Monongahela River
Edith Barill Bridge (Star City Bridge) Near Granville WV (Wikipedia) |
With a name that sounds like it could be a monster from a Japanese science fiction horror film, the Monongahela River crawls 130 miles across the Allegheny Plateau through West Virginia and Pennsylvania until it joins the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh to become the Ohio River. It's a navigable river upon which one can often see barges loaded with coal.
The Monongahela is not one of the big M rivers like the Mississippi River or the Missouri River which are far more known to most people, but it is an important river for commerce and for the ecosystem. It is a river that is more comparable in size to the Maumee River of Indiana and Ohio or the Maury River in Virginia.
When my mother started high school my grandparents moved to one of the older nice neighborhoods in Morgantown WV, but my mother had grown up on the banks of the Monongahela River in nearby Granville where her father owned a general store and gas station. Several relatives still lived in Granville when I was a child and we would sometimes go to visit them. My Aunt Kitty and Uncle Billy lived in a house with a back yard that ended up at the river bank. My mother cautioned me about getting too near to the river for fear that I might fall in and drown. I took her warnings seriously.
Nevertheless, I loved watching the river and seeing the occasional coal laden barge floating downriver. From my vantage point I could see the coal tipples climbing the hillsides on either side of the river as well as other crumbling old structures. In his younger days, my grandfather had been an engineer on the railroad hauling coal down the Monongahela Valley. The tracks still followed along the river when I was young though I can't say if I saw any trains running on them. Maybe those tracks are still there. I haven't been there in many years.
That old slow Monongahela River just plodded downstream and I would look at it wondering what was in the water. How deep was it? According to my research the river is at least 9 feet deep and maybe as deep as 20 feet. Those big barges had to be able to get down the river to deliver the coal to the waiting customers. I watched from my vantage point down by the river--but not too close. The barges floated, but I wouldn't if I fell in.
Battle of the Bands
Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands. This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month. My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months. The premise is simple: Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it. Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.
Why not float down these river songs and enjoy for a while. Then play along in this Battle of the Bands. I hope you'll at least give the versions a listen to discern your favorite. Which version do you prefer? Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind. You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.
Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.
Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:
StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'
'Curious as a Cathy'
Sound of One Hand Typing
Jingle, Jangle, Jungle
Winner of this Battle Announced on Thursday April 22nd
Another great post of yet another great River. I've seen the Mississippi River also Missouri whilst in the Uk. You are most knowledgeable about your rivers Lee. Wonderful to read.
ReplyDeleteI vote for Beast Floating (Down By Yhe River) am old enough to remember that.
I am trying to continue with the challenge with great difficulty as I have arthitic Hands and is hard for me to type.
Just thought I'd let you know.
Take care.
Yvonne.
Yvonne, I've seen a lot of rivers and while researching this A to Z series I've learned some interesting new facts.
DeleteKeep up the good work in the Challenge. You can do it!
A vote for Beast.
Lee
Lee,
ReplyDeleteI grew up in southern WV, as you know. There was a creek (Little Slate Creek) that ran just behind our neighbor's house where we'd play a lot in the summer. It spilled into the Tug Fork River just a stone throw away. The water ran pretty swiftly most of the time and we didn't need any grown ups to tell us to stay away from it. I've always had a fear of water but after the flood of 1977 I was especially fearful of heavy down pours and swelling creek beds. I am familiar name only of the Monongahela River from my West Virginia History class in elementary school. I'm running behind on your series but hope to catch up a bit today with you.
I like how you incorporated your A2Z theme in with your BoTB. I enjoyed both cover artists. The first act is old school and the second is a modern version to reflect the sound of today. Each song moves me totally different. In this early hour, my mind is swayed more by the 1969 mellow cover, so please give my vote to Beast. Great battle!
Marvin the Martian Looney Tunes A-Z Art Sketch
Temptation Eyes BoTB Showdown
Cathy, even a small creek can be a danger during big rains.
DeleteThank you for your vote for...
Beast.
Lee
Living in Michigan (Michi gami) & having loads of areas & rivers with Native American names I assumed it was of that origin. Yup. My vote is for Milky Chance all the way!!! Great fun post.
ReplyDeleteLinda, the native peoples gave us a lot of our place names that we continue to use.
DeleteA first vote for Milky Chance.
Lee
You heard me mention the Welland River which I swam in but each year people drowned in that river because of the currents. To be honest, I never told my mom I swam across it with my friend. As for the song, I prefer Beast Floating Down By The River. It sounds much more melodic whereas the newer one I didn't care for at all mainly I hated the guy's voice.
ReplyDeleteBirgit, I think many of us kept secrets from our moms so they wouldn't be upset about our daring escapades.
DeleteA vote for Beast.
Lee
Huge river!
ReplyDeleteI vote for Milky Chance, just because I like the music!
Frederique, liking the music is what these Battles are all about.
Deletea vote for Milky Chance.
Lee
I knew about the Monongahela river because my husband is a Pirates fan and we always watched the games where they inevitably talked about the three rivers that meet near the stadium.
