GET INVOLVED
Wes Modes and his life partner are living the Huckleberry Finn dream – floating down the Sacramento River in a handcrafted shanty boat built from recycled materials. As they travel down river, the couple makes stops at towns along the way; chronicling the lives of those who call the river home. Modes runs a blog called “A Secret History of American River People,” where he shares the personal stories of people he meets on his travels along the nation’s rivers. He hopes one day to turn this online collec- tion into a book.
“The project is about collecting the oral history of people who live on the river,” Modes, 50, of Felton said. “I didn’t just want to be a tourist; I wanted to tell people’s stories. It gave me an excuse to meet new people and feel connected to places.”
On Wednesday, Modes and his partner, who prefers to be called by her nickname “Benzy,” parked their makeshift houseboat on the beach at Colusa’s riverside park in hopes of meeting more interview subjects. They previously stopped in Hamilton City and Princeton days before landing in Colusa, but the journey started in Red Bluff on July 1.
In Colusa, the couple arranged an interview with a 70-year-old man who lives on a boat in the river. Modes said these people are called “floaters” and can be found across the country. Modes and Benzy also hoped to interview community experts on Colusa’s old Chinatown and members of the local Wintun tribe, but they weren’t sure if they could arrange it before setting sail the next morning.
“I think it’s really important to get the voices of those who aren’t in the history books,” Modes said. “I ask them about their lives, their childhood, relationship to the river and the current struggles of the community. It’s a fun project, but it’s a lot of work.”