"'Life Between the Levees' is a chronicle of first person reflections and folklore from pilots who have dedicated their lives to the river. The stories are as diverse as the storytellers themselves, and the volume is full of drama, suspense, and a way of life a 'landlubber' could never imagine. Although waterways and ports in the Mississippi corridor move billions of dollars of products throughout the US and foreign markets, in today's world those who live and work on land have little knowledge of the river and the people who work there. In ten years of interviewing, Melody Golding collected over one hundred personal narratives from men and women who worked and lived on 'brown water,' our inland waterways. As photographer, she has taken thousands of photos, of which 130 are included, of the people and boats, and the rivers where they spend their time. The book spans generations of river life--the oldest pilot was born in 1917 and the youngest in 1987--and includes stories from the 1920's to today. The stories begin with the pilots who were 'broke in' by early steamboat pilots who were on the river as far back as the late 1800's. The early pilots in this book witnessed the transition from steamboat to diesel boat while the youngest grew up in the era of GPS and twenty-first-century technology. Among many topics, the pilots reflect movingly on the time spent away from home because of their career, a universal reality for all mariners. As many pilots say when they talk about the river, 'I hate her when I'm with her, and I miss her when I'm gone.'"--Provided by publishe
Author(s): Melody Golding
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 344
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Western Rivers and Inland Waterways
INTERVIEWS
William V. Torner, 1915
Steve John Butkovich, 1928
George Wilson “Sonny” Banta, 1929
Odis Lowery, 1930
Louis E. “Jackie” Neal, 1930
Louis Edward Rineheart, 1930
Frank William Banta Sr., 1931
Gene Neal, 1931
Charles F. Lehman, 1932
Albert L. Wolfe, 1932
Leo J. Braun, 1933
Franklin E. “Gene” Goins Sr., 1934
Garland Shewmaker, 1934
Jerald “Jerry” Tinkey, 1934
Clarke C. “Doc” Hawley, 1935
James Bernard “Suitcase” Simpson, 1935
Howard Hayes Brent, 1937
William Alfred “Peanut” Hollinger, 1937
John S. “Smitty” Smith, 1937
Malcolm Gunter, 1939
Joseph V. Gale Jr., 1940
Harold Schultz, 1940
William “Murry” Couey, 1941
Delfred J. Romero, 1942
Charles Turner, 1942
Jimmy F. Sharp, 1943
Jerry Faulkner, 1944
Menville Trosclair Sr., 1944
Perry Wolfe, 1944
Joe Zeiczak, 1944
Richard “Dickey” Mathes, 1945
Larry Ritchie, 1945
John Louis “Sonny” Carley, 1946
James W. “Jim” Ghrigsby Sr., 1946
Emile P. Dufrene, 1948
Andy Burt, 1950
Joseph T. Davisson, 1950
Charles Wesley Brown, 1951
David E. Dewey, 1951
Gary Guidry, 1951
Herman Blatz “Butch” Harrington Jr., 1951
Charlie Ritchie, 1951
Gregory James “Greg” Menke, 1952
David Christen, 1953
James W. “Jimbo” Davis Jr., 1953
Keith E. Menz, 1953
William R. “Randy” Scarborough, 1953
Rex Williams, 1953
William “Billy” Allen, 1954
William “Bill” Rankine, 1954
Rudy Ward, 1954
William B. “Bill” Winders Jr., 1954
John Henry Walker, 1955
Cecil D. Duncan, 1956
Harley Hall Jr., 1956
Markham Dewayne “Bozo” Mandolini, 1956
Joy Mary Manthey, 1957
Rodney W. Cockrell Sr., 1958
Mark Haury, 1958
Charles K. “Kenny” Murphy Jr., 1958
Terri L. Smiley, 1958
John S. Boswell, 1959
Christopher R. Edwards, 1959
John Grammer, 1959
Daniel Lee “Danny” Redd, 1960
Joseph E. Gaudin Jr., 1961
Ronald “Jonesy” Jones, 1961
Dale E. Cox, 1962
Steven Hearn, 1962
Patrick Soileau, 1962
Danny Casey, 1963
Perry Hillard Jones, 1963
Mark “Red” Jones, 1964
Timothy D. “Tim” Miller, 1964
Marty Rineheart, 1964
Robert Wayne “Bob” Matchuny, 1965
David “D. W.” Wetherington, 1966
Earl M. Conner Jr., 1967
Chris Wakeland, 1968
Katherine A. Chaplin, 1969
Perry Maupin, 1969
Todd Hundley, 1970
Jody LaGrange, 1970
Tim Bennett, 1971
Richard T. Bondurant, 1971
Boyce “Pete” Stuckey, 1972
Gustave Anthony “Butch” Marie III, 1973
Mitchell Scott Coulter, 1974
John Hall, 1974
Jason Paul Jones, 1974
Brett H. Shannon, 1975
Jeremy Brister, 1977
M. Sage Cole, 1977
J. R. Miller, 1977
Eric Stern, 1977
Jeffrey Orr, 1979
Brad Juneau, 1980
Michael Paul Ditto, 1983
David John King, 1984
Jason Pitre, 1984
Max Taber, 1987