ReplyDeleteJanet’s Smiles
Janet, Three Rivers Stadium is named because of the confluence of the rivers so it's an important fact that would get mentioned undoubtedly.
DeleteLee
Spent quite a bit of time along the muddy Maumee. Right now we live near the north feeder, the St Joe. Neil Young's song was a staple for me back in the day when illegal canniboids were acceptable for my brain and lungs. Beast is similar to a lot of bands, both old and new, that I like. Get the weirdest sense of something I've heard before from Milky Chance. I vote MC by a whisker....
ReplyDeleteCW, Young's "Down By the River" was a mind opening experience in many ways for many of our generation. Now in CA the canniboids are legal for those who want to consume them.
DeleteA vote for Milky Chance.
Lee
I have always felt intrigued by water bodies. I can stand still for hours even if these are known haunted. The place I come from doesn't have Rivers nearby but these days, I am in a city which is known as city of lakes and I sit almost everyday near one or the other dam.
ReplyDeletemay be, I am yet to feel something unusual or creepy about waters
Sunita, Where does the water for the lakes come from? I think usually it comes from rivers and often from rivers that are dammed. You will probably find some nearby rivers if you look more.
DeleteLee
Dear Arlee, thanks for your A to Z on American rivers. The Monongahela river was probably one of the many rivers , forceably crossed by Native Americans, Cherokee ancestors, on orders of Theodore Roosevelt , before he was president, and wanted to clear land for European settlers. The infamous “ Trail of Tears “ highlighted in Cherokee town museum and fictionalized in a book : the nine moons.
ReplyDeleteNeil Young, any day. You should try out Veronique Samson, French musician, songwriter and
singer, companion to Nash.
Susan B, a good many Native Americans had already assimilated or moved westward beyond the Monongahela before Teddy was around. The Trail of Tears was a sad misguided event but I guess it was all part of Manifest Destiny.
DeleteI've listened to a lot of Neil Young in my years although I don't listen much anymore.
Lee
Falling into the river, I remember the stories of people disappearing in the Ocmulgee River near me. I can hear the cautions you heard.
ReplyDeleteI picked Down by The River by Milky Chance. I'm not keen on Beast's technopop sound. The Milky Chance video of interesting in it's imagery of woodland nymphs.
Ann, falling into a river might be the last fall some people ever take especially when the current is swift.
DeleteA vote for Milky Chance.
Lee
Oh, to have a river run past my backyard! Aside from La Llorona, the crying lady who supposedly stalked our dry riverbeds for kids to drown, our only worry was getting out of the way fast enough when the river did run unexpectedly. With that thought in mind, I liked Milky Chance for the quickening pulse it inspired.
ReplyDeleteWith four generations under one roof, just going downstairs was somewhat of a daily reunion ;-)
Diedre, if I didn't have any small children to worry about I'd love a river in my backyard as long as my house was reasonable above the flood threat. A flash flood can be scary.
DeleteA vote for Milky Chance.
Lee
BOIDMAN ~
ReplyDeleteMilky Chance was... tolerable.
But BEAST -- Wow! Cool!
I don't recall even hearing of Beast before, but I sure liked that song! It had a trance-like flow to it - almost like being down by a river and watching it slink along. And I really dug the flute. I listened to the song a second time just for the enjoyment.
I might have to check out more of Beast's old tunes. The first time I played 'FLOATING (Down By The River)', I was thinking that their sound reminded me of some other band from that same era. The second time I played it, it dawned on me that this song, stylistically, sounds A LOT like Traffic, a band I always loved, and still do.
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC, back in the days when I was cruising the countryside with my friends, we listened to a lot of different music, but for a while much of the time if we weren't listening to Beast there was a good chance that we were listening to Traffic. The two were very eclectic bands that were listenable as well. You can find the whole first Beast album on YouTube--not sure about the other (never heard that one). Back in the day we found Beast albums in the cut-out bin and it wasn't that easy to find.
DeleteA vote for Beast.
Lee
I vote for Beast.
ReplyDeleteLoved it when I first heard it and still today.
Marvin, it's still a great song with a nice relaxing mood.
DeleteA vote for Beast.
Lee
Neil Young gets my vote, but I really liked Milky Chance
ReplyDeleteLEE ~
DeleteI want to change my vote from Beast and vote for Mike instead.
Yeah, I know that Mike isn't a competitor in this Battle, but if he can get away with it... then so can I!
;^)
~ D-FensDogG
Mike, Neil Young's "Down By the River" was my first BOTB entry so many years ago.
DeleteAnother vote for Milky Chance.
(And no Stephen you can't change your vote to Mike)
Lee
I grew up in a little town in the middle of nowhere in southern India.. and a river ran right alongside it.. We avoided going too close to it during the rainy season but during dry season, we could wade half-way through!!
ReplyDeleteYour post brought back those memories like they were yesterday..
Those Wonderful Muses of Poetry & How to Find Your Right Muse
Lady, during a flood season a river is at its deadliest. Don't want to take many risks in flooded river waters.
DeleteLee