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 As a former Waterways Journal editor, and a colleague of Jim Swift's for 28 years, I wish that I had learned sooner of his deep love and dedication to things of the river. Getting to know someone doesn't happen overnight, and our friendship took a heap of cooking to reach its optimum. In 1974 I was the young sprout who burst into the WJ office with no river background. I knew nothing about inland waterways, the Coast Guard nor the Corps of Engineers. Regretfully we didn't get off on exactly the right foot. We squabbled over things that now seem minor. But I was me, and he was he. And that's the way it was. It took me years to learn to appreciate how totally Jimmy had given his life to the river and to all of those who had an interest in it. Since 1941, he traveled hundreds of thousands of miles along the rivers carrying out his responsibilities for the "Riverman's bible." Sixty years plus is a long time! I was astounded early on by the hundreds of people who mentioned Jimmy and never failed to express great admiration for him. Later I learned to expect that and eventually learned why. Even near the end of my 22-year stint with the WJ I would occasionally get a letter addressed to James V. Swift, Editor. He never was the editor. But in the minds and hearts of many he was "Mr. Waterways Journal." When readers had questions about steamboats, river towns, or ancestors who worked on the river, they always wrote to Jimmy.When it came to working for river causes, Jim was into everything. He urged politicians to support our cause. When writers (like Ben Lucien Burman for example) came to town, he shepherded them around, helping them get interviews, and escorting them to the St. Louis Mercantile Library to share the "wealth." He worked with river artists and he loved river music. He belonged to every river organization under the sun, particularly those whose members were steamboat buffs. He worked hand in hand with Ralph Du Pae of the Murphy Library, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, to secure famous "old boat" pictures for WJ readers. Whenever he learned that river collectibles or pictures might be available, he did what he could to get them into museums, or into our own Herman T. Pott National Inland Waterways Library at the St. Louis Mercantile Library on the University of Missouri campus in St. Louis.  When I finally grew up, I learned that Jim Swift was actually a national treasure in the eyes of historians and to almost all who knew him. He was a keystone in the monument to what water transportation and water resource development means to our nation. His book Backing Hard Into River History, published in 2000, tells only part of his story. While attending Howard Steamboat Museum festivals at Jeffersonville, Ind., with Jim, I was amazed at how many people he knew and how many sidled up to him "just to get a hug." There is no opportune time to cross over the bar. Jim told me he had places to go and plans to carry out, including those for a new river book. At 86 he was no longer steady on his feet, but he seemed determined not to let age interfere with his river projects. It was only a few days ago that I watched him maneuver his walker down the cobblestones of the St. Louis riverfront, en route to the Becky Thatcher for a moonlight cruise to honor his dear friend Ralph Du Pae. His good sense of humor never waned, and he never lost the twinkle in his eye. He could still remember at a moments notice more than I ever knew. I only wish I had gotten to know him better sooner.  As one river buff put it: "Jimmy had many, many friends. Not acquaintances. Friends." Jack R. Simpson In Memory of James V. Swift June 4, 1916 to October 29, 2002 See also article by Waterways Journal Editor, John Shoulberg. See more pictures on page 2. > > > |