Happy May 19th

you guys started that 1 year before I was born Don. yesterday was my 53rd birthday.

Wishing Mel a Happy Birthday

Happy BD Mel.
You must remember my wife Peggy. We all went to New Metamora, Indiana together in the late 70's. We brothers were staking out our claims on the Licking River six days before she was born.

It seems, looking back, that we spent our entire youth swimming and frolicking on that ancient waterway, but I left town on the AVALON in June of '59; so simple arithmetic tells me it was just three summers spent in the Sun, but to the young, three years seems forever.

55 Years Ago Today...

Another Summer of Fun on the River is forecast today.

HAPPY MAY 19TH everyone!

.. and HBD, Mel!

Yep it was the summer of 78 Capt. Sam about the same time you took me over to look at the Martha A. Graham.

56th Celebration

Today is the 56th anniversary of Camp Day, the beginning of Summer as we calculate it on the Licking River. The weather, today, is cool and gloomy, and I am glad I will not be jumping into the Licking, but I am pleased that the Good Lord saw fit to allow me to survive over five and a half decades of Camp Day remembrances.

HAPPY MAY 19TH!

"Happy Birthday, Mel..."

Thanks Cap'n, it was 32 years ago this week I ran my first trip as Mate on the DQ. I'm pretty sure that was right around the first Great Steamboat race between the DQ and MQ. Anybody remember the exact date of the race? it was 10 days from NOLA to Cincy and I thought it was around the end of May but it might have been June.

The two boats arrived from the Crescent City into the Queen City on June 1, so the race was during late May. The DQ left that evening for the Iron City. Jim Blum was captain. Harry Louden and Fontaine Johnson were pilots, and Dick Weber was your partner. Terry Severns was cruise director on the trip up river. If I did down to an earlier archelogic layer, I'll be able to produce my ticket and all of The Steamboat Times for the Pittsburgh trip. Jim's parents were on and C.W. Stoll caught up with the boat in Huntington, after helping to pilot the MQ to the Falls City.

BTW, Happy Birthday, Mel!

I think you might just have too much time on your hands.

Thanks Frank! Wow, boy that knocked the dust off some memory banks. Yeah its all a bit clearer now. We left Nola around 7pm on a friday evening and I remember having to cut the backing line with an ax as somehow it had fouled and Capt. Blum just hollered down for me to cut it. seems like that trip flew by because I remember the Pittsburg trip, which was my first, a lot better. I remember the locks and CW being on and being on the news in Huntington and riding the Tram up to Mt. Washington. And of course working with Dick was always great. Frank do you remember if Capt. Tom Kinney the Pilot from Pittsburg was on that trip. I only made a few trips up there but I remember him being on one of them. He turned out to be a childhood friend of Gene Obrien who's sons Brian, Mickey, Victor, and Danny were all working on the boat that summer.

Mel,

Captain Tom Kenney was not on the 1979 trip to Pittsburgh. My guess is that he was still with Wisconsin Barge Lines. I don't think Capt Kenney started working on the DQ till sometime after that.

I certainly remember Capt. Kenney. I was a passenger when he was pilot several times on the upper Ohio. He would enjoy sitting down in the Orleans Room before he would come up to the pilothouse for the after-watch. I remember standing at the foot of the old pilothouse stairs, and asking Capt. Kenney if he would mind if I came up. There was no problem with that in the "good old days." I had a couple of crockery plates loaded full of goodies that I was hauling up to the folks up in the knowledgebox from the late night buffet. I was attempting to balance them as I tried to let the door close quietly and climb those old steep stairs. One dish fell with a resounding crash. Capt Kenney let it be known that it scared the heck out of him. I remember something about it shattering his nerves. I probably didn't spend very long in the pilothouse that night.

I also remember Brian O'Brien too. He was the Maitre'D on the DELTA QUEEN during the 1982 DQ/MQ race from New Orleans to Cincinnati. I might have a slide of him in drag at the Miss Natchez Under The Hill Contest. That trip Ed Winford was captain, Lexie was pilot and her partner was Wally Blice. Duane DuPay was purser, and Robin Hixson was steward. Talk about knocking the dust off.

