With forty fifty-five-gallon oil drums bracketed together, fifteen boys between the ages of twelve and fifteen, three college interns, and one fearless leader boarded the homemade raft dubbed the Unsinkable in the summer of 1961. Their goal was to traverse the 1,742 miles of the Mississippi River between Minneapolis, Minnesota, to New Orleans, Louisiana.
In New Orleans or Sunk! author Dean E. Felsing narrates this story of an incredible crew on an unbelievable expedition. At the time, Felsing was a fourteen-year-old boy and a member of the Weekend Program for troubled kids. The trip was part of the boys' summer vacation, and it was an adventure for all. From start to finish, he provides details of the journey that included spending ten hours a day on the water, traversing the river's many locks, fighting the weather's capriciousness, dealing with equipment failures, and learning to live with the other boys on a raft.
Felsing describes how he and the others conquered the mighty Mississippi that summer by taking turns as lookouts, pilots, navigators, cooks, mechanics, housekeepers, inventors, and explorers. New Orleans or Sunk! shares how they learned to appreciate the kindness of strangers and to understand the power of the river.
New Orleans or Sunk!
By DEAN E. FELSINGAbbott Press
Copyright © 2011 Dean E. Felsing
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4582-0092-1Chapter One
For the Staff and Crew of the Unsinkable
It was the beginning of the school year 1960, I had just turned 14. Ninth grade, and there we sat in a small room, about 15 of us kids and two or three staff members, it was announced to us that we needed to come up with a plan for next summer's vacation. We could do anything within reason and or legal. We were told that if we did not come up with a plan we would spend the summer at the Hennepin County Home School (kid jail) in Glen Lake, Minnesota. For some odd reason this idea appealed to a few of the boys. Well, I remember the first idea, or suggestion, was to ride our horses to the Black Hills in South Dakota. I didn't like the idea; I did not care for horses all that much and I know that my horse, Cindy, did not care all that much for me. I said something to the effect of taking a raft down the Mississippi River. The idea was pushed aside and all the fellas, except me, were excited about the trip to South Dakota.
The very next weekend the man, Max, in charge of the horses spoke to the group. He told us that it was indeed possible for us to accomplish such a trip; the horses were in fine shape and about all we needed to do was prepare. By the time Max got through with the list of things we would have to do to get ready, I knew that I would rather stay at the Home School.
Some of the others felt the same way; it sounded like too much work. Then one of the boys, Eddie, said, "Why not look into the possibilities of the "raft trip". The seed was planted, it would be easy, just toss a few logs together and off we go. At this point I think some of the staff would have been happy to spend the summer at the Home School. I only learned this fact in the year 2000, the head of the weekend program, Jack Fallon, stood in the lodge kitchen with his staff that evening while we were in bed and said that he thought that us boys could pull a raft trip off. I wish I could have been there for that brief moment, I guess it was quite a sight to see the faces of what was to become an incredible crew on an incredible expedition.
The very next weekend we were told to come up with ideas and plans for a "raft". We were all assigned a hand full of town's along the river and we had to write a letter to every city. The letters stated about when we would be through and asked for information on that town, i.e., things like what to see and where to get supplies, gas, and food, etc.
We were enrolled in a water safety class given by the Coast Guard in Minneapolis. Wow, locks and dams. Yup, 26 of them between Minneapolis and St. Louis. After St. Louis there are no more locks and the current is much stronger. The one thing I will never forget from that class was that life jackets are not to save you from drowning, but to make it easier for someone to find your body. We also learned about whirlpools, currents, wing dams, buoys the channel, and much more. We were each given certificates after the classes.
Now for the "raft" itself. None of us had any idea how to build a raft or anything else for that matter. It was decided that we could put a bunch of 55gal oil drums together (somehow) and that would be that. Well, it was not as easy as that. Several ideas were looked at and we found a company that made brackets for just such a raft. These brackets were for people who wanted to put together 4 or 6 drums for a diving dock at the summer cabin. It was the best we could find. The company that made the brackets almost fainted when we told them we were going to put forty oil drums together they immediately told us there was no guarantee on the parts at all. We did get them to donate 80 brackets and wish us luck.
Jack had a few ideas on how to season or toughen us up for the trip. One such fantastic idea was to take us all out in a blizzard and have us make our own dinner. Well, my buddy Jerry and I said, to ourselves of course, "Hell no, we won't go". When the group headed out the front door for the mile or so trek through the woods, Jerry and I headed out the back. We figured it would take a while to notice two missing idiots in a blizzard. We hiked the mile or so to the milk room adjacent to the barn. It was nice and warm in there and we would sit out the outdoor cooking adventure. Jerry sat down and took off his boots and put his feet up toward the stove. I was too scared to be that relaxed. Sure enough, through the flying snow I saw what looked like the Abominable Snowman. It was Jack and the fur around his hood was full of snow and his beard and glasses were frozen. I could tell he was pissed. He walked right past me and grabbed Jerry and thrashed the daylights out of him. I knew I was next. Then Jack asked Jerry why he got "it" and I didn't. Jerry said that it was because he had been at the farm longer than I had. Jack said, "Yes, that's right and next time Dean will get it". I could put it in writing that it would never happen.
