While many teachers spend summer break catching up on rest, Kirkwood Community College’s Jed Peterson took his love of history to the high seas.
Well, the high rivers.
Jed signed on as the onboard historian for a 7-day Columbia and Snake rivers cruise with American Cruise Lines. The small-ship company operates 19 riverboats, paddle-wheelers, and Coastal Cats exploring the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, New England, the Southeast, and the Mississippi River region.
“As a historian and an educator, I’m always looking for new ways to share our past,” Jed said. “This felt like a natural fit, using all the skills I’ve honed over the years to connect with people I’d never reached before.”
Over the course of the week, Jed delivered daily lectures tailored to the ship’s itinerary. Topics included:
- The Oregon Trail
- Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest
- Woody Guthrie’s “Roll On, Columbia” and its ties to the New Deal’s dam projects
- The 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens
- Two deep dives into the Lewis and Clark expedition—one on their voyage, the other on the members of the Corps of Discovery
His audience? A sold-out group more than 100 retirees eager to learn as they cruised through scenic waterways.
Jed’s duties went beyond lectures. He gave the port of call briefings, highlighting what guests could see and do in each city. He led shore excursions and even jumped in to help serve dinner when several crew members fell ill.
“I loved the people I worked with,” Jed said. “We had entertainers who’d been Tony-nominated or had charting singles. The food was amazing, the weather was perfect, and I never got seasick. It was a great time!”
Jed is back in Iowa, getting ready for the fall semester, but he’ll “seas the day” again. American Cruise Lines already invited him back for next summer.
“I love seeing what happens when you say yes to things you don’t normally do. Sometimes it doesn’t work out, but when it does — well, that’s when the magic happens. I’m proud to be a historian on land and at sea. Now to find a gig on an airplane.”