New documentary 'The Beautiful River' highlights beauty, history of Ohio River

HENDERSON, Ky. − Anyone who has grown up or lived in this neck of the woods has a connection with the Ohio River.

The possibilities are many.

Some people drive over it and back frequently just to go to work.

Maybe you or somebody you know has spent their work life on that river.

Maybe you spent many a sunny summer weekend on a sandy river island that you reached on a pleasure boat. Or you learned how to water ski on it. Or you talk your daily walk beside it.

Maybe a relative told you eye-opening tales about what it was like to cope through the 1937 flood. Or how it is to routinely contend with the river’s backwater year after year, decade after decade.

But even with all those possibilities, Louisville-based documentary filmmaker Morgan C. Atkinson hopes to tell you something you don’t know about the 981-mile waterway that was once called “The Beautiful River.”

His one-hour documentary film, “This Is The Ohio,” will premiere on Kentucky Educational Television on Monday, May 6. It will be available immediately following the initial 4 p.m. CDT airing for streaming at KET.org .

In a media release announcing the film’s release, Atkinson said the film intends “to inspire, entertain and engage.” Showcasing the rich history and unmatched beauty of the Ohio River, he said, the film promises to open the eyes of people who thought they knew the Ohio as well as those who never have given it a second thought.

“I traveled 981 miles, from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, with several things in mind,” Atkinson said. “I questioned the river’s true identity. I asked, ‘Is it solely a commercial highway essential to the economic well-being of the United States? Or is it a natural wonder providing incredible opportunities for recreational users? How about its status as America’s second most endangered waterway?’ I found the answers to be in all of the above.”

With that in mind, Atkinson’s intent with the film was to showcase the rich history and unmatched beauty of the Ohio River through a light-hearted approach coupled with a serious undercurrent in presenting the need to care for this vital waterway.

In the history category, local viewers will notice storytelling about the famed naturalist John James Audubon and his life along the Ohio as well as the Mississippian-era settlement at Angel Mounds.

“My intent is to leave viewers with one thing in mind: What can we do to bring the Ohio River nearer to its original state, described by many as ‘the beautiful river’?,” he said. “My hope is that, by the time the credits roll, the audience will see the Ohio River in a new light.”

Morgan McGarvey, U.S. Representative for Kentucky's Third Congressional District is interviewed in the program. He noted how the Ohio River has not received as much funding from the EPA as other waterways.

“The Ohio River is the largest body of water in America that doesn’t currently receive federal funding. That’s got to change,” McGarvey said. “Having a clean river is essential. A major effort I am working on as co-chair of the Ohio River Caucus is to make sure the Ohio River is getting the resources it needs, that it deserves.”

The Ohio River is the source of drinking water for more than five million people. More than 25 million people, almost 10 percent of the U.S. population, live in the Ohio River Basin.

In addition to the streaming option on the KET website, the documentary will air 12 more times on KET, KET2 or KETKy. Information and times are available at: https://ket.org/program/this-is-the-ohio-river-life-death-rebirth-of-the-beautiful/ .

“This is a story about a river,” Atkinson said. “It’s a big river with a lot of stories. We hope the ones we tell will cause you to love the river if you don’t already.”

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: New documentary 'The Beautiful River' highlights beauty, history of Ohio River