As soon as the snow was gone the oil drums arrived at the farm, all forty of them. We laid them out into four rows of ten each with a three foot nose cone to be bolted to the front of each pontoon. The length of the raft would be 33 feet and the width 16 feet. Our fearless leader, Jack, found a house in Minneapolis that had been condemned. He managed to get permission for us kids to rip the insides apart with crowbars and hammers and salvage all the wood that we could carry. This wood became the deck and superstructure. We built the deck in two parts each 8 feet wide. We had a heck of a time getting the drums to stay in place with the brackets, but we managed. The two halves were hauled on a flat bed to the Mississippi River just above the U of M Showboat and just across the river from Fairview Hospital. We then "U" bolted them together and nailed the deck at a diagonal using our salvaged wood. It was starting to look like a real seaworthy vessel. We dubbed it the "Unsinkable". There was a railing out of the 2x4s put all around and a "cabin" of approximately 12' x 12' near the front. It was given a canvas roof and sides that could be rolled up when weather was nice. Around the railing we put chicken wire, which proved to be too weak, it was always being replaced or let go all together. There was a transom put out back and two 40 horse Scott outboard motors were donated. The cables used to steer with were above the deck and the steering wheel was behind the cabin, so the driver could not see where he was going. (One of our smarter moves.) Had OSHA been around we would have been shut down in a flash. At least every one of us tripped on the steering cable a dozen times before we hammered some boards on the deck to stop that hazard. At least then we only tripped on the 2x4s and the driver could still manage to keep us in the channel. By the way, remember the driver could not see where he was going! It took 7+ crew members at any one time to operate the raft. One staff member, to keep the two lookouts (stationed up front) on the ball, and one person to steer and one to navigate, that is read the charts or maps of the river. Believe it or not it is possible to get lost on a river. More about that later. There was also a gas team on call to refuel the main tanks and measure and mix the oil into the gas.
Each of us built a foot locker from our foraged wood, we made drinking cups from soup cans with an attached coat hanger for a handle. Each of us had our own mess kit and we were responsible for it. That meant if we lost it we went without or we had to buy another, now remember we were poor kids and didn't have much if any money. We did not have tents like you see today. We had mosquito netting and a piece of plastic tarp 10'x10' to put over the netting in case of rain. No cook stove either, just a large frying pan and a few pots. We cooked over an open fire or wrapped our food in tin foil and tossed it in the fire until it was done. We loaded up 24 – 5 gallon gas cans, gear, and little knowledge of the adventures that awaited down stream. The Unsinkable was ready for action.
A few days after school let out we met on the banks of the Mississippi and said, "Farewell" to our families.
Chapter Two
For Dennis, Merle, and Ron
Lots of people, even the local news media, down by the riverside to see us off. We were given a flag of the state of Minnesota to give to the governor of Louisiana. We had our gear stowed and our charts out. The staff had agreed not to shave until after the trip and they hadn't done so for some time. So when one of the boys spotted Dennis, clean shaven, the word spread quickly. A few of us went down one side of the deck and a few others took the other side. We then grabbed Dennis and tossed him overboard, right into the river. What a shock, he screamed and hollered, as others were pulling him out of the drink and back on board we spotted his twin brother the, "real" Dennis. He had not shaved. We were off to a grand start, we had our first assault.
Needless to say this didn't make many points with the "real" Dennis. Now, pay attention. This was my first lesson and I seem to learn the hard way. Yes, the School of Hard Knocks. What do you think my lesson was? From then on I always try to look very closely at what is going on and try not to jump to any conclusions. Even if Dennis had shaved that day it was not right for any of us to toss him in the river. Dennis became a counselor at my old high school in Minneapolis, Roosevelt. He is now retired. I must add here that after 50+ years we are still good friends.
Things calmed down and we posed for some photos. Someone made a big sign that said "New Orleans or Sunk!". And we had two signs with "UNSINKABLE" on them. We attached one to the starboard and one to the port after we got under way. Jack, our leader said that if it did sink we would turn it into a submarine and rename it the "UNBELIEVABLE". I don't think many laughed about that, we worked so hard and the thought of it sinking was unimaginable. Never the less, it did look as if it may go under at any time. My son Nathan is a USMC SGT and I would not let him go out on that thing now that I look back.
We had four staff members. One leader/point man, Jack, and three first mates: Merle, Dennis, and Ron. A crew of fifteen boys ages 12 - 15. The plan was for us to get to New Orleans, 1742 miles down the river from Minneapolis. We would then tour the city for a few days and then a replacement crew would meet us and trade places. The replacement crew was only 8 boys and 12 went home via bus. I was one of three to volunteer to stay on and show the new guys the ropes. Plus we needed to lighten the load for the trip upstream.
