Save the Delta Queen
Scroll down for links to news articles and inside gossip. This log goes back in time, with newest entries at the top.
Paddlewheel Boats Wanted / For Sale
Please send information to Steamboats.com and we will post your notice here. Another good place to look: eBay.
Historic Preservation Blog
For other news (besides the Delta Queen) click here.
Other Save the DQ sites: steamboats.org * save-the-delta-queen.org * and savethedeltaqueen.com.
Stay tuned for more Delta Queen updates. . . .
November 15, 2008
Star Tribune Columnist Tells All
Could Oberstar sink the majestic Delta Queen?
By Katherine Kersten, Star Tribune
Read the article - post your comments - click here
Chattanooga Press Conference & Media Coverage
Next Delta Queen event - Chattanooga riverfront Nov. 5, 2007, 8 a.m. Be there to greet the media and disembarking passengers - bring signs and musical instruments! Come back in the afternoon to see the boat off. Congressman Zach Wamp of Chattanooga, a co-sponsor of H.R. 3852, will speak around 2 p.m. Check this page for updates on the event. Or contact the Congressman's office for his exact arrival
Chattanooga Newspaper Coverage before and after the press conference. Editor's Note: You have to subscribe to the Chattanooga Times Free Press to see these articles, but I will list them here.
Portrait of a lady: Delta Queen's visit may be its last to Scenic City
By Jan Galletta Staff Writer
Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007
During his days as a U.S. Navy chief, Ed Dodski sailed the world in the most modern of military ships. But the miles he logged as an engineer aboard the Delta Queen linger more in memory, he said.
Launched in 1926, the wooden paddle-wheeler cruised the Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Ohio rivers with passengers who often booked multiple trips, said Mr. Dodski, 51, of LaFayette, Ga. He said many visited the engine room to touch its 44-ton wheel and dual 1,000-horsepower pistons.
When the craft docked at a tiny town local dignitaries typi cally met it on the pier while the high school band played on shore, according to Mr. Dodski.
"But the journey itself was the best," he said. "When you travel on a riverboat, you see the United States in a whole different way, and it stays in your memory all your life. It's going to be a sad day when they retire the Delta Queen." . . .
Supporters hope to keep Delta Queen afloat
By Mike O'Neal Staff Writer
Saturday, November 03, 2007 see original
The Delta Queen may be making its final visit to Chattanooga unless Congress exempts the stern-wheel steamboat from rigid enforcement of maritime law.
"This should be a permanent exemption for the Delta Queen because it is on the National Registry of Historic Landmarks," said Bridgeport, Ala., Mayor John Lewis. "Putting it out of commission is like cutting a redwood forest."
Mr. Lewis, who served as a purser aboard the Delta Queen in 1964, said even then congressional hearings were called to deal with claims that the steel-hulled ship's wooden superstructure was a fire hazard.
The Safety at Sea Law of 1966 includes a clause that forbids vessels involved in overnight passenger service from having wooden superstructures, but the ongoing process has been for Congress to grant exemptions to that law, according to Duffy Hudson, who is coordinating a rally Monday that is part of a national grass-roots movement to preserve the Delta Queen.
In continuous service since being built in 1927, the Delta Queen has transported Presidents Harding, Truman and Carter, and it was named to the National Registry of Historic Landmarks in 1989, Mr. Hudson said.
On Aug. 1, Majestic America Line announced that the Delta Queen would cease operations at the end of the 2008 season because of its temporary exemption not being renewed, he said. . . .
Enthusiasts urge keep Delta Queen afloat
By Jan Galletta, Staff Writer
Monday, November 05, 2007 at 5:00pm see original
Even as work crews cleaned up after the weekend's rowing regatta, river travel enthusiasts of another sort gathered today at Ross's Landing to protest the Delta Queen's projected retirement next year.
"I've seen it here many times and wanted to come back to check it out in case this is the last time it visits the city," said Bill Scoville of Chattanooga. "I hope something can happen to keep it afloat."
U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn, told supporters of the move to exempt the landmark steamboat from fire-code restrictions that he was resolved to try to keep the boat, built in 1926, from dry dock.
"Everyone knows it's an icon," he said. "We ought to grant an exception to keep it on the water."
Holding "Save the Delta Queen" signs, rally participants watched passengers board it en route to Decatur, Ala. Among them was Chattanoogan Jerry Garrett, who said he first rode the vessel in 1977.
Could This Be The Last Voyage For The Delta Queen In Chattanooga?
Submitted by WDEF News 12 on November 5, 2007 - 12:10pm see original
Today may be the last time Chattanoogans will see the Delta Queen in this part of the country.
The Cincinnati based riverboat which comes to the Tennessee River for the fall foliage cruises is facing a challenge from Congress.
Former crew member John Lewis is asking for a show of support, hoping the boat will be granted an exemption from a ban on such inland watercraft.
The 81-year old Delta queen has a wooden superstructure, and a steel hull, which the Coast guard had deemed "unsafe."
Congressman Zach Wamp is one of the lawmakers who will co-sponsor a bill too exempt the boat from that law.
The Delta Queen is the oldest Steam vessel transporting passengers on an overnight extended cruise in America.
She is on the National Registry as an Historical place.
