Big River - October 2000

Vol. 8, No.

10

October 2000

~2.50

Mississippi Ri~er rn= . Re9i9al · -~ Empowering Citizens to Protect the River!

The Mississippi River Revival is an environmental organization dedicated to preserving the Mississippi River and its watershed for all life.

Get involved, you can make a difference!

Committed Volunteers Wanted We have programs that facilitate citizen's abilities to: • Collect water quality data that matters • Advocate for protection of endangered species • File citizen lawsuits to stop illegal polluters • -Demand stronger enforcement of environmental laws • Use Federal law to clean up polluted waters Contact: Mississippi River Revival, 70 ½ E 4 th St. Winona MN 55987, 1-800-957-4837

BLUE HERON COFFEEHOUSE Good Food • Good Coffee

Satisfying OPEN DAILY 451 HUFF ST. • WINONA, MN • 507-452-7020

Subscribe to Big River Enjoy the river 12 months a year with the monthly magazine for people who work, live or play on the Upper Mississippi River. We cover the waterfront from St. Cloud, Minn., to Davenport, Iowa.

Each issue includes a calendar of events, up-to-date news and stories about every aspect of the river. $27.00 for one year (#BR-27) $50.00 for two years (#BR-28) No sales tax on subscriptions.

1-800-303-8201 Write to Big River, PO Box 204, Winona, MN 55987; or fax us at (507) 454-2133

Reach Big River readers with a display ad.

For information about our advertising, call Holly Hess at 1-800-303-8201 or email ads@big-river.com.

By Trudy Balcom

Cod Gets A Head Brisbane, Australia - An extensive sea and air search for Michael P. Edwards was called off when workers at a fish processing plant discovered a human head inside a giant cod, according to a report by Reuters Limited, (8-29-00). Edwards, a fisherman, fell from the deck of the *Loray, a boat based out of Townsville, Queensland, in far northern Australia while fishing near Slashers Reef. His mates reported his disappearance to authorities, then continued fishing.

Later, when the catch from the Loray was being processed, the head was found inside a cod that was over five feet long. Hundreds of reef sharks inhabit the area near where the cod was caught, so au¡thorities do not expect to recover a body, or to determine the cause of death. DNA tests are being conducted to positively identify the head.

Mill Ruins Park adjoins the museum site. Administered by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Mill Ruins will allow people to explore the abandoned tunnels and raceways of the former mills, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune (9-5-2000). Area students will help dig out ten mills on the site as a hands-on archeology lab; excavation is already underway at the park. The park and the Heritage Center connect pedestrians with the Stone Arch Bridge and the St. Anthony Heritage Trail. $.

Harriet Island Redone St. Paul, Minn. - St. Paul residents and visitors can once again touch the waters of the Mississippi from their renewed downtown playground - Harriet Island. Dr. Justus Ohage donated the park to the city 100 years ago as a place of "whole- ¡ some recreation". Harriet Island was home to a busy swimming

Visit the Big River Homepage (www.big-river.com) for links to information about stories marked with the $.. Also, check our web site for many other useful river links, updated calendar information and river books, tshirts and other interesting gifts.

beach and other attractions for many years until pollution and flooding began a long period of decline. Now it has emerged from a $14.5 million dollar renovation as the "glittering jewel" of city parks, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune (9-10-00). The rededication and grand opening ceremony on September 9 attracted thousands to see the new grand staircase leading down to the water, the brick promenades along the waterfront and the renovated Wigington Pavillion. According to Twin Cities" resident Mary Bader "This park is the most

Flour Power Minneapolis, Minn. - Minneapolis was the premier flour milling center in the world from 1880 into the 1930s, when the mills that lined the riverfront were powered by the waters of St. Anthony Falls. The mills have been silent for years, and suffered fires and other indignities.

Now this long neglected stretch of the downtown riverfront is getting a big boost.

The Minnesota Historical Society recently released its plans for the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Center, a new museum that will be housed in ruins of the Washburn Crosby "A" mill where Gold Medal Flour was made. The new museum, slated to open in 2002, will feature a water power laboratory and an eight story exhibit ride - the Flour Tower.

October 2000

Covering the River since 1993

Table of Contents Eternity on the River - Cemeteries can surprise you.

By Trudy Balcom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Vanished Lock & Dam - Swamped by a Blunder

By Jack Maloney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

River Calendar Oktoberfest, Audubon Ark, Apple Fest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

back cover

Cover photo by R. McLeod

Big River

1

fantastic thing St. Paul has done in years."