The Unsinkable was shoved into the current and we were off on the first leg of our journey, the 680 miles to St. Louis, Missouri. It was four miles to the first lock and dam (The Ford Lock & Dam) and Jack took the helm for the first time. We had an air horn to signal the Lockmaster that we wanted to enter the lock. At each dam in the river there is also a lock, this is a very large area that barges and other boats must use to pass around the dam. Any one in a boat or even a canoe may use the locks for free. They are operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Drop is anywhere from 4 feet to 27 feet. The drop at the Ford lock was 19 feet.
The huge gates were opened and we entered a lock for the first time. The Lockmaster tossed us two lines (rope) so we would not drift around inside the lock. The gates were slowly closed and the water was let out of the lock through holes in the bottom of it. We went down 19 feet, it was exciting. If you wish you may visit this lock any time in the summer and take a tour. There are also two more locks that were built after our trip, these are the Upper and Lower St. Anthony Falls locks, and you may also visit them.
The Lockmaster sounds a loud horn when it is safe for you to leave the lock. As we left the lock we had our first rhubarb over who was going to steer or pilot the raft. Yes, you can imagine, we all wanted to steer our creation. There were some very loud arguments over who would be next to steer. A list or roster was made and each of us would have a two-hour shift of steering and lookout duty.
Lookout duty was never boring. You had binoculars and a river chart and you had to keep us in the channel. That is between the red, or nun buoys and the black, or can buoys. Even a few feet out of this channel could be very dangerous. You could hit many things that are just under water, tree stumps, or wing dams, a wing dam is an under water dam that directs the water in the river into the channel. You also had to watch for other boats, barges, and floating junk in the water, mostly logs. If we hit or ran over something we usually broke something, most often the steering cable or a sheer pin.
The first thing to break was the shear pin in one of the motors. When this happened we had to switch engines, we usually ran on one engine at a time, then we would head for a safe place to drop anchor or just float along. At first a staff member would jump into the water. Later we all got to be good at this repair. The motor was tilted up and a string was tied to the propeller so that it would not drop to the bottom of the river. Then the prop was removed with a wrench and the broken shear pin was removed and replaced with a new one. This pin was designed to break, because if it didn't, much harm would come to the engine. It only took a few minutes to complete this procedure. But, if there was barge traffic in the area it could get scary from the waves they make as they pass you.
Many, many times during the trip you would hear the cry of "Shear pin" and the shear pin crew would go into action. Well into our journey we didn't even yell, "Shear pin" any more because we all could recognize by the sudden change in the pitch or roar of the engine what had happened and we responded automatically.
The other thing to break was the steering cable. If this happened and we were under way someone had to jump out and hang over the transom and lower the handle on the motor and steer by hand. The lookouts had to be extra vigilant during this time and instructions were shouted to the rear of the raft to the person steering. If the cable or the shear pin broke because the lookouts were goofing off there were severe consequences. They were given the silent treatment, punched by other boys (this was not approved by the staff), or not permitted to eat the next meal. If we were heading to a town to tour they may have been kept on the raft for punishment. Being kept on, or confined to, the raft was not always too bad because as soon as the others were gone you could always sneak ashore and explore on your own. It didn't take long for the staff to figure that out and soon there was a "baby sitter" on board while you were confined to quarters.
As much fun as steering was, it got old. We had to cover at least 100 miles per day and at 10 M.P.H. we had to put in 10 hours per day on the water. This did not take into account for what we called lock time. Lock time could run from 20 minutes to several hours. Barges had priority use of the locks and if a tow with several barges was ahead of us we had to wait. I believe our longest wait was one half of a day. What do you think I learned from this? We used to use this down time to make repairs, and believe me they were always needed, prepare meals, fish, read, write letters home, or plan our next activity.
Chapter Three
For Harvey Schroeder
If you weren't steering, the best place to be was up front. This practice came to a quick halt. If we hit a wave that was over 6 inches we would start to "plough" water, that is, we would actually start to dive under water. The breakers that had been bolted onto the front of the oil drums would fill with water making the front too heavy and we would have to run to the back of the raft to bring it back to level. This was scary the first few times that it happened, and anything that was on the deck got wet. It took a while, but after a few good soakings we learned how to keep the ol' raft trim.
The reason we did not sink was that as soon as we started to plough water the motors were lifted out of the water and they could no longer push us any further into the drink, river that is. Only the lookouts were permitted to be up front and we had a message runner. The message runner could be up front only if he was on business. That business included relaying messages as to where we were and delivering food to the lookouts. Waves on the river could reach 7 feet or more. We had to learn how to ride them, that is to pass over them without getting wet or breaking anything.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from New Orleans or Sunk!by DEAN E. FELSING Copyright © 2011 by Dean E. Felsing. Excerpted by permission of Abbott Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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