AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The city of Sistersville, West Virginia, is home to the last ferry crossing in the Mountain State. The Sistersville Ferry has been serving this tiny community for more than 200 years. For the past 12, Captain Bo Hause has been at the helm. Now he's retiring. Reporter Zack Harold with the West Virginia Public - with West Virginia Public Broadcasting took a ride with him.
ZACK HAROLD, BYLINE: Let's say you find yourself in Sistersville, West Virginia, and you really have a hankering for a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich from the Riverview Restaurant, just across the Ohio River in tiny Fly, Ohio. You have a couple options. Drive up to New Martinsville, cross the bridge and head back down - that's about a 30-minute trip. Or drive down to St. Marys, cross there. That's about a 45-minute trip. Or you could just take the Sistersville Ferry, which will only require 10 minutes of your time and a $5 bill.
BO HAUSE: There's not a schedule. It's what I call on demand.
HAROLD: That's ferry captain Bo Hause.
HAUSE: Right now, we're on the West Virginia side. A car pulled up, so we're getting ready to go to Fly, Ohio, and we're going to sit there until a car shows up there, or if a car shows up on the West Virginia side, then we'll come back and get them.
HAROLD: This is the only ferry in West Virginia and one of only six ferry crossings left on the entire Ohio River. Years ago, when the oil and gas industries dominated the economy here, it ran daily. Now it's a local tradition, a novelty, a tourist attraction. With a dozen seasons now behind him, Bo knows all the intricacies of this crossing, like the sandbars hidden beneath the water's surface and how a wind from the north will push the boat sideways.
NICOLE EASTHAM: Today's the day.
HAUSE: Last one.
EASTHAM: All done.
HAROLD: Nicole Eastham and her family pull onto the ferry in their red Ram pickup. They're regulars and use the ferry to get to their property across the river. And they know this is Bo's last day as ferry captain. Daughter Kaylin and son Avery jump out of the truck to greet Bo. Nicole said at this point, he's basically part of the family.
EASTHAM: He's known my daughter since she was just a baby, and he knew Avery before he was even born. I mean, I've been riding - I rode when I was pregnant with Avery, so he's literally seen him grow up.
HAUSE: I just enjoy watching families grow, talking, watching the kids grow up. The kids like coming up in the pilot house and steering.
HAROLD: Bo took this job after driving boats for the U.S. Coast Guard for 30 years.
HAUSE: When I retired from the Coast Guard, my wife asked me if I was going to be OK 'cause I won't be on the water. And it turned out that I'm on the water, and I enjoy it. I don't know that I'll miss it, but I definitely enjoyed it while I'm doing it.
HAROLD: Bo says he's ready for some longer journeys, beyond the back and forth of the Ohio River. And when the ferry season restarts in the spring, this 200-year-old tradition will be kept alive by a new captain who will pilot the only ferry in West Virginia. For NPR News, I'm Zack Harold in Sistersville. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.