Mississippi River Raft Trip - 1964
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Rafting on the Mississippi River
Chicago to New Orleans, June-July 1964

Daily Log of The Breaux
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Where are they now
Every day of the raft trip was an adventure. There were routines to be sure—operating the motor or standing watch while drifting, preparing and cleaning up after meals, and the daily preparations to get some sleep during the short nights. However, every day also brought excitement and new challenges—following the ways of the river, visiting the cities and small towns along the way, and learning more about people, especially their openness and generosity. All the rafters kept journals of one kind or another. Here’s a summary of what happened each day.



June 9 (Tuesday)
Mrs. Meta Mahler drove Norm around for last-minute purchases. We said goodbye to her at 2:30 pm. Organized gear. Ready by 5 pm, but high winds delayed our departure. Forecast was for gale force winds and thunderstorms, but it cleared by evening. Dave Mahler came out later and gave us copies of Wednesday's Chicago Tribune, which said we left at 3 pm—oh well. [See Chicago Tribune news article here.]
Day 1, June 10 (Wednesday)
At 6:02 am, started motor and left launching site near Mile 304 on the Calumet-Sag Channel. One mile later, entered Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. After going 5 miles, the motor stopped working. Stopped at bridge in Romeoville and called for repair service. Diagnosis—not getting enough gas. Late in day, reached our first lock at Lockport. Made the 40-foot drop with a towboat and seven barges. Motor still acting up. Stopped at Mile 290.5 (13.5 miles traveled). Cold night.
Day 2, June 11 (Thursday)
Traveled about a mile—now on the Des Plaines River—to the edge of Joliet and called again for motor repairs. Motor returned in afternoon, but cost $20. We now have $5.65 left among us. Took short walk in Joliet. Reached second lock, Brandon Road. Locked through with a large cabin cruiser. Moored for the night next to the Santa Fe railroad tracks at Mile 284.3 (only 6.2 miles traveled). Sang songs accompanied by Ron on his ukulele.
Day 3, June 12 (Friday)
After securing gear, cast off. Stopped at Three Rivers Marina for $4 of gas. "Three Rivers" is where the Des Plaines and Kankakee Rivers meet to form the Illinois River. Stopped in Morris so Ron could call home for money. Locked through at Dresden Island, Lockmaster said to call newspaper in Morris, as they were asking about us. [See Morris Daily Herald news article here.]  Illinois State Conservation Officer said we were in violation by not having a fire extinguisher and a whistle. No ticket, but said we couldn't leave without the equipment. Ron called home for money; would be wired $50. Talked to reporter and photographer from local newspaper. Given fish, perhaps carp, which we had for supper; not too great. Docked overnight at the park in Morris, Mile 263.5 (20.8 miles traveled).
Day 4, June 13 (Saturday)
Walked to the Western Union office for the Wismar check, which was cashed at a nearby bank. Bought an extinguisher and whistle at a boat dealer. Bought a 5-gallon gas can from a hardware store; filled it with gas at 28.9¢/gallon. Left Morris. Locked through at Marseilles. Weather turned bad while approaching Starved Rock State Park. Tied up at edge of the Park, Mile 233.5 (30 miles traveled).
Day 5, June 14 (Sunday)
Left before breakfast. Soon arrived at the Starved Rock Lock; couldn't lock through with a tow carrying oil; had breakfast while we waited our turn. Ran out of gas just short of a marina. Norm walked over and bought 75¢ worth, which got us to Peru, where we bought more. Stopped at the Spring Valley Boat Club for water, which we kept in a large jug and a plastic garbage can. Les has sun-burned feet. Rain in evening. Motor again giving trouble. Limped into Hennepin, where Mr. and Mrs. Anderson (local John Deere dealer) and son Paul gave us supper. Stopped at a marina to fill both gas tanks and buy 12 quarts of oil at 50¢ each. Mechanic said we had bad sparkplugs; cleaned them; still problems. Stayed overnight at a dock at Hennepin, Mile 207 (26.5 miles traveled). Rained all night; mosquitoes bad.
Day 6, June 15 (Monday)
Raining in morning. Ron sent out; came back with Mercury dealer, who suggested new sparkplugs. We left at 10:30 am. Weather cleared. Ron painted signs: “Chicago to New Orleans.” At 3:30 pm we reached Lacon, where Norm and Ron walked into town to buy gas. Entered Peoria Lake, where the weather again turned bad. Not wanting to cross the lake under poor conditions, we stopped there for the night, near Mile 176 (31 miles traveled). We were again running out of money, gas, and time. We needed donations and decided to try our luck in Peoria. Very cold overnight; little sleep.
