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 * savethedeltaqueen.com [now offline] * Minnesotans for the Delta Queen [now offline] * 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.
On Jan 21, 2009, at 7:43 PM, Grayson Mattingly wrote:
Thought you might enjoy an oral history account we just added to the Steamboatexplorer.org web site that features my father, William E. Mattingly, talking about a trip to the Northern Neck by car back in the '20s. Hope you enjoy this "adventure."
Click on the links below to go directly to the page with the video links.
- Grayson
Video: http://www.steamboatexplorer.org/main_car_trip.html
Pictures, maps, etc.: http://www.steamboatexplorer.org/car_trip02.html
Delta Queen Moves to Chattanooga
WRCB TV*, Jan 27, 2009 05:43 PM
CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) - The historic Delta Queen riverboat will call Chattanooga home for a while, as a floating hotel. The leader of a grassroots organization to save the Delta Queen, Vicki Webster, emailed the Channel 3 Eyewitness Newsroom on Tuesday afternoon.
Ambassadors International, Inc. has announced that they have chartered the boat to a company in Chattanooga for use as a hotel.
In a message sent to the boat's supporters, Webster said, "Our mission is to make sure that indeed, this is a temporary move and the Delta Queen will soon be back in operation, plying the entire Mississippi River system as she has done proudly and safely for 60 years."
The Delta Queen has been nominated for the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2009 list of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in America. The final selections will be announced in April.
Guestbook Posting On Jan 14, 2009, at 2:18 PM, Augustus, Carolyn {FLNA} wrote:
name=Carolyn Augustus
location=Dallas, Texas
message=If my husband is interested in employment, who would he need to contact? What positions are now open?
email=Yes, include my email (encoded in SpamStopper software) email - click here
visits=First time
Editor's Reply: Hello Carolyn - Working on a steamboat can be a rewarding experience. I suggest that he look over the list of steamboats in the Fifty States posted at my website (Steamboats.com/research/50states.html) and contact the steamboat companies directly. This is just a website run by one person with no employees.
Guestbook Posting On Jan 7, 2009, at 6:13 PM, NANA wrote:
I am the grandaughter in law of Captain Arthur LaRue Quinn he was captain of both the quinlan and the avalon on the mississippi. I am looking for any info on him and would dearly love to find out how to get a copy of his pilots papers. Any suggestions? Thanks email
January 7, 2008
USA Today
Ambassadors executive: Historic Delta Queen steamboat won't be gutted*
[Editor's Note: This article is an answer to the press release posted below. This log goes back in time with newer entries at the top.]
Don't worry, Delta Queen fans: The historic steamboat isn't heading to the chopping block.
That's the word today from an executive at Ambassadors International - the company that owns the legendary vessel.
Ambassadors vice president Joseph McCarthy tells USA TODAY reports the Delta Queen will be leased to a resort company that plans to gut it aren't true.
"We are considering lease options with groups that would maintain her in her current condition," says McCarthy. What's more, he adds, "we are continuing to look for a buyer for (the Delta Queen) that would continue to operate it as an overnight passenger vessel."
The Save the Delta Queen Campaign, a grass-roots organization that has been lobbying Congress to help keep the famed riverboat operating, sent out a "red alert" late Tuesday saying it had learned from reliable sources that Ambassadors planned to lease the vessel to the River City Resort in Chattanooga. The Campaign said the resort's owners wanted to tie up the vessel permanently and use it as a hotel.
"Of necessity, the process (of converting the vessel into a docked hotel) would entail gutting the interior of the National Historic Landmark to enlarge the staterooms, as well as kitchen and sanitation facilities, and (to) install elevators and other amenities," the Campaign warned. The alert was picked up by media outlets such as WCPO-TV in Ohio.
Vicki Webster, leader of the Save the Delta Queen Campaign, called the idea of gutting the Delta Queen to turn it into a hotel "pure evil."