River Basin Act Washington D.C. -The Upper Mississippi River Basin Conservation Act (HR 4013) authored by Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI) was presented to the House Agriculture Subcommittee in mid-September.

The purpose of the bill is to reduce nutrients and sediment flowing into the river by establishing a water quality monitoring and computer modeling system to be administered through the U.S. Geological Survey and the Department of Agriculture in cooperation with local private partnerships.

The data collected will be used to formulate sound and effective conservation decisions that will reduce the problems of sediment and nutrient loss. The bill currently has 40 co-sponsors and broad bi-partisan support, including 15 congressmen from Upper Mississippi districts.

The bill awaits subcommittee amendments and a vote of recommendation to the full committee. ~

Salty River Winona, Minn. - The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) will install monitoring devices at sites adjacent to giant piles of road salt that are stored on the banks of the Mississippi in Winona, (St. Paul Pioneer Press, 9-11-00).

Modern Transport of Goodview, and Winona River and Rail of Winona, received letters from the MPCA notifying them of the monitoring activities. Water quality tests performed earlier by the Mississippi River Revival indicated high levels of salt and free cyanide, a byproduct of an anti-caking agent applied to the piles. Dakota Bulk Terminal, operator of a South St. Paul salt storage site, and the Minneapolis Community Development Agency, owner of the site, received prior notification of a violation

2

along with the Winona operators.

Dakota Bulk Terminal responded to MPCA concerns and agreed to corrective actions. The Winona operators and the Winona Port Authority (owner of the site) did not respond.

Operators of the Winona sites dispute the validity of the tests.

Alien Worm Attack St. Paul, Minn. - Most people believe worms are good - good for gardens, bait and soil. But they may not be good for forests. Lee Frelich, a forest ecology researcher at the University of Minnesota, believes that worms may be damaging forest soils and making them uninhabitable for native plants, according to a report from the Associated Press (9-13-00).

The larger varieties of earthworms and nightcrawlers were brought to this country in potted plants by European immigrants.

Frelich discovered a loss of plants and even bare soil in areas of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota forests recently invaded by earthworms. The worms consume large amounts of duff, the light organic matter made up of rotting leaves and forest waste that can accumulate to a depth of several inches in healthy forests. Duff may be a key component in the health of both trees and small plants in forests.

Toxic River Breezes Washington D.C. -Those sweet river breezes that cool your brow contain a number of toxic chemicals according the report "Toxic Power," released by the National Environmental Trust. "Toxic Power" analyzes the data from the 1998 Toxic Release Inventory, the most recent national database of toxic emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency requires industries to report this data. The 1998 report is significant because it marks the first time electric power utility plants were required to submit data.

As many environmentalists ex-

Big River

pected, toxic emissions from power plants far outpaced those from any other industry, even the chemical and petroleum industries combined. The most common toxins released by power plants are hydrochloric and sulphuric acid gases which contribute to lung ailments.

Power plant emissions may have a significant impact on the Upper Mississippi region because a number of power plants with high emissions are located on the banks of the river. The dirtiest plants are the Dairyland Power stations at Alma and Genoa, Wisconsin; with Iowa stations at Muscatine (Louisa) and Lansing coming in behind them. A tally of the air emissions of riverside plants in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin totalled nearly eight million pounds.

The power industry is not subject to the same kinds of clean air regulations as other industries, but the release of this data may initiate a change.

,i

Smith's Island Re-opens Pleasant Valley, Iowa - After three years of rehabilitation, the Lock and Dam 14 Recreation Area at Smith's

Big River™ Big River (ISSN 1070-8340) is published monthly by Riverwise, Inc., 111 Riverfront, Suite 204, Winona, MN 55987; (507) 454-5949; fax: (507) 454-2133; email: editors@big-river.com; web site: wunv.big-river.com Reggie McLeod editor/publisher Molly McGuire assistant editor Mi Ae Lipe-Butterbrodt associate editor Trudy Balcom associate editor Kathy Delano design/marketing Holly Hess design/marketing Joshua Wolfe researcher Mary Feathergill office manager Subscriptions are $27 for one year, $50 for two years or $2.50 per single issue. Send subscriptions, single copy orders and change-ofaddress requests to Big River, PO Box 204, Winona, M N 55987.

Second-class postage paid at Winona, M N .

POSTMASTER: send change-of-address requests to Big River, PO Box 204, Winona , M N 55987.

