The Ribbon - Part Three - Big Rock

Lou learned of a small boat harbor in need of a harbor master so in the Summer of 1963 we moved to the foot of Park Avenue on the river side of the floodwall so Lou begin his dream of a life on the river. "Big Rock" boat harbor was a very small boat with one big room that was set up as a bar downstairs and split into two rooms upstairs. There was no door between the rooms and they were very small. The kitchen area could only hold the appliances and a kitchen table and the other room only held the bed that Mom and Lou slept in. David and I slept on the floor. (Frank had gone into the Marines and Donnie and Norman were back with our father in Fairfax)

Lou working in the bar at Big Rock

Going to school in the morning was really a chore. First you had to cross the gangplank which was quite hazardous in winter and sometimes encased in ice. Often in the spring and fall the gangplank would be covered by the dense fog that hovered over the riverbank. By far the worst obstacle to crossing to land was the occasional river rat that came onto the boat to look for scraps of garbage. The rats were a constant menace on the river banks due to the abundance of food that might wash up or the occasional rabbit that wasn’t quick enough to get away. I would stomp as I crossed, as if there were trolls living under the metal planking. Next challenge was to cross the flood wall which was either wet with dew or snowy in the mornings. There was no opening at the end of Park Avenue like there is now. We lived right across the floodwall from the beginning of Park Avenue and many a morning I would get almost to the top of the wall, loss my footing and slide back down. This was still in the day when girls couldn't wear pants to school and my skinny little legs would be rosy red with cold by the time I got there.

It wasn't all bad. One benefit of sleeping on the upstairs floor was the wonderful rocking each time a tow or large boat would pass by. Waves would be inconvenient at times but if you looked on the bright side, they were fun. If the harbor wasn’t too busy, we were sometimes permitted to jump off the end of the dock into a large inner tub that was tied off to a float. We would climb into the tube and ride the waves whenever they would roll in.


This fuzzy photo is the view of Mt. Adams from the patio at Big Rock. We are having this photo restored and will update this blog when finished. As you can see, a towboat is passing in front of us which was the reason for the photo.