by Mary Jo
I wrote two blogs about our riverboat cruise on the Upper Mississippi, first Rollin’ on the River, then America’s Great River, but when I was deciding what to blog about today, I realized that I hadn’t written a final blog about our September cruise. Since storms are currently hammering much of North America this month, I thought it would be nice to contemplate pleasant weather and possible future journeys.
One of the highlights of our Twin Cities to St. Louis cruise was Hannibal, Missouri. It’s sometimes called “America’s Hometown,” probably because it’s famously the home town of Mark Twain, the most American of writers. With the Mississippi River on his doorstep, it’s not surprising that the young man named Samuel Clemens decided to become a river pilot.
River piloting was a challenging and high prestige career. As Twain wrote, the pilot had to “get up a warm personal acquaintanceship with every old snag and one-limbed cottonwood and every obscure wood pile that ornaments the banks of this river for twelve hundred miles; and more than that, must… actually know where these things are in the dark.” The job also provided him with his pen name: “mark twain” was a leadsman’s cry for a measured river depth of two fathoms (12 feet), which was safe water for a steamboat.
Clemens/Twain continued to work on the river and was a river pilot until the Civil War broke out in 1861, when traffic was curtailed along the Mississippi River. (War messes up so many things!) At that point, he moved to California and began to establish himself as a writer called Mark Twain, starting with his short story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveres County.
His two most famous books, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, were set in the pre-Civil War 1840s in a town called St. Petersburg, which was a fictionalized version of Hannibal. Many features of Hannibal were incorporated into the books, including the caves where Tom and his sweetheart, Becky Thatcher, were lost. The handsome house to the left is considered to be Becky Thatcher’s home.
The power and reach of those books must be why Hannibal came to be called “America’s Home Town,” and they’ve created a thriving local tourism business, with several 
museums and other enjoyable local sites, and since 1956, there has been a “Tom and Becky Program” that chooses pairs of local 7th graders to act as ambassadors for Hannibal in a variety of venues. Here’s picture of the Tom and Becky pair who greeted our riverboat.
Given that Twain was an amazing wordsmith, there have been numerous Mark Twain impersonators, and a very good one, Richard Garey , accompanied us on our riverboat journey. He looked the part and not only did he give several very entertaining lectures that were created entirely from Twain’s own writing, but he actually lives in Hannibal and departed from our riverboat when we reached there..
Our journey ended in St. Louis and a delightful highlight for readers and writers was that as we waited in the St. Louis airport, I saw this poster inviting travelers to borrow ebooks or audio books from the St. Louis County library. Now that’s hospitality!
Are you familiar with Mark Twain’s work? Have you ever been to Hannibal? And would you like to visit?
Mary Jo
I did visit Hannibal as a child of about 10 or 11. I was with a church group and became very ill while there – strep throat if I remember correctly. I remember touring the cave – feeling ok when we entered, but I thought I was going to die before I got out.
I love Mark Twain and I always thought I would go back one day – but I didn’t.
Thanks for another armchair tour.
Mary T–OUCH on the strep throat! That will kill the fun of any holiday. But at least you still love Mark Twain, who is ever fascinating.
In a past life, I lived in Missouri. My youngest child was in elementary school and we had many field trips. I got to see the Clydesdale horses up close and personal. They are like very large gentle dogs. I wanted one.
We also took a trip to Hannibal. We saw the Clemens home and places where Sam visited and played.
We were a group of 2 classes. Several mothers. But, when it came to the cave there was only 1 mother who agreed to go into the cave with the children and the guide. Me. If I had not agreed, no one would have been able to tour the cave. So, of course we went in the cave. It was very dark in that cave.
Another time we took a trip and got to visit with actors from a musical film being made about Tom and Huck. I remember that Johnny Whitaker playedTom
That state has many things for which to be proud. But, I believe the most important was the former river pilot. When I think about it, his writing influenced enough people that for some it changed their outlook on race and this country.
Annette, good for you for having the courage to go into the cave so others could go! Yes, caves are DARK. Several times I’ve been in one where the guides turn off the lights after warning us they’re going to. Very weird feeling!
