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Quincy University ...to a Greater Degree

PHIL HOEBING

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Phil Hoebing, O.F.M.

"WILDCAT WHISTLE"

by Brien Murphy, Staff Writer

(Quincy Herald-Whig, March. 27, 1998)   Spend a little time with the Rev. Phil Hoebing, and he's bound to tell stories. The Quincy University philosophy professor knows stories about practical joke-loving riverboat pilots, hunters who got caught in major storms, supposed tricks for catching more fish, and mules trained for raccoon hunting.

Dozens of stories about Adams County, the Mississippi River, and people who lived or worked on the river are collected in Hoebing's new book,"Wildcat Whistle", published by the QU Franciscan Press.

Hoebing, who spent 10 years off-and-on interviewing people and writing the book, said "it was crazy how it all began."

While on a sabbatical from his teaching duties, Hoebing met a man who knew stories about the former Lima Lake in northwest Adams County. QU professor John Schleppenbach, also a fan of folklore, heard a tape of the man's stories and encouraged Hoebing to write a book.

It wasn't long before Hoebing met other people who knew stories about the area. "One person leads to another person, and pretty soon, you're going up and down the river," he said.

Hoebing said Adams County, where he grew up, is rich with folklore about the river and its environs.

As a river port, Quincy was a prime location for story swapping. Plenty of people passed through - riverboat pilots, commercial fishermen, barge crew members. Each of these people knew stories, and shared them with locals.

Stories are also a way to pass the time, Hoebing said. "If you're out duck hunting with two or three other guys, and there aren't any ducks, you talk. If you get just the right people together, it's just a treat," he said.

Some of the stories probably aren't true, but are entertaining nonetheless, Hoebing said. For example, one story in the book tells the tale of two friends who constantly bickered. When one got drunk and drowned, his friend suggested rescue crews search for his body upriver because he was such a stubborn cuss.

Hoebing said it doen't matter if some of the stories aren't true because there is truth within them.

"They give us the truth about human nature. There are people who want to control things, people who have great idealism, stories that define who the smart ones were. In these cases, it was usually the people from out East who weren't very smart," he said.

Many of the stories offer insights to ways of life that are long gone.

Once upon a time, there were several river "chutes" that ran inland on both the Illinois and Missouri sides of the Mississippi. But when the Sny Island levee was built near the Adams County/Pike County line, a chute was cut off, and a Rockport mill owner lost his water supply.

So, according to newspaper accounts, he hired a team of St. Louis men to destroy the levee. They were caught before too much damage could be done.

Other stories are about the changes in the habitat. Hoebing writes that in the early 20^th century, hunters and fishermen believed the river area provided an endless number of fish, ducks and other animals. During the Great Drpression, out-of-work people relied on hunting and fishing to provide something for their families to eat.

The title of the book comes from the type of whistle riverboat pilots would blare. One pilot would arrange to blow his on Sunday mornings, as preachers were delivering their sermons, drowning out the fire and brimstone.

The Wildcat Whistle is also available on-line through amazon.com.

Phil Hoebing is the author of The Wildcat Whistle, a collection of the funniest, most intriguing and most tellable river stories. Read about them in his new book published by the Franciscan Press at Quincy University. Price: $19.95 (ISBN: 0819909890). Now Available!

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