Big River, Volume 8, N umber 10 copyright October 2000. Reproduction in whole or in part wit/Jout written permission of the publisher is pro/1ibited. Printed 011 recycled paper.

October 2000

,,.

Introducing Big River Magazine

By Reggie McLeod, editor

W

e're struggling with a new problem in the Big River office. Since January 1993, when we published our first issue, we've called Big River a "newsletter." Beginning with this issue, it's a "magazine." So far, it's sounding more like "newslemagazine" when we speak about it in the office. Soon it will be "ne-magazine," and eventually, I suppose, we'll get the hang of saying "Big River Magazine."

I expect the magazine to evolve in a similar way over this next couple of months. Being a magazine will ¡ mean that you'll start seeing it on newsstands, and it will contain advertising. As we add pages for advertising, we'll also expand the stories, columns and photos.

You'll soon begin seeing color covers, and eventually the entire magazine will be color. We expect to reach many new readers at magazine racks in rivertowns from St. Cloud to Muscatine.

Do you have a boat to sell? Are you looking for partners to share a river adventure next summer? Our new Classified Ads section gives subscribers a free, 30-word classified ad every month. We hope it helps to build a sense of community among our readers.

We're very excited about these changes, but no doubt they will bring some growing pains. Please write or email us with your advice and reflections. Thanks for sharing the journey. m

Island has re-opened. The self-guided nature trail that winds through several types of river ecosystems has a fresh surface of wood chips, and the picnic area and restrooms are also open, according to the Quad City Times (9-1-00). The area my .close again for a few days this fall for road paving.

shed in which it is used, and teacher in-service training is provided. Funding assistance to purchase the curriculum is available.

For more information contact John Kvansnicka or Amanda Ludeman at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center at (507) 653-5600. ~

River Resources

Clinton, Iowa - A highway reconstruction project on U.S. 30/67 is forcing the city of Clinton to separate some of its sewers. According to city administrator George Langmack, in order to receive federal highway funding for the project the city must install a separated sewer system in an eight mile drainage area around the highway. Like many old river towns, Clinton does not have a separated sewer system which runs stormwater though separate lines from municipal (household or commercial) sewage. Senator Tom Harkin is assisting the city in locating funding for the $8 million dollar project.

Storm sewers will soon be on the minds and the utility bills of Moline, Ill. residents. Moline city government recently approved a utility fee to create funding for an improved stormwater management

Minnesota - The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website features a fall color report from many of the state parks.

Check it out before you head out for a fall drive. The Minnesota DNR is also offering a free watershed poster for teachers, watershed organizations or individuals. The poster depicts the major watersheds of Minnesota and offers tips for protecting water resources. To get a copy, call 1-888-MINNDNR. Teachers in the river country of southeast Minnesota may want to check out a new comprehensive watershed curriculum specific to the region. The high school level curriculum focuses on hands-on testing and monitoring of water quality data and includes lesson plans and computer software. The curriculum is tailored to the water-

October 2000

Sewer Update News

Big River

system, according to River Cities Reader (9-6-00). Most residential bills will only increase by about $4, since the heavier burden will fall to commercial establishments whose parking lots and large structures contribute more to run-off problems. An Environmental Protection Agency mandate requires cities to have new systems by 2007. Moline is the only municipality in the Quad Cities currently contending with the problem.

Gravity Wins Winona, Minn. - Residents of Latsch Island awoke to a loud splash on the morning of September 21, when sections of the concrete railing on the old Wagon Bridge fell into the water below.

The area where the collapse occurred was across the channel from the boathouse community, so no one was hurt and no property was damaged.

Winona public works director Keith Nelson said that the collapse would likely not affect the decision to save the bridge, since the railing, which was leaning at an angle over the water, would have to be replaced anyway.

3

Lternit~ on the River

J

J

By Trudy Balcom

C

emeteries can surprise you.

Like death itself, Riverside Cemetery rests next to busy, everyday activities, like the traffic hurrying up Highway 35. The cemetery, on the hill just upriver from Genoa, Wis., invites you to wander and wonder about other times. A sign board welcomes visitors and explains a little of its history and the people buried here. A fat lady from the circus rests here, and a man who managed an insane asylum, although their names are not revealed. The frozen bodies of hoboes were laid in unmarked graves, after they were discovered next to the nearby railroad tracks in spring.

Cemeteries near the river are great places to go for a quiet walk, and many of them offer beautiful views, especially in the fall . They also reveal a lot about the people who occupied river communities before us - ethnicity, military service, infant mortality, longevity and affluence.

