Interview with James Gordon

Partial Transcript: So what did you do on the river?

Segment Synopsis: Gordon talks about his career on the Kentucky River, Ohio River, and Mississippi River. He worked various jobs including: operator, deckhand, head deckhand, mate, pilot, and steersman.

Keywords: Deckhand; Operator

Subjects: Dredging--Kentucky River (Ky.) Kentucky River (Ky.) Locks (Hydraulic engineering)--Kentucky River (Ky.) United States Army Corp of Engineers

Partial Transcript: The Corp boat that went up the Kentucky River was a smaller boat, wasn't it?

Segment Synopsis: Gordon talks about working for the Army Corp of Engineers and how boats and work hours changed.

Keywords:

Subjects: Dredging--Kentucky River (Ky.) Kentucky River (Ky.) United States Army Corp of Engineers

Partial Transcript: What was it like to, uh, on these jobs you say where you were dredging and pulling up snags?

Segment Synopsis: Gordon talks about dredging the river. He says that they were very careful and there was only one small accident. A man named Freeman was hit in the head with a tree but he lived.

Keywords: Scow

Subjects: Dredging--Kentucky River (Ky.) United States Army Corp of Engineers

Partial Transcript: What about the locks on the river, how are they different from each other on the Kentucky River?

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: Kentucky River (Ky.); Locks (Hydraulic engineering)--Kentucky River (Ky.)

Subjects: Gordon talks about how some locks had hydraulic valves and some had lower gates.

Partial Transcript: Did you ever work much on the Mississippi River?

Segment Synopsis: Gordon talks about working on the Mississippi River. He said that it had bigger boats and the currents were so strong they would take you down river quickly. To go upriver, they used a method called double-trip.

Keywords: Captain Leech; Double-trip

Subjects: Mississippi River Mississippi River--Navigation

Partial Transcript: What's the worst you ever seen ice on the river?

Segment Synopsis: Gordon talks about bad ice in 1978 and the floods in 1978 and 1937. He says that they even tried to dynamite the ice but it would not budge. Everything was shut down for at least two weeks and some boats got pushed over dams and sunk.

Keywords: 1937 Flood

Subjects: Floods--Kentucky Ice on rivers, lakes, etc.--Kentucky River (Ky.) Kentucky River (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: What was it like growing up on the river?

Segment Synopsis: Gordon talks about fishing and swimming in the Kentucky River. He also talks about different types of boats that he saw on the river when he was young.

Keywords: Tow boat

Subjects: Boats and boating--Kentucky River (Ky.) Kentucky River (Ky.) River life--Kentucky River (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: What's the prettiest part of the Kentucky River?

Segment Synopsis: Gordon describes what he thinks are the prettiest parts of the river (Palisades). He also talks about which areas of the river he thinks are the most difficult to navigate.

Keywords: Palisades

Subjects: Kentucky River (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Around the locks, would those fill up with sediment and sand?

Segment Synopsis: Gordon talks about how channels shifted in the Kentucky River, Ohio River, and Mississippi River.

Keywords:

Subjects: Dredging--Kentucky River (Ky.) Kentucky River (Ky.) Mississippi River Ohio River

Partial Transcript: I worked with one fellow who kept a daily log.

Segment Synopsis: Gordon talks about a few men who he worked with that might remember more about the Kentucky River.

Keywords:

Subjects: Kentucky River (Ky.)