Early Marietta: Life aboard the G W McBRIDE
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Working on a river towboat was never easy. Hard and dangerous work. Difficult personalities. Steady work? - rarely; boats, crew, and conditions changed often. A job could end abruptly for misbehavior or on a captain's whim. Young Clare Carpenter from Apple Grove in Meigs County was “hired on the spot” as a deckhand on the Sternwheeler G W McBRIDE in 1934. “What luck in 1934,” he recalled, during the Depression. Quotes are from a memoir.
That luck was tested by the boat. Once below Louisville the McBRIDE's light system died. Without a search light, they had to lay up at night. A hassle, but “we did have a couple of nights off in town.” The McBRIDE lacked engine power. Sometimes, they were forced to “double trip,” leaving some barges behind to lighten the load, then returning to retrieve them. Extra power needed forced firemen to shovel more coal into the firebox, causing them to sweat as though they were "dipped in the river." Once a strong current forced the McBRIDE’s spinning sternwheel into some rocks. Minutes later only the wheel's shaft and a few bucket planks remained. They limped to Ravenswood WV to rebuild the wheel. The McBRIDE was ill-equipped for cold weather. Poor mattresses and lack of blankets forced crew to sleep in their clothes. Clare once manuevered a 100 watt light bulb under his blanket for heat. That worked until he touched it, jolting him awake with a burning pain. Best laid plans.
Riverboats then used a still to produce safe drinking water. The McBRIDE had no still. Clare and another hand were ordered ashore in Indiana to get well water. They asked the owner for permission. “Yes,” and added, “Would you boys care for some breakfast?" They enjoyed rabbit (popular in the early 1900s), hot biscuits, and gravy. The "cantankerous" captain was furious at the delay. Clare was on the naughty list.
There were good times on riverboats, too. Clare Carpenter and watchman Edwin "J&L" McLaughin (A nickname linked to steel Jones and Laughlin (J&L) Steel company) negotiated leave to see the 1934 Pitt- Notre Dame football game at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. They were allowed in the postgame ND locker room because J&L knew a team member. "It was a great afternoon." An engineer friend drove them back to the boat at Ambridge PA.
Many river acquaintenances lasted for generations. Of the crew that worked on the McBRIDE then, two became captains - including Clare Carpenter. One was an engineer with the prominent Greene Line. Another became superintendent of American Barge Lines terminal in Louisville, occasionally hiring Clare for jobs "when he was broke." Sadly, J&L Mc Laughlin would be killed in a barge accident at Jeffersonville, Indiana; a reminder that danger always lurked in the background.
More trouble for Clare Carpenter soon came aboard the G W McBRIDE: “Johnny,” the captain’s son. He did only what he wanted to without consequences and tattled on others. One winter night, J&L McLaughlin ordered Johnny to pump out a leaky barge. He refused. J&L, fed up with his insubordination, quit and departed the boat in a snow storm near Marietta. He walked across a field to the Silver Moon Cafe, located near where IHOP is today, to find a ride. The next day Clare fumed to another crew member about Johnny and life in general, in the process calling the captain an "old dough-bellied bastard.” At that exact moment Johnny appeared. Clare was fired; he got off at Lock 16 near New Matamoras. It was a shock, and maybe a wake up call that he needed an attitude adjustment. After tending to early planting at Apple Grove, he'd be on another boat continuing a decades-long career on the river.