Not all of the curiosities appear on headstones. Visitors to Riverside may find the oldest gravestone marked 1857, but the cemetery is older than that. The landscape is punctuated by the rolling humps of other graves - Indian mounds.

4

According to Robert "Ernie" Boszhardt of the Mississippi Valley Archeological Center, some may be 2,000 years old. Only a few of the thousands of mounds that dotted the region remain.

"The odd thing about it is that the mounds were preserved by the cemetery," notes Boszhardt.

Just down the road from Riverside, in Genoa, the St. Charles Catholic Church cemetery perches on a winding narrow road up the

The graves at Sandy Point are peacefully scattered among a grove of mature oaks, where the music of lapping waves, so familiar to its inhabitants in life, is still heard. bluff behind the church. The Italian roots of the town are obvious in the names on the headstones. The view from the high cemetery may have reminded settlers of the view of the harbor at Genoa from that city's hillsides.

Big River ..

St. Charles is a more decorous place than Riverside. The people buried there were intimately tied to family, community and faith. A relic crypt, empty and abandoned, crowns the top of the cemetery. A bronze plaque inside lists the names of four sons of different families possibly lost in the first World War. The families must have shared their sorrow and their resources to build the crypt.

There is a fascinating variety of markers at St. Charles. The simplest are homemade concrete crosses with heavy-gauge wire bent into letters forming the inscription. Castiron crosses with ornate filigree patterns and figures of angels mark some burials. The stand-out is a monument in the form of a tall stump, very detailed with bark, vines and cut-off branches. It marks the grave of John Ott (1820-1901), one of the few German immigrants in the cemetery.

Downriver and on the opposite bank, in the resort community of Harpers Ferry, Iowa, is the tiny remainder of a cemetery. Sandy Point Cemetery is almost hidden. The grassy path leading to it lies at the end of a lane of summer cottages, and wanders off among the trees on the shady high bankof the river.

October 2000

j

The graves at Sandy Point are peacefully scattered among a grove of mature oaks, where the music of lapping waves, so familiar to its inhabitants in life, is still heard.

Only about a dozen graves markers remain at Sandy Point, most no(Left) A crypt and grave markers at St. Charles cemetery cling to the hillside at the forest edge above Genoa, Wis., and the river. (photo by T. Balcom)

t¡

t

l

(Below) Effigy Mounds National Monument offers numerous scenic views of the river, such as this one of the bridge connecting Marquette, Iowa, and Prairie du Chien, Wis. (photo by R. McLeod)

tably the grave of David Harper, for whom the town is named. Like Riverside, Sandy Point is also spotted with Indian mounds, although they are more timeworn, low and subtle. Jim Garrett, president of the Allamakee County Historical Society, said that during heavy flooding some of the graves at Sandy Point were washed away, so nobody has been buried there since 1925.

Drivers heading north toward the Twin Cities who take a shortcut around Hastings might follow U.S. Highway 52 through a landscape of cornfield monotony, then past the surrealistic tanks, stacks and fetid fumes of the Koch Petroleum refinery. It's not an inviting place, and it seems far away from both the river and the past. But right across the

October 2000

road from Koch stands a mature grove of burr oaks, and if you work to shut out the sensory assault of traffic noise and petroleum fumes, you might be able to imagine this grove as part of a blufftop oak savanna landscape. In that grove of oaks is Pine Bend Cemetery.

Even before Pine Bend was a thriving community of settlers, it was a summer village for the Dakota, a place where chief Medicine Bottle's people grew corn and fished in the river a quarter mile below. In the 1850s, the growing village vied with Hastings in an unsuccessful bid to become the seat of Dakota County. The cemetery, enclosed by an ornate fence and crowned with a sign, is all that remains of the efforts and energies that created the town.

Pine Bend is a Yankee cemetery. The names on the stones show that the people buried here were mostly transplanted Easterners following the westward growth of the nation. More than a dozen graves in the small cemetery are staked with a metal star marking them as true Yankees: veterans or casualties of the Civil War. Bernice Wenzel, head of the cemetery board, is a descendant of people buried at Pine Bend, she wonders who will care for it in the future.

The Dakota word "mendota" means the place where the rivers meet. But when you get to Mendota, now a suburb of St. Paul, it can be hard to find a place to see where

the waters of the Minnesota River and the Mississippi meet. With freeways buzzing and jetliners overhead, Mendota seems like just a place you pass on the way to somewhere else. To find the soul of Mendota you must go to St. Peter's Church.

