ALUMNI NEWS THE COLLEGE / ALUMNI /
‘Taps’ on the Mississippi Last August, Scott Armacost ’82 and daughter Samantha Armacost ’16 (Johnston) began a three-month canoe trip down the length of the Mississippi River. By Laurie McLaughlin
Armacost, U of R’s president from 1945 to 1970, olks silently removed and his wife, First Lady their hats and put Verda Armacost. On their their hands over trip, the two are realizing a their hearts as Scott goal that so many Bulldogs Armacost ’82 played hope to achieve: helping “Taps” on his trumpet at others in need. dusk. “No one exchanged So, at each day’s end, no words before or after,” says matter where they docked, Scott’s daughter, Samantha Samantha livestreamed Armacost ’16 (Johnston), as Scott played, and she of the short ceremony at included the names of Lover’s Leap overlooking people who died with the the Mississippi River in post. “I wanted to bring it Samantha Armacost ’16 (left) and Hannibal, Missouri, this back to the people and not dad Scott Armacost ’82 last fall. “It was moving just the number of lives because everyone knew what it meant.” lost,” she says. Sometimes at sundown, Scott This solemn reaction was not a surprise to and Samantha were alone on a sandbar, with the father-daughter duo. Each evening, Scott, fellow trekkers at a campground, or staying a U.S. Navy veteran, played the traditional at a host’s home. “People usually cheered or military funeral hymn in memory of those clapped or cried,” says Samantha. whose deaths were related to COVID-19. The It was also “fun being partners in this,” commemoration gave extraordinary purpose she says of the sometimes-daunting days to the Armacosts’ multi-month paddling trip paddling against the elements in a droughtdown the Mississippi in a 17-foot canoe, an lowered river and the ever-changing weather, adventure they named “A River Eulogy.” including what Samantha and Scott joked To accommodate the excursion, Scott was “their old friend the southeast wind.” worked remotely as a financial advisor. The voyage was documented Samantha is a professional outdoor guide with on Instagram (@a.river.eulogy) with help the skills to navigate the trip, and she had from Scott’s wife and Samantha’s mom, completed the year’s seasonal employment. Miho Armacost, in Oakland, California. The 2,300-mile southerly journey began on Friends followed their progression down the Aug. 16, 2021, at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, and river as they raised money for two charities ended on Nov. 23, 2021, at the Gulf of Mexico. through GoFundMe: Tragedy Assistance The long-planned adventure was originally Program Fund for Survivors (coincidentally a way to celebrate Scott’s September birthday, known as T.A.P.S.) and Direct Relief, which “but we also wanted to make the trip about provides medical support to those in need. more than just ourselves,” says Samantha. Samantha and Scott were honored to share “COVID-19 is a universal experience, and so the names and remember loved ones lost at many people weren’t able to have or attend ineach evening’s bugle call. “We knew this was person memorials or funerals.” a rare experience,” she says of being able to Scott and Samantha are the grandson take time off for such an ambitious trip with and great-granddaughter of George Henry her dad. “It was amazing.” OT
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OCH TAMALE SPRING 2022
Each evening in summer 2021, Scott Armacost ’82, a U.S. Navy veteran, plays “Taps,” a traditional military funeral hymn, in memory of those whose deaths were related to COVID-19.
