Bill Harris – affectionately known as “Mississippi Bill” for his many long-distance river trips in his boat “Miss Guntersville Lake,” – was one of Guntersville’s most beloved ambassadors.
He traveled up and down the Tennessee River, the Tenn-Tom and the Mighty Mississippi, giving and receiving keys to various cities. His boat has been in the Guntersville Museum since his passing in 2004.
But it now has a new place in the Museum. For years and years, it was on its trailer just parked in the Museum. It is now suspended from the ceiling. You’ll notice it if you visit the Museum for the Festival of Trees that is currently going on.
Jimmy Blakely, the city's maintenance man, headed up the project to "float" the boat from the ceiling at the request of Museum director Julie Patton. Former City Building Official Dwain Elder, an engineer, took a look at the project and gave his blessing for it being safe. They used double clamps to make sure the boat stayed suspended.Â
"We attached pulleys to the rafters to hoist the boat up," Blakely said. "We used quarter-inch cable to suspend the boat."
Before beginning the project, the boat's motor and trailer were removed and put into city storage. The aluminum boat weighed 145 pounds, according to the late Harris, but it felt like a lot more once they got to lifting.Â
"You had to put cable stops on the cable to hold the boat, so you had to hold it for a long time," Blakely said.Â
A scissor-lift was used for Blakely and a helper to install the cable stops. Patton stood on the floor and directed them to the right height.Â
"When we started hoisting, we realized we didn't have enough manpower," Blakely said. Charlie Minor, who is over the city's Public Works department, was there.Â
"Charlie got on his radio and called for some help and here came an army," Blakely said. "We had all kinds of Public Works trucks pulling up in the parking lot. The Public Works crew is great. They always help me anytime I ask. You just couldn't ask for more."
The whole process of installing the pulleys and cables and floating the boat only took about an hour, even with calling in the help.Â
"I was real pleased with how it turned out," Blakely said. And he thinks Museum visitors will be too.Â
Mississippi Bill Harris traveled an estimated 55,000 miles in the boat, going as far north as Chicago and the Great Lakes and and as far south as New Orleans. He was the proprietor of the Lake Theater and he showed TVA engineers around on the water when they were looking for the location to build Guntersville Dam.Â
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