St. Peter's is a place of simple beauty, the creamy limestone walls of the 1842 structure climb heavenward above the bluff, and a surprising oasis of quiet surrounds it. The cemetery lies hidden across the road, on the knob of a hill. The graves speak of a long line of Irish, French and German Catholic families. The cemetery itself is rather unremarkable, especially considering the historical heavyweights who lived here. Mendota was the site of an American Fur Company trading post in the 1830s, the home of the state's first territorial governor, Henry Sibley, and Indian trader Jean Baptiste Faribault. Very near the site of the cemetery, in 1851, the Dakota people signed the Treaty of Mendota, giving all of southern Minnesota to the United States.

With so much history socked into one location, you might expect more from the cemetery. The histo(Eternity continues on back cover)

This grave stone in Sandy Point Cemetery rests beneath spreading oaks among Indian Mounds 011 the bank of the river in Harpers Ferry, Iowa. (photo by R. McLeod)

Big River

5

The Vanished Lock and Dam Swamped by a Blunder

By Jack Maloney

W

hy was the first federal lock and dam in the Twin Cities abandoned after only five years? How did intercity rivalry play a part in the mystery?

The answers lie sunk in the Mississippi River, on the edge of Merriam Park in St. Paul, where we may soon have an opportunity to recoup a century-old investment of taxpayer money.

The Mississippi's first lock and dam, the Meeker Island Lock and Dam, was a product of long-standing rivalries between St. Paul and Minneapolis. At the end of the 19th century, St. Paul was the head of navigation on the Mississippi - as far up as a large steamboat could travel. Minneapolis, powered by the Falls of St. Anthony, was the milling center. Minneapolis people wanted locks in the river to bring steamboats up to their city, but St. Paulites objected. St. Paul people wanted dams for hydro power, but Minneapolitans objected. Neither city wanted the other to gain an advantage.

By the 1890s, it seemed as if Minneapolis interests had won out.

Congress directed the Army Corps of Engineers to build two dams with locks that would allow steamboats to reach Minneapolis below St. Anthony Falls - but the proposed dams would be too low to generate hydroelectric power. The lock and dam at what is now Ford Parkway was designated 1 because it was the first one approached

6

from downriver. Upriver, Lock and Dam 2 was to be built first, just above the Lake St. - Marshall Ave. Bridge, below Meeker Island (one of many Mississippi islands now dredged to oblivion). Work on the

But even as crowds cheered the first steamboat, ltura, through the Meeker Island Lock, plans were under way to make it obsolete. ill-fated Meeker Island Lock and Dam began in 1899.

(The Meeker Island Lock and Dam 2 is not to be confused with Lock and Dam 2 now at Hastings, Minn. The current lock and dam numbering system starts with 1 at the Ford Parkway and numbers get higher going downstream.)

The lock lay on the east side of the river, in the very center of the Metro area, straddling the line between St. Paul and Minneapolis, Ramsey and Hennepin counties.

Measuring 80 feet wide by 334 feet long, the lock was designed to accommodate large steamboats. The massive poured concrete walls are 5.5 feet wide at the top and 15 feet wide at the base. The Meeker Island Lock and Dam opened in 1907 -

Big River

the first Army Corps of Engineers' lock and dam on the Mississippi.

But even as crowds cheered the first steamboat, Itura, through the Meeker Island Lock, plans were under way to make it obsolete. Rapid development of hydroelectric power in the years between 1899 and 1907 made it obvious that the low dams were a blunder. A higher dam could produce valuable electricity.

The mistake was caught in time for Lock and Dam 1 downstream, which was still incomplete. Work stopped while plans were redrawn, raising the structure and creating a base for a power station at what is now Ford Parkway. Unfortunately, the higher water level would submerge the Meeker Island Lock and Dam, making it useless. Minneapolis still got its navigation - but now St. Paul would get its hydro power, too.

The Meeker Island Lock and Dam was a huge federal blunder. It took eight years to build, at a cost of millions in today's dollars. And, it was abandoned after only five years of operation. The top of the dam was cut off, and the lock gates removed. Today, the tops of the concrete walls are just below the surface of the river. Looking upstream from the Lake St. - Marshall Ave. Bridge, you can still see a row of round bronze bollards along the east bank where steamboats used to tie up. The tum-of-the-century lock is now a navigation hazard, marked with buoys.

October 2000

,

Lock to Dock?

