In 2014, Norman Schafer started a Facebook group to showcase pictures of high water on the Mississippi River. When the waters receded, he realized that a group called Mississippi River Flood Photos was going to have a limited appeal, so he dropped “flood” from the name. Over the next couple of years, the group steadily added a few thousand followers. In the last couple of years, though, a couple of popular posts sparked exponential growth, propelling the group’s membership to nearly 150,000!
Norman has lived his entire life near the Mississippi River in southeast Iowa. He has worked on the river for over 30 years. While he knows his part of the Mississippi well, the Facebook group shows off the entire river and the river’s changing faces throughout the year. “A lot of people love the river, and they want to see everything up and down the river that you would have to drive to see. Well, here you don’t have to drive anywhere. You can just log on and see everything.”
The images of the river change with the seasons and the perspectives of people who post. Pictures of bald eagles are common in winter. Lots of colorful trees show up in fall. Barge pilots post pictures of their view of the river. “From captains, to fishermen, to cabin owners, photographers, there’s just multitudes of people. And we all get together in one room and just talk, or share.”
The group has a couple of other moderators to make sure people follow the simple rules, which are basically be nice, don’t swear, don’t make political posts, and say something about the Mississippi River.
“It’s just a really good group… Everybody just gets along for the most part.”
For Norman, the Facebook group is a labor of love. “I don’t get a dime from this, just the enjoyment of creating probably the world’s biggest river group… It’s just sharing with people. That’s what it’s about. I enjoy that people actually enjoy the group and have fun with it.”