New Articles
November
USA Today - click here
Nori Muster's article at CruiseMates.com - click here [article off line]
October
The New York Times - click here
NYT slide show click here
L.A. Times - Oct. 24 and Oct. 23
Demopolis Times - click here
All DQ movies on You Tube: click here
Scroll down for more coverage or go to Google News and enter the keywords for "Delta Queen," then sort by date. Go to news.Google.com click here
Editor's Note: My rant at the USA Today comment page:
The law in question is the Safety at Sea Law, passed in 1966. It was intended for safety at SEA, meaning THE OCEAN, and the Delta Queen never goes on the ocean. That is why she has always gotten the exemption. The boat deserves to continue to run.
On Oct 29, 2007, at 2:17 PM, Russell Mickelsen wrote:
Hi Nori,
Thanks a million for keeping me informed about what's going on. I will certainly call my Congressman to ask for his support again. Hopefully, everyone keeping pressure on the Congress as a whole will bring this to a happy ending.
Pat Mickelsen
Hi Pat,
Yes, then the Delta Queen will enter the next stage of her legacy. Instead of working for a corporation, she will work for an organization dedicated to her preservation. With the proper care, she can continue to carry passengers at least ten more years. After that we'll see, because she could continue to operate safely for another hundred years.
Nori
P.S. May I post our latest correspondence to the Steamboats.com log?
On Oct 30, 2007, at 2:14 PM, Russell Mickelsen wrote:
Hi Nori,
Do you mean that an organization will ultimately have the Delta Queen in their care? Anything will be better than The Queen being made into a restaurant or Casino.
I did contact my Congressman, Wally Herger, and his secretary is going to research The Delta Queen's dilemma and ask him to support HR 3852. Hopefully enough people will do the same. Yes, you can use my comments on Steamboat.com
Thanks,
Pat Mickelsen
Hi Pat,
I believe the organization must work for the boat. She is old and deserves to retire from the corporations. We need to support her now. Of course, she can probably still make money. She would still be able to work, but not under so much pressure. It is hard to turn a profit for a corporation because of all the layers of management.
Let's all sit down and write hand written letters and cards to our Congress people and Senators. How often does somebody do that these days?!! Send them a picture of the Delta Queen!
n
Editor's Note: Brief Statement re. the Safety at Sea Law:
The question with the Safety at Sea law is whether a wooden boat can carry passengers overnight. Every year except 1970, when there were complications, Congress has granted the Delta Queen her exemption as a matter of course. The main reason she always gets it is because she does not go on the ocean, but is always within a few dozen feet of the riverbank. The law was meant for ocean boats; the little steamboat plying the riverways was snared up in the law by accident.
"I've never stayed on the Delta Queen, but it's so cool!" - news anchor, WCPO Ch. 9 News, Cincinnati.
As of Oct. 27, you can watch all the ABC News coverage of the Delta Queen's situation, including coverage of Rep. Chabot's press conference. (Hurry, because there's no telling how long WCPO will keep this in their archive.)
Click here for the WCPO site, then enter "Delta Queen" in the news video search window. Click on the Delta Queen stories and keep clicking until the right story comes up. (Maybe it's just my Mac, but the news clip will play if you click.)
Press Release
STEVE CHABOT
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
FIRST DISTRICT, OHIO
For Immediate Release
Date: October 25, 2007
Contact: Todd Lindgren - (513) 684-2723
Chabot, Supporters to Announce Legislation to Save the Delta Queen
CINCINNATI -- Congressman Steve Chabot will be joined tomorrow by a number of local leaders, historians and supporters to formally announce the introduction of legislation to save the Delta Queen. The press conference will take place on Friday, October 26, at 12:30 p.m. at the National Steamboat Monument (Mehring Way at Broadway, behind Great American Ball Park).
Joining Congressman Chabot at the press conference will be Cincinnati City Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz; Dan Hurley, the Assistant Vice President for History at the Cincinnati Museum Center; Catherine Mills of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber; Mark Shallcross of the Kentucky Derby Festival; Mike Jones, Middle Rivers Chapter of the Sons & Daughters of the Pioneer Rivermen; and a number of Delta Queen supporters.
The Delta Queen began operations as a sternwheel river steamboat in 1926 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. For the last 40 years, the Delta Queen has operated under a special congressional exemption due to the boat's wooden superstructure not meeting certain regulations under the 1966 Safety of Life at Sea Act. Congress has renewed the exemption on a number of occasions to allow the Delta Queen to continue overnight passenger cruises. The current exemption expires in November 2008 and the Delta Queen's future remains uncertain. Chabot's bipartisan legislation, H.R. 3852, would extend the exemption for the Delta Queen until 2018.
Who Congressman Steve Chabot, Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz, representatives from the Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, the Kentucky Derby Festival, the Sons & Daughters of the Pioneer Rivermen, and a number of Delta Queen supporters.
What Press conference to announce legislation to save the Delta Queen (open to the media)
Date Friday, October 26, 2007
Time 12:30 p.m.
Location National Steamboat Monument (Mehring Way at Broadway, behind Great American Ball Park)
Oct. 23, 2007
Join the H.R. 3852 Press Conference this Friday
The Save the Delta Queen campaign has taken a turn for the better in the last week. This Friday at approximately 11:30 a.m., Congressman Steve Chabot will hold a press conference at the Steamboat Memorial on Cincinnati's river front. If you live there, or nearby in Newport or Covington, Kentucky, or anywhere within range, please attend the press conference. Bring homemade signs that say "Save the Delta Queen" and wear DQ t-shirts, hats, and jackets if you have them.
