A Natal Day Remembrance

You have a Way with words, Judy! I never met him in person, but we knew each other through the telephone over a period of years, and through his books. Cap'n Walnut

Captain Fred Way probably never, in his whole life, weighed more than 135 pounds and was a mild-tempered man, to boot. I wondered how he handled the knotheaded and sometimes violent people under his command, so I asked Bee. She said he kept himself remote from them and dealt orders through the mates. I still was not satisfied, so I asked him.
He told me he tried to deal fairly with them at all times and told me this little tale:
He was on an Ashland Oil Co. towboat one winter during WW II. When they arrived at Ashland the fleet was all jumbled with loads here, empties there, and so they jig-sawed around all night making their delivery and gathering their departing barges. Both watches were on deck the whole time. The moment everything was lashed up the port captain peremptorily ordered them to depart. Captain Way refused to go and sent his men to bed for six hours. He had them eating out of his hand after that.

Another thing about Captain Fred Way bothered me: how did he manage to compile all of that steamboat data? I assumed he must have been what is called a nerd today. I asked him, "When did you find time to play baseball, go fishing, chase girls and sleep." He assured me he did all those things - in moderation.
He started making a list of the boats he saw when he was about twelve years old. Somebody, his parents maybe, bought him a small card-file box and a supply of 3" x 5" cards. Soon he was adding "river news" matter from the newspapers and from the Waterways Journal to those cards. It gradually grew into a dominating hobby. He gathered photographs and postcards from friends and correspondents. He talked to the old-timers with whom he worked and dutifully entered what he learned on those 3" x 5" cards. By the time he was fifty he had the largest and most comprehensive collection in the land.
He learned photography and the production of copies and started the Steamboat Photo Company, which led to two "catalogs" of prints available for sale. They were Way's Packet Directory and Way's Steam Towboat Directory, which listed the pictures, each with a brief description of the pictures and a short history of the boat. The catalogs became books, mimeographed and fuzzy, but loaded with facts. He was one of the charter members of the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen organized by Elizabeth Litton and others and soon became president of that organization, a position he held for fifty years, or so. At various times during all of this he worked for his hometown newspaper in several capacities. His start as a pilot is given in the book, Pilotin' Comes Natural.
So Fred Way was a "real" boy, not a pale, bookbound child.
Riverboat fans owe him a debt that cannot be repaid. His 3" x 5" cards have provided us with data that would take years of research to locate and digest.
Captain Way has been criticized for his failure to list sources in the approved academic fashion. How ironic that today's riverboat authors who DO obey those stifling rules of idem, op. cit., ibid., are obliged to list his works as root sources!

One thing for sure -- there was ONLY ONE Capt. Fred Way! Many of us revered him as "The Pope of Steamboating" and referred to his home at 121 River Avenue in Sewickley, PA as "The Vatican"! We began corresponding in 1968 when I was 14 years old and I will always be thankful for the friendship we shared. I especially will never forget our last meeting, when Capt. Doc Hawley, Jeff Spear and I called on him in his Marietta apartment not many days before his passing in 1992. A long and two shorts in Capt. Fred's memory -- and an offkey (remember it's cold!) rendition of "Happy Birthday" on the calliope!

Keith Norrington;3862 wrote: I especially will never forget our last meeting, when Capt. Doc Hawley, Jeff Spear and I called on him in his Marietta apartment not many days before his passing in 1992.

I attended Marietta College from 1980-1984, and while I was there, I was in love with the river related history. In retrospect, I didn't take advantage of as many opportunities as were available. For example, in four years of conversations with John Briley, few, if any, had anything to do with history.

So, if I did happen to cross paths with Captain Way, at a time and or place in town that had more to do with every day life, and less to do with his expertise, where would it have been?

My usual "hangouts" were, the "Two Horned Church", Christ UMC, St Mary's RC church, the Wesleyan Church, First Baptist Church, the annual Messiah performace, and summers with John Sandt, former MC professor from the late 1920's to 1961 and member of the American Guild of Organists.

Fred Way moved to an apartment in Marietta very late in his life, I don't remember the year. But he was still at 121 River in Sewickley in 1980-84, so unless you were in town during S&D weekend, you wouldn't have run into him in Marietta. He held forth in the lobby of the Lafayette Hotel, often with his dog Wrecks, during that weekend.

I started corresponding with Fred Way in the late !950s, but didn't meet him in person until the mid 60s. And that meeting happened in the prefect place - the pilothouse of the Belle of Louisville. From then until very late in his life we corresponded, I visited his home several times and he was he inspiration for all that I have done with river history. (which isn't much in comparison) John Hartford always said that Capt. Way did it all. He owned a real steamboat, wrote about them, built models of them and even did a few paintings of them. A visit to Fred's basement "office" was an unforgettable experience. Organized chaos, some have called it, but he knew where everything was. The other notable thing about Fred's basement, in my opinion, was the ornate antique water heater in the next room. I'll bet no one ever took a picture of it.

Fred picked up on river history where Mark Twain left off and I think he was just as good of an author, if not better. Sam Clemens only spent about four years on the river, Fred spent a lifetime. I'm very fortunate to have known him and am much richer for the experience.

Bruce: I'm so sorry that you never crossed paths with Capt. Fred. He was a kind and amazing man, who especially took time for young people who were interested in the river. Marietta is a beautiful and historic old river town (founded in 1788) and certainly one of my favorite places. And how interesting that you mentioned the late Mr. John Sandt. During the 1982 S&D meeting weekend, Mr. Sandt kindly "organized" a tour of all the Marietta churches containing pipe organs. On this tour were Capt. C.W. Stoll, Capt. Doc Hawley, Jeff Spear and yours truly. We enjoying playing and photographing the organs, all of which Mr. Sandt knew the histories of, and I recall that at First Presbyterian Church, C.W. played a wonderful rendition of "Darkness on the Delta"! Not exactly liturgical, but fun and appropriate for all the boat people!