Today, the site of Meeker Island Lock and Dam is a scenic spot.

Beavers work the river bank, ducks and geese skim the surface. Tows, recreational boats and canoes ply the waters between the high wooded bluffs where eagles soar. Colorful rowing shells, from the Univer-

The submerged walls of the lock are as strong today as when they were built early in the 20th century. They could provide a foundation for a public recreation site to serve fishermen, picnickers, boaters, wildlife watchers and sightseers. sity of Minnesota upstream, and the Minneapolis Rowing Club across the river, practice daily and compete in summer regattas. Sternwheelers bring tourists upriver as far as St. Anthony Falls. Many anglers fish near the underwater structure.

Approaching the 100th anniversary of its construction, this historic relic may provide an opportunity to recoup the original investment, through development into a firstclass site for public access, recreation, historic interpretation and appreciation of the Mississippi River.

River enthusiasts in the Desnoyer Park neighborhood and Merriam Park community in St. Paul are developing a Master Plan for the East Mississippi River bluff that centers on the Meeker Island Lock site. Efforts are under way to have the lock considered for listing on the national Register of Historic Sites.

The submerged walls of the lock are as strong today as when they

October 2000

The submerged Meeker Island Lock is now marked as a navigation hazard on the Army Corps of Engineers ' charts of the river, just upriver from the Lake St. - Marshall Ave. Bridge.

\y ~ " ~o

,,....___-=--i

~v ;

were built early in the 20th century. They could provide a foundation for a public recreation site to ). serve fishermen, picnickers, boaters, wildlife watchers and sightseers.

Architects have estimated that a 12foot-wide, 100-footlong pier could be built atop the outer lock wall at a cost of , about $200,000.

Benches and picnic ~ tables built onto the pier would provide a :;::::;;; 1,. safe and comfortable <I' place for people to enjoy the river year round. A raised walkway could connect the pier to the east bluff of the river. A low-impact alternative would be to develop an on-shore sitt! overlooking the lock walls, with similar amenities The Old Wagon Road brought construction materials from the top of the bluffs to the Meeker Island Lock. This historic road could be restored to create safe access to the river. Soft, traditional lighting, similar to that used along the boulevard above and the Lake St. - Marshall Ave. Bridge, could extend the lock site's usefulness into the evening.

Additional access to the lock site would be provided by a new Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) stairway from the bluff to the river, scheduled for construction between Eustis and Pelham avenues. An existing MCES stairway, in Minneapolis near the foot of Emerald Avenue, could be also be upgraded or replaced.

:)

c

«r

~

,,

/

=

Big River

~~ fu~

0

n F7

J]7]f)' ...,}~ 1~~ ;!~- ·"·'

YE

OQ

IPfLIIIEAREA

AK

ST.

Aff H A LL A VE .

E : MILE 84

The east riverbank path, now ending at Cecil Street in Minneapolis, could be extended to the Meeker Island Pier and the Old Wagon Road, providing continuous bicycle access to the Mississippi from the U. of M. to St. Paul's Mississippi River Boulevard.

The historic Meeker Island Lock and Dam was launched by a rivalry, swamped by a blunder and scuttled by history. Perhaps the project's troubled past can be turned into a bright future.

Jack Maloney is a writer who lives in the Desnoyer Park neighborhood and is active in the River Access Project, Desnoyer Park Improvement Association, (65 1) 645-5239.

This is his first story for Big River.

7

30 WORDS FREE

Subscribe to Big River

send your message to the other readers of BIG RIVER

Enjoy the river 12 months a year with the monthly magazine for people who work, live or play on the Upper Mississippi River. We cover the waterfront from St. Cloud, Minn., to Davenport, Iowa.

Each issue includes a calendar of events, up-to-date news and stories about every aspect of the river.

• First 30 words of classified ads - free to Big River subscribers, then 10¢ per word.

• Non-subscribers pay 10¢ per word.

• Email us at editors@big-river.com • Or type your ad as you would like it to read on a separate sheet of paper. Enclose your ad, payment and the following information in an envelope: Your name Address Phone Big River 4- or 5-digit subscriber number (on address label) Send it to: Big River PO Box 204 Winona, MN 55987 • • • •

$27.00 for one year (#BR-27) $50.00 for two years (#BR-28) No sales tax on subscriptions.

1-800-303-8201

Please submit your ad two weeks prior to the month in which the ad will run.

Write to Big River, PO Box 204, Winona, MN 55987; or fax us at (507) 454-2133; or call 1-800-303-8201.