Double check the time of the press conference with Congressman Chabot's office, (513) 684-2723 or (202) 225-2216. Steamboats.com will post the exact time when it is confirmed. If you arrive early, hold up signs and wave at passing cars. If you play a jazz instrument, bring it with you to the press conference, because it will be a great time to make some music.
Oct. 18, 2007
Breaking News: H.R. 3852
Yesterday Congressman Steve Chabot of Ohio introduced a "stand alone" bill - H.R. 3852 to give the Delta Queen an exemption. If you know any other U.S. Representatives who will co-sponsor the bill, call Rep. Chabot's Washington office and talk to Anna Rack (202) 225-2216. Send any petitions and city resolutions to her, as well.
Call (202) 224-3121 and ask your U.S. Representative to support H.R. 3852 to save the Delta Queen. Ask the operator for your representative by name and be polite! Remember, we are the ones asking for a favor, not the other way around.
To read the bill, go to Thomas.loc.gov, type in H.R. 3852, and click to search by bill number.
A Queen in jeopardy
U.S. may force riverboat to end overnight cruises
Cincinnati Enquirer, August 17, 2007, by Malia Rulon
WASHINGTON - The 81-year-old Delta Queen, a towering red and white steamboat that for decades carried overnight passengers past Cincinnati and down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, could take its last trip next year. Click here to read full article.
On Oct 10, 2007, at 1:52 PM. Pat Mickelsen wrote:
I have read many of your blogs regarding saving the Queen and we totally agree. We traveled on her many times together and my husband traveled on her between San Francisco and Sacramento in the 30's and was taken to his troop ship in 1944. We have a lot of love and respect for her and don't want to see her as a Casino as she doesn't deserve that. Keep up the Good Work and we will be helping where we can.
Thanks
Pat Mickelsen
Steamboats.com wishes to thank Mayor John Lewis for passing this resolution and sending it to be posted here.
New Articles and Blog Postings
Blog http://timejobssearch.com/blogs/canadian-job-national-railroad/17604/last-year-for-the/ Last Year for the Delta Queen
by Canadian job national railroad (canadian-job-national-railroad) @ Tue, 25 Sep 2007 22:02:24 +0300
Every day a riverlorian talks about the river and steamboat days. One man on our cruise, from Virginia Beach, had cruised on the paddlewheelers 81 times . . .
Blog Steamboats
Steamboats had a particular mystique. This site has a special tie for Sacramento as it features the Delta Queen . . .
Save the Delta Queen campaign gaining momentum in Scotland
Scotland, Sept.25
The 81 years old Delta Queen, a legendary paddle steamer built in Dumbarton is facing the threat of being off the river because of the strict safety laws. . .
Scots Call to Save Delta Queen from Scrap Heap
The Dumbarton-built Delta Queen, above, has for the past 60 years plied her trade on the Mississippi, although strict safety laws have forced similar boats made largely of wood off the river. . . .
Blog Steamboats
Maybe the very next day, I read in the Hannibal newspaper that the boat I was most familiar with, the Delta Queen, was going to have to stop operating because Congress was ending its safety hazards waiver. . . .
http://uk.absoluteweblog.com/?p=254 Campaign to save paddle steamer
Politicians in Scotland have joined a campaign to save a Mississippi paddle steamer from being scrapped. . . . .
MSPs campaign to save Scots-built US steamboat
Rachel MacBeath
MSPs have jumped on board a campaign to save the Delta Queen steamboat, a historical icon of Scottish engineering.
Scots call to save Grand Old Lady of the Mississippi from scrapheap
SHE has carried presidents and princesses, seen wartime service and been hailed as the jewel of the Southern states of the US. . . . comments
Campaign to save Delta Queen from scrapheap
More than 80 years since she was built in Dumbarton, the Delta Queen paddle streamer is at the centre of a new campaign to save her from the scraphead. . . .
Glory days of the Delta Queen
THE Delta Queen, last of the old Mississippi paddle steamers, is facing defeat in its long battle to avoid being beached. . . .
Blog Steamboats
An independently run website, http://www.save-the-delta-queen.org/, is marshaling support for saving Majestic America Line's historic Delta Queen steamboat, whose 80-year existence as a Mississippi riverboat is currently being threatened in the U.S. Congress. . . .
Blog Doon the watter
Mr Smith reads that fifteen of our esteemed Members of the Scottish Parliament have backed a motion at Holyrood expressing concern about proposals to "scrap" a Mississippi paddle steamer, the Delta Queen. Yes - that's Mississippi in the United States of America. . . .
Campaign to save paddle steamer
Politicians in Scotland have joined a campaign to save a Mississippi paddle steamer from being scrapped. . . .
Riverboats put tiny town on itineraries
September 17, 2007
By John Lucas
Evansville Courier & Press
GRANDVIEW, Ind. -- Passengers on the riverboat American Queen found Small Town, U.S.A., recently when they disembarked at Grandview. . . .
Loss of Delta Queen could hurt local business
Sep 15, 2007 06:22 AM
These passengers are leaving the American Queen at Rhodes Ferry Park. They think about the loss of sister ship Delta Queen. . . .
