Between the Levees

The band's back together for this one, but I'm not much needed til the end. We hear a bit about the M/V JOYCE HALE, Pilots Agree, the Professional Pilots Association, the American Inland Mariners and Gulf Coast Mariners Associations, Melvin and John Sutton, steersman, licensing, insurance, court proceedings, unions, marine casualties on the job, the Jones Act and its temporary suspension, and more...

The boys hop back on without me this time. Their schedules aligned on a work day for me so I set them up as the day began and stepped aside. Sam does his best to keep us on topic, but we hear in far greater detail than any time previously on this channel about David's experiences in South America representing ACBL on a pioneering effort with foreign governments to haul bauxite and iron ore by...

From running boats to reading, writing, and religion, Retired Captains David Greer and Lee Hendrix rejoin me on the show to reminisce about, among other things, their lives, careers, and country.

Three old retirees get together to reminisce about where they came from, where we are today, and where we're headed. From the old times in the 70s up into the 20s, we hear about the industry and the people that run it, some recent US history, politics, and life in old age looking back on things past and present. All three have been on my channel in various capacities over the years. I do my be...

"First Mate Hard Times" hops on the show this week to discuss his path through life that began in Indiana in the 1970s. His family was well-known in the area having founded, owned, and operated Adams Oil for the local farming community. Following his parents divorce and a separation from his brother, he ran away from home at 14 years old and began to struggle with the law. He spent 25 of...

Clay Adams joins me on the show this week to discuss the life and times of "First Mate Hard Times." In this short intro, he discusses his social media presence, family, work, and faith.

From Louisville, Kentucky, former CEO Mr. Mike Hagan joins me with a previous podcast guest and associate of his, Mr. Jim Fox, to chat about industry history and development. Starting out after college as a management trainee with ACBL, Mr. Hagan reminisces about dispatch back in the 70s, Mr. Joe Bobzien, efforts over the years to improve accounting and dispatch systems, the advent of technology o...

Interim Executive Director of the Port of South Louisiana, Mr. Brian Cox, joins me to talk through a career in stevedoring that began in 1999 on the dock in New Orleans with Coastal Cargo as a clerk, eventually leading him to assume a vessel supervisor role, and then a jump to Associated Terminals at their brand new Globalplex facility in 2005. As opportunity would have it, he stepped into operati...

The Sultana Disaster, pt. 3 By: Capt. Lee Hendrix (Ret.) https://towboatcaptain.substack.com/p/out-out-brief-candle To support his efforts and check out more, head to his Substack. You can subscribe for FREE!

The Sultana Disaster, pt. 2By: Capt. Lee Hendrix (Ret.)https://towboatcaptain.substack.com/p/a-deadly-schemeTo support his efforts and check out more, head to his Substack. You can subscribe for FREE!

The Sultana Disaster, pt. 1By: Capt. Lee Hendrix (Ret.)https://towboatcaptain.substack.com/p/the-cross-of-deathTo support his efforts and check out more, head to his Substack. You can subscribe for FREE!

Connected on the river back in the 90s, a pair of old retired river men join me to catch up on life these days and reminisce about their careers and the days long ago. From meeting at Kinder's Restaurant with Adrian Hargrove and Popeye to sitting across the aisle from one another in court, their careers ran in tandem over the years. Ol' Sam takes over the interview in stride and I settle c...

Born in 1949 in poverty, Capt. Lee Hendrix stumbled into the industry and found himself on a grand adventure that spanned a great many years. We hear about his early life growing up in St. Louis, his first boat, the M/V HAVANA ZEPHYR (now the mighty MERLIN BANTA), the good old days, the ill-fated steamer AMERICAN QUEEN, and the Army Corps' M/V MISSISSIPPI. His wealth of experience and connecti...

Captain Lee Hendrix gives us a brief overview of his more recent professional experiences ahead of our 90-minute visit debuting tomorrow night.

Reflecting more on his career and experiences in the industry, we hear more about Jim and John Fox, Dave Fleming, black powder rifles, Mike's father, and George Marble. We hear all about his experiences growing up in dispatch from the mid-80s forward, the famed record MISS KAE D tow, fleeting operations, the acquisition of AEP River Operations and the subsequent transition to ACBL, and dispatc...

Retired and tough to pin down, Mr. Mike O'Neil finally joins me on the show. We hear about his early life in the Greater New Orleans area, familial connections to the industry, the development of industry over the years through acquisitions and mergers, Jim Fox, Sonny Ivey, Patrick Morton, Jim Farley, Tom Fisher, Dave Dewey, Cliff Mosby, and Wayne Sanborne. He reminisces about his time in fleet di...

Career logistics man Mike O'Neil joins me on the show this week to talk through a storied career and some of the history and development of industry since the 60s. This clip is from behind the scenes and not that interesting, but please enjoy the episodes this week! Excuse the poor audio in the beginning of the first full episode premiering tomorrow, and be on the lookout for Mike's cat. Maybe I'l...

Humbled by the responses his first visit received, Retired Captain Rusty Ball gets back on the show to talk through a few of the marine incidents with which he played a part over the years. He reminds us of the importance of drills, safety, communication and teamwork out there on the water, he talks through a few rescue operations he and his crews conducted, and we discuss the end of a long career...

Captain Pete Ciaramitaro joins me on the show to talk through what may well be a 50-year career working all across our river systems by the end of next year. Joining Southern Towing in 1976, he climbed the ladder to the wheelhouse in a short time. In this episode, we hear about his development as a river pilot with a stepfather in the wheelhouse, becoming a licensed pilot at 21 years old, his earl...

Captain Pete Ciaramitaro joins me on the show this week to talk through the storied career of a true river man. Nearing retirement and leaving behind quite a legacy, Captain Pete seems content with the well-spent career of his out there on the water.

Retired Captain Sam Schropp joins me again from his balcony in Costa Rica. We cover the growth and development of the industry that defined his professional life for 50 years, Ike Sullivan, tank barges, the grain and coal export markets, and more...We'll do it again sometime.

This conversation kicked off discussing the Grateful Dead, politics, culture, and the realities of the day. Here, Capt. Schropp shares his thoughts on current conditions of the United States. Full episode focused on industry history and development will follow tomorrow at 18:00 CST.

In this episode, we talk philosophy, American history past and present, "The Bear" by Faulkner, slavery and its impact on the development of the towing industry in the United States, race, the underclass, the Indian Wars, keel boats and the evolution of industry. Among other things, we also cover human cognition, life and death, Christianity, social media, the news, and politics. Enjoy t...

We hear more about the industry from Captain Greer again. In this one, we cover the Inland Waterways Commission, Federal Barge Line, the development of industry in wartime, the Herman Pott Collection at the St. Louis Mercantile Library, the good old days, barge designs, and executive management in the business today. We hear also about the navigational challenges below Baton Rouge, the late Captai...

Retired Captain David Greer joins me again on the show to share his thoughts and perspective on the industry and his experiences over 4 decades. We discuss a bit on the history of humanity, old mariners, his place in history, books, his life and career, the last episode I published with Captain Sam Schropp, "The Great River" by Boyce Upholt, the Jones act, crew pay back in the day, and m...