Erlbachers: 'A Family Legacy on the river'

In the 1930s, brothers Robert and Eddie Erlbacher decided to forge their way into the highly competitive river business. The pair had no money, experience and little education, but, as time shows now, whatever they did have was enough.

Nearly a hundred years later, the Erlbachers' leap turned into a dynasty of success on the river.

Robert Erlbacher's son, Robert Erlbacher II, spoke Thursday night about his family's history with Missouri Barge Line at Kellerman Foundation for Historic Preservation.

Long before he became president of the barge line, Erlbacher worked in the shipyard as a youngster during summer breaks. He spent time aboard the boats as they hauled cement and other materials up and down the Mississippi River.

"The shipyard was my playground," he said.

Robert Erlbacher II speaks Thursday at Kellerman Foundation for Historic Preservation.MONICA OBRADOVIC

Missouri Barge Line began as Erlbacher Brothers Barge Line, a small boat-building and river-transport business in the 1930s run by Robert Erlbacher and Eddie Erlbacher.

Eddie retired after World War II. Robert and his wife, Mabel, then established Missouri Barge Line Corp. in 1945. They later founded Missouri Dry Dock in 1954.

A crowd of about 30 spectators huddled in heritage hall to hear Erlbacher speak.

Heritage Hall houses the Kellerman Foundation for Historic Preservation -- the same building that once served as Missouri Barge Line's offices.

Erlbacher spoke for almost two hours, hashing his family's history and their relationship to the river.

Frank Nickell, chairman of the Kellerman Foundation's board, said the Erlbachers pair with the Mississippi River was the same way peaches do with cream.

"No family in this region has a longer relationship with the river than the Erlbachers," Nickell said to the crowd.

The family fostered their business through various highs and lows throughout the decades. The 1950s was a time of prosperity, Erlbacher said during his speech. They built multiple new boats and formed Missouri Illinois Barge Line Corp. with the Smith family who owned gas stations in Northern Illinois.

Robert Erlbacher built his last boat in 1966. He named it after C.W. "Woody" Rushing, a long-time manager of Missouri Barge Line and mentor to Erlbacher.

Erlbacher's father helped run the barge line and dry dock company until his death in the fall of 1968. Erlbacher was in college at the time at the University of Missouri-Rolla, now called Missouri University of Science and Technology. He wanted to drop out of school to run the business, but his mother said no.

In 1970, Erlbacher finished college and returned to Cape Girardeau to work for the businesses full-time.

He led the companies through all its ups and downs until June of 2008. Heightened government regulations burdened the company, so Erlbacher sold Missouri Barge Line to American Electric Power.

Then, in 2019, the Erlbacher family sold Missouri Dry Dock to National Maintenance and Repair Inc.

The Erlbacher's legacy still continues today. The family operates a propeller repair and machine shop and fabrication business located on the grounds of the original Dry Docks. There, Erlbacher works with his son, Robby Erlbacher.

Erlbacher's recount was the first public telling of the history of the Missouri Barge Line, according to Bert Kellerman, co-founder of the Kellerman Foundation.

"I've never heard this story before, but it's a story that needed to be told," Kellerman said. "It's one of those great Cape Girardeau success stories."