Tragedies better left in history
By Daily News editorial board
It's easy to feel sentimental and maybe even a bit possessive about the Delta Queen. . . .
God, or someone, save the queen
Thursday, September 13, 2007
By Jo Ann W. Schoen | Corydon, Ind.
If the Delta Queen stops running, we will be losing a National Historic Landmark. . . .
Post a comment: post a comment
Blog The Delta Queen - Not Important Enough for Fox News
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2007
Talk about having their priorities messed up - Fox news has flooded their airtime for two consecutive days with the story of the woman in the mini skirt and Southwest Airlines. . . .
Does the Save the Delta Queen Campaign Need Funding?
A Rant by Nori J. Muster
Sept. 21, 2007
Tonight one of the Greene family wrote to me suggesting that we seek donations for the campaign. Further, he discussed some of his ideas about founding a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation to manage the funds. I do not believe this is necessary. If we get a pot of money there will be a big fight over how to spend it, first of all. Second of all, there's every chance it may be embezzled, wasted, doled out as pork to insiders, or whatever! Anytime you get money involved, there has to be an organization, and if there's an organization, it's sure to make everybody unhappy.
Back in 1970 the campaign did not cost anything. Greene Line Steamers already employed Betty Blake and Bill Muster. They did all the work themselves. It was eighty percent sweat, twenty percent money. We need an organized network of people who will each volunteer a portion of their spare time. Unlike a business arrangement, we are involved because we love the old Queen.
I'm in favor of raising money, but let's join forces with established 501(c)3 corporations that share our interests. Let's talk to the historical societies, the steamship societies, and the preservation groups, and ask them to set up a special fund for saving the Delta Queen that people could donate to. Then at our websites, we can publish this information. People who want to donate, can choose from several good organizations who volunteer to help us.
By the way, when I say "we" need to form a tight network, I'm talking about Majestic America, to begin with, accepting the help of the boat's fans, beginning with the journalists, webmasters, travel writers, legislators, passengers and crew (past and present), the city managers who would miss the boat's business, the people who live along the riverbanks, historians, genealogists, Mark Twain fans, and anyone else who feels called. Last but not least, the Greene family and Muster family are definitely behind this. Good news: there is still a Bill Muster around - my brother, Bill!
We form the core of this effort and maybe we will fix more than just this situation. We need to make this a Save the DQ / Boston Tea Party to get our country's priorities straightened out. We honor our history. We care about our landmarks and people. We want to feel proud to be Americans and the paddlewheel steamboat is one of our national symbols of what is good about our country. It is possibly the one thing that could unite us all. It's something our overseas friends can also identify with as American.
And another thing . . . many people are whispering that Majestic secretly wants to put the boat out of service because it's a financial burden. I disagree. The boat is worth more to them if it can take passengers. If they sincerely no longer want it, they can sell it. It would be easier to sell and for a higher price if it is alive and well. They simply don't have the history with the boat that some of us do. To them, this is a valuable asset that is in jeopardy.
A new site - SaveTheDeltaQueen.com. John Lewis says: "I was around in the 1960's when Betty Blake, Mrs. Letha C. Greene, Richard Simonton, Bill Muster, E.J. Quinby and all the others, were appearing before Congressional hearings in Washington, DC, to try and save the Delta Queen."
Sept. 19, 2007:
Breaking News from the BBC:
Politicians in Scotland Join Save the Delta Queen Campaign
A call to people in Europe and all over the world! Help us save what is good about America!! Must our whole country go down the loo, including our paddlewheel steamboats?
Video report - click here
Major Article from Delta Queen friend, Jay Clarke:
"Final year: Two cruise ship monarchs sail into the sunset in 2008" (the Delta Queen and Queen Elizabeth 2), by Jay Clarke, Miami Herald September 9, 2007 - read it in the Miami Herald or reprinted in the Chicago Tribune September 16, 2007.
Here is a reprint of Jay Clarke's article: The final days of the Queens Sept. 20, 2007
Sept. 9, 2007
Act Up to Save the DQ
The author of this Sept. 9 statement speaks for many of us: Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Jim Armstrong was active in the campaign to save the Delta Queen in 1970, too. Read Jim's memories of the 1970 campaign - click here. Read other memories of the Delta Queen - click here. If you live in or around Pittsburgh, how about writing a letter to the editor to confirm the spirit of Jim's op-ed!
Sept. 8, 2007
Latest Save the Delta Queen News
Here are all the notable articles about the Save the Delta Queen campaign, culled from the Internet over the last couple weeks. Many of the editorials and blogs discuss what to do with the DQ if she stops running. You will note that people in Stockton, Cincinnati, Natchez, and New Orleans want to host the boat. Stockton would never work. Tom Greene was lucky to get a permit to bring the boat through the Panama Canal in 1947. It would be impossible to get permission now!! They're dreaming ;-)
Nearly all of these links are either blogs or news outlets that have blog capability, so you can add your thoughts . . . . It may require registering with the newspaper, but all these are free. Keep track of where you post and go back to see if people react to your words. Remember - the Save the Delta Queen campaign is ALIVE AND WELL. The people at Steamboats.org and Steamboats.com (just to name a few) will work throughout 2008 to save the boat as an overnight passenger vessel. - Nori
Congress should keep Delta Queen in service
http://news.cincypost.com By Don Clare
I can only imagine what Mark Twain's opinion of today's corporate America would be. . . .
