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Join celebrated Mississippi River historian, author, and storyteller Dr. John Anfinson on Tuesday, September 26th, from 6 - 7 pm CT, for The Long Journey of the Great River. John is a featured speaker on American Cruise Lines, and his spellbinding presentation includes stories of the people, land, water, and wildlife of one of the world's greatest rivers, the mighty Mississippi. Join this unique event from anywhere; all are welcome to this special online 1 Mississippi World Rivers Day event.
Learn More About This Event
The Long Journey of the Great River featuring John O. Anfinson, PhD
On August 25, 1852, Juliette Starr Dana stood alone on the upper deck of the steamboat Dr. Franklin for more than two hours. Midnight passed, but she could not sleep. The 7-mile trip down the Fever River from Galena, Illinois, to the Mississippi seemed endless, but the Great River rewarded her patience and her reverence.
Before going to bed, she penned this in her journal: “The scenery was enchanting & I was well paid for my perseverance.... Directly after we got into the river, the moon came out in all her splendour [sic] … & the engine which ‘till then had given but feeble puffs winding slowly through the intricate navigation of the Fever river, now came out in all its high pressure noise & bustle, shaking our very souls within us, & I went to bed feeling that I was indeed on the father of waters, & had turned over a new leaf in my existence.”
The Long Journey of the Great River is about travelers – including Juliette Starr Dana and several others - who have journeyed on the Mississippi River over the past 200 years and what we can learn about the Great River and America from them. Together, we will explore the Mississippi River and how it compelled people to take their journey. What do their travels tell us about the Mississippi River physically and ecologically? Who did they meet along the way? What are the stories and places bonded to the River? What was the political, economic, and social climate when they took their River journey?
Rivers can be challenging to think of as places. Places are fixed. Rivers move. In doing so, they connect places and stories, giving us a sense of rivers as a whole. The voyages travelers have taken on the Mississippi River are about grasping the whole, and it is as a whole that the Mississippi is one of the world’s greatest rivers.
Learn More About John
Dr. John O. Anfinson has been researching, writing, and speaking about the upper Mississippi River for over 35 years. He spent the first half of his federal career with the St. Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as a historian and cultural resources program manager. He joined the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service, in 2000, where he served as Superintendent from 2014-2020.
John is the author of The River We Have Wrought: A History of the Upper Mississippi (2003) and River of History (2003). He sits on several boards, including Friends of the Mississippi River, the Minnesota and National Mississippi River Parkway Commissions (Great River Road), and the National Parks Conservation Association’s Midwest Council. John previously sat on the Minnesota Marine Art Museum (Winona, Minnesota) Board and served on the Citizen Advisory Board for the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Center at the University of Minnesota. John holds a Ph.D. in U.S. History from the University of Minnesota. In 2022, John became a Guest Speaker on American Cruise Lines boats operating between St. Paul and New Orleans, giving presentations on a variety of subjects covering the whole river.
Photo of John Anfinson, PhD
About Us
1 Mississippi is the national public program of the Mississippi River Network. Since 2009, 1 Mississippi has built a community of 20,000 River Citizens and inspired thousands of actions. From armchairs to wading boots, River Citizens protect the River by speaking up on its behalf and caring for it in simple ways that make a difference.
Contact Us: info@1mississippi.org
1 Mississippi is the national public program of the Mississippi River Network. Since 2009, 1 Mississippi has built a community of 20,000 River Citizens and inspired thousands of actions. From armchairs to wading boots, River Citizens protect the River by speaking up on its behalf and caring for it in simple ways that make a difference.
Contact Us: info@1mississippi.org
1 Mississippi is the national public program of the Mississippi River Network. Since 2009, 1 Mississippi has built a community of 20,000 River Citizens and inspired thousands of actions. From armchairs to wading boots, River Citizens protect the River by speaking up on its behalf and caring for it in simple ways that make a difference.
Contact Us: info@1mississippi.org
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1 Mississippi is the national public program of the Mississippi River Network. Since 2009, 1 Mississippi has built a community of 20,000 River Citizens and inspired thousands of actions. From armchairs to wading boots, River Citizens protect the River by speaking up on its behalf and caring for it in simple ways that make a difference.
Contact Us: info@1mississippi.org