Summer cruise on Ohio draws hundreds

Tag : tier skirts
Inside, off the three decks, were dining rooms where the guestscould watch the passing scene as they dined.

“This is a wonderful night to be on the river with goodpeople in Lawrence County,” County Treasurer Stephen DaleBurcham said as he watched the last few board.

The idea to have the cruise started back in February as members ofthe CAO had seen the boat advertised and thought it could make fora delightful evening.

But first there had to be some basic logistics taken care of: Theboat had to have some place where it could be tied up.

Douglas Cade, director of operations for E. L. Robinson, engineeredmooring cells with the help of Pickett Concrete, which donated theblock, and McGinnis Inc., the chains.

That done, the cruise soon became a reality.

Just a few minutes after the last passengers boarded, the vibrationof the engines of the Belle could be felt and off she went, headingfor Greenup, Ky., at a daunting 5 miles an hour. Soon theIronton-Russell Bridge drifted from view and there was nothing butluscious green trees foresting the riverbanks, making one and allfeel much like an upscale Huck Finn.

“This is great for the city of Ironton and all of LawrenceCounty,” Jeff Lawless, chief deputy for the sheriff’soffice, said. “There are citizens from all over the Tri-Statehere and to highlight this in Lawrence County is tremendous.”

“This is one more step to moving Ironton forward,”Mayor Rich Blankenship said.

There was music for every taste on each of the decks. On the toptier, disc jockey J.B. Mille and bands The Fugitives and JoeFreeman played golden oldies ranging from Michael Jackson to TheTemptations.

“This is great for Lawrence County. This is a‘Who’s Who’ of Lawrence County,” Millersaid. “It’s like being at a family reunion.”

After a dinner of chicken breast in a white wine sauce orpineapple- glazed ham, diners went back on deck to watch thesetting sun burn orange streamers across the sky.

Then it was time for the Belle to head for home.

Soon the pale gray-blue of night slipped over the horizon and withthe moon the color of street lamps and the north star guiding her,the Belle pulled back into the Center Street boat landing.

As passengers waited for the gangplank to go back down, CAOdirector D.R. Gossett mused, “Everyone seems to behappy.”