Steamboat Era Museum Oral History Project

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  • Collection DOI:
    Principal Investigator:
    Carrie Kline, Michael Kline
  • These interviews were recorded with residents of the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula of Virginia during 2003 who knew much about the history of steamboating in the region. Included were many now no longer living, who worked on the boats and wharves, those who rode them as passengers and crew, and those who shipped produce and manufactured items or ordered goods for delivery. At the time, copies of the recordings were provided to the Steamboat Era Museum in Irvington, Virginia for use in various educational programs.

    To browse this collection and others, please visit the Berea College Special Collections & Archives: https://bereaarchives.libraryhost.com/

Interviewee Sort descending Collection Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Captain Arthur C. “Bill” Johnson Steamboat Era Museum Oral History Project

Captain Arthur C. “Bill” Johnson (1927-2016) piloted international ships through the Chesapeake waters. He easily named the lighthouses he passed regularly along the Potomac River. Johnson spoke with great respect for the pilots of the passenger steamers with whom he exchanged light and whistle signals passing in narrow stretches of water. He outlined the terminology of steamships and spoke with high regard for the statuesque passenger boats around which local economies were based.

Carrie Kline, Michael Kline Irvington, VA Talking Across the Lines, Berea College Special Collections & Archives
Charles J. "Chuck" Harney Steamboat Era Museum Oral History Project

Charles J. "Chuck" Harney (1922-2004). At the time of the interview he had been retired to Lancaster County fifteen years. He said he had videotaped over 150 interviews with local people on boats, in homes and shops, in fields and marshes throughout the region.

Carrie Kline, Michael Kline Unknown Talking Across the Lines, Berea College Special Collections & Archives
Charles R. Winstead Steamboat Era Museum Oral History Project

Charles R. Winstead, Age 88 (1915-2008). Captain Winstead spent most of his working life aboard a menhaden (type of fish) fishing boat. A powerful and articulate seaman, Winstead elucidates the inner workings of a steam-powered fishing vessel, including singing an example of the chanteys he led as a crew member to draw in the nets. Winstead, the first African-American in the region to acquire a pilot and captain’s license, rode passenger steamboats on several occasions during his younger days.

Carrie Kline, Michael Kline Unknown Talking Across the Lines, Berea College Special Collections & Archives
Clarence Benjamin "Buck" Rowe Steamboat Era Museum Oral History Project

Clarence Benjamin "Buck" Rowe (1921-2005). Interviewed by Carrie & Michael Kline with Dianne Jordan for the Steamboat Era Museum; 11/3/03. At the time of the interview Mr. Rowe was keeping a store at Bena in the Guinea community of lower Gloucester County. The store was established by his father in 1920, at the height of the steamboat era. His vivid memories brought to life details of nearby wharves where he went twice weekly as a young boy with a wagon and team to pick up deliveries for the store. 

Carrie Kline, Michael Kline, Dianne Jordan Guinea, VA Talking Across the Lines, Berea College Special Collections & Archives
Edwin Veola Hutt Steamboat Era Museum Oral History Project

Edwin Veola Hutt (1918-2009)

By the age of fourteen, Hutt was running the family cannery, helping out on the farm and boxing eggs in the post office located in his father’s general store. Hutt donated to the Museum several cannery tokens that were used in place of cash to pay his workers through the World War Two era.

Carrie Kline, Michael Kline Newland, VA Talking Across the Lines, Berea College Special Collections & Archives
Eliza Lillian Crosby Nutt Steamboat Era Museum Oral History Project

Interview with Eliza Lillian Crosby Nutt

Unknown Unknown Talking Across the Lines
Ella Wanda "Teenie" Edwards Steamboat Era Museum Oral History Project

Michael Kline interviewed Ella Wanda Edwards, also known as Teenie, for the Steamboat Era Museum Oral History Project. Born on September 26, 1920, on Gwynn's Island, Virginia, Ella Wanda Edwards grew up in a family of thirteen children, enjoying a close-knit community filled with honest, upright people. The interview begins with Edwards sharing her childhood memories and the origins of her nickname, Teenie. She fondly recalls the trust and camaraderie among the island's residents, including a valued worker named Bozo, who was integral to the community despite his fear of water.

Carrie Kline, Michael Kline Hudgins, VA Talking Across the Lines, Berea College Special Collections & Archives
Eva Braxton and Joyce Xennia Long Steamboat Era Museum Oral History Project

At 101 Mrs. Braxton was articulate and good humored. A native of Middlesex County, she described her tenure teaching at African-American schoolhouses and earlier, working in the dairy at her childhood home. She graphically depicted the sounds and excitement that ensued with the coming of the steamboats. Her daughter Xennia Long rounded out the interview with her poetry on local life and culture.

Carrie Kline, Michael Kline Unknown Talking Across the Lines, Berea College Special Collections & Archives
Frances Simmons & William R. "Billy" Rowe Steamboat Era Museum Oral History Project

Part 1. Frances Simmons (1928-2018). Widow of C. Jackson Simmons, Irvington historian, attorney and author, Frances Simmons wove together a cohesive picture of life about her father’s farm, including threshing machines, 4-H fairs, Adams Floating Theatre, beach excursions, dinners at home for family and black farmhands, wagon travel, and stevedores singing while loading goods on the wharves. Mrs. Simmons concluded her testimonial with recommendations for the Steamboat Era Museum.

Carrie Kline, Michael Kline , Irvington, VA Talking Across the Lines, Berea College Special Collections & Archives
Gazelle Moore Steamboat Era Museum Oral History Project

Interview with Gazelle Moore

Carrie Kline, Michael Kline Hudgins, VA Talking Across the Lines, Berea College Special Collections & Archives