Sol, a carpenter and board member with the Mississippi River Revival, recently has fixed up an old farmhouse with his wife, son and a three-legged dog. He had some discarded windows in the back of his truck for the new house as he showed us around. There are almost 100 houseboats on Latsch Island and connecting Wolf Spider Island. Both are just across the Mississippi from Winona. About 25 have permanent residents and the others are vacation homes and actual boathouses.
None are expensive.
They generally came from some other structure and had barrels added. One house was fitted with a recycled Ford Pinto motor and paddlewheel to greet President Jimmy Carter when he came through on the Delta Queen. I was told it looked like a floating bomb to the Secret Service, so they checked it out. Leslie's boat was next door to Sol's. This young looking grandmother is an artist.