Among the world’s oldest, floating society of free spirits

This 1970 image shows Mrs. Tyler swabbing the deck of a houseboat called Tippecanoe III while her daughters, L’Vonne and Lynda sunbathe.

Loran Tyler, age 5, enjoys a dive from the Tippecanoe III into the Allegheny River.

Mrs. Tyler serves lunch to her children aboard the Tippecanoe III.

Cindy Volkwein,age 11, at left, and her sister, Terry Volkwein, 14 , help their father, George, keep their floating houseboat clean.

This 1970 image shows Leo Tyler and his son, Lee, below, working on the houseboat’s motor.

This November 1981 photograph shows Jane Cermak at left, her husband, Don and the couple’s son, Ed, at home on their houseboat.

In November 1981, Don and Jane Cermak prepared their houseboat for winter by stowing their porch furniture. They lived year round on a houseboat moored on the Allegheny River.

This 1978 image shows Genevieve and Cliff Hellard aboard the decks of their houseboat, which is on wheels.

This February 1945 photo shows women on the river preparing for a flood. Mrs. Emma Grimm, left, lived on a houseboat near the 9th Street Bridge and tied up a few more lines to the shore. Mrs. Mary Gruber, 81, a former steamboat cook, isn’t moving from her home near the river. At right is Mrs. William McFarland who is packing up to move to higher ground.

This May 16, 1941 photograph shows a houseboat on its way from the South Side to Sharpsburg. The houseboat owner hooked an outboard motorboat to his home, tied various belongings on behind, a raft and several smaller boats, and chugged away. In the background is the West End Bridge. ackground De

​Mark Twain, the talented American novelist, spent his boyhood beside the Mississippi River in the town of Hannibal, Mo.

So he knew from firsthand experience that the allure of a flowing river is hypnotic.

People who live on houseboats know this, too, because their lives are cradled and rocked by the river where they are moored.

When warm weather arrives, houseboat residents are nearly euphoric. They can power up the motor and float along the river while soaking up some sun and siping  a cold beer. They can catch up with members of their favorite fraternity of floating free spirits known as river people.

Back in September 1970, The Pittsburgh Press published a feature in its women’s section, which it proudly proclaimed was “for and about women.”

Headlined “Water Home,” the story showed Leo D. Tyler and his family living aboard a houseboat called Tippecanoe III. A key picture shows Mrs. Tyler and four of her children bidding goodbye to the family’s breadwinner, Mr. Tyler, a salesman.

The story extolled the family’s ability to live in close quarters and still get along during their six-month stay on the boat from May to November. The Tylers traveled regularly, visiting the Beaver River and Brady’s Bend on the Allegheny River. They also studied the history of the towns they visited.

The family had taken typical  vacations and belonged to a country club.

“Nothing has satisfied all of us as much as living on a houseboat,” Mrs. Tyler told the story’s author, Sylvia Sachs.