Thank goodness Doddridge, Ark., has its ferry sitting dry-docked in a local park and upon concrete.
It's the only one in Arkansas and maybe the United States so displayed.
It's a standing time capsule-symbolizing a way of life gone by but close enough in time to enliven the imagination.
The Spring Bank Ferry operated on the Red River connecting Miller and Lafayette counties along state Highway 160. History records a ferry here for 150 years. The Blanton family operated it as a private enterprise from 1836 to 1957 when the state took it over.
One would drive a car upon the ramp, and then the ferry would back out, pulling loose from the mud and out into the stream where its tug would swing around to change pushing directions.
The tug's 671 Detroit six-cylinder diesel engine with its 30-inch prop would push against the current to nestle the ponderous craft safely on the other side, a five-to-10 minute ride at normal river levels.
If the goal was the west side, there would be a concrete landing ramp. But if moving east, it would be a search for hundreds of yards up and down the bank to find the landing site with deep enough water for approach. That spot could change during the day.
When the ferry banked, the deck hand would unhook the apron and go into the wheel house to operate the winch-lowering the bank-side apron while raising the river-side ramp, bringing both to a balanced position. This took five turns of the wheelhouse winch powered by a starter motor from an ordinary car engine.
In summer months, the ferry operated 16 hours a day, from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Vehicles were often carried individually but sometimes as many as four at a time.
In spring, the ferry occasionally had to shut down because of flood waters carrying debris or trees. In late summer and fall, the problems would be low water levels and blocking sand bars.
"But we got so good at what we did, you could almost close your eyes," pilot Lonnie Hazel said. "Sometime even when the river had fog, the cars on the shore would turn on their lights, and we'd go under the fog and see the lights on the other shore to dock."
The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department discontinued the crossing April 7, 1995. The barge lay dry-docked in a wood area near the river for as many as 17 years. The tug went to the Peel ferry in northern Arkansas on Lake Bull Shoals.
Miller County was able to acquire the the barge from the Arkansas Highway Department in 1997.
Years passed and then Doddridge residents had the idea to move the ferry to the park. Money from fundraisers bought the tug from the highway department for $1,151 and brought it back in 2011 to join the barge. The community center park opened in September 2011.
Today the ferry is a charming relic, a living example of a successful community effort. The person most responsible for the idea is Lonnie Hazel, the last pilot of the Spring Bank ferry. He's alive and kicking and is even captain of the Doddridge Volunteer Fire Department.
Hazel's major contribution was to say to himself, "I know all about this ferry, what it needs and where it needs to go. I have the skills to do it. Why don't I?"
And then he began an effort to move the ferry from river bank to its park in the center of town. The effort was filled with major gifts of time, money and equipment. It was a local effort. The larger Arkansas community did it. See the several accompanying stories and photos that tell this story.
People will come to look at the 80,000-pound barge and 13,000-pound tug, all in the color of Omaha orange-which is how it is to be re-painted next year-and may realize it is perhaps the most elegant ferry in captivity.
Everyone will wonder, "How did it feel to stop and ride?"
Then, maybe they will hear some rueful wag say, "The only people sentimental about ferries are those who didn't have to ride them."
As said, the Spring Bank Ferry, especially in its park setting, is a charming relic.