Day 7, June 16 (Tuesday)
Heading for Peoria. Contacted by the helicopter of a local television station. Stopped between Peoria and Detweiler boat clubs. Called radio station WIRL, which sent out its mobile unit, “Big Red,” to interview us. Soon we were on the air telling our story. As good luck would have it, a college friend, Carol Sprehe, heard us while she was on duty as a lifeguard at a local pool. She called her mother who contacted us. A long story short is that the Sprehe family fed and housed us, and gave us lots of food and money for gas. Mr. Sprehe arranged for a church member, Raymond Fritch, to install metal cones for the front three barrels to make it easier for the raft to go through the water; he also gave us some cash. Thanks to the remarkable kindness of these people, we could continue. We were at Mile 164 (12 miles traveled). [See The Peoria Journal Star news article here.]
Day 8, June 17 (Wednesday)
Near noon, WIRL’s “Big Red” came back to see us off after our great stay in Peoria. Took two-hour shifts operating the motor. Toward the end of the day, the gas gauge read “0.” Within sight of a dock with a pump, we ran out of gas. A small tug came over and gave us a couple of gallons. We then made it and filled the tanks for $5.25. Moored for the night in Chautauqua Migratory Waterfowl Refuge at Mile 125 (39 miles traveled). Large numbers of bugs attracted to the lantern.
Day 9, June 18 (Thursday)
Bad night because of mosquitoes. Under way by 5:05 am. Stopped at Havana for gas; Norm walked into town to a gas station. Breakfast at Havana. Good weather. On our way; we only stop the motor to fill the tank. Best mileage day yet. Stopped at Mile 71 near Meredosia (54 miles traveled).
Day 10, June 19 (Friday)
Started at 6 am. Good weather, but strong headwinds, making for choppiness and slow going. Tried to get gas at Bedford; none there, but were told where to go. Got gas, and a chest full of ice. Changing motor operators every hour; two hours is too long. Stopped for the night near Mile 11, in the middle of nowhere (60 miles traveled). Mosquitoes!
Day 11, June 20 (Saturday)
About 5 am, left before sunrise; when it came, it was beautiful. At 8:12 am, entered the Mississippi River. Soon, we came to the junction with the Missouri River, a spectacular sight. The Missouri was higher than normal because of heavy rains in the west. Where the two rivers met, the Missouri was about a foot higher than the Mississippi. For several hundred yards, there was a small cascade where the Missouri flowed over and onto the Mississippi. The increase in the current was immediately apparent. Warned to avoid the Chain of Rocks dam, we took the Chain of Rocks canal, which bypasses that part of the river. This was our last lockage. As we reentered the Mississippi, south winds against the strong current produced waves of 3-4 feet, one large wave passing right through the cabin. A few miles later we reached St. Louis, where we were greeted midstream by a U. S. Coast Guard patrol boat. They asked for “permission to come aboard” and then checked our registration and asked us about the required equipment—life preservers, whistle, and fire extinguisher. Everything was in order, so they gave us a “Report of Boarding” that said we were “commended for maintaining a safe, well-equipped boat.” They wished us well as we headed toward the levee in downtown St. Louis. (A copy of the Report of Boarding  is here.) We stopped at the Mound City Boat Yard - Yacht Club (operated by Captain Cook), and were invited to use their dock space. We bought a $1 of gas, filling our tank and emptying our pockets. Invited to spend the evening with Wismar relatives of Ron. St. Louis is at about Mississippi River Mile 180, meaning it was 180 miles to Cairo, Illinois (48 miles traveled).
Day 12, June 21 (Sunday)
We had breakfast and spent the morning with the Wismars. In the afternoon we went to the levee to meet Phyllis Bergsieker and family. They took us to their home in Jennings, for supper, swimming, and a good evening. We again overnighted at the Wismars. No travel and no miles.
Day 13, June 22 (Monday)
Mark Wismar dropped us off at the levee with a little walking money. We walked around downtown and stopped at the Western Union office to pick up money being wired to Norm. Saw sites: Eads Bridge, the steamer Admiral, the Old Court House, and the unfinished Gateway Arch. Bought large supply of groceries. Left St. Louis at 2 pm. Used motor; went through area of floating debris—large trees and stumps. Once past this, turned off motor and started to drift. Speed estimated at 4 mph. At darkness, we pulled over for our first night on the Mississippi at Mile 154 (26 miles traveled). Hot night.
