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Last of the Mississippi Steamboat Pilots | Lexington News
The last of the great Mississippi steamboat pilots, Captain Richard “Kutch” Karnath, passed away at 81, leaving behind a legacy carved in river currents and family tradition. A math teacher by trade, he returned to the river in his thirties to follow his grandfather and father — earning a rare First Class Pilot License covering 1,800 miles from Minneapolis to New Orleans. He steered iconic vessels like the Delta Queen and American Queen, mastering every sandbar and light without GPS. Fellow pilot Don Sanders called him “one of the last of a breed,” a testament to an art fading into history…
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