Capt. Frederick Way, Jr. -- In Memoriam

Hi Keith,

I was on the Delta Queen when the news about Capt. Fred's passing came through the sternline telegraph. Cap'n Way was intrumental in having me join S and D some many years ago now and I have nothing but the fondest of memories of him. My first Great Steamboat Race in Louisville was as his guest, first at CW's house and then on the Delta Queen where I met Helen Prater and others from the S and D gang. Fred was also instrumental later in helping me get a job on the DQ through Patti Young. As Bee Rutter once told me, it was the young people with such enthusiasm for the river that kept Fred going. I was privaledge to know him if even for a short time. I certainly would not be the river rat I am today had it not been for Cap'n Way. If I only had steam there would be a long and two shorts on my copy of the Betsy's whistle today in his memory.

Steamboating colleagues:
Keith does all of us a great service remembering birthdays, breaking news, obits of river personalities, anniversaries in addition to many other aspects of river/steamboat life. I hang my head failing to remember that yesterday marked the passage of Capt. Fred Way, Jr., journalist/writer, historian, packet boat owner, consultant for years not only to the mighty Smithsonian Institution, but to the DELTA QUEEN going back to the days of Capts. Tom, Chris, Mary B. Greene and the late Letha Greene--and a succession of owners and executives following. When Fred spoke...they listened. Fred loved and enjoyed young people new to the river and S&D, welcoming them with encouragement and in time those wonderful little post cards upon which he could type with more news and information than a full letter. During World War II his books were marked for distribution to troops for their reading.

In his classic PILOTIN' COMES NATURAL he writes an incredible paragraph on his 1911 trip as a youth aboard the sage Str. QUEEN CITY. He loved the QC from then on.

"...The great whistle let go a defiant blast and the boat slipped away from the shore: the immensity of the decks caused an optical illusion which made me think for a fleeting moment that the shore had commenced to recede from the steamboat. We seemed planted on a contnent of our own and all else was in slow, orderly motion. A wealth of coal smoke tumbled and rolled from the smokestacks. The two pipes toward the stern commenced to roar as steam billowed from them in intermittent successions of volcanic majesty. Around we whirled, gracefully, easily! The QUEEN CITY was headed for Cincinnati."

Cheers,
R. Dale Flick

Fred Way had more fun writing about the river and its steamboats than he ever did working there - and that's saying a lot. I have just finished re-reading Pageant of the Packets by Eskew. He could have used Cap'n Fred's research. His book is grossly inaccurate as far as facts go, but picks up the feel of the rivers and steamboats exactly.
Neither Eskew or anyone else could write about the river until Fred Way did his monumental research. Cap'n Way's Pilotin' Comes Natural outshines Life on the Mississippi as the sun outshines the moon. His Directories cannot be improved upon. His friendship and guidance for the young and ignorant was angelic.

Hi, Alan & steamboating colleagues:
Good words, Alan, on the inspiration gleaned from Fred Way's writing and--I might add--you're right up there in the pilothouse with him. Fred, as I've written earlier, was a man who looked around, recognized the era he was experiencing and set out to say and do something about it. Fred, on a cold winter night during a phone call, would say, "I didn't know that...tell me more. People think I know it all...well, I don't." Or, "Are you sure about that? Look up so and so." Fred was one of the first steamboat/maritime writers to sense the mystique of a steamboat breathing life into it like a living person. He always had that yellow legal pad listening, watching and jotting down notes. Upon asking a qestion about a certain river personality still living he'd say, "Ummm, got to be careful on that one. They're still living and read the REFLECTOR. Some day when we're sitting in the shade of an old apple tree on the other side of the river I'll tell you all about it." What a diplomat. Again, thanks to Keith for his reminder of Fred's anniversary passing yesterday.

Cheers,
R. Dale Flick

Here are several pictures of Capt. Fred. The first is a 1975 photo of him in front of the W.P. SNYDER, JR., at Marietta. I took the second image aboard the DQ in 1984 and the third picture was taken in 1991 by Capt. Roddy Hammett as we were going to dine aboard the BECKY THATCHER, formerly the Str. MISSISSIPPI.

Thanks, Keith, Alan, and Dale for all your great rememberances of Capt. Fred Way. Though he and I corresponded a little bit over the years, and I had met him, it is one of the few regrets of my life that I did not get to really know him or get to an S&D meeting before he passed away. I continue to read his articles in the REFLECTOR with great interest -- they still seem fresh.

Alan, Dale is correct that you are right up there with Capt. Way when it comes to writing about the river and its boats...you really paint a picture with words. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us that way.

Dick Bissell wrote in "My Life on the Mississippi" that he could not mourn the passing of the steamboat era, because he did not know it, but that he loved steamboats and he said, "what few steamboats there were suited us right down to the ground". A pretty apt description, and one that fits many of us today. We are indebted to all the writers who have made this fascinating subject come to life for us in many different ways over the years.

Speaking of being careful what is written, Cap'n Fred once told me, "People remember a slight even unto the seventh generation."

I like and and enjoy the works of many authors, but my favorites are Frederick Way, Jr., P. G. Wodehouse and Richard Bissell: Way and Bissell for their first-hand knowledge of their subject and Wodehouse for his wit. I am proud to say that I emulate them as much as possible. After reading your and Dale's compliments my head will be swollen the rest of the day, so cut it out!

My mother still talks about the time she and my dad took their steamboat crazy son on the BELLE in the mid 1960's and I spent more time reading Alan's BELLE OF LOUISVILLE (purchased at the souvenir stand and autographed by the captain) than looking at the passing sights as we went down through McAlpine Lock and back. It was wonderfully intriguing and especially so to be reading it while ABOARD the very subject of the book! And then, a few years later came Alan's THE WESTERN RIVERS STEAMBOAT CYCLOPEDIUM and I spent many evenings poring over that wonderful tome (when I should have been doing school homework!) which to me was the "answer book" to so many questions about steamboats that were buzzing around in my 14 year old head! Algebra and other subjects took a back seat and were dreadfully dull by comparison! Also, I had just recently met Alan for the first time at the Howard Steamboat Museum and because I had shaken hands with the author (who had been heartily "endorsed" by Miss Ruth Ferris, my patron saint of steamboating) I regarded the Cyclopedium as VERY special. I still do! Thanks Alan!

HEY!
This thread is about Captain Frederick Way, Jr!

Yes, Alan...it is about Fred Way...and, I think he might add: "his heirs and assigns forever".

I got here late and knew Fred only through his writing in the Reflector, his books and thru the telephone. Like many others, I regret that I never met him personally.

Dale mentions Fred's work being put into an edition for the troops...I have "Pilotin Comes Natural". Marked "Armed Services Edition" it is not much bigger in format than a 3" x 5" index card (actually 3.75" x 5.5" x 1/4" thick) and "This is the complete book-not a digest". It is surprisingly easy to read even though the phone book is now a challenge. There were none of John O'Hara Cosgrove II's nice illustrations in it however.