Paducah WPSD: Secret History of River People coming to Paducah

PADUCAH, KY – The River Discovery Center in Paducah will host an exhibit including a 1940s shantyboat starting Friday.

The discovery center, on 117 South Walter St., will host Modes’ Secret History exhibit in the Founders Room. There, you can “explore the digital archives, see excerpts of interviews, explore the physical library of river-related books and materials, and talk with the artist,” according to the center.

The artist the exhibit is named for, Wes Modes, lived on a shantyboat over the past two months. He launched the Secret History of River People exhibit in July when he launched his boat in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The shantyboat will be on display on Water Street in front of the center on :

Friday, Aug. 26, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 2, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 3, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

You can also see the shantyboat in Paducah’s Labor Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 5.

Modes will present a talk about the project on Tuesday, August 30, at the McCracken County Library at 6 pm and again at the River Discovery Center on Saturday, September 3 at 3 pm in the Founders Room, where his exhibit will be on display from Friday, August 26 through Monday, September 5 during the River Discovery Center’s regular hours. The Secret History exhibit is free and open to the public. (There is an admission fee to the River Discovery Center exhibits.)