Some months back, a group of Colorado
College students were talking politics, and the subject of
voting came up.
They talked about how large numbers of their age group - 18
to 25 years old - don't bother to vote. They wondered what
they could do about it. Somehow, the idea of paddling the
2,300 or so miles of the Mississippi River to encourage voting
came up.
On June 1, they put
in at Lake Itasca, Minn., where the river begins. Over the
next two months, they paddled south, passing Minneapolis,
Hannibal, St. Louis. They've camped along the river, cooking
their meals over fires.
On Thursday, the group of 15 or so paddlers landed in
Memphis, where they held a voter-registration rally at Mud
Island Sunday afternoon.
"We're just a bunch of people whose love of our country is
connected to our love of the outdoors," said Kerri Kuhn, a
23-year-old native of Peoria, Ill.
The trip is being funded in part by a $10,000 grant from
the National Education Association and another $10,000 from
U.S. Cellular, which has also given the group free phones to
use during the trip.
In addition to registering voters, the group is asking them
to sign a pledge to vote. They plan to call everyone they've
registered in the weeks before the election to remind them to
cast a vote.
Although all the paddlers have political views, Kuhn said
their mission is non-partisan, only encouraging people to
vote.
Several local organizations had information booths at the
event, including the local Libertarian Party, Mpact Memphis
and the League of Women Voters.
Memphian Lanie Smith, 25, is one of the people the group is
targeting.
"I am not registered to vote, so I wanted to get some more
information," she said. "I picked up some information on a
couple of organizations I didn't know existed."
While the paddlers said they were enjoying the trip, they
admitted to some difficulties.
Being around the same people for so long can become
burdensome, of course. They stifle boredom with card games,
books, a chess set and a few iPods.
A thunderstorm near Carruthersville, Mo., rained lightning
and huge gusts of wind on the group.
"It was pretty terrifying," Doug Vilsack, son of Iowa
governor Tom Vilsack said.
Their Memphis stop was the first time the group stayed in a
hotel, which means it's also one of the few times they've had
access to a shower.
Vilsack laughed when asked if he was looking forward to
regular baths again. "I can't imagine how much."
- Jody Callahan:
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