March 8, 2023
A life on the river
Around Town March 12: The second annual Florissant St. Patrick’s Parade, Festival, and 5K Run. Pg. 3 Registration underway for the spring 2023 session of Ten Toe Express walking program. Pg. 4
Features (FLIP)
Recipe, Movie & Sudoku. Pg. F-1 CLASSIFIEDS AND HOME & GARDEN. Pg. F-2 /F-3 Moore On Life, Lifestyle & Crossword Puzzle. Pg. F-4 The 2023 Riverboats at the Gateway Arch cruise season kicked off March 3. One of the three captains at the helm will be Riverboat Captain Kevin East.
Submitted photo
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Riverboat captain marks 31st year at the helm after becoming the first African American in the state to receive his captain’s license By Wendy Todd One of the most popular activities in St. Louis is going on a Riverboats at the Gateway Arch cruise along the Riverfront. The season for this family-friendly event kicked off last week, and one of the beloved captains at the helm will be Riverboat Captain Kevin East, the first African-American person in Missouri to get a license to navigate a vessel. This year marks East’s 31st year as a riverboat captain, and East still holds that history-making moment dear. “I felt on top of the world when I received my license in 1992,” East said. “It was a major accomplishment and an honor to be the first African American in the state of Missouri. Thirty-one years later, it still holds special meaning.” East always loved being near water. When
he was growing up, his mother would take him to the riverfront to look at boats. He was enthralled. East went on his first boat ride at eight-years-old on The Admiral, and thought it was “the coolest thing ever.” He became intrigued by the mechanics of boating and later, at 18 got a job as a deck hand. “I worked my way up from a deck hand to the pilot’s house,” the captain said. “To this day I enjoy operating a boat so much, it feels like a hobby instead of a job.” Though his mother was supportive of his interest in working on a boat, when he told people about his dream of being a boat captain, he wasn’t always met with encouragement. There aren’t many Black people in the field and therefore not many examples for people to look to and validate East’s ambitions. But he used the discouragement as motivation.
“I studied hard, sought practical experience and training and ignored people’s negative comments,” East said. “My hard work and dedication paid off and I persevered.” After getting his license and securing the role as captain, there were some racially based challenges. “Some people would walk by and question why I was in the pilot house,” East said. “They wanted to know where the real captain of the boat was. I chose not to let that upset me and let my boat-handling skills do the talking. Occasionally, those same people who questioned why I was in the pilot house would return and say I did a good job.” East has made such an impact with his history-making career that his jacket and hat are being featured in the collections of See ‘RIVER’ page 2
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