Who doesn’t love Mark Twain and his witticisms! Although I mostly taught Spanish during my teaching career, being certified in both English and Spanish, I also taught 7th grade English for a number of years, and “Tom Sawyer” was part of the curriculum. Although some of the chapters were read by the students as part of their homework, I also read some chapters aloud to them in class, putting as many theatrics into my reading as possible for the students’ entertainment, and to make them interested enough to make them read the chapters that I assigned. When the word “gay” was first read out loud, the students would snidely chuckle, at which point I would stop reading to give them a lecture on how language is a living thing that can change over time, giving them several examples, and telling them that they should always respect the context and the time in which something was written. During that period of time, I was also asked to do a review of the 7th grade English curriculum to the board of education in the district where I was teaching. Believe it or not, during a Q and A, I had to defend the teaching of “Tom Sawyer” to a board member who wished to know why the novel was still being taught! Unbelievable!
Patricia, I wish I’d had you as an English teacher! But yikes on having to defend teaching Tom Sawyer to a moronic board member!
Great information here Mary Jo! I’ve never been to America and never will now but I always loved any stories that included the river boats. I haven’t read Mark Twain, I’ve only seen adaptations of Huckleberry Finn.
Thank you for the lovely pics as well.
Teresa, I’m glad you enjoyed the blog. I like riverboats because one really gets a sense of the surroundings. I like ocean cruises also, but they’re different.
Thanks for the interesting post and fun photos. Is the steamboat pictured the one you took for the river cruise? It looks wonderful!
I visited Hannibal on a cross country teen tour in the 1960’s. It was such fun! We even went into the caves there. I loved the Tom Sawyer book but was never a fan of Huckleberry Finn(i thought it was boring, still do). It was charming when I was there.
I remember going to see Hal Holbrook in New York City when he did his Mark Twain Tonight performance. It was wonderful. I have also been to hjs house near Hartford, Conn several times, it’s a fascinating place. Twain had some great timeless quotes. Below are a few gems:
“Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.”
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
Jane, so true about the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain! I’d have loved to see Hal Holbrook doing his storied show on Twain. A great actor and a great subject.
You csn find it on Youtube, MaryJo. Just search flr Mark Twain Tonight Holbrook., shoukd bring it up. It js lots of fun!
,
Ooooh, thank you, Jane! I should have thought of that. I shall find it.
Jane–I forgot to confirm that the riverboat shown on the blog was indeed the one we traveled. It had that genuine riverboat look and feel!
What a fun post, Mary Jo; thanks for sharing more of your travels with us. I’ve not been to Hannibal, but I have enjoyed some of Mark Twain’s works particularly The Jumping Frog in English, Then in French, Then Clawed Back into a Civilized Language as well as The Diaries of Adam and Eve. He was definitely a witty man, and I liked the quotes that Jane A shared above.
Kareni, there’s no shortage of great Mark Twain writing! I particularly remember “Captain Stormfield goes to heaven.” which was full of good satirical fun. As the Regency folk would say, Mark Twain was An Original!
I was to Hannibal when I was a kid & mostly remember the cave. Definitely read Mark Twain. What I’d really like to do is go on that riverboat cruise!
Jeanne, there are a fair number of riverboat cruises, so sailing on one would be a fun goal!
I’ve never been to Hannibal, but I’ve enjoyed a lot of Mark Twain’s writing. Tom Sawyer is a fun book, but Huckleberry Finn is his masterpiece. Some of his most entertaining books are the travelogues. “The Innocents Abroad” is about his adventures in Eygpt and the Near East, and it’s hilarious. “Roughing It” is about his travels in the Western U.S. Definitely a classic American writer!
Karin, time I dug deeper into Twain’s works! I need to fine “The Innocents Abroad.” I always thought that sounded intriguing.
Oh, I’d love to take a Mississippi River cruise and see Hannibal! I’ve been to St. Louis once for a couple days, and I remember seeing the Mississippi from the airplane window!
Susan, the Mississippi is TRULY a mighty river! The backbone of America in some ways.