Engineer Profile: Edward “Smitty” Smith
I handled crew and towboat operations at Madison Coal & Supply Company (MCS), now known as Amherst Madison, from 1990 until my retirement in 2023.
Smitty was chief engineer of the Crescent City when I came to work at MCS. I met Smitty on the boat in the summer of 1990. It was clear to me from the outset that this was an old-style engineer who knew his stuff and could make any piece of equipment go, no matter the problem. He would do everything in his power to fix whatever was broken without shoreside assistance. Smitty had a fierce pride in his job.
One of the little things I remember is that, on one of the boats Smitty was on, the captain called me at Port Amherst to tell me the washing machine was broken. I summoned Smitty to the phone and asked if we needed to send a new one to the boat. Well, let me tell you, was it ever a mistake to ask that! He said, “You know, that’s what’s wrong here. You guys just throw money away. I’ll fix the one we have. Isn’t that what you pay me for?” I never heard any more about the washer.
His favorite boat was the J.S. Lewis, built in 1931. Most of the time Smitty worked as chief engineer there, the J.S. Lewis still had direct reversible Enterprise engines. This boat was also the favorite of Charlie Jones, our owner, as well. With direct reversible engines, the engineer pretty much had to be in the engine room all the time. Going from forward to reverse and back to forward meant the engines had to be stopped completely, and then the pilot had to restart the engines to go in the other direction. The Lewis had about three or four opportunities to start up or the air tanks would run out of air, and the compressors would have to build up air again. An engineer had to be on his toes during this process. I remember so many pilots saying, “You want Smitty down there, particularly in high water!”
Smitty had a wonderful, jovial personality, and crew morale was always high when he was on the boat. He really was one of a kind. I could tell so many stories about his pride, work ethic and influence on others just from being around him. Both Nelson Jones and his father, Charlie Jones, talked about Smitty’s knowledge and ability to fix anything at any time and how fortunate they were to have him working at MCS. In 1996, they surprised him by changing the name of the 1,200 hp. Nancy Jane to Mr. Smitty. There wasn’t a towboat he couldn’t walk on and, within a short time, be comfortable in keeping going.
When he passed away in October 2007, it was a blow to the company. I remember Mr. Jones saying, “He’s irreplaceable because of his knowledge, the things he could do and the expertise that he took with him.” I know for me he was a star who could never be replaced. I have been around many chief engineers in my 45 years in the business, many excellent ones, but there will never, and I mean never, be another Smitty!
