Coast Guard Captain, Bride Take to the Mon River
Washington PA Observer Reporter
31 August 2010
The O-kan Express delivered Katie Klinsky and Zachery McGavitt to their
wedding reception Saturday evening.
Freshly painted and decorated with flowers, streamers and a "Just
Married" sign, the O-kan Express - a tugboat - floated down the
Monongahela River from Brownsville to West Brownsville. As it neared
the site of the outdoor wedding reception, the tug announced its
arrival with several deep blasts from its horn.
Wedding guests along the bank of the Monongahela River cheered as the
wedding party came into view and the boat docked. The sun cast long
shadows and sparkled atop river waves, created when a number of smaller
boats passed by, their passengers waving and wishing the newlyweds good
luck.
The McGavitts were married earlier in the day at First Presbyterian
Church of Charleroi.
Because Zachery graduated from SUNY Maritime College in the Bronx,
N.Y., as did his four groomsmen, they decided to incorporate a nautical
theme in the wedding, forgoing the traditional limousine ride to the
reception. The men now are all licensed captains in the Coast Guard.
The tugboat is owned by Zachery's father, Ed McGavitt, who is a towboat
captain for PJ Dick & Trumbull.
The wedding party boarded the tugboat and crossed the river to where
McGavitt's parents have a summer home at the end of Vesta 7 Road.
The formal reception for 160 guests was held on the lawn. Tables and
chairs were set up under three large, white tents overlooking the
river.
McGavitt and his bride met while in the eighth grade in Charleroi, and
today they are building a house there.
Parents of the couple are Ed and Cheryl McGavitt and Judy Klinsky and
Gary Klinsky, all of Fallowfield Township.