The Making of a Hero: The bend that took down the M.E. Norman riverboat
Willow mat revetments along the Mississippi River. (Courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
“The Making of a Hero” is a series of stories marking the centennial of Tom Lee’s 1925 Mississippi River rescue that saved the lives of 32 passengers on the capsized M.E. Norman riverboat.
The M.E. Norman’s planned destination on May 8, 1925, was the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River just below the Tennessee-Mississippi state line.
The set of turns in the river just south of Memphis has claimed boats before and was known for strong currents. It has changed in the century since the M.E. Norman capsized and sank to the Mississippi’s muddy bottom.
At the Arkansas town of Pinckney was a set of river revetments — of particular interest to the group of engineers on board and a hot topic of conversation in the 1920s among the different government bodies seeking to stabilize a river with a reputation for instability and treacherous currents.
This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.
Topics
Tom Lee Centennial Tom Lee M.E. Norman U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
Your subscription gives you unlimited access to all of The Daily Memphian’s news, written by nearly 40 local journalists and more than 20 regular freelancers. We work around the clock to cover the issues that impact your life and our community.
You can help us reach more Memphians.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we provide free news access at K-12 schools, public libraries and many community organizations. We also reach tens of thousands of people through our podcasts, and through our radio and television partnerships – all completely free to everyone who cares about Memphis.
When you subscribe, you get full access to our news. But when you donate, you help us reach all Memphians.
Pay it forward. Make a fully tax-deductible donation to The Daily Memphian today.
Thank you for reading the local news. Thank you for investing in our community.
Bill Dries on demand
Never miss an article. Sign up to receive Bill Dries' stories as they’re published.
Enter your e-mail address
Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.