The cruises began in the 1940s and were the brainchild of the late Silliman Evans, who was the publisher of the Nashville Tennessean.
He devised the tours as a way to promote the waterways of the Tennessee Valley. Among the areas the cruises spotlighted were Kentucky Lake, Paris Landing and Barkley Lake, which at that time were not as well known or popular as they are now.
In the summer of 2011, we interviewed Amon Evans, who was Silliman's son and later became publisher of The Tennessean himself. Amon lived in Springville and remembered the Tennessee Valley Ho! cruises fondly.
The cruises included the state and local celebrities and would include big BBQs and events on board while they toured the Tennessee, Cumberland and Mississippi Rivers
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