McCarthy says Ambassadors has not spoken to the River City Resort about the ship. "We are not planning to lease it to that entity," he says.
A spokesperson for River City Resort did not return a call from USA TODAY seeking comment.
Just last week, the Delta Queen was nominated for inclusion on the National Trust for Preservation's 2009 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The famed riverboat was forced to stop sailing in November after its 40-year Congressional exemption from a fire safety rule expired. The Save the Delta Queen Campaign has been lobbying Congress to extend the exemption, allowing the Delta Queen to resume operations.
Built in 1926, the 174-passenger Delta Queen was the last traditional steamboat carrying overnight passengers on America's inland waterways, and it hearkened back to a bygone era with stately wooden cabins and hardwood-paneled public rooms.
[Editor's Note: See USA Today story above for an update on this press release.]
Save the Delta Queen Campaign Press Release
For immediate release
Date: January 6, 2009
Contact: Vicki Webster (513) 381-3571 vjw[at]olypen.com
Donald E. Clare, Jr. (859) 586-6431
Allen Casey, President, River City Resort (423) 266-0804
Joseph McCarthy, Ambassadors International, Inc. (949) 300-1785; (949) 759-5951
Chattanooga Resort Owner Wants to Gut the Delta Queen
CINCINNATI - The Save the Delta Queen Campaign has just learned from a reliable source that Allen Casey, President of the River City Resort in Chattanooga, is attempting to lease the Delta Queen from Ambassadors International, tie her up, and turn her into a hotel.
Of necessity, the process would entail gutting the interior of the National Historic Landmark to enlarge the staterooms, as well as kitchen and sanitation facilities and install elevators and other amenities.
Vicki Webster, leader of the grassroots Save the Delta Queen Campaign, said, "Mr. Casey must be stopped. If he is allowed to go through with his plan it will be an act of pure evil. And Chattanooga will be forever known as the city that killed the Queen. I urge everyone who cares about this riverboat and about our country's heritage to contact Mr. Casey, the city of Chattanooga, and Ambassadors International and implore them to halt their negotiations immediately."
The Delta Queen is the last traditional steamboat carrying overnight passengers on America's inland waterways. For that reason, she has been designated a National Historic Landmark. In 1966, she was inadvertently caught in the technical provisions of the Safety of Life at Sea Act - a law that was intended to cover ocean-going ships, not riverboats. Recognizing the difference between boats that operate on rivers, within yards of the shore, and ships that sail the high seas, Congress established an exemption for the Delta Queen in 1968. Since then, the exemption has been renewed nine times, in virtually every case by near-unanimous votes in both the House and the Senate. The current exemption expired in November.
Just last Monday, Kentucky preservationist Donald E. Clare, Jr. nominated the Delta Queen for inclusion on the National Trust for Preservation's 2009 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The nomination is being enthusiastically seconded by preservationists throughout the country, and the Trust has responded favorably. In 1970, when the Queen was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Trust issued this statement:
The Delta Queen is the last survivor of a once thriving fleet of steam paddleboats plying the inland waters of the United States, and deserves to, indeed, must survive as a living reminder of an important era of American history. . . . The loss of the Delta Queen as an operating vessel carrying overnight passengers on the Mississippi and its tributaries would be an irreplaceable one and would remove the last remaining link with the steam-boating tradition of nineteenth and early twentieth century America.
Guestbook Posting On Jan 5, 2009, at 1:35 PM, Mark Rook wrote:
name=Mark Lee Rook
location=Tennessee
message=This message is to Vernon Bond of Harrisburg,Illinois who inquired about an art print of my Delta Queen painting. Please contact me by phone or mail as your email was undeliverable. 731-586-4383 or 731-358-2947(cell) or write 30847 Broad St. Bruceton.TN 38317 Yes I have 8 1/2 x 14 prints for $13(shipping included) and can get larger prints.
email=Yes, include my email (encoded in SpamStopper software) click here to email
visits=Once a week
Guestbook Posting January 1, 2009, at 10:20 AM:
name=Betty White
location=Ohio
message=Found this site and find it very interesting as I have been interested in steamboats for a long time.
email=Yes, include my email (encoded in SpamStopper software) click here to email
visits=Once or twice before
rate=Steamboat of my dreams.