Blog: http://www.urbanplanet.org/
QUOTE (tombarnes @ Aug 21 2007, 05:03 PM) Delta Queen's Final Cruise Scheduled for Late 2008
If something isn't done to save the Delta Queen, she will be making her last cruise in November, 2008. I suppose she could well see another life as a stationary hotel in New Orleans, Memphis or Natchez. I'd much rather see her plying the river as she has always done. Perhaps the petition will see success.
Blog: http://blog.nola.com/
Farewell to the Delta Queen
Posted by mball August 22, 2007 6:41PM
By Millie Ball Travel editor
She's been queen of the Mississippi River for 81 years. But it looks as if the beloved Delta Queen steamboat may be churning water through her bright red paddlewheel for the last time next year. . . .
http://www.2theadvocate.com
No exemption means no sailing for Delta Queen
Advocate news services
Published: Aug 23, 2007
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Delta Queen, a wooden paddle-wheeler that's carried three presidents and a princess on the Mississippi River, will make her final overnight cruise next year. . . .
Blog: http://angelkiss70.vox.com/
Cruise Anyone?
I've always wanted to go on a cruise. I would love to take my son on one of those river cruises. . . .
http://www.swtimes.com
Friday, August 24, 2007
Delta Queen To Say Its Final Goodbye
By Ben Boulden
Times Record - bboulden@swtimes.com
On Sunday, the Delta Queen passenger boat likely will leave Fort Smith's riverfront for the last time. . . .
http://www.postbulletin.com
Travel scene: Delta Queen may soon paddle off into sunset
Bob Retzlaff 9/8/2007
She's not as old as Noah's Ark, but Father Time has caught up with the venerable riverboat, the Delta Queen. . . .
Same article, two sites, blogs at both:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com
http://www.wdam.com
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Final voyage for historic Mississippi riverboat?
By Associated Press
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Delta Queen, a wooden paddle-wheeler that's carried three presidents and a princess on the Mississippi River, will make her final overnight cruise next year unless the federal government extends her exemption from modern fire codes. . . .
Two sites, same article, blogs:
http://www.wjtv.com
http://www.fox19.com
Delta Queen's Days Numbered
Historic Delta Queen Headed For Final Voyage
Aug 28, 2007 12:20 PM
(MEMPHIS, TN) - After cruising the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers for decades, the wooden paddle-wheeler Delta Queen could make her final overnight voyage next year. . . .
http://www.argentanews.com
Music to My Ears
Written by Scott Miller
Friday, August 24 2007
The Delta Queen sternwheeler is in town anchored at the NLR Riverfront Park today and will be back in a few days. She will return next year and that that may be her swan song. . . .
http://www.commercialappeal.com
Time to court the Delta Queen
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Her Career as a cruise ship is running out . . . .
http://www.swtimes.com
Friday, August 24, 2007 9:02 AM CDT
Delta Queen To Say Its Final Goodbye
By Ben Boulden
Times Record - bboulden@swtimes.com
On Sunday, the Delta Queen passenger boat likely will leave Fort Smith's riverfront for the last time. . . .
http://www.kansascity.com
Delta Queen's reign might end next year
Next year might bring the last dance of the Delta Queen, the 81-year-old doyenne of American paddle wheelers. . . .
http://discounttravelblog.hotelscheap.org
Historic Delta Queen Prepares to Retire
Posted on August 27th, 2007 in United States by sandy
The Delta Queen Steamship, the sternwheel steamship built in 1926 and listed as a U.S. historic landmark, has announced her retirement-in November of 2008. . . .
Bill Lambrecht article from St. Louis Dispatch (scroll down, link posted below), now in Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com
http://matildaintherock.blogspot.com
Monday, August 27, 2007
The Delta Queen and a Question
Just heard on the news the days of the Delta Queen may be coming to an end, at least the nights aboard the Delta Queen. . . .
http://www.natchezdemocrat.com
Park the Delta Queen in Natchez
By Democrat Editorial Board | The Natchez Democrat
Published Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Think of Natchez and you immediately think of the Mississippi River.
Think of the river and you're mind quickly conjures up images of steamboats, steamboats like the Delta Queen. . . .
Blog
Save the Delta Queen!
By tombarnes
http://www.urbanplanet.org
I agree completely. If the decision is indeed final, I would like to see the Delta Queen preserved . . . If I had my preference, she would go on sailing as before.
http://cellar.org
Historic Paddle-Wheeler Headed For Last Voyage
Associated Press - August 21, 2007 6:04 PM ET
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Wooden paddle-wheeler Delta Queen will make her last overnight cruise next year unless the federal government extends the riverboat's exemption from modern fire codes. . . .
http://www.whoanellieblog.com
(Editor's Note: I posted a comment here) The Delta Queen - American Historical Landmark That Congress is Destroying
Congress seems to believe that they are responsible for legislating our freedom of choice. And in its infinite wisdom has decided not to grant the necessary waiver which allows the Delta Queen to steam its way up and down the Mississippi River. . .
http://www.zwire.com
Long live the Queen
An Editorial
Aug. 28, 2007
The historic Mississippi River paddle wheeler Delta Queen will likely make its last trip down the Big Muddy a year from October. . .
http://www.newsday.com
Last chance to sail the Delta Queen
The Los Angeles Times 7:09 PM EDT, August 31, 2007
Next year might bring the last dance of the Delta Queen, the 81-year-old doyenne of American paddle-wheelers. . . .
