Growing up in St. Louis in the 1950s and 60s, Lee Hendrix’s parents taught him to fear the Mississippi River. They told him that if he ever went out on the river, it would likely kill him.
“It looked like it could kill you very easily,” Hendrix told St. Louis on the Air. “But it also looked like it could be a source of adventure and excitement.”
Hendrix parlayed that excitement into what became a five decade career of working on America’s rivers. His reflections are published in the new book, “Peep Light: Stories of a Mississippi River Boat Captain.”
In 1971, Hendrix earned a degree in business from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, but he wasn’t interested in business as a career.
Instead, he turned to the Yellow Pages, and on October 9, 1972, he spent his first night on the river.
“I didn't really set out to be out there for 52 years to be truthful. I set out to be out there maybe a month or two,” he said.
In “Peep Light,” Hendrix writes about the dangerous work of starting as a deckhand and later ascending to the pilothouse. He shares stories about what it was like to traverse the Mississippi as a captain of commercial towboats and passenger vessels, including the grand American Queen. He also piloted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers largest towboat, the MV Mississippi.
To hear more about Lee Hendrix’s experiences on the Mississippi River including why most boat captains despise the Eads Bridge, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Ulaa Kuziez, Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