Day 14, June 23 (Tuesday)
Left at 5:15 am and started drifting. Used motor only to get us back in the channel or to avoid tows and obstacles. We took one-hour turns keeping watch. At about 2 pm, stopped at Chester, Illinois. Could only get water. Stopped for the evening at about 8:30 pm. Tied up in Illinois opposite Perry County, Missouri, at Mile 89 (65 miles traveled) [which turned out to be the most miles in one day]. Used mosquito netting to keep the bugs out of the cabin.
Day 15, June 24 (Wednesday)
Norm had first watch as usual. We saw how the current can pull under the large channel markers (nuns and cans). Also saw changes in the water’s surface, caused by wind, currents, and the depth of the water. The raft makes slow turns as it is pulled along by the current, so sometimes we were facing “backwards.” We crash-landed in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and got stuck on some steel cables. Took a while to free ourselves. At Cape, filled water cans and bought gas. Stopped at Mile 31 (58 miles traveled). That night, watched lunar eclipse.
Day 16, June 25 (Thursday)
Up at 4 am and on our way by 4:10 by moonlight. At 12:25 pm, passed the confluence of the Ohio River and the Mississippi. As they merged, the two rivers could be easily distinguished, with the Ohio being muddier. The Mississippi was much wider now, and we started using a new set of navigation charts that will take us to New Orleans, 869 miles downriver. Plagued by houseflies. This was our first day without a stop. Stopped late, and tied up in Kentucky at mile 939 (56 miles traveled).
Day 17, June 26 (Friday)
A tow passed by early in the morning, sending a wave of water through the raft, wetting Ron and Les, who were sleeping on the floor. (Norm usually slept in the top hammock position.) We spent a good part of the day going around the 20-mile New Madrid Bend. Three states in view: Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee. Stopped at Mile 880, our last stop in Missouri (59 miles traveled).
Day 18, June 27 (Saturday)
Passed near Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee, created by the New Madrid Earthquake of 1811. Made a long stop at Caruthersville, Missouri. Norm filled the water containers while Ron and Les got gas and bought groceries. They were interviewed by a newspaper reporter, who contacted all of our parents to say we were ok. [See Caruthersville Journal news article here.] We anchored off Island 21 in Tennessee near Mile 830 (50 miles traveled).
Day 19, June 28 (Sunday)
Up at 3 am, but too dark to leave. Started at 4 am. Norm on first watch; used motor three times to avoid tows. Went through Order of Matins as our Sunday church service. Today’s menu was typical: Breakfast—scrambled powdered eggs; Lunch—peanut butter sandwiches; Supper—canned spaghetti and meatballs and canned peas, with powdered lemonade or other powdered drinks. Given food by couple in a boat. Beer from another couple. Stopped at Mile 773 in Tennessee (57 miles traveled).
Day 20, June 29 (Monday)
Plenty of time for reading (Norm: Michener’s Hawaii, Ron: Heyerdahl's Kon Tiki). Rain. Arrived at Memphis at about 4:30 pm. Norm and Ron into town to call home, send mail, and fill water jug. Called newspaper, The Commercial Appeal; sent a reporter and photographer. Left at dusk; beautiful. Stopped several miles downstream near Mile 727 (46 miles traveled). Tied one rope to levee and one to anchor, which kept us from hitting the concrete revetment.
Day 21, June 30 (Tuesday)
Left at 4 am. Used motor to get into current, then shut it off to begin a day of drifting. People would ask if we were having trouble since we weren’t using power. Overcast. At 5:30 pm, Les prepared supper. Traveled into darkness. To avoid two tows, we went right, but were unintentionally pulled into a side channel just above Helena, Arkansas. Not being able to see where we were headed, we anchored for the night near Mile 663 (64 miles traveled).
Day 22, July 1 (Wednesday)
Left at 6 am, and shortly arrived at Helena, where we stopped at a boat dock for gas, oil, and water. Just after we passed under the Helena highway bridge, a jon boat approached with two passengers, which we thought were simply more interested “tourists.” To our amazement, one of the two was our friend and classmate, Mike Riemer. He had flown to Memphis and—showing great resourcefulness—tracked us down to the area near Helena. He was a welcome addition to our crew. Spent the afternoon debriefing Mike. Hard rain in the afternoon. Stopped at Mile 610 (53 miles traveled). Mosquitoes bad.