From Steamboats.com editor, Nori Muster: Welcome aboard! The steamboat hobby is addictive, so don't say we didn't warn you!!!
December 30, 2008
National Trust for Historic Preseveration:
Delta Queen Nominated to Endangered Status
Business Courier of Cincinnati*
Kentucky preservationist Donald Clare Jr. has nominated the Delta Queen riverboat as one of "America's Most-Endangered Historic Places," a move supporters hope keeps the historic riverboat in service.
The annual list, compiled by the National Trust for Preservation, draws attention to endangered sites of architectural, cultural and natural heritage significance. The 82-year-old riverboat was the last traditional steamboat carrying passengers on the nation's inland waterways. Cincinnati was home port for the National Historic Landmark from 1946 to 1985.
Supporters of the Delta Queen have been trying to secure an exemption to federal fire safety rules that would let the wooden-hulled boat continue overnight service. But so far, the group has not had success.
According to a news release from the Save the Delta Queen campaign, the group is now hoping that landing on the National Trust for Preservation list of most-endangered places will help the cause.
"In 1970, the only other time we had difficulty renewing the exemption, the Trust's then-president James Biddle played a crucial role in our victory," said Vicki Webster, leader of the campaign, said in a news release.
More information about the National Trust for Preservation can be found at www.preservationnation.org.
Seasons Greetings! Thank you for visiting me here at Steamboats.com. This holiday season, the Delta Queen Steamboat is still endangered, currently tied up in New Orleans awaiting her fate. A consortium of steamboat people are negotiating to buy the boat and keep it running, so the Save the Delta Queen Campaign will continue in 2009. Check Steamboats.com for the latest.
Although I am still a Realtor, I have focused solely on writing all year. The projects I worked on were researching an exotic guru group based in Berkeley; helping a famous golf champion put together a cookbook; editing a book and website for a counselor in New York; wrote a chapter for a book in Poland (chapter will be translated into Polish); and a writing collaboration with a friend from College of the Redwoods.
Fun travel: in June, Santa Rosa, CA for a family reunion and Crescent Lake, OR with Tim Stroud to see the lux vacation cabin he built on an acre of land in a resort subdivision. In September I went to L.A. then Santa Barbara for a Davidson Library event. In October, Austin and Houston for the Travel Writers convention; then to Puerto Vallerta for a reunion/vacation with the Hassler family. The beach in Mexico was beautiful and I hope to post the photos at Surrealist.org soon.
There was a lot to be grateful for in 2008, although the year also brought its trials. Despite it all, I was able to have a profitable year in writing, so I feel grateful and humbled by the people who read my books or placed their faith in me to help with their writing projects. NoriMuster.com.
Happy holidays!
With love, Nori
"Another crisis may come to the Delta Queen. It makes little difference. The stately steamboat will survive. Because it must. The river is unthinkable without a Delta Queen." - Bern Keating (1986) (read excerpts about the 1970 Save the Delta Queen Campaign, click here)
Photos of the Delta Queen in Louisville, Kentucky, by R. William Davis are now posted in the Steamboat Museum at Steamboats.com - click here.
2009 Delta Queen Calendar
How to order: Send $15 (shipping and handling included) to: John Weise, 5552 Dry Ridge Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45252 (513) 385 - 2381 email
2009 HSPS Steamboat Calendar
Calendar Price: $15.95
Shipping: $4.50 for one (add $1 for each additional calendar).
Mail check or money order to:
HSPS, Inc.
11 Ashland Cove Road
Vevay, IN 47043
Online credit card ordering is available from our web site's giftshop at: http://hspsi.org
All proceeds contribute to the maintenance of the Barbara H., a 1923 sternwheel towboat.
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