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Riverboat calliope player plans concert to benefit city schools

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By Scott Unger

September 16, 2008

Old time river music will fill the air at the Capital Plaza Hotel Thursday when Belle of Louisville calliope player Martha McCray Gibbs takes the stage.

Gibbs will play a selection of river-themed songs on a simulated calliope keyboard " as well as some piano " for the concert to benefit Frankfort Independent Schools.

It's the first fundraiser organized by the FIS Education Foundation created to promote FIS graduates and raise funds.

"We want to bring back a former student who was very much a part of the Frankfort school system and showcase her talents, but we also want to let the community know about the foundation," said FISEF member Kay Harrod.

FISEF member Trudy Laing said Gibbs is the perfect person for the first fundraiser.

"She's the epitome of Frankfort," Laing said. "She just fits it like a glove."
Gibbs, a 1962 Frankfort High School graduate, is finishing her fourth summer playing calliope " a steam powered instrument similar to a piano with a 2 1/2 octave range " on the Belle of Louisville.

Gibbs said she has always loved the calliope sound.

"The sound is just different and you don't hear it anywhere else," she said.
During a trip on the Belle a few years ago, Gibbs asked the captain if she could play and he agreed.

"I happened to get the captain that likes the calliope," said Gibbs with a laugh. "I absolutely fell in love with it."

In 2005 Gibbs received a call from her son telling her that the Belle " one of six steamboats with a working calliope " was looking for a new player.

"They called me down for an interview and I got the job on the spot," she said.
During the summer Gibbs plays for a half hour before the boat leaves the dock to get the passengers in the mood and attract others.

"Normally I don't get to play while they're out on the river because the captain says they can't hear the radio when the calliope's playing which is probably true," she said. "I don't think you could stand to hear it more than 30 minutes, because it's really loud."

The sound won't be quite as loud at the concert, but Gibbs will make the experience genuine by playing river themed songs designed to remind the audience of older times.

"Since the belle was built in 1914 I try to go back to some of the songs that would have been played then," Gibbs said. "I kind of go back and play the oldies."

After playing songs such as "Ole Man River," Gibbs will play a medley of songs that the audience will try to guess for prizes.

"I'm going to play and we're going to have a guessing game," she said. "The (crowd) is going to guess the titles of the songs (and) there are going to be prizes for the person that gets the most titles."

After Gibbs, the concert will feature the choruses from FIS schools, as well as the Frankfort Middle/High School band. There will also be a silent auction featuring prizes including tickets to the Belle.