Day 23, July 2 (Thursday)
Everyone tired. Near Mile 590, everyone fell asleep, and the current took us through a bend off the main channel named “Lake Concordia.” Stopped at Rosedale, Mississippi. Les stayed with the raft (we usually had one person stay with the raft for security) and Norm, Ron, and Mike walked about two miles to town. Stops were made at a grocery store, post office, and James Snack Shack. Upon leaving, we were told that everyone in town thought that we were the three missing civil rights workers [who had been missing since June 21st, and sadly were found dead on August 4th]. We assured them we weren’t. We shoved off with a lightning storm headed our way. We stopped at dusk and put up the mosquito netting. Once everyone was inside, Norm sprayed with Black Flag insect spray, so we were all dry and bug free throughout the night. Stopped at Mile 573 (37 miles traveled).
Day 24, July 3 (Friday)
Typical day. Groceries being “rationed” so as to last until Baton Rouge. Again went through a side channel by mistake. Three men stopped in an open boat to take movies of us. They started in Minneapolis on June 14th. They were making a documentary film about the river called something like “Mainstreams of America.” They also stopped at Rosedale. Later we were given ice, water, and newspapers and magazines from a small tug. Overnight at Mile 525 (48 miles traveled). Slept well thanks to Black Flag, but hot.
Day 25, July 4 (Saturday)
Started at 4:10 am. Mike boiled water for instant coffee. In early morning, passed under the Greenville Highway Bridge (US 82). Heavy fog on the river. Reached Louisiana and passed the 1,000-mile mark. Supper was beans and corn. Traveled into the night, but almost ran into a dredged sandbar. Decided to stop for the day. Tied up at mile 475 (50 miles traveled).
Day 26, July 5 (Sunday)
Prepared during the day to stop at Vicksburg. Put on “Sunday best” clothes and used the motor to stay cool. We were going to stop on the river just past Vicksburg, but it was suggested to us by some boaters that we go up the Yazoo Diversion Canal near downtown. We headed for a likely dock and spotted a group of people motioning to us. They turned out to be Norm’s family: parents, older brother, and younger sister. They had driven up from New Orleans, and like Mike, had contacted the tow companies to see if they knew where we were. After visiting with the Hellmers, we had supper at a Vicksburg restaurant and we all showered at the local YMCA for 40¢ each. We were given permission to tie up to the steamboat Sprague, the largest sternwheeler ever built. It was used in the movie Showboat. [The Sprague regrettably was destroyed by fire in 1974.] Our stop at Vicksburg was near Mile 432 (43 miles traveled). Hot all day and hot through the night, with mosquitoes.
Day 27, July 6 (Monday)
Left at 3 am in the darkness; paddled to the center of the Yazoo Diversion Canal; took an hour to get back to the river. Brief encounters with tows. Hot day! Nothing out of the ordinary—like Old Man River, we “just keep rolling along.” Stopped near Mile 381 (51 miles traveled).
Day 28, July 7 (Tuesday)
Passed Natchez near midday. Average speed is a little over 3 miles per hour, requiring traveling 17 hours a day to make about 50 miles. Many tows seen now are pushing full (upstream) and empty (downstream) petrochemical barges. First broken shear pin of the trip; quickly replaced. Supper of canned beef stew, dried mashed potatoes, and canned lima beans. Decided to travel into darkness. While Norm and Les were on duty, it seemed we were hardly moving; turned out we were stuck on a sandbar. Successfully negotiated “Dead Man’s Bend.” Several tows were avoided. Ron and Mike took over at 2:30 am. Difficult to determine where tows were headed. Before they knew it, a tow was headed directly for the raft and the motor wouldn’t start. Several frantic pulls later, it started and we moved out of danger. More tows were encountered, but were easily avoided. Daylight found us in Widow Graham Bend near Mile 328 (53 miles traveled).
Day 29, July 8 (Wednesday)
Passed the Old River Control Structure, which keeps the Mississippi from changing its course down the Atchafalaya River. Running low on water forced a stop at Tunica, near the state prison at Angola. While traveling into the night, a passing tow created the largest wake we had run into. One of the back barrels that had been working loose broke free, causing the back corner of the raft to sink below the water. We were able to rescue the barrel, and headed for the nearest sandbar. Once there, another tow sent an even larger wave toward us, flooding the cabin and threatening to shake apart the whole raft. We spent a restless night near Mile 283 (45 miles traveled).
