Let The Lower Lights Be Burning by Dean Gabbert Nautically minded people often like the old hymn Let the Lower Lights be Burning. The title of the hymn is now the title of a very readable book by Dean Gabbert of Nauvoo, Ill. The book tells the story of happenings in Spunky Point, Ill., during the days when the Des Moines Rapids Canal was being built. The characters have some wonderful names and interesting, often terrifying, experiences. The kingpin in all of this is one Capt. Gypsy Jones, the town’s wharf master, who seems to always be in trouble and has many problems. The inhabitants of Spunky Point are divided into Topsiders and Wetbutts, and Capt. Gypsy has friends and foes in both groups. There is real river flavor in the book, with a great steamboat race all the way to St. Paul. Spunky Point’s newspaper, often a thorn in the wharf master’s side, is the Weekly Constitution. The editor is Daniel Webster - a dig. In the postscript, the author mentions his fascination with the famous river poem Jim Bledsoe and the Wreck of the Prairie Belle. The interesting thing about this is that the poem was written by John Hay, a native of Warsaw, Ill., the “real” Spunky Point. By the way, many of John Hay’s poems have appeared in “The Waterways Journal” over the years. $5.00 plus S&H (see rates) continue shopping