Charleston Gazette
16 August 2008
By Sandy Wells, Staff writer
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Something about the river tugs at him. The mystique captivated Eric Gardner even as a small boy living along the Kanawha on Campbells Creek. At 43, he bleeds river water.
The river is his life, and his living. He works on water - and under it. He operates cranes and towboats as a construction supervisor for Madison Coal & Supply. He's also a professional commercial diver, the name behind Gardner Marine Diving Services.
In the pilot house of the towboat Lucedale, Eric Gardner enjoys a bird's-eye view of the Kanawha River as he works on a construction project at the new Marmet Locks. - Chris Dorst
He doesn't call it a job. It's his hobby. Considering his lifelong romance with the river, it's a marriage made in heaven.
"I was born on Campbells Creek. We moved to Belle when I was 3. I always called it the suburbs of Belle and Witcher Creek, a little street called Orchard Avenue, right along the river.
"My dad worked for Union Concrete, but he passed away. I turned 4 in March, and he passed away in May. That was '69. My mother raised all four of us.
"I was always intrigued with the boats going by the river and all the things pertaining to the waterways. There was a construction outfit at the end of my street, T.G. Kenney & Sons, and also Harry and Dickie White's outfit. I'd sneak up there during the summertime and watch them doing things with the cranes and boats. They let me walk around on the boats sometimes.
"I saw one gentleman up there diving one day. I was probably 8 or 9 years old. That intrigued me, just knowing that when he disappeared, everyone was just standing over top wondering what he was doing down there.
"Every day, we did something on the river. In the winter, we were always out in the johnboat fishing and trapping. In the summer, 30 or 40 kids were always at my house swimming. We had a gang every day. I'd look forward to getting off football practice and coming to the house and jumping in the river.
"When I graduated from high school in '83, I was going to West Virginia Tech and play football. They asked me to walk on. I decided against it. I'd been playing football since I was small, and I was kind of burned out and Mother didn't really have the money to help me through. I decided I wanted go to work on the river, to be part of the river.
"The first company I went to work for, I was around towboats and cranes. The two gentlemen who owned that understood that I liked diving. As the company owners would get more work, they would ask me to perform some of the commercial diving. One of the older gentlemen, Rufus Duncan, took an interest in me because he knew I was interested. I'm thankful I met him at the age I did.
"I'd been scuba diving since I was 14. I was friends with some divers from the fire department, and I learned a lot from them. I love it, especially the commercial diving, where I am able to do a task and make things work.
"It relaxes me. It's peaceful down there, a whole different world. I can hear the towboats going by. I've always told people I could hear the turtles mating. You've got to experience it.
"I worked for them a few years then went to Myrtle Beach. I thought maybe I could get into diving down there. I ended up working at a nightclub, bouncing. My brother and I ran a hotel there for six or eight months, then I decided to come back home.
"I worked for a diving company full time for a few years then went to work for Nelson and Charlie Jones at Madison Coal. I worked for them part time in 1987 doing dredging work on some cranes. In '89, they hired me full-time, and I've been there ever since. They let me do my work the way I think it should be done, and it's worked out for both of us.
"I'm a construction supervisor, a licensed crane operator and a master towboat license holder, and I do commercial diving. I contract through Amherst. I enjoy every bit of it. Everybody says I work too much. It's not work to me. It's a hobby. I put 110 percent into it.
"One of my specialties is towboats. They run 24/7, 365. They'll get ropes, cables, trees and tires caught in the props. I've taken out bedsprings, box springs, mattresses. They'll call me out at 1 or 2 in the morning. You jump out of bed and take your equipment and go. It could be anywhere on the Kanawha or Ohio rivers. Those boats have to be repaired quickly so they can keep moving barges. You don't want to hold them up.
"Everybody wonders how I can dive at night. I dive in midday and I still can't see, so there's no difference between night and day.
"River bottoms depend on where you're located on the river. Most of the time, it's like a big creek bed. Most of the time, you can't see anything. When the water's clear, I really don't want to see. You see a lot of turtles and fish and sometimes junk in certain areas where you don't want to be. I'd rather not see anything under there, just do the work and move on.
"I've been to the Bahamas pleasure-diving, and you get down there and see all those nice fish and colors, and it's amazing. But I always enjoy diving in these tributaries around here. In the fresh water, I kind of know what to expect.
"During the winter, it gets cold. I've taken a clamshell off the crane and busted the ice to get in and do some of the repair work we've had to do on pipelines and intakes. But I've got some nice suits that keep you dry. As long as you are down there creating heat in the dry suit and working, you get pretty comfortable.
"Here at the Marmet Locks project, Kokosing Construction Co. has leased the boat I'm running from Madison Coal. They leased this boat and a couple of cranes. They're building some thrust blocks. They will build another section of wall through here, and once the downbound barges and tows come into the area, they will keep the current from pulling the boats toward the dam and bring them right into the chamber.
"I position all the cranes first thing in the morning and feed workers the material barges they need or move barges to a different location. These cranes might work in one location for a half hour then have to back up to one of the other thrust blocks.
"Sometimes it's busy as can be and you don't stop. Sometimes you have two or three hours without having to move anything and I just sit up here and listen to blues music.
"We start at 6:30 and end about 5:30. Long days, but it's nice. Where else would you want to be than on the great Kanawha River?
"There are good people on this river and a lot of good companies. They are competitors, but there are a lot of times when they put their differences aside and do jobs together. The river way is what I call it, everybody joining together to get something done. I appreciate the river and I love people who have anything to do with the river. I just love being part of the river way.
"I came up here in March and started to run this boat. I think this phase is supposed be done by the end of October. I'll probably move on to another job location. Might be a diving job. Might be building a pipeline river crossing. Might be building a dock. Might be doing riprap protection for the Corps of Engineers on one of their projects.
"During summer weekends, I spend as much time as I can on the river. I live at East Bank, mile 76.8 on the Kanawha River. I've got a dock there, so I can actually do some of my diving there for the boats.
"I'm living the dream I want to be in, to be part of about anything that takes place on this river. I want to be able to tell people later that I helped put these walls up, or that I helped build that riverbank, or that dock, or that pipeline river crossing.
"I see there are a lot of people in the industry who have degrees, and they move ahead a little quicker. Maybe I should have gone to engineering school, but the experience I've gained from the people I've been fortunate enough to work around pays off more than coming straight out of school and getting into this.
"I've got a family that understands my work ethics: my wife, Jodi; my oldest girl, Santanah; and my youngest, Elexa. I've got a lot to be thankful for."
Reach Sandy Wells at 348-5173 or san...@wvgazette.com.