Day 30, July 9 (Thursday)
Up at 4:30 am to tie up two loose barrels; on our way by 6 am. Passed the Morganza Spillway, which if necessary can divert Mississippi River flood waters into the Atchafalaya River basin. Passed 31 degrees north latitude, meaning we were totally within Louisiana. Surprised to meet up with a small open boat with a sign that said “Chicago to New Orleans.” The three boys had been on the river three weeks. Their boat was powered by a 10hp Evinrude, which was giving them problems. After comparing experiences, we gave them some water, since they were out. Stopped at St. Francisville for gas. We then used the motor to take us to Baton Rouge. Just before the Baton Rouge highway bridge, we stopped for gas. Near town, we tried walking to the bank, but sank into mud halfway to our knees. We then stopped near Red’s Boat Store, near the State Capitol, where we were allowed to tie up to a tugboat. Went into town for supper and some touring—Old State Capitol, Huey Long’s grave, and the Capitol. Stopped by the police on our way to the Tip-Top Tavern—once we explained what we were doing, everything was cool. Beautiful clear night at Mile 230 (53 miles traveled).
Day 31, July 10 (Friday)
In morning we had our first encounter with an ocean-going ship, which came silently and quickly around a bend. Having been warned about the wake of these ships, we put on our life jackets and prepared for the worst. However, we quickly learned that these boats actually put out a smaller wake than the towboats. We stopped at the White Castle ferry landing and Mike, Ron, and Les went into town for food and gas, but they forgot oil. At Carville, Mike and Norm hitched a ride the four miles into town to buy oil. Anchored opposite the Olin Mathieson plant at Burnside near Mile 170 (60 miles traveled). Beautiful night on the river.
Day 32, July 11 (Saturday)
Our last full day on the Mississippi; feelings of nostalgia were already coming over us. A long but worthwhile stop was made at the town of St. James. We asked two men for directions to the nearest gas station; they turned out to be sugar cane plantation owners. They took us to the gas station where we were treated to lunch and were shown an article about us in The Times-Picayune. [See Times-Picayune article here and a similar one in the States-Item here.] We were then given a tour of their sugar cane operations and given stalks of cane and jars of sugar. Made a quick stop to see the Oak Allee plantation; gate was locked. Stopped at Mile 120 near Destrehan (50 miles traveled).
Day 33, July 12 (Sunday)
Last day. At Waggaman, Ron and Norm bought gas and phoned home to verify the planned arrival time, between 3-3:30 pm. Had last meal of spaghetti and meatballs near the Huey P. Long Bridge. Worked our way downriver on the west bank, so as to avoid the ships docked at the wharves on the New Orleans side of the river. Just before the Greater New Orleans Bridge (the last bridge on the Mississippi), we worked our way across. We could see the crowd of relatives and friends who had gathered at Eads Plaza, our planned arrival point. Lots of pictures taken as we came in. After mooring, we were given leis and posed for a few pictures with our sugar cane stalks. We greeted as many people as we could, and then spoke to the press: WNOE radio, WDSU-TV, and The Times-Picayune [see news article here]. We were asked to move the raft because the steamer President, which used Eads Plaza as its loading point, was returning. We briefly docked next to the Canal Street ferry landing to unload a few things. We took on two passengers, Ron’s brothers Rich and Bruce, and then headed for the Chalmette Monument area, where we planned to abandon the raft. On the way, a Coast Guard helicopter checked us out. The five-mile trip to Chalmette took not quite an hour. We tied up the raft and stripped it clean. We left the raft knowing that it would soon be scavenged for the barrels and wood [which it was in several days]. Our parents and families came there to pick us up. Les stayed with the Wismars until he took the bus home a couple of days later.
July 13 (Monday)
On Monday, July 13, we were invited to the office of Victor Schiro, the Mayor of New Orleans, where the three of us from New Orleans—Ron, Mike, and Norm—were given Certificates of Merit. [See Times-Picayune news article here.] Les was given a Certificate of Honorary Citizenship. [Norm's certificate can be seen here.] All of us were given a Key to the City.



News articles
Once our voyage was over, there were articles about our success in a variety of publications:
     The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.),  July 13, 1964
     Chicago Tribune, (Chicago, Illinois), July 16, 1964
     The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio),  July 26, 1964
     The Lutheran Layman, August 1, 1964
     Lutheran Witness (Southern District Supplement), August 18, 1964
     The Forester (publication of Concordia Teachers College), August 1964
     New Orleans Port Record, September 1964



A Mother's Log
Norm’s mother, Meta Wegener Hellmers, kept a log book of her own as her son Norm and the other rafters made their way downriver to New Orleans. Meta’s notes and copies of Norm’s postcards home can be seen here.



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