Big River Reader

Look for The Little Tow-Watcher's Guide and the Big River Reader in these fine bookstores and shops along the river.

Featuring stories on river wildlife, history and ecology, as well as people living and working on the Upper Mississippi, the Big River Reader shows what our magazine and the river are all about.

d Big River Rea er

Introduce the Big River Reader to a friend or settle down for some fine fall reading.

Published by Big River, softcover, 200 pages.

of Storit>:-- about . f ~m the

An Antholo~ . .

the Upper MlSS\S~tppi ,i ...r~vcr

$15.95 (#BR-11) (+$1.50 shipping)

First four Year~ of B M

Write to Big River, PO Box 204, Winona, MN 55987; or fax us at (507) 454-2133; or call 1-800-303-8201.

Hungry Mind Bookstore, St. Paul, Minn.

Micaber's Books, St. Paul, Minn.

Slippery's Tavern, Wabasha, Minn.

Meadowlark Shops, Kellogg, Minn.

B. Dalton, Rochester, Minn.

Paperback Exchange, Winona, Minn.

Winona County Historical Society, Winona, Minn.

Apple Valley Antiques & Gifts, La Crescent, Minn.

Papermoon, McGregor, Iowa Books, Etc., Guttenberg, Iowa Dubuque Historical Society, Dubuque, Iowa River Lights, Dubuque, Iowa Chapter & Verse, Galena, Iowa Bookworm, Bellevue, Iowa Hawks Hollow, Bellevue, Iowa Iowa Peddlers, Le Claire, Iowa Readmore Book World, Rock Island, Ill.

.,

Visit www.big-river.com or call 1-800-303-8201 for details on more river-related products:

Posters The Upper Miss.: A River Worth Preserving

$10.00

Native Fish of the Upper Mississippi River

$11.00

Beautiful Bosse Notecards

T-shirts

Henry Bosse took these photos of the river between 1883 and 1893, when he worked for the Army Corps of Engineers. Art experts have praised his photographs as some of the best of the 19th century.

Big River Pelican T-Shirt

$14.95

Big River Turtle T-Shirt

$10.95

Published by Friends of the Mississippi River.

The Little Tow-Watcher's Guide

10 cards per set in a gift box.

Upper Miss. River Navigation Charts

(#BR-17) Twin Cities Scenes

Fishing for Buffalo Upper Mississippi River History

(#BR-18) Scenes from Twin Cities to St. Louis

Books $8.50 $15.00 $13.45 $18.70

(Prices do not include shipping or sales tax.)

$8.00 for one set of 10 (+$1.50 shipping)

Between the Saints: Louis and Paul BETWEEN

By Kathy Flippo This narrative is written by the wife of a towboat captain who has ridden along on the Upper Mississippi many times. Book reviewer Pamela Eyden says, "Unlike some towboating books I've read, there isn't a lot of macho swagger here - how rough is the work, how tough are the men, how narrow the escape from disaster." Instead, each chapter describes the work at hand as Flippo makes the journey up the length of the river. This fine book joins the others in our collection for river buffs.

Published by the Little River Books Division, 275 pages + appendices.

THE SAINTS:

J.R. Simpson & Associates, Inc., softcover, KATHY FLIPPO

$29.95 (BR #5) (+$2.00 for shipping)

BIG RIVER MARKETPLACE ORDER FORM Return this form with your check or credit card information to: Big River, PO Box 204, Winona, MN 55987 Or phone 1-800-303-8201 or fax (507) 454-2133 for credit card orders during normal business hours Item#

Description

Price

Quanity

Total Items

Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Address _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ City---------------State _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Zip Code _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

OOb

Subtotal Winona, Minn., res. pay 7% sales tax Minn. res. pay 6.5% sales tax (except on clothing & magazines) Total Shipping (not to exceed $6.00) TOTAL

_ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __

0

MasterCard

O Visa

expiration date _ _ _ _ _ __

card number _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

signature

(Eternity continued from page 5)

Special Events & Festivals October 1 Taste of Savanna, Savanna, Ill.

1-7 Oktoberfest, La Crosse, Wis.

28 "Spirits of Wyalusing's Past" candlelight hike, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m., Wyalusing State Park, S. of Prairie du Chien, Wis. late Oct.-Nov. Swan Watch, Alma, Wis.

Meetings & Hearings

7 Art along the River, Bellevue, Iowa.

7 Harvest Festival, Rock Island, Ill. 7-8 Fall Festival, Fulton, Ill. 7-8 Autumn Craft Fair, Galena, Ill. 7-8 Johnny Appleseed Days, Lake City, Minn.

