[Edward Ray]

Paducah Kentucky where the might Tennessee and Cumberland meets the Ohio.

Is there anyone out there that remember any of the great contribution made by all the marine firm who called Paducah home? While I was late in observing it peak years, as a young boy I was privileged spend some time there during the war years and the late forties. The greatest draw was perhaps the marine ways which they had two with floating dry docks, and while I can't recall the name of the more up-to-date one located near their downtown, I well remember the West Kentucky Coal Company barge plant. West Kentucky Coal had been a major supplier of coal and operated mines and loading facilities near Caseyville Kentucky. They operated a fleet of steamboat that towed the coal into Paducah, operated a fleeting service and of course at some established a barge plant to build and maintain their fleet which at the time was of all wood construction. While their own river operations were in recline by the 1940s all but one of their steamboat had been retired, they had then acquired a fleet of standard steel hopper barges which replaced the previous all wood one, still offered fleeting services with a small yellow Tug called the Margaret Richardson and continue to operate the barge plant because steel was in great demand and available only for the war effort. As a result they did a great business build and repairing small wooden vessel like small towboat, ferry flats and derrick boats due to the availability of all of their old and highly skill marine carpenters, caulker and fitters. The like of a group of men that one had to wonder how they ever build anything because of their work habits, which is a story in its self. Of course there many local early pioneers who were well on their way to success like Walter G Hougland, Fred Oulcott and the noted Louis Igert group who one of their boat was the large sternwheeler Ivan S Cobb.
So while I can contribute more perhaps later, but I would welcome hearing from all who might have experience time in and out of Paducah.

Ed Ray
Dublin Ohio

P.S. Steve are you getting all this down.