Posts Tagged With: River Heritage Museum

Paducah, KY. March 17

The first signs of spring occurred in southern Illinois.

We were on the road early this morning. Last night provided extra incentive to make sure we arrived at breakfast early. When we had checked in, we noted our hotel had as guests numerous families with young people. Champaign was the host site for the Illinois State wrestling tournament for boys ten and under. Evidently when you have wrestlers under age ten, the whole family comes along for the event. Our assumption was that if we were downstairs for breakfast by 6:30 AM, we would be in good shape.

Wrong. Evidently our assumption was based on when our daughters would prefer to get up. Wrestlers are up early and on their way to the tournament which started at 8:30 AM. There were three people for every two seats in the meal area when we arrived at 6:30 AM. A glass of orange juice was our sole take-away and we set out on the road. Breakfast ended up being at a local restaurant located inside of the IGA grocery store in Effingham Illinois, an hour south of Champaign.

Our daily journey was projected at 280 miles, most of it on two lane, 55 mph roads below Effingham, but that allowed us to make several stops today. First off was the “Garden of the Gods” Recreation Area in Shawnee National Forest. The journey there did take us by oil fields and coal mining locations. Illinois was supposedly the first state in which Europeans discovered coal. Today, it is still the fifth largest coal-producing state, but the amount of coal shipped is decreasing and the number of miners has dropped dramatically.

A view from the Garden of the Gods Recreation Area in Shawnee National Forest

A close-up of rock formations in Garden of the Gods Recreation Area

Located in extreme southeast Illinois just above the Ohio River, Garden of the Gods provides some of the most photographed outdoor locations in Illinois. We opted for the Observation Trail that contains unique rock formations and outstanding views of the valleys and hills that line the southern most portions of Illinois.

Trails abound in the forest and wilderness area surrounding the observation trail but today was not meant to be a major hiking day. After we saw the sights, we drove the Ohio River Scenic Byway to Paducah, KY. Unfortunately, the scenery was not all that spectacular with only one view of the Ohio River. While daffodils became abundant, few other trees were blooming. The temperature increased nicely though, from 32 degrees in Champaign to 68 degrees around the Shawnee Forest.

While Effingham appeared prosperous, the smaller towns we passed through on our way to Paducah seemed poorer and passed over. There appeared to be a more liberal attitude of what was permissible to store outside your house along with the quantity of what was stored in the yard. Possibly the decrease in coal mining jobs led to this but agriculture still seemed to be strong economic factor.

We made it to Paducah in time to visit the River Discovery Center, also called the River Heritage Museum. It is not open Sunday so we had to ensure our arrival allowed us to visit it today. The museum focuses on several rivers in this area, the Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland also with the Mississippi. Paducah has a long history with the Ohio River, and its location at the confluence of the Ohio and the Tennessee has led to the city having boat building and maintenance facilities.

The museum educated us about the 1937 Ohio River flood where 90% of Paducah was flooded, 30,000 people here were evacuated, the river was seven miles wide with flood waters, and the flood was so extensive along the Ohio that it led to the building of new levies to try to limit flooding. A new factoid for me was the use of “snagboats”, steel covered boats that would ram submerged trees and tree trunks (snags) to remove them or to use it’s on board cranes to lift the snags out of the river.

A view of some of the murals and the Ohio River from the River Discovery Center.

A close-up of just one of the murals, this one depicts a rare occurrence when the Ohio River froze over.

After the museum, we walked along the riverfront to enjoy the river murals. The murals, sponsored by local businesses or individuals, portrayed notable events in the history of Paducah. We had observed similar murals in Vicksburg TN, but the murals in Paducah seemed smaller. The murals here have the advantage of being located still in the downtown district; in Vicksburg who have to walk a few blocks out of the downtown to see the murals up close. Robert Dafford is the painter; well-known for his murals and having created murals in several other Ohio river towns.

Wacinton statue in Paducah KY

Our final stop was at the 35 foot tall wood carving of Wacinton. This carving started with a 56,000 pound red oak and was completed over thirty years ago. The statue is meant to honor the Chickasaw Indians who lived in the area prior to the arrival of European settlers. The sculptor is Peter Wolf Toth who has completed statues in each of the fifty states-although not all are still standing. His message is to honor the indigenous peoples of America.

Ed and Chris March 17

Epilogue: Snippets on life in America from Chris

Day 2: Driving along the 2 lane road at the posted 55 MPH (or a little above), one sees on either side acres and acres of farmland. Houses, barns and silos are off in the distance as the deep brown soil lies quietly near the road, prepped for spring planting. We are alerted to a speed change to 35 MPH; an assortment of houses close to the road announces a town. No traffic signals, no sidewalks, no schools, some boarded stores, no green park space. In a minute or two, after the Dollar General store, we are back to 55 MPH, passing again part of America’s farmlands.