Local Author Chronicles His Life in the Mississippi Barge Industry

Local author Jack Lambert recently published his latest book, Troubled Waters: 30 Years in the River Business, a memoir of his life working in the Mississippi River barge industry.

“He speaks frankly,” said Lambert’s editor, Reggie McLeod. “It’s very personal.”

Lambert worked in the barge industry for 30 years, as CEO of the Twin City Barge & Towing Company. In Troubled Waters, he chronicles the rise and decline of the business, from its boom years in the 1960s and ’70s, to its collapse in the ’80s.

“The world has just evolved and the barge industry with it,” said Lambert. “A lot of jobs were lost.”

The 1980s was a time of mergers and consolidations for the industry. Investors overbuilt the number of necessary barges by 4,000, leading to industry shrinkage.

However, Lambert noted that in his industry, there was one constant.

“The river never changes,” said Lambert.

Lambert met a cast of rascally characters during his decades in the barge business. One in particular, Joe Shiely, of the J.L. Shiely Company, used to routinely call Lambert’s office and claim to be Archbishop John Gregory Murray, much to the surprise and dismay of Lambert’s secretary.

Troubled Waters is published on the heels of The Battle of Otter Tail County, Lambert’s , which was released in 2011.

Prior to his fiction debut, Lambert, an air force veteran who served in the Korean War, penned 18 military history books.

This is Lambert’s first memoir, but not his last.

He is currently working on two private memoir projects. Dogs Who Have Owned Me pays homage to his many beloved canine companions. The second project is a personal life history. Both are being written expressly for Lambert’s three children and six grandchildren.

Troubled Waters is available for purchase at BigRiverMagazine.com. It is 106 pages long and costs $12.95.

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