Blog
http://www.urbanplanet.org
I think it would mesh nicely with the Mississippi River Museum at Mud Island as well. . . . This would be a great addition to our harbor.
Queen belongs in Stockton
http://www.recordnet.com
by Michael Fitzgerald
Record Columnist
August 29, 2007
The Delta Queen riverboat, a royal native of Stockton, may come up for grabs in 2008. Are we too disillusioned by the USS Iowa affair to consider bringing her home? . . .
Follow up:
http://www.recordnet.com
By Michael Fitzgerald
Record Columnist
September 03, 2007 6:00 AM
Rarely (actually, never) do I get everybody to agree. But a column about bringing the Delta Queen back to Stockton stuck a chord of pure harmony. . . .
Contact columnist Michael Fitzgerald at (209) 546-8270 or michaelf@recordnet.com.
Sell Delta Queen, bring her home
http://news.enquirer.com Cincinnati Enquirer - Cincinnati, OH, USA
By DON CLARE The Delta Queen is a National Historic Landmark. One would think that Congress and politicians would show a greater interest in and respect for something awarded this kind of national distinction. It's painfully obvious that neither Congress nor Majestic America Line care about the fate of the Delta Queen. So those who do care need to find another tributary to ply if they really want to save her from the purgatory of becoming a gambling boat or a floating restaurant in some obscure Disneyesque location that stakes no claims to her. Cincinnati is her home port. Tom Greene established that fact back in 1948. It is here that her retired jersey must hang. Majestic America Line has 16 months left before the Delta Queen's exemption runs out. Yet they have already thrown in the towel in response to Rep. James Oberstar's (D-Minn.) threats that the issue will never even get out of his committee. . .
http://news.cincypost.com
Push to keep cruises intensifies
By Greg Paeth
Post staff reporter
Northern Kentucky riverboat enthusiast Wayne Rassman is working with online campaigns that are supporting an exemption from federal regulations that would allow the Delta Queen riverboat to continue to offer overnight cruises. Rassman is urging supporters of the historic steamboat to make their feelings known to key House and Senate members who may still have an opportunity to vote on a waiver from provisions of the Safety at Sea Act of 1966. . . .
DQ Exemption May be Pending on Two Legislators
Steamboats.org reported Sept. 2 that Congress has not yet refused the exemption (see original). Franz Neumeier said, "There is a general misunderstanding on what happened on the political scene so far regarding the Delta Queen's exemption from the Safety at Sea Act."
An August 13 editorial in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review by Dimitri Vassilaros (see original) said it is "big labor" persecuting the boat.
Steamboats.org said there are only two legislators blocking to the Delta Queen exemption and that it is probably related to labor issues. In the House it is Minnesota Representative James Oberstar (D), chairman of the Transportation committee; in the Senate it is Sen. Inouye (D).
Franz Neumeier urges us to send a letter to the editor. Steamboats.com would like to add, call these men's offices and ask them if this is true. Here's the switchboard, call twice, Sen. Inouye, Rep. Oberstar. Steamboats.com reminder: be polite, you attract more bees with honey. Then write your letter to the editor.
Save the Delta Queen Campaign 2008
by Nori J. Muster
August 22, 2007
I've spent most of this month worrying about my beloved Queen, the old gal herself, the Delta Queen, who first made her appearance in my life in St. Louis, Kentucky, in 1967. My family had taken me to go on a ride on the boat, as part of a family vacation. My mother and I were in the museum adjacent to the St. Louis arch and we heard the whistle. We went outside to a terrace and saw the boat coming up the Ohio River like a tiny floating birthday cake. First we saw the steam come from the whistle, then we heard it blow seconds later. It was like lightning, which flickers through the sky first, then sounds with thunder seconds later (they say it has struck a mile for every second delay in the sound).
My father helped save the boat from the Safety at Sea Law forty plus years ago. The fight in 1966 was the first; 1970 was the worst. I first registered Steamboats.com to have a place to post my father's papers from his years with Greene Line Steamers as president of the Delta Queen. See: Delta Queen Archive at Steamboats.com, click here.
The sad part is that history has repeated itself. Just like in 1970, Congress has refused to renew the Delta Queen's exemption, her right to work as an overnight passenger cruise ship on the Mississippi River System. She is the last authentic steamboat passenger vessel, so it is a great loss. We have people looking into the legal aspects of whether it was legal for Congress to condemn her. But the campaign to Save the Delta Queen, is underway once again, this time on the Internet with hundreds of people hearing the call.
You can consider this page (address: steamboats.com/research/latestnews.html) Central Headquarters for news on the 2008 Save the Delta Queen campaign. To begin with, I will post links to news articles and web pages documenting the campaign to save the boat. Also, I will keep an archive of articles on my hard drive because news agencies often purge their old material on a set schedule.
