Roden recounts Mississippi canoe trip in talk November 17
November 3, 2005
KOKOMO, Ind.—During a three-month period in 2004, Allan and Dianne Roden paddled their homemade cedar-strip canoe the entire 2,500-mile length of the Mississippi River. Starting in northern Minnesota and ending in New Orleans, La., the husband and wife traveled through 10 states and 29 lock-and-dam systems, while making countless discoveries about nature, small town hospitality, and themselves.
A professor of finance with Indiana University Kokomo's School of Business, Dianne Roden will recount those adventures Thursday, November 17, during a public lecture offered at 6 p.m. in the IU Kokomo Art Gallery. Roden said her illustrated presentation will “emphasize lessons learned [along the river], and the fact that any trip is more about the journey than the destination.”
The title of Roden's talk, “Mississippi Howl,” recognizes the non-paddling member of the Rodens' travel team, their pet Australian cattle dog named Annie Dog. When not barking at waterfowl along the river, Annie would occasionally let out a sustained wail, which the Rodens dubbed her “Mississippi Howl.”
Mississippi Howl is also the title of a book derived from journals that Allan and Dianne kept during their canoe trip; the book was recently released by AuthorHouse, a Bloomington, Ind., publisher.
Roden's talk is the third in a series of “Last Lectures” offered by current and retired IU Kokomo faculty members, in celebration of the campus' 60th Anniversary. The series continues through April 2006. For a full schedule of lecturers and topics, visit www.iuk.edu/events.
The IU Kokomo Art Gallery is located off of Alumni Hall, next to the Library entrance. Persons without campus parking passes should follow signs to visitor parking for this event.
