At 80 years old, Jim Callahan doesn’t move as fast as he used to, but his stories sure do. And if you sit down with him long enough, he’ll take you on a journey far beyond Nicut—to the open waters of the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and even the Alaskan coastline.
Callahan, now a quiet retiree who spends his days tending to his vegetable garden and playing cards at the local diner, once lived a life filled with adventure on the high seas. In his 20’s, he worked for a major cruise line, traveling the world and experiencing things that most folks from Sequoyah County only saw in National Geographic.
“I always tell people, I grew up in Nicut, but I saw more of the world by the time I was 25 than most people see in a lifetime,” Callahan says with a chuckle. “And to this day, I still don’t know how to swim.”
Callahan always dreamed of going somewhere— anywhere— that wasn’t Nicut. So, in 1964, when he saw a job advertisement looking for crew members to work aboard a luxury cruise ship, he figured, why not?
“I was young, single and broke—seemed like a perfect opportunity,” he says. “I sent in my application, half-joking, and two months later, I was standing in Miami, sweating my tail off, about to board a ship for the first time in my life.”
Callahan started as a lowly deckhand, scrubbing floors, carrying luggage, and doing odd jobs. But over time, he worked his way up to a ship steward, tending to passengers and making sure everything ran smoothly in the cabins.
“The guests were fancy folks—businessmen, honeymooners, and people with more money than I’d ever seen in my life,” he remembers. “I once had a lady ask me to iron her money because she didn’t like how wrinkled her cash was. I just nodded and went along with it.”
Over the years, Callahan worked on several cruise ships, traveling to the Bahamas, Italy, Greece, Spain, and even up to Alaska.
“Alaska was something else,” he recalls. “One morning, I walked outside, and there were whales just swimming alongside the ship. I about fell overboard, I was so shocked.”
Despite all the incredible places he visited, Callahan says the most exciting part of the job was the people. He once met a Hollywood actress on board (though he refuses to name names) and even had dinner with a prince from a small European country.
“I don’t think he knew the fork from the spoon,” he laughs. “Turns out, money doesn’t buy you good manners.”
Life at sea wasn’t always smooth sailing. Callahan recalls one particularly rough storm in the Atlantic that had passengers clinging to their chairs while the ship rocked violently.
“I was trying to serve drinks, and every time I’d set a glass down, it would slide right off the table,” he says. “Eventually, I gave up and just handed people their drinks in plastic cups.”
After several years at sea, Callahan realized that while the world was vast and exciting, home was where he truly belonged. In 1971, he returned to Oklahoma, got married to his wife Margie, and settled down.
“I figured I’d had enough adventure to last me a lifetime,” he says.
Now, instead of navigating open waters, Callahan spends his days fishing at the local pond, reading travel books, and—of course— dreaming about one more trip.
“I told my kids if they ever take me on a cruise again,” he grins, “I want a first-class cabin. I’ve earned it.”
