I got it back. Before I continue, I will add some more to this story as an aftermath. Thirty four years later I still look over at those barges. There are only two of the staunchest ones left and they are still banked in the same place Baldy and I first saw them. Rather than complete shelled barges, there are only a few ribs and some of the heavier siding and bottom still showing above the water line.

The water has been clear since around 1972. The Clean Water Act stopped direct discharges into bays, rivers and streams. I was a proponent of that and we saw improvement in a relatively short time.