'Stan the Kayaking Man' gets warm welcome to Cape on trek down the Mississippi

“You are never too old to do anything,” Stan Stark said.

Stark is an 81-year-old retired U.S. Navy Seabee paddling a sea kayak solo approximately 2,400 miles down the full length of the Mississippi River, stretching from Lake Itasca, Minnesota, to the Gulf of Mexico.

If successful, Stark, also known as “Stan the Kayaking Man,” will set the world record for being the oldest person to complete this feat.

Stark and the two kayakers who have joined him along the way, Brian Hoover and Chris Brennan, stopped Wednesday in Cape Girardeau.

Stark said he wanted to stop in Cape Girardeau because he had visited the city previously and “knew it was a beautiful place with wonderful people.”

A group of people gather to welcome Stan Stark on Wednesdasy for his two day visit to Cape Girardeau.Sarah Yenesel

Stark and his crew arrived Wednesday afternoon for a short pit-stop. They were planning on replenishing their supplies, maybe staying the night on the sandbar, Stark said, but they got much more than that.

As Stark and his crew paddled up to the riverside, they were welcomed by a large group, including city officials, veterans, members of the community and Southeast Missouri State University students.

The group cheered and applauded the kayakers, some waved large American flags, some brought food for the kayakers and others rushed to the water to greet and help them onto land.

Stark — who has been kayaking for more than 20 years, including competitive racing, according to his website — said he was “overwhelmed and in awe” by the amount of people who came.

Brennen said they knew there were going to be some people waiting for them when they arrived in Cape Girardeau, but weren’t expecting so many.

Stan Stark takes his first steps out of his kayak Wednesday in Cape Girardeau for his two day visit.Sarah Yenesel

“It’s always different when you come into a new town, and I knew there were going to be some people here, but I wasn’t expecting anything like this,” Brennen said. “It really was a great welcome.”

Stark said the trio were also given multiple offers for places to stay, and his daughter arranged for him and his crew to stay at a bed and breakfast in Cape Girardeau until Friday.

Among those who came to welcome Stark was Thomas Meyer, owner of Thomas L. Meyer Realty Co. in Cape Girardeau and a fellow retired Seabee.

Meyer said when he heard what Stark was doing, and that he was a Seabee, he immediately changed into one of his Seabee shirts, put on his Seabee face mask and rushed to the river to meet him.

“There aren’t very many [Seabees] around, so I wanted to find out if we were in the same battalions; we weren’t, but I was still excited to see another Seabee,” Meyer said. “To come across a Seabee who had been in the same training programs, the same combat situations, the same everything — that’s just like putting two brothers together.”

Stan Stark makes his way along the Mississippi River toward Cape Girardeau on Wednesday.Sarah Yenesel

Meyer said that within 2 minutes of speaking to Stark, they had “connected on so many different levels,” and he could see the Seabee in Stark.

“I was in awe of [Stark] — he’s a very determined person to make the effort and accomplish what he’s doing,” Meyer said. “Of course, the Seabees were known for doing the impossible; our motto was ‘Can do,’ so it really doesn’t surprise me because that’s just how we were.”

The crew was also greeted by Randy Heise, a “Mississippi River Paddlers river angel” in Cape Girardeau. As a “river angel,” Heise said he assists those kayaking or canoeing on the Mississippi River in any way he can when they stop in Cape Girardeau.

Heise said he followed Stark through the tracker on his website because he wanted to be there when Stark arrived in Cape Girardeau.

Heise was just as surprised as Stark by the welcoming party, he said, because he hadn’t planned for anything like that — it was orchestrated by members of the community through social media.

“The most rewarding part of the journey is the people you meet,” Stark said. “I have met so many beautiful people that will tell you they’re proud of their state, whether it’s Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri — they brag about it, and that’s a good thing.”

Stark is making this paddle in honor of and to benefit Sarge’s Place, a homeless veterans’ outreach program, shelter and support services center in Forks, Washington.

To make a donation to Sarge’s Place, or follow Stark along his journey with the virtual tracker, visit www.stanthekayakingman.com.