At the Water’s Edge: Majestic Riverboats (2000)
At the Water’s Edge: Majestic Riverboats, (Narrated by Nick Clooney, Clooney Productions, 2000) If you are fascinated by steamboats of the 1800s, then this is the film you will adore. It gives a history of the “floating palaces” on the American Rivers, primarily the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. It features the oldest original overnight steamboat in America, the Delta Queen of Cincinnati, and cruises down the Ohio River. It also shows the largest annual gathering of current steamboats, the Tall Stacks celebration in Cincinnati.
Of course, it is a key chapter in the development of technology, transportation, river travel and the expanding westward of the US. But more than that, there remains the love affair with steamboats, their beautiful designs, the leisurely pace of life and river lore.
Kenny Karem Collegiate School, Louisville, KY kennykentucky@aol.com)
