Last summer our church inaugurated a series of sometimes subsidized all-church fellowship activities. We went to a Louisville Bats minor league baseball game, one of the activities in that series. This year we may miss the game, but we got to the first activity, a cruise on Louisville's "Belle of Louisville" steamship, which races annually in the KY Derby Festival Great Steamboat Race. On Thursday evening a week and a half ago it was fair but probably the hottest evening of the year so far, with high humidity and temperatures close to 90 degrees. Unlike on rival steamboat "Star of Jefferson," there is no air-conditioning on the "Belle." I just walked a couple of minutes from my office, since the "Belle" is moored at 4th and River Road. Pictured above is Johanna, a new church affiliate who also guest preached that week, and some of her family (including daughter Chelby). Below is Paul, a single dad who's shown up in Children's Fellowship pictures and who will show up in pictures of another signature Lousville activity a week later.
Below is my Presbyterian Center colleague and former client Marcia with daughter Kate, co-coordinator of our church's children's and youth ministries.
Below is Becky, a new member who's been participating in church activities with her family for a couple of years now.
Below is Becky's daughter, Elizabeth.
Below are Johanna and Elaine, the church Nurture Council co-chairperson who organized the cruise activity.
The ship departed from the dock and started to head upriver, under the 2nd Street bridge. On many school days Stephanie drives across this bridge to and from school. The bridges starts out from Main Street and passes within a few yards of the western edge of the Presbyterian Center building, where I work.
Moving upriver, the boat passed the Jeff boat factory, on the left (below). where - Chris told us - landing craft for D-day was manufactured (which put Kentuckiana on the destination list for German saboteurs during World War II). The plant is still one of two big barge factories in the country. (One of my former Toastmasters colleagues worked for the parent company.)
Below the paddle wheel spun. Some of the rivals of the "Belle" in the steamboat race are not real steamboats, but operate on electric power. A steam engine apparently powers the paddle wheel of the "Belle."
Chris (below) served as a deck hand on the "Belle" in the summer of 1979. Obviously the "Belle" has a long Louisville history. Chris felt faint by the end of the boat ride and waited to drive home until he felt a little better.
The boat passed a tug and barge (below) in the shadow of the VA hospital (?).
(Below) Marcia and Phil looked downriver as we headed back downriver.
(Below) Bruce brandished his camera. Bruce came back with wife Lora from mission service in Ethiopia earlier this year and had open heart surgery. Doctors just cleared him to continue his mission service but stay in the United States and communicate to Presbyterians nationwide about the work of PC(USA) mission workers in international mission service.
Elaine (below) checked out the snack bar downstairs, which we raided for several hot dogs and other snacks - plus water in the hot, humid weather. Finally, on the way back downriver we managed to position ourselves so we felt some breeze.
We continued to cruise down river, where the downtown Louisville skyline (below) beckoned in some haze.
We passed a long coal barge (below).
A tug boat (below) powered the barge.
The coal barge (below) stretched onwards.
We passed another barge (below) in front of the old Water Tower complex, where Vincent attended his high school prom as a junior.
Kate's new 1-year-old, Isabel, was on the cruise and as photogenic as ever.
We kept going a little past the wharf until we could see (below) on the right edge the edge of the Falls of Louisville, the once rapids that led to the formation of Clarksville and New Albany on one side and Louisville on the other, now dammed into a right angle dam.
The sun was finally setting around 9 p.m. as the boat began to turn towards the wharf.
Below is Becky's daughter, Elizabeth.
Below are Johanna and Elaine, the church Nurture Council co-chairperson who organized the cruise activity.
The ship departed from the dock and started to head upriver, under the 2nd Street bridge. On many school days Stephanie drives across this bridge to and from school. The bridges starts out from Main Street and passes within a few yards of the western edge of the Presbyterian Center building, where I work.
Moving upriver, the boat passed the Jeff boat factory, on the left (below). where - Chris told us - landing craft for D-day was manufactured (which put Kentuckiana on the destination list for German saboteurs during World War II). The plant is still one of two big barge factories in the country. (One of my former Toastmasters colleagues worked for the parent company.)
Below the paddle wheel spun. Some of the rivals of the "Belle" in the steamboat race are not real steamboats, but operate on electric power. A steam engine apparently powers the paddle wheel of the "Belle."
Chris (below) served as a deck hand on the "Belle" in the summer of 1979. Obviously the "Belle" has a long Louisville history. Chris felt faint by the end of the boat ride and waited to drive home until he felt a little better.
The boat passed a tug and barge (below) in the shadow of the VA hospital (?).
(Below) Marcia and Phil looked downriver as we headed back downriver.
(Below) Bruce brandished his camera. Bruce came back with wife Lora from mission service in Ethiopia earlier this year and had open heart surgery. Doctors just cleared him to continue his mission service but stay in the United States and communicate to Presbyterians nationwide about the work of PC(USA) mission workers in international mission service.
Elaine (below) checked out the snack bar downstairs, which we raided for several hot dogs and other snacks - plus water in the hot, humid weather. Finally, on the way back downriver we managed to position ourselves so we felt some breeze.
We continued to cruise down river, where the downtown Louisville skyline (below) beckoned in some haze.
We passed a long coal barge (below).
A tug boat (below) powered the barge.
The coal barge (below) stretched onwards.
We passed another barge (below) in front of the old Water Tower complex, where Vincent attended his high school prom as a junior.
Kate's new 1-year-old, Isabel, was on the cruise and as photogenic as ever.
Martha and Bill looked out on the river as we approached downtown Louisville.
We kept going a little past the wharf until we could see (below) on the right edge the edge of the Falls of Louisville, the once rapids that led to the formation of Clarksville and New Albany on one side and Louisville on the other, now dammed into a right angle dam.
The sun was finally setting around 9 p.m. as the boat began to turn towards the wharf.
As we returned to the wharf and disembarked, I took a flash picture of one of the new public art Gallapalooza horse, this one designed so that people can sit on it and this one painted with a picture of the "Belle."
-- Perry
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