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Gary Cosby Jr.
The Delta Queen, by Gary Cosby Jr. (copyright Gary Cosby Jr. - published with permission)
This boat is really special to me because it is probably the earliest memory I have with my grandfather, Helon Waddell who was the lock master for many years at Wheeler Dam on the Tennessee River. When I was a small boy he would call my mom and dad and let them know the Delta Queen was going to come through the locks and they would take my brother and I down to watch the boat lock through. I was very cool then and seeing the boat today still produces wonder and awe in me and connects me to a time now long past.
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On Jul 5, 2008, at 12:39 PM, Gary Cosby Jr. wrote:
Nori,
I don't mind you publishing or linking to the Delta Queen post on A Little News but neither the photos nor the words may be published in any way beyond your Delta Queen page. Good luck saving the boat. I hate that it is being retired because of the Congressional exemption being lost.
Thanks,
Gary Cosby Jr.
On Sat, Jul 5, 2008 at 2:55 PM, Nori Muster wrote:
Thank you Gary, you are a photo journalist, right?
On Jul 5, 2008, at 7:57 PM, Gary Cosby Jr. wrote:
Nori,
I am a photojournalist. I work for The Decatur Daily in Decatur, Alabama. Folks can link to my blog at http://alittlenews.wordpress.com The newspaper website is paid only so I don't think it would be helpful but just in case the link is http://decaturdaily.com/ Thanks and good luck.
Gary
To: Nori Muster
From: Dennis Hamilton
Subj: DQ Crewmember Recollections
I served on the Delta Queen in the Summers of 1972, '73, and '74, during my breaks from the University of Cincnnati. Prior to becoming a crewmember, I was a passenger on the Labor Day Weekend cruises of 1970 and 1971.
Captain Jim Blum got me hired in my first job as a deckhand. Capt. Jim was (and still is) a train buff, and we had known each other through our interest in railroads.
During those years, the Delta Queen had quite a few college kids working on the boat. Most of these kids were from the Cincinnati area (like me), but there was a deckhand from California and one from New York City that worked with me during that first Summer.
Nori, I always had a lot of respect for your father. Bill Muster and Betty Blake were true "cheerleaders" for the Delta Queen. Certainly, one thing that I had in common with Bill Muster was the fact that we both had a camera nearby at all times. We both took a lot of pictures of life aboard the boat.
During the early 1970's, many of the legendary men of steamboating were still around. Of course, Ernie Wagner was the boat's Master, and the pilots included Captains Harry Louden, Rip Ware, Walter Karnath, Harry Hamilton and others. We also had occasional passengers of C.W. Stoll, and Capt. Fred Way Jr. These men didn't think of themselves as "legends", but they certainly helped to make this a memorable time for me.
One man that I enjoyed seeing his career blossom was Gabe Chengery. When I first met him, he worked in the Purser's Office, and quite honestly, I would have never believed that he'd become the boat's Master for so many years! Gabe was well-dressed, good-looking, quick to laugh, and he was a mean calliope player. Therefore, I thought that he'd be a great candidate for a career in the Purser's Office. I'm glad that he proved me wrong!
My favorite story about Gabe was from the Summer of 1973. The DQ was in St. Paul, MN, and a fellow crewmember, Ed Feeney and I decided that we'd get off the boat downriver at Winona, MN. We'd then take Amtrak to Chicago for a couple days of train riding., and we'd meet-up with the DQ when it arrived in St. Louis.
To make our train reservations, I walked to the Main Post Office in St. Paul to use a payphone. My reservations were made nearly complete, but the Amtrak reservationist couldn't confirm one leg of our trip. She needed a phone number from me so that she could call me back after she got our space. I told her that would be a problem because I worked on this old riverboat called the Delta Queen, and the boat didn't have any phones. (I don't think she believed me...) Anyway, I gave her the phone number of the payphone at the Post Office, just to keep her happy.
Several hours later, I was on the boat preparing for our departure when Gabe walked up to me and said, "Your Amtrak reservations are all set now..." I said something to the effect that, "How yould you POSSIBLY know that??!?" Gabe then proceeded to tell me me that earlier in the day he went to to the St. Paul Post Office to deliver the boat's mail. When he arrived, a payphone began ringing incessantly in a corner of the cavernous lobby. It didn't stop ringing. Gabe thought to himself, "Do I pick it up and quiet this place down, or what?" He walked over to the phone and answered it saying, "St. Paul Post Office..." The voice on the phone asked, "Is this Dennis Hamilton?" Gabe said, "Denny Hamilton!! Why I work with him on the Delta Queen!..." She then proceeded to tell him that all of our train reservations were now confirmed. Gabe was glad to pass-on the good news to me.
In October of 1974, I left the DQ to pursue a a career with Amtrak that lasted over 25 years. However, it wasn't the end of my days of working on the Delta Queen. In 1978, I arranged with Captain Blum to work on the boat for two weeks during my vacation in August of 1979. Little did I know that the first week of this cruise would turn-out to be the Jimmy Carter Presidential Cruise. I could write a book about that cruise, but we'll save all that stuff for another time...
Long live the Delta Queen!
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