You're doing a heck of a job on that dust Frank. I worked with Capt. Blice a couple times and he was delightful, I loved the way he talked. I dont remember if I worked the race that year on either boat. I do remember Ed Winford running Master a few times. I used to jump back and forth between the boats as mate in my early days and then like a fool settled in on the MQ my last few years for a few dollars a day more. I have to admit my early days(79-80)as mate on the DQ were absolutely some of the best. Those midnight watches when Lexie or Harry louden or Popeye were the Pilots and Darrel Bass was watchman.

Happy Birthday ! Mel !

Greetings From The Soggy South !
" Happy Birthday " , Mel and in the words of Neil Young , " Long May You Run " ! To this day , I do remember all the good times and not so good times that we shared on the steamboats together and YOU always made the whole experience just so very complete ! YOU were one of the few that not only paid their dues so many times over but also literally " came up through the Hawser Pipe " and became a cracker jack Mate ! It certainly would NOT have been the same with out YOU there to always add a bit of humor and expertise to all the adverse situations it seems that we were always in !
One of the many " situations " that I will always remember was when we were both on the Steamer Mississippi Queen and YOU were delegated to make the Pilot House tours ! I was the forward watch Pilot at the time and on one such tour , YOU brought up a load of passengers and began your narration of the Pilot House ! YOU started with , " This is the Pilot House , this is the radars , this is the radios , this is the steam whistle , this is the steering sticks , this is the coffee pot and Oh , this is the Pilot " ! Ha ! YOU really had a knack for making a guy feel important ! I for one will take that to the grave and will always remember that particular " situation " !
So , Mel , " Happy Birthday " to YOU and so many more !
Smooth Sailing !
Your Friend & Ship Mate !
Ted Davisson
NOBRA 70

Capt. Blice was a Crackerjack pilot. He came up on the Union Barge Line boats. And, yes, he had an southern Indiana patois. When Dad was weekend chief on the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE, he liked working with Capt. Blice. Dad maintained that Wally could make that boat do anything and by ringing fewer bells than anyone else.

Thank you Ted, it truly warms my heart to hear you say such things. I always enjoyed our times together on the boats and the times after you Became a NOBRA pilot and came back on occasion to help us out with trips like Ft. Jackson. And to this day I can say that at least once I remember when the "perfect" crew on the boat was You as Master, Mac and Ed Winford were the Pilots, Dave Williamson and Dick Weber were the Mates and I was the Head deckhand. Oh hey when you order those Pizzas going through Baton Rouge remember I like stuffed crust!

Pilot House And A Pizza Party !

