Shantyboat stops along the Tennessee River
As of print, the shantyboat was scheduled to hold official exhibitions in the following cities. More stops are sure to be added along the way — including one in Chattanooga which Modes says should be in mid-July. To learn more, visit peoplesriverhistory.us/exhibit.Aug. 5-8: Kennedy Douglas Center for the Arts in Florence AlabamaAug. 22-Sept. 7: McCracken County Library and Maiden Alley Cinema in Paducah, Kentucky
Project Goals
In addition to its archive of river stories, Secret History of American River People outcomes are expected to include short and feature-length documentaries and a series of books. “These archives telling otherwise untold personal narratives are a significant cultural artifact with wide-reaching significance to people living and searching for solutions to shared challenges in river communities elsewhere on the continent,” Modes writes on his website.To read blogs, see more photos, or follow the shantyboat’s progress along the Tennessee River, visit peoplesriverhistory.us.
“The water you touch in a river is the last of that which has passed, and the first of that which is coming.” – Leonardo da Vinci
On July 5, Wes Modes and his dog Hazel will depart Knoxville for their first voyage along the Tennessee River aboard Modes’ self-built shantyboat.
The shantyboat – like a houseboat, but more humble – is re-created in 1940’s fashion. It features a wooden hull, pitched tin roof and barge bottom. Modes has spent the past two summers floating his vessel down the Mississippi River. Along the way, he collects oral histories from river communities – which is the foundation of his multi-year project, “The Secret History of American River People.”