7-8 Flea Market, Marquette, Iowa.

7-8 Arts & Crafts Festival, McGregor, Iowa.

7-8 Shihata Orchard Fest, Prairie du Chien, Wis. 7-15 Love It & Leave It, Sabula, Iowa.

8 Applefest, Le Claire, Iowa.

13-15 Octoberfest, Dubuque, Iowa.

14 GRRR- Great River Road/Road Race, Pikes Peak State Park, McGregor, Iowa.

October 12 Lower Wis. Riverway Board, 5 p.m., Village Hall, Wauzeka,Wis., 1-800-2213792 or (608) 739-3188.

12 Dubuque (Iowa) Audubon Society, 7 p.m., E.B. Lyons Nature Center, program on the Mississippi River Discovery Center.

Workshops & Conferences October 6-7 Izaak Walton League Fall Workshop, Katherine Abbott Park, Mahtomedi, Minn., register, (612) 872-7516.

10 Where Wild Things Are: Profiting From Wildlife Tourism, Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center, Lanesboro, Minn., 1-888-MINNDNR.

Audubon Ark River Tour October2000

14-15 Fall Festival of Arts, Red Wing, Minn.

14-15 Flea Market, Marquette, Iowa.

14-15 Arts & Crafts Festival, McGregor, Iowa.

15 Fall Windup, Lynxville, Wis. 17-19 Candlelight Tour, Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minn.

21 Mississippi River Heritage Fest, noon 3 p.m., Riverview Park, Ft. Madison, Iowa.

21-22 Husking Bee, Oliver Kelly Farm, Elk River, Minn.

24 St. Andrew-Thomas Fall Festival, Potosi, Ill.

Hiawatha Valley Audubon Society Lake Park Lodge, Winona, Minn.

October 4 Meeting, 7 p .m., Carrol Henderson on Lakescaping for Wildlife.

14 Waterfowl field trip, 9 a.m., Lloyd Harders.

21 Hawk Watch, 9 a.m., carpool with Scott Mehus.

November 1 Meeting, 7 p.m., slideshow by photographer Sandra Lines.

All free and open to the public.

$

(651) 290-1695

1 2 3&4 5 6, 7 8, 9 9, 10 10 11, 12 12, 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 26 27

Begin in Cairo, Ill. Fort Madison, Iowa, Commerce, Mo. and Thebes, Ill. Cape Girardeau, Mo. Chester, Ill. Ste. Genevieve, Mo. St. Louis, Mo. Columbia Bottoms - Missouri River Alton and Lock & Dam 26, Ill. Portage Des Sioux, Mo. Grafton and Pere, Marquette SP Illinois River Louisiana and Clarksville, Mo. Hannibal, Mo. Quincy, Ill. La Grange, Mo. Canton, Mo. Keokuk, Iowa Nauvoo, Ill.; Montrose, Iowa Fort Madison, Iowa Burlington, Iowa Oquaska, Ill. New Boston, Keithsburg, Ill. Muscatine, Iowa Buffalo, Iowa Rock Island / Quad Cities Closing Event- Quad Cities

ry is here, but instead of showing up on the headstones, it appears on the horizon, best appreciated in a leafless autumn. No doubt the moccasins, boots and bare feet of many have walked this knob and scanned the sparkling confluence of the two rivers and the imposing walls of Fort Snelling on the far bank.

Of course, there are dozens of other fascinating cemeteries to discover up and down the river. Some of the victims of the 1890 Sea Wing steamboat disaster rest at the cemetery in tiny Diamond Bluff, south of Prescott, Wis. Prairie du Chien is home to the smallest national military cemetery, at Fort Crawford, and there is a cemetery on Blanchard Island, south of Muscatine, Iowa. Hands down, the most ancient and spectacular is Effigy Mounds National Monument near Harpers Ferry, Iowa.

So if you head out for a drive along the river this fall, visit a cemetery, while you can appreciate it from the light side of the sod. In addition to enjoying the view and a bit of history, it's an opportunity to stop and think about life.

Trudy Balcom is associate editor of Big River. Her last story was "Aghaming Park - more than mosquitoes and poison ivy," [uly 2000.

1111111111111111 I,, ,lt''I '

Send your November calendar events by October 15 to Big River, PO Box 204, Winona, MN 55987.

Or email to ed ito rs@big-river.com.