Greetings From New Orleans !
Mel , you have once again conjured up an ol' steamboat memorry and Thank You Mel , so much ! For those of you that were NOT there that night please indulge me as I attempt to re-live this rather unusual " steamboating event " !
As I recall , and please correct me and fill in the blanks , Mel , we were north bound below Baton Rouge on the Str. Mississippi Queen ! On this particular trip I was running Relief-Captain , Mac and Winford were the two Pilots and Dick Weber , Dave Williamson and yourself were all on board at the time and all had a roll in this rather unusual Pilot House " extraveaganza " !
First of all , it was really not that unusual to have parties for the crew and Captain Wagner was famous for his " Bow Parties " , for the crew but I don't believe he ever had a rather impromptu party in the Pilot House for the Pilots and Deck Crew ! So , as we were making our way up through the lower Baton Rouge harbor we were also about to make history on the Str. Mississippi Queen ! This idea of a Pizza Party came to me and so I thought well , why not ?? So , I got on the vhf marine radio , called the Baton Rouge , Marine Operator ( no such thing as a cell phone at the time ) and with her unusally sweet disposition she not only helped me place the call but also actually recommended a good pizza shop to call on ! So , after completeing the call to the pizza shop for about ten large and loaded pizzas , we went on to contact Tri G Marine , the local Baton Rouge launch boat service at the time !
Well , it could not have been timed any better ! Just as the MQ was passing under the I-10 Hwy. Bridge , out came the Tri G launch boat with his precious load of suculent and hot pizzas ! I don't recall who actually met the Tri G launch boat on the MQ's srarb'd bow , but I do recall that it took more than two deckhands to bring the load of stacked pizzas to the Pilot House !
As I recall , when the load of pizzzas made their way to the Pilot House , we were all just in awe for so many reasons ! First of which , we were all some what amazed that our joint ingenuity actually pulled this one off and I believe that secondly , this was just another " Feather In Our Cap " , that we ventured where no one had gone before ! As we have all heard before , " Some say why and we ALL SAID WHY NOT " !! Furthermore , WHY NOT bend the rules to some degree in order to make life on those boats just a bit more enjoyablle and worth the mineum pay and poor living conditions we all endured !
Needless , to say these mental notes were fleeting as we ALL dug into the pizzas with relish and excitement ! We all also knew that we were making " Steamboat History " but also we knew that this event will one day be a distant memory just as it is now and bring a smile to our face !
One other general feeling permeated the atmospher of the St. Mississippi Queen's , Pilot House and that was one of what I call simply called " ONENESS " ! Here we all were , all together , all friends , WITHOUT titles or job descriptions , all together and to a certain extent all orphens but were a family just simply enjoying one anothers company over some well deserved and well enjoyed pizza ! For a few brief and very enjoyable hours we were ALL Family !
Events like these and so many other " events and situations " that we ALL enjoyed and and endured is what I remember most about my steamboating days ! Not how many boring Captain's Dinner Toasts I had to perform or how many passenger hands I had to shake or how many times I got my picture taken with a phony smile , but the times I sweated and worked with the great people that made up the crew of a river steamboat ! These were and will always be the , " Good Old Days " !!
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
NOBRA 70

This is a professional operation

"This is a professional operation" is penned on the back of this photo. Yea, you right. We just never had any fun.

What did Wingerter say when the bill from Tri-G arrived? 😉

" And Now The Rest Of The Story " !

Greetings From New Orleans ,
Bob , GREAT question but the fact of the matter was , Capt. Winford did not get the bill from Tri G ! Pat Wingerter did !!
The fact of the matter is the remainder of the trip to Vicksburg and back was for the most part routine but when we returned to New Orleans , thats when it became interesting !
As with every arrival into New Orleans , the majority of the office personal manage to find an excuse to come to the boat and I believe if the truth was known , they really came down to get a free meal ! Now , having said that Pat Wingerter always had a reason to come and with this arrival there was no excception ! Pat and I had our routine " meeting " to discuss any issues concerning the overall operation of the boat and for the entire " meeting " other topics and important issues were discussed ! Then , as he was walking out the my door , he stopped dead in his tracks , turned around and with just the hint of a smile , told me that there will be NO MORE $ 500.00 PIZZA RUNS , UNDERSTOOD !! Well , just when I was about to re-insert my foot in my mouth , he raised his hand and simply said , " Understood " and I complied and simply said , " Understood " ! That was it ! End of subject !
Pat Wingerter was genunily a nice guy and was always a pleasure to work with ! He was a good VP of Operations and most importantly he knew how to talk with people and NOT to talk to people ! Pat was a Vietnam Vet and was a chopper Pilot and possibly because of that he understood how to treat people in general and how important it is to simply show a little respect to everyone ! He probably understood how important it is to keep a tight and well oiled crew and if it took a few midnight pizas on a steamboat , well he understood that as well ! That day , Pat's stock went through the ceiling with me !
And That Is The Rest Of The Story !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
NOBRA 70

Isn't May 19th exciting? That sure jogged some memories...

58th Anniversary, May 19th.

Today is the 58th anniversary of Camp Day, the beginning of Summer as we calculate it on the Licking River. The weather, today, is mild, but I may not be jumping into the Licking, but I am pleased that the Good Lord saw fit to allow me to survive going on six decades of Camp Day remembrances.

HAPPY MAY 19TH!
....and..
"Happy Birthday, Mel..."