Anniversary of American Queen is a gentle reminder of what the Mighty Miss means

When it comes to large events and new industries, the media and government agencies scramble to quantify just what those events or industries mean to a local community through economic impact stories.

Try doing that with the Mississippi River.

The report would be very short, simple and succint. In fact, it would probably read like the following:

“In our estimation, the presence of the Mississippi River — and the related industries, amentities and other outlets —impacts the local economy a lot.”

It would be nearly impossbile to quantify what the river has meant to Vicksburg and Wednesday’s 20th anniversary commemoration of the American Queen on Vicksburg’s riverbank is just a small example of the business, the visitors and the dollars that are attracted to Vicksburg and Warren County nearly every day because of the river.

It is something we often times take for granted.

But, if you were to go to one of the overlooks or the park and spend a quiet lunch hour looking out over the water, watching barges move up and down the river and being whisked away to the 1800s when you see a riverboat coming in for a visit, you might begin to appreciate just how blessed we are to have such a resource, such an economic engine.

We again congratulate the American Queen on their recent anniversary and thank each of the five riverboats that make regular stops in Vicksburg.

It might not be the loads of cotton or supplies like before, but it still means so much to us.