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