This log goes back in time, with newest entries at the top. Scroll down for links to news articles and inside gossip. We cover the Save the Delta Queen Campaign, general steamboat news and history, steamboat ancestry, paddlewheel boats wanted / for sale, and guestbook postings. Another site to buy and sell paddlewheel boats: eBay. More Save the Delta Queen Campaign web sites: steamboats.org * save-the-delta-queen.org * DQ bumper stickers, pins To search this section or the whole site, go to Steamboat News Archive. If you want to post to this page, click here.




Guestbook Posting
On Nov 18, 2009, at 8:02 PM, Dave Fragale wrote:

name: Dave Fragale
location: Largo,Fla
message: Hey Jack Custer!!!
Visiting this site has left my glasses all misted up and all my envelopes self sealed!Not to mention that I'm half deaf from either that whistle or the Calliope!
email: Yes, include my email (encoded in SpamStopper) email Dave

Editor's Note: Thanks Dave, good to hear from you, sounds like it hit the spot.




Guestbook Posting
On Nov 18, 2009, at 9:07 AM, FLANAGAN, DENNIS B wrote:

name: Dennis Flanagan
location: Metaline, Wa
message: The photo question asking the location in the photo of the steamer "Metaline" was taken in Box Canyon. It is heading south. The negative has not been switched.
email=Yes, include my email (encoded in SpamStopper software) email Dennis
visits: First time

Editor's note: This is more kindling on the raging controversy that this photo ignited, see: mystery boat page. I will alert John, Dave, Peggy, Deborah, and Andrew. We had fun discussing this last year.




Steamboats.com has documented the Belle of Louisville accident October 17, click here to see photos.






Click the card for more information about these beautiful Delta Queen holiday cards by Karen "Toots" Malloy. Fill your holiday giving with steamboats, here at Steamboats.com.









Scroll down for 2010 calendars - one from the HSPS showing a variety of historic steambats and one dedicated jsut to the Delta Queen.




Looking for that unique and practical holiday gift, or a great collectible?
The HSPS 2010 Calendar is Available Now!

HSPS, Inc (a 501.c.3 non-profit) publishes a Riverboat Wall Calendar each year, with proceeds going toward maintenance of the 1923 sternwheel towboat BARBARA H. Our 2010 calendar features early photos of sternwheel towboats. The calendar contains 13 large photos printed on heavy card stock, suitable for framing.

Each month features a specific boat along with its history, and a complete calendar page, with holidays marked. The featured boats for 2010 include:

BENWOOD
RESOLUTE
NEMACOLIN (now LAURA J)
TED B
BOB GRESHAM & HELEN H
MAJOR
FORT ARMSTRONG (now ANNA MARIE steam barge)
D.A.B.
CHE-MON
KANAWHA
R.W. TURNER
TROJAN
J.B. BATTLE

This is the Historic Sternwheeler Preservation Society's ninth calendar, with all proceeds going toward the maintenance of the BARBARA H - the nation's oldest operational sternwheel towboat, and a National Historic Landmark.

Calendar Price: $15.95
Shipping: $4.50 for one; (add $1 for each additional calendar).

Please mail check or money order to:
HSPS, Inc.
158 Ashland Cove Road
Vevay, IN 47043

Online credit card ordering is available at our online giftshop: http://hspsi.org

Here are images of the calendar's front and back covers:







Click here to see the 2010 Delta Queen wall calendar.





October 23, 2009
Etiquette When Writing to Officials
from the League of Women Voters
A Few Words of Common Sense in the Save the Delta Queen Campaign

The fundamental don'ts:

DON'T begin on the righteous note of "As a citizen and taxpayer . . ." Your elected representatives assume you are a citizen, they know we all pay taxes.

DON'T apologize for taking his or her time. If you are brief and to the point, he or she is glad to hear from you.

DON'T say "I hope this gets by your secretary." This only irritates the staff.

DON'T be rude or threatening. It will get you nowhere.

DON'T be vague. Some letters received in congressional offices are couched in such general terms that it leaves the senator or representative wondering what the writer had in mind.

Editor's Note: A good clear message would be to write about what the Delta Queen means to you, what it means to our country, and the local economies. Explain that you want to see it traveling the rivers once again. This could happen any number of ways, so avoid focusing on a particular bill or politician. The actual possibility of returning our perfectly safe and functional last remaining historic overnight passenger boat to the rivers in 2020 is simply a brilliant thought. It is still 2009 so nothing about how this will happen is known to us yet. Hey, maybe that affirmation is working.* Also, remember to pick up a 2010 Delta Queen calendar while they are readily available.




Editor's Note: this situation is on hold right now, but let us shower our legislators with little love notes about our boat.

2010 Delta Queen Exemption Proposed in House
Representative Baron Hill of Indiana a Friend of the Delta Queen
Contact: Katie Moreau (202) 225-5315
Rep. Hill's website: http://baronhill.house.gov

(Washington, DC) - Congressman Baron Hill has introduced an amendment to the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010, H.R. 3619, regarding the necessary exemption for the Delta Queen to resume cruising. In order for the amendment to reach the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives during consideration of the larger bill, H.R. 3619, the House Rules Committee must first find the amendment germane and in order.

The amendment language offered by Hill would specifically restore the exemption from the fire-retardant materials construction requirement for marine vessels operating within the Boundary Line through November 1, 2018. Completed in 1927, the Delta Queen has a superstructure primarily of wood and can carry more than 170 passengers. The 1966 Safety of Life at Sea Law prohibits any wooden vessel carrying more than 50 overnight passengers from operating out of a United States port. However, Congress has provided the exemption for the Delta Queen eight times since 1968, primarily because it was intended for seagoing vessels and not riverboats.

The exemption was rejected last year in the form of a motion to recommit during the consideration of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2009. Hill supported the motion, but it failed by a narrow vote margin of 208-195.

"My perspective on the Delta Queen and its safety has evolved significantly," Hill said. "After speaking with various officials and the former captain of the Delta Queen, I am convinced it should cruise again. To that end, I have introduced this amendment with the full intent of seeing this through until the Delta Queen is back on the Ohio River. The Delta Queen is not only historically significant, but is a job creator and economic boon to the areas along its route."

###





"We envision the Delta Queen, wheel turning, traversing the rivers."

(an affirmation may not be true yet, but if we visualize what we want, then our subconscious mind will send us ideas and encouragement to achieve our goal - please affirm with us)




October 17, 2009
Announcing the 2010 Delta Queen Calendar

Good News! There will be a 2010 Delta Queen calendar! This wonderful calendar produced by John Weise sells out every year. Get your calendar now and have a whole year of beautiful Delta Queen photos in 2010. Email John Weise - click here.


Sept. 21, 2009 breaking news click here for the latest news on the sidewheel steamboat the President.




August 30, 2009 - A few days ago I had a server emergency and had to move all my websites to a new server. Therefore Steamboats.com, Surrealist.org, and a few others were off line for a few hours on Thursday afternoon, then fully up and running again as usual by Saturday morning. Life throws you a few curve balls, and this was definitely one of them. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If you find any broken links or missing jpgs, please contact me.




On Aug 25, 2009, at 5:52 PM, Phyllis Dale wrote:

To Everyone Who Cares About The Delta Queen: I have shared correspondence with Harry Phillips, who is Project Manager and part of the group who has leased the Delta Queen and is currently operating her as The Delta Queen Hotel in Chattanooga, TN. I believe Harry truly cares about maintaining the boat to the highest of standards. We all hope that she will get her well-deserved exemption. However, in the meantime, I'm sure she is happy that she is being "well-polished" and loved.




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