On June 21, 1955 Sam Gray, David Rutford and Fred Hallberg begin their cruise down the Mississippi river from Saint Paul Minnesota on a homemade raft. The raft was built of barrels and planks. Power for the propeller was provided by a 1939 Chevrolet they had paid $15 for. the car had 172,000 miles on it. The rear wheels of the car ran against another set of wheels which turned the propeller. The car’s steering wheel turned the raft’s rudder. In Saint Louis Missouri the men had a delay as the Chevy’s valves needed to be ground. Outside of Memphis Tennessee a bearing on the propeller shaft burned out but the men were able to repair it with tools borrowed from a barge crew. The men ran low on food as they discovered a stowaway was eating their food. The stowaway was a rat. The men tried fishing for food but caught nothing the entire trip. Other problems encountered included mosquitoes, driftwood in the river and backwash from passing barges. On July 25 1955 the trio reached New Orleans. They planned to drive the Chevrolet back to Minnesota.
The three men made it back to Saint Paul driving the Chevrolet in 49 hours. The car used five gallons of oil for the return drive. Photo Ramsey County Historical Society.
We could use more of that kind of spirit today ! What a cool story.
ReplyDeleteToday they’d throw your azz in jail for that, ya probably need about 14 permits to even think about it.
DeleteCoast Guard; No life jackets, no fire extinguisher, no nav lights, no paddle, no license, no registration, no effluent tank...
DeleteWhat is the glove the Morning Smile lass is wearing?
ReplyDeleteVirtual Reality glove.
DeleteNope.
DeleteLook again.
Epic story and journey!
ReplyDeleteYup. Imagination, ingenuity, and guts. Great.
DeleteMy brother and 3 friends tried that with an old Vega engine driving a prop. Didn't make it past Illinois.
ReplyDeleteThat’s a lot of beer time
ReplyDeleteSo in the mid-80's I went to a three month school in Omaha while my wife and kids stayed with her mom in KS. One of our classmates had purchased a junker (a severely worn out Chevy Nova) to drive during the class and then intended to get rid of it when class was done. At the end of the school season, I was being transferred to the east coast and my wife and kids had to stay in KS until I could get us a home; a period of a couple months, and they needed our one car. I bought the classmate's junker for the same $250 he had paid for it, drove to the east coast (wearing a stylish white pimp hat all the way - the responses were awesome!) and then drove it for almost six months. It smoked so much I was afraid I'd be pulled over for environmental damages. And it cost me a quart of oil every tank of gas. I hope the Boy Scouts made some good use of it when I donated it and had it towed away.
ReplyDelete