--- title: Classic Summer Fun from LIFE Magazine: The Floating Party description: In 1941, LIFE magazine photographed "the unique pastime of mass inner-tube floating" as it was practiced in Somerset, Wisc. canonical: https://time.com/4372350/life-floating-party/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-01T12:00:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:27.955Z og:title: Classic Summer Fun from LIFE Magazine: The Floating Party og:description: Sun? Check. Water? Check. And 200 inner tubes? Check! og:url: https://time.com/4372350/life-floating-party/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0bff3e681035536d/69889838ab6d77587b6aa1cc/160618-floating-party-apple-river-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: 1941 Floating Party og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Classic Summer Fun from LIFE Magazine: The Floating Party twitter:description: Sun? Check. Water? Check. And 200 inner tubes? Check! twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0bff3e681035536d/69889838ab6d77587b6aa1cc/160618-floating-party-apple-river-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Man Who (Maybe) Invented River Tubing > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Jul 1, 2016 12:00 PM UTC  Caption from LIFE. Toward the end of the two-mile stretch drifters jam up in current, snag on reeds, slip off tubes. Reed-bedecked man at the right is impersonating Neptune. Caption from LIFE. Toward the end of the two-mile stretch drifters jam up in current, snag on reeds, slip off tubes. Reed-bedecked man at the right is impersonating Neptune. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Jul 1, 2016 12:00 PM UTC On the Fourth of July weekend, all over the U.S., Americans will celebrate Independence Day with parades, barbecues and pool parties. But, for those looking for a more unusual way to do something festive on a summer weekend, perhaps inspiration can be found in this photo essay by Alfred Eisenstaedt, which ran in the [July 21, 1941, issue ](https://books.google.com/books?id=hkwEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22floating+party%22#v=snippet&q=%22floating%20party%22&f=false)of LIFE Magazine. That summer, on a Sunday right around Independence Day, the photographer traveled to Somerset, Wis., where a man named David Breault, owner of the Terrance Nite Club, had turned the nearby Apple River into a goldmine. On that day, about 200 people had been supplied with inner tubes, on which they floated down the river, drinking beer and—when the current allowed—finding time to steal a kiss. After about 45 minutes, they came to a stopping point, where a Terrance Night Club truck would pick them up and bring them back to the starting point. If they wanted to go again, they could. The club provided the tubes for free, but it was worth the expense: Breault reported to LIFE that his business had multiplied by three since they began doing so. Though the activity might not seem so unusual to today’s summer celebrants—the “floating party” was essentially a lazy-river amusement park ride created by nature—it’s noteworthy that LIFE’s write-up of the activity expressed surprise and delight at the idea that Breault had “innovated the unique pastime of mass inner-tube floating.” It wasn’t until 1966 that TIME [credited ](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/printout/0,8816,835641,00.html)Thailand’s Princess Chumbhot of Nagar Svarga as “inventor of the sport of tubing.” _Sports Illustrated_, the year before, had provided a little more [detail ](http://www.si.com/vault/1965/01/04/607243/some-inner-tubes-for-thais)on how it had happened: the princess had brought about 100 tubes to her country estate and invited her friends to join her in riding them down a river, but “when news of the fun got out in a Siamese TV show, people began flocking to southern Nakhon Nayok province by the hundreds, hoping to join in.” Though the princess may well have given inner-tubing international renown as a sport, she must apparently share some credit with David Breault of Wisconsin—and, surely, with all the people around the world who surely had the same idea since the invention of the rubber inner tube in the 19th century, but who enjoyed their fun in anonymity. But if there’s anything these photos make clear, it’s that there’s room enough at the party for everyone.  Caption from LIFE. Toward the end of the two-mile stretch drifters jam up in current, snag on reeds, slip off tubes. Reed-bedecked man at the right is impersonating Neptune. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Outtake from the "LIFE Goes on A Floating Party" photo essay from 1941. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Outtake from the "LIFE Goes on A Floating Party" photo essay from 1941. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Outtake from the "LIFE Goes on A Floating Party" photo essay from 1941. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Snakelike pattern is formed by inner-tube floaters en route to river. Circular building at left is Terrace's well-known outdoor bar, built around a tree. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Descending to the pier, the floaters walk down two long, steep wooden staircases. They have just received detailed instructions from the wife of Terrace's proprietor on the hazards and etiquet of floating down the river. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Swirling currents carry lazy drifters downstream. Inexperienced at steering and stopping, many girls left their escorts far behind and ended up floating beside new acquaintances. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Kissing is difficult from one inner tube to another. The danger lies in tubes slipping off and plunging amorous couple over backward. Determined neckers park in the reeds. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Beer-drinking is the most popular pastime of Apple River's inner-tube floaters. Here Mr. and Mrs. Bud Klingen of Minneapolis spend a cool Sunday afternoon sharing the same bottle. Many Minnesotans flock across the State line to Wisconsin liquor joints to dodge the Minnesota Sunday dry laws. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Precarious pastimes are picture-taking and music-making \[see slide #11\]. Once launched with a camera or violin, one must keep it well above the water level until the drift is completed. Other popular cargo consists of books, magazines, newspapers, sandwiches, mouth organs and cigarets. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Precarious pastimes are picture-taking \[see slide #10\] and music-making. Once launched with a camera or violin, one must keep it well above the water level until the drift is completed. Other popular cargo consists of books, magazines, newspapers, sandwiches, mouth organs and cigarets. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Improvised bridge table is set up by enterprising floaters who play a few rubbers on their way downstream. Dummy at left is available to steady the table and bottles. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Aground on a sand bar but undismayed, Robert Doran, a South Minneapolis Ford Co. employee, makes the best of it with his current companion, a song and a bottle of beer. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. At Mason's Mill, end of run, the William J. Brauns of St. Paul, Minn. haul themselves out of water on rope which spans the river, pick up tubes and make for shore. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Free round trip is completed by Terrace's truck which meets waterlogged guests, takes them back to the club. Many of them will return for a second and third trip. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Outtake from the "LIFE Goes on A Floating Party" photo essay from 1941. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4372350/life-floating-party/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4372350/life-floating-party/"},"headline":"The Man Who (Maybe) Invented River Tubing","datePublished":"2016-07-01T12:00:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:27.955Z","description":"Sun? Check. Water? Check. And 200 inner tubes? 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