Here are the articles I've collected from the hundreds published this month:
Majestic America Press Release: "Majestic America Line Announces Farewell Celebration Througout 2008 for the Legendary Delta Queen," August 1, 2007
Save-the-Delta-Queen.com for breaking news on the campaign
Cruise Mates Losing the Delta Queen, by Nori Muster, published August 13.
Cincinnati Post Congress should keep Delta Queen in service, editorial by Don Clare, August 22, 2007.
Associated Press Historic Paddle-Wheeler Headed For Last Voyage, August 22, 2007.
Associated Press sidebar or photo cap, August 22, 2007.
Associated Press Historic Delta Queen headed for final Mississippi River voyage, August 21, 2007.
Steamboats.org Read more about the Save the Delta Queen campaign at Steamboats.org
Herald Dispatch Editorial, August 21, 2007.
CommercialAppeal.com editorial, August 22, 2007.
Cincinnati Enquirer Louisville will miss riverboat rival, August 21, 2007.
Cincinnati Enquirer comments on this article (three pages and counting).
St.Louis Dispatch Can the Delta Queen be saved? by Bill Lambrecht, August 19, 2007.
more coming soon . . .
Other News
On Oct 3, 2007, at 11:15 AM, Price, Kevin E wrote:
My Grandmother's Grandfather mentioned that he took the S.P. Way to New Jersey in his Civil War Diary. Is this a steam boat? If so does anyone know where I can get a picture of it?
Thanks
Kevin Price - click here to email
Hi Kevin,
Thank you for your letter. Much of steamboat history is lost or quickly disappearing. Since you have steamboats in your blood, you might consider joining the steamboat societies that are working to preserve this history. There is a directory called the Fred Way Packet Directory for the Mississippi River system, but I'm not aware of a similar directory for other river systems. However, maybe someone will see your entry here and reply. Also check the research page for more places to look (research index). Steamboat societies can be found on that page, too.
Nori
On Sep 20, 2007, at 4:38 PM, nanie5 wrote:
Dear Steamboat Historians,
I am looking for information on the St. John Steamboat......I would appreciate any information.
Please reply: email
Thank you,
Nanie5
On Sep 23, 2007, at 10:36 PM, Dave West wrote:
Hi,
Looking for information on Steamer Captain Christopher Mills. He captained a steamer ship service from San Francisco to Marysville from 1856 through 1861. His base city in 1856 was Marysville. 1860 Census found him and his family living in San Francisco, in the 10th district. I link to some of your sites, but there is not much information on the Sacramento River Steamers. Thanks for any future help. Dave West email
Hi Dave,
Try Dave Dawley's site. I could not find anything in the Way Directory: RiverboatDaves.com [site is now offline]. I also posted your email so people from the steamboat community can respond. You can find more resources on the research page at this site click here.
Dear Nori:
I have just purchased the Captain Johnson Home above the bluffs of the Mississippi River, Louisiana, MO. I am looking for information on James Johnson, Co-Owner of the Ohio Packet Steamboat Company.
Capt. Johnson piloted the Mississippi River. While in the Natchez Waters, he fell in love with an Italianate home on the Natchez Bluffs. Capt. Johnson contracted a builder to erect a copy of this home in our town. (This I know about him). Unfortunately, I have not been able to glean more information about him.
My husband and I are avid historical and preservationists. We would like to find more about Capt. Johnson. Our home will be on tour Oct. 13-14. We will have crafters making soap, baskets, playing our melodia or dulcimer in our home or on the grounds.
I am collecting steamboat art and fascimilies to display on that weekend.
I do hope you can direct me to a source of information.
Sincerely,
Marilyn & Haines Moss
On Sep 7, 2007, at 8:57 AM, R. wrote:
What I em Look for is more info. on the J.C.Kerr rebuilt Chactaw rebuilt Chaperon. Any info that I could find wood be nice.
thank you
Richard Savage
Dear Richard,
There is a listing in the Way Packet Directory, as follows:
J.C. Kerr: Stw p wh b. Chambersburg, Oh, 1884. 121 x 27.8 x 4. Engines, 10's - 3-1/2 ft. Two boilers, each 36" by 18 ft. Operated on the upper Ohio until 1892 when sold to Capt. R.H. Williams for Evansville-Green River. He joined her in the Evansville & Bowling Green Packet Co., and took stock in return. In 1897 Capt. Dick Williams, master; T.A. and W.M. Williams, pilots; J. Edgar and Jeff H. Williams, clerks, and J.E. Williams, chief engineer. Renamed Chaperon in 1904.
Chaperon: Stw p wh Originally J.C. Kerr b. 1884 and renamed by Evansville & Bowling Green Packet Co., in 1904 after a rebuilding. Ran in the Bowling Green - Mammoth Cave trade, Capt. Jeff H. Williams, master. Also ran out to Evansville and up to Bowling Green filling in for other packets. Sold to Capt. Gid Montjoy, Greenwood, Miss., in 1917, who changed her name to Choctaw.
Chocktaw: Stw p wh Originally the J.C. Kerr, then the Chaperon b. 1884. Capt. Gid Montjoy bought Chaperon in 1917, took her to Vicksburg, and ran her in trades up Yazoo and tributaries. She burned at Melorse Landing, Miss, on Tallahatchie River on March 8, 1922.
Editor's Note: If anyone has any additional information, contact Richard Savage at the email above.
