For a towboat deckhand, life on the river means long days but lots of pride

Amherst Madison deckhand Ryan Gilleran describes life on a towboat transporting barges full of coal, and other materials, up and down America’s waterways. When they deliver road salt to towns in the winter or coal to power plants in the middle of the night, Gilleran says he and his fellow “towboaters” feel like unsung heroes, …