Crane barge bears name of former Scott City mayor

It's not everyone who has a water vessel named after them, but Faith Ham of Scott City, Mo., can now proudly say that her late father has that honor.

Nevan Fisher was the mayor of Scott City for eight years, from 1961 to the time of his death in 1969. Though well known in Scott City, Fisher was also known as a 36-year career veteran with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It was because of that well-remembered career that he was nominated to have a new crane barge named after him.

The christening for the vessel, along with two other vessels, took place June 27 in St. Louis at the fleeting facility on Arsenal Street. Ham said of 11 children in her family, nine of them were able to be on hand for the christening, along with about 30 other relatives and friends. She said the christening was a great honor to the memory of her father, and for the rest of the family, including her 92-year-old mother, Nettie, who still lives in Scott City.

Fisher was born in 1905 in Ellis Grove, Ill., and he began his career with the St. Louis District of the Corps of Engineers in 1925 as a boatman on a derrick boat and pile driver.

He advanced through various positions, with the Corps, including an overseas assignment in Honolulu during World War II. There he was a foreman of land forces in connection with dredge operations.

After the war, he returned as a pile driver operator and crane operator for the St. Louis district. Fisher also served briefly with the Atomic Energy Commission as a maintenance supervisor.

The other two vessels christened at the event were the dredge the Charles Lewis Potter and a new towboat, the Grand Tower. The Nevan A. Fisher measures 150 feet by 35 feet and weighs 100 tons.

"I can imagine that my father would feel very honored to have a vessel named after him in recognition of a great career," Ham said.