CRUISING DOWN THE RIVER!

      TUESDAY, AUGUST 27TH., 2019
       CRUISING DOWN THE RIVER!

     My wife and I took our 4-year-old
grandson to Williamsport two weeks ago.
      We stopped to catch part of a game
at the Little League World Series. But
that wasn't our actual destination.
       Our grandson seemed very impressed
with a video his aunt and cousin sent from
their recent trip to New Orleans where
they enjoyed a Steamboat cruise on the
Mississippi!
        We decided to give him a similar
treat with a cruise aboard the Hiawatha,
a Paddle Wheel type vessel that sails
the Susquehanna out of Williamsport.
         The voyage includes a recorded
audio/video narration outlining the
history of the river in that area which
once provided a floating "highway" for
logs harvested throughout Lycoming
County.
          A similar riverboat cruise is
offered in Harrisburg on "The Pride Of
The Susquehanna." I remember
enjoying a ride on it in the company
of the late Governor Bob Casey!
         During a recent interview with
Pittston's mayor, Michael Lombardo,
the mayor spoke of a dream of having
his city and Wilkes-Barre combine
resources to develop a river boat
cruise between the two communities.
        Were it to happen it would not
be the first time passenger boats
sailed the Susquehanna in Wyoming
Valley.
          There was a time when a
sidewheeler steamboat called the
"Wilkes-Barre' carried as many as
400 passengers between the "Diamond
City" and Pittston. In fact in the 1880's
a dozen steamboats sailed the river as
far south and Berwick and as far north
as Tunkhannock!
           My wife and I have enjoyed
the cruise in Williamsport many
times and, truth be told, we'd be
excited to do the same here.
            Hope it happens someday,
and that all your NEWS is good!