Kites not steamboats but interesting

Thanks Judy! That photo is in the booklet about the history of Greene Line, issued in 1965, researched by Richard Stewart, but published under the name of Betty Blake Simcox. One of those RARE little booklets is currently on EBAY, as are some other vintage DQ souvenir items.

In the photo of Aunt Telia Hughes at the CRICKET calliope, those things behind her are wooden life floats, in case anyone is wondering.

That calliope was put on the CRICKET when she towed the "Great American Water Circus," but that famous photo was not taken of the calliope when it was on the CRICKET. The photo was taken after the "CRICKET's voice" was hauled over to the GREENLAND to serenade the passengers on their journey to the St. Louis World's Fair during 1904.

Yup- nothing like my own attempts at flying a kite. : ) I do kamakaze kites.

My son-in-law commented to me that with his tan, flying kites must be all he does in his retirement.

But I am fascinated by how this thread got sidetracked and those nifty photos that Judy posted and Lil's comments about the good ol' days. Wow! 🙂

I still say that I need to print out the various pages from this web site, tape them together, and make a bunch of kites for the DQ. I could put them in a tube and mail them to the boats with a separate package for string and kite assembly instructions. If I was retired, maybe I would do that but I am working 2 jobs these days and just can't. No kite flying for me.

But I am glad that you got to see the video David!

Cheers
Elaine

Kite flying origins

Actually, I began the kite flying aboard the SS FRANCE. I had worked for several cruise lines before Betty Blake tricked me into working for Greene Line.Betty had called the Bramson Agency in New York looking for an experienced Cruise Director and got my number.* She called me when I was in Marietta on vacation visiting my family. I said NO! I explained that I had grown up with the river in my home every spring and did not want to work on that "old boat"! She then insisted my parents and I take a short cruise and I fell in love with the passengers.* What a great group! I never went back to sea.* Betty had really tricked me though as the cruise was THