicated by a date with a bridge tender at 8 AM requiring special equipment.
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The Tribunal Convenes
There comes a day in every shantyboat’s life when the accumulated cruft must be held accountable. Today was that day. Every object not nailed down faced trial. Some were redeemed. Others were detained indefinitely. A few were possibly innocent but didn’t make a strong enough case. Justice is complicated. What matters is that Dotty now…
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Dotty Work Day – Engines, Bilges, and (Almost) Explosions
Keeping Dotty afloat takes a village and good tea. Today was one of those deeply satisfying shantyboat work days. The whole crew pitched in—Chris got Freddy (our trusty outboard) humming beautifully; James battled bilge wiring; Miah took one for the team handling propane lines and sink leaks. And me? I kept obscure boat parts streaming…
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We’re Not Going to Lie—This One’s a Bit Urgent
There’s no poetic way to say it: the federal government has effectively gutted the arts and humanities. Cultural projects everywhere, including ours, are reeling from this sudden defunding. Grants vanished, promised support evaporated. It’s tough out here for storytelling and truth. But we’re scrappy, and we’ve survived storms, pandemics, and river pirates—so we’re betting on…
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We Violated the One Cardinal Rule of Boats
We moved everything not nailed down out of the shantyboat, derattified, scrubbed, laundered, and hosed down every inch we could reach—including the bilges. Yes, we put water inside the boat on purpose. Dotty is now cleaner than she’s been in more than ten years… well, except for the places we can’t reach.
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Delta Films, Second Line, and Squirrel Gumbo
Once a week we gather at Secret History HQ for the Delta Film Series—a deep dive into the culture, history, and tangled realities of the Louisiana Delta. These films aren’t just movies; they’re waypoints on the journey ahead. This week, we enjoyed a doc about young musicians finding resilience and rhythm in the streets of…
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Props to Me
What did global capitalism bring me today? Something that gets us one step closer to the river. Over the years, we’ve left a few propellers behind—Sacramento River shallows, low driveways, maybe some questionable navigation choices. This time, we’re thinking ahead. No more scrambling for replacements in tiny marina shops. Now we’ve got a backup Mercury…
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Sistersville is a classic adorable small river town laid out parallel to the river.
The classic adorable small river town is laid out with its primary commercial district parallel to and a couple blocks up from the river. This also kept Main Street safe from periodic flooding. Historically, the blocks along the river were a busy neighborhood of warehouses, wharves, barges, oil derricks, shipping, drayage, coal and grain elevators,…
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Interview with our trip angel Evan Clark who lives on a shantyboat
Interview with our trip angel Evan Clark who a) does environmental education and cleanup, b) told us about the effects of post-industrialization and global climate change in PGH, and c) lives in a shantyboat. #interview #shantyboat #secrethistory #oralhistory
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Definitely one of those things that only a boat captain would care about, new hull numbers
Shantyboat paint! You know you’ve made the right decision when you are done and it looks like it should always have been this way. #shantyboat #diy #boatrepair Definitely one of those things that only a boat captain would care about, new hull numbers. Six years ago when I went to the department of motor vehicles…
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There is something strangely comforting about auto shops
There is something strangely comforting about hanging around an auto shop that comes of much practice with this project. Perhaps it is the comfort of knowing that whatever problems you may be experiencing, you are in mostly competent hands. #AutoShop #Shantyboat #SecretHistory #RoadRepairs
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Jeremiah painting under the boat.
Jeremiah painting under the boat. #secrethistory #shantyboat #boatrepair #hullpaint Jeremiah painting under the boat. #secrethistory #shantyboat #boatrepair #hullpaint
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Filthy filthy Jeremiah who has spent the entire day on his back underneath the boat sanding the hull.
Filthy filthy Jeremiah who has spent the entire day on his back underneath the boat sanding the hull. #ToxinsAreFun #BoatRepair #DIY #Shantyboat #SecretHistory
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Want to help? We will be at the Santa Cruz Harbor Boatyard all weekend and there are many jobs
Want to help? We will be at the Santa Cruz Harbor Boatyard all weekend and there are many jobs to do. Beer is available. If you just want to hangout though, another time is probably better. #boatrepair #shantyboat #secrethistory
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This weekend the shantyboat is in drydock to do some needed repairs. We put Dottie into the ocean for the
This weekend the shantyboat is in drydock to do some needed repairs. We put Dottie into the ocean for the first time in two years to bring it to the lift which pulled us out of the water. #shantyboat #secrethistory #harbor #drydock
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The Secret History Crisis Cam. Thanks for the fundraiser support that will enable us to capture moments of terror.
The Secret History Crisis Cam. Thanks for the fundraiser support that will enable us to capture moments of terror. #shantyboat #secrethistory #crisiscam
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Interview with Greg Pepping about San Lorenzo River
We interviewed Greg Pepping and talked about the community’s relationship with the San Lorenzo River as part of the Ebb & Flow Festival coming up on June 7th. #ebbandflow #sanlorenzoriver #secrethistory #interview
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Norwegian Shantytown located in Red Hook, Brooklyn
This is the Norwegian Shantytown located in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The tall building is the Gowanus Grain Terminal on Columbia Street.
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Interview with Janet Bennett at the Dutra Museum of Dredging
Interview with Janet Bennett at the Dutra Museum of Dredging in Rio Vista. Everything you ever wanted to know about dredging and more
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Interview with Daniela Sartori in Red Bluff about living on the river
Interview with Daniela Sartori in Red Bluff about living on the river, gentrification, education in rural communities, and the fear that your two-year old will be swept away by the Sacramento River
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Large wreck under stormy skies on Sevenmile Slough as we drive out of the delta towing the shantyboat
Large wreck under stormy skies on Sevenmile Slough as we drive out of the delta towing the shantyboat
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Playing cards on the Davis to Sacramento train
Playing cards on the Davis to Sacramento train. We had to drive from Sac to Davis to catch an unnecessary train because Amtrak wouldn’t sell us a bus ticket from Sac to Red Bluff without a train segment on our ticket. It was still cheaper and faster than Greyhound
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Adorable old houseboats anchored in Little Potato Slough
Adorable old houseboats anchored in Little Potato Slough
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Kim Korth talked about the history of Korth’s Pirate’s Lair Marina and growing up on the Delta
Kim Korth talked about the history of Korth’s Pirate’s Lair Marina and growing up on the Delta
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The Fraser Bros were the local butchers, and they would deliver meat to the various ranches
A delta shop boat. “The Fraser Bros were the local butchers, and they would deliver meat to the various ranches up and down the river, by way [of] this vessel.” Photo at the Rio Vista History Museum
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Old photos of shantyboats at Wood Island at the Rio Vista Museum
Old photos of shantyboats at Wood Island at the Rio Vista Museum
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Tim Anderson, boatbuilder, maker, and heirloom technologist at his DeltaFarm
Tim Anderson, boatbuilder, maker, and heirloom technologist at his DeltaFarm, an organic farm and DIY tech experiment along the San Joaquin River
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Campfire at Tim Anderson’s DeltaFarm at the confluence of the Mokelumne and San Joaquin Rivers
Campfire at Tim Anderson’s DeltaFarm at the confluence of the Mokelumne and San Joaquin Rivers
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Why is it that people who own big expensive yachts are loud as fuck?
Why is it that some people who own big expensive new yachts are loud as fuck and don’t seem to care who hears them whether it be a drunken 1am or a caffeinated 8am? To be clear they are friendly (to us at least) but also willing to shout questions at us from across the…
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The peaceful and rustic back channel behind Snug Harbor
The peaceful and rustic back channel behind Snug Harbor off Steamboat Slough where there are a few folks living year-round on houseboats
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One of a surprising number of visible wrecks in the Sacramento Delta
One of a surprising number of visible wrecks in the Sacramento Delta
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Interview with Russell Ooms about his sinuous journey to Locke
Interview with Russell Ooms about his sinuous journey to Locke, 70s hippies, skinny dipping in the Slough, woodworking, anarchy, Chinese and Dutch values, and neighborhood conflicts
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Interview with photographer, author, and historian James Motlow
Interview with photographer, author, and historian James Motlow about the traditionally Chinese community of Locke and his 45 year history there
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Talked to Can, a Vietnamese electronics designer, who owns Bob’s
Talked to Can, a Vietnamese electronics designer, who owns Bob’s who told me the bait shop grew out of his love for delta fishing
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Iva at Mei Wah taproom where we are chillin drunk AF on a Thursday evening
Iva at Mei Wah taproom where we are chillin drunk AF on a Thursday evening
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Lucious lucious pears on pancakes for shantyboat breakfast
Lucious lucious pears on pancakes for shantyboat breakfast
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The mostly girl crew of the Sea Scout vessel Compass Rose who gave us a tour of the 60+ foot formal Naval ship
The mostly girl crew of the Sea Scout vessel Compass Rose who gave us a tour of the 60+ foot formal Naval ship
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Interviewing Mark Miller at Railroad Cut Slough
Interviewing Mark Miller at Railroad Cut Slough behind Locke. We talked about old Sac and delta river culture, paddling, and restoring old windows
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Bank on Locke Slough upon which a whole community of Russians living in shanties
Bank on Locke Slough upon which a whole community of Russians living in shanties until the early 2000s
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Community garden in the historic little town of Locke
Community garden in the historic little town of Locke
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Mark Miller who has already helped us in a number of ways, meets us in Walnut Grove to repair a window or two
Mark Miller who has already helped us in a number of ways, meets us in Walnut Grove to repair a window or two
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Put a huge branch through a window trying to land in Courtland. Fuck Courtland and their lack of visitor docks
Put a huge branch through a window trying to land in Courtland. Fuck Courtland and their lack of visitor docks
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In Courtland, they tell us, they have an annual Pear Festival
In Courtland, they tell us, they have an annual Pear Festival
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Attempting to thread our way through the delta sloughs piloting and navigating
Attempting to thread our way through the delta sloughs piloting and navigating
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Night out in the sloughs, the network of labyrinthian waterways in the Delta
Night out in the sloughs, the network of labyrinthian waterways in the Delta
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Interview with Andrew McLeod, historian and tour guide
3rd interview of the morning with Andrew McLeod, historian and tour guide, who told me about Sacramento topography, land use, native and early settlement history, class and racial politics, collective organization, revolutionary conflicts, and the future of the city in the inevitable flooding to come
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Interview with Kathy Brunetti about her decades of experience working on agriculture and water quality issues
Interview with Kathy Brunetti. We talked about her decades of experience working on agriculture and water quality on the Sacramento River
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Interview with Nancy about her time living aboard a shantyboat on the Sacramento River
Interview with Nancy about her time living aboard a shantyboat on the Sacramento River
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Bar camping out for 25 years, currently along the American River serves as a mentor to younger folk and describes himself as an “honest hustler
Bar camping out for 25 years, currently along the American River serves as a mentor to younger folk and describes himself as an “honest hustler
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Maddy and friends show up on a scavenger hunt from the History Museum
Maddy and friends show up on a scavenger hunt from the History Museum
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Clyde searches for treasures that had washed out of the riverbanks
Clyde was motor about in a tiny boat with his girlfriend to beaches on the Sac and American Rivers finding treasures that had washed out of the riverbanks. Old bottles, coins and brass buttons
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The mysterious Party Yacht Wall on the American River
The mysterious Party Yacht Wall on the American River
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Fanny Ann’s Saloon in Old Town Sac, 5 stories of layered history and Californiana kitsch
Fanny Ann’s Saloon in Old Town Sac, 5 stories of layered history and Californiana kitsch
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Shantyboat encounters the cutest thing in the whole world
Shantyboat encounters the cutest thing in the whole world
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Interview with Keith Turley, owner of Stingrayz Bar & Marina along the banks of the Sacramento River in Knights Landing
Interview with Keith Turley, owner of Stingrayz Bar & Marina along the banks of the Sacramento River in Knights Landing
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Shantyboat in the big city or pretty damn close. Chillin at Swabbies where pirate paraphernalia dominates
Shantyboat in the big city or pretty damn close. Chillin at Swabbies where pirate paraphernalia dominates
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Down past the confluence with the Feather River approaching Sac, the river broadens out into the big river we are used to from our adventures on the Mississippi and Tennessee
Down past the confluence with the Feather River approaching Sac, the river broadens out into the big river we are used to from our adventures on the Mississippi and Tennessee
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Shantyboat on the wide Sacramento. Photo by Mike Garofalo
Shantyboat on the wide Sacramento. Photo by Mike Garofalo
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