On Sep 4, 2007, at 12:10 AM, J&L Chesser wrote:
I am searching for a steamboat (or riverboat) named the Blanche Lewis. I know who she was as the "angel of mercy" at the Clarksville Confederate Hospital beginning in 1861, but have yet to find out anything about the boat except that my third great-grandfather owned half-interest in it. The Reads, Grubbs, and Batemans were members of my family associated with steamboats, and some lived in Montgomery Co. TN for awhile. Thanks. Please contact me at email
Editor's Note: The Way Packet Directory has a short listing for the boat, which says:
"Blanche Lewis: Sternwheel p wh b. Dyeusburg, Ky., 1855. 155 tons. When completed at Louisville she ran Nashville-Paducah. Sank at Nashville, Nov. 5, 1860. Machinery went to LAWRENCE. b. Cincinnati, 1863."
If anyone has further information, send it to the contact email listed above.
On Sep 6, 2007, at 7:48 PM, J&L Chesser wrote:
Dear Nori,
Thank you so much. I really didn't expect it to have been built that early with that name in particular. My third great-grandfather Guilford Read (1803 NC-1883 TN) had moved to Gallatin in Sumner Co. TN from South Nashville in mid-January 1853 where he had owned a carriage shop. He moved the works to Gallatin where he and his sons ran the shop. He "later operated, as half-owner, a steamboat, the Blanche Lewis, on the Cumberland, Ohio and Tennessee Rivers." * After the Civil War, he moved to Richland Station (now Portland, TN) and returned to farming. His oldest son William Benjamin Read (1829 TN-1904 TN), my great-great grandfather opened a blacksmith shop there after he had returned from being a POW at Camp Douglas, Chicago, and was a commissioner and justice of the peace until his death. W. B.'s middle son, my great-grandfather W. O. Read (1853-1916), farmed his whole life. W. B.'s youngest brother was Opie Pope Read (1852-1939) journalist, author of 57 books, numerous short stories, actor, and humorist on the Chautauqua circuit. As three generations of Reads came to Gallatin and lived under one roof from 1853 to 1865, Opie and W.O. were playmates as children. Today the grandson of Opie who is 81 and the great-granddaughter of W. O. Read who is 57, have managed to find each other living at opposite ends of the same state with their families and have met a few times to discuss genealogy, steamboats, the War and all.
* Elfer, Maurice, Opie Read, Boyton Miller Press, Detroit, 1940 p.11.
Again, we thank you!
Linda Read Chesser
On Apr 14, 2007, at 5:00 PM, Princess Katering wrote:
----- Original Message -----
From: princess katering
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 4:00 PM
Subject: Princess Kay Paddlewheel River Boat
Hi - my name is Deanna Holzinger, I have gone into partnership with the owners of the Princess Kay. We are going to be servicing motor coach groups etc..... coming thru the Wisconsin Dells WI area with a three hour dinner or lunch tour of our historical river as well as would like to incorporate any info and pictures etc... of the boats history, captains etc....... Would love to know what this beautiful boat has been thru any names, photos, info, What would be awesome to have is any menu items served in the past and a recipe or two or any copies of menus etc... so i can serve a historical buffet of foods from where the boat has experienced her past memories!!!!! would love to guide the folks thru a historical tour of this beautiful sweety from start to present. Here's what I know:
*She was built in 1982 in LaCrosse, WI (would love to know builder, copy of blue prints??, I could go to the builder or chamber or???? of LaCrosse because it's only 2 1/2 hours away from my residence if you knew it would be worthwhile.
*Routes she has taken Built in LaCrosse, then to Minneapolis, then to South Padre Island, Texas, back to LaCrosse,then Alabama and now we have purchased her and she resides on the WI River in the Wisconsin Dells Area since April 2004.
*Is now called the Princess Kay, has been called the Princess and The Alabama Princess in the past as far as I know.
*She is a replica of a 19th century sternwheeler (see attached photo)
Thank you let me know at email
Princess Kay website: click here.
On Sep 2, 2007, at 1:44 PM, David Beal wrote:
Hi there
I am looking for company that would built a steamboat for you that you can live on. I had this information at one time but in my last move I must have lost it. I hope that you can help me out with this.
Dave Beal
Krinkle Window and Pool Cleaning
Naples Florida
239-269-1053
email Dave Beal
Hi Dave,
Everything about how to buy or build a steamboat is posted here. If you found the link at my site before, this is where it was: https://steamboats.com/research/links1.html#buyorbuild If you still want me to post your question, please write back.
Nori
On Sep 2, 2007, at 5:10 PM, David Beal wrote:
I have the link but could you still post. I remember that some company would build you a steamboat and set it up like a house boat so you can live on board. I just don't remember who it was.
Thanks Dave Beal
Hey Dave,
Sounds like a great idea! If you find out who makes the boats, be sure to send me the link too.
Nori
On Aug 30, 2007, at 8:13 PM, Mel Fry wrote:
Still seeking information on the explosion of the 154 ton sidewheeler "Rose Hambleton" Sept 30, 1869 somewhere in Arkansas which killed 29 on board. My Great Uncle, John Claycomb was the Captain/Owner of the vessel and was killed at that time.....If you have any information contact Mel Fry, Dover, Arkansas...479 331 4935 or email
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