Local Columns

Early Marietta: Sternwheelin’ with the E L THUMPER

I scanned a listing of the boats in Marietta for the Sternwheel Festival. Many are familiar names from many festivals past. One caught my eye: E L THUMPER, owned by Jack and Kathy Bedeck of Pittsburgh. Instantly, a video memory came to life from 50 years ago in the early days of the Sternwheel Festival. I see a small boat zipping along, throwing off a geyser-like spray higher and larger than the boat itself. I remember thinking, what a cool boat – a fast, fun, renegade vessel in size, appearance, with the giant spray. Then, I’m wondering, is this memory accurate?

The current boat looks different. I looked up information on the E L THUMPER on the American Sternwheel Association website. It’s 55′ long, 16′ wide, built in 1979 “on Jack Bedeck’s driveway.” It’s “the fourth of a series of E L Thumpers built by the owner and friends…not a live-aboard but built for trips long and short…sleeps 9 ‘off the floor.'” Presumably, more have slept on the floor. The current THUMPER has a sternwheel as tall as the boat itself.

I kept looking online for that boat I remembered. AI searched hard; data centers were grinding away. Finally, an Aha! moment. The December 1976 REFLECTOR, the magazine of the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen, had the photo. It showed a small, blocky-looking E L THUMPER with a picnic table on the front, and the huge sternwheel paddle spray. Wow. It’s close to what I recall, but I’m wondering if there was another, smaller version.

The THUMPER name was part of the mystique to me. Jack said that since the boat's machinery shakes and thumps, he landed on THUMPER as a name. But that sounded too much like a Disney rabbit named Thumper, so they added the initials “E L” – seen on a passing towboat.

Owners Jack and Kathy have been to most Sternwheel Festivals since the beginning, enjoying the unique community of sternwheel people who visit here and elsewhere each year. Jack said in a 2015 interview, "We come here because it's a nice place to all get together, relax and hear stories." In a Pittsburgh interview years ago, Jack and Kathy talked about the fun part of sternwheeling. On the E L THUMPER, you can’t water ski or zoom around like a jet ski. No problem. Jack says they pack on food and beer, cruise around at 6 mph, stop when and where they want. They enjoy being “off the grid” with no clock or TV. Kathy: “I enjoy having the children with us, not at home with a babysitter.” Their kids are “river rats” and enjoy their time on the boat.

That’s life on the river: interesting people, relaxation on the water, fun with family and friends. The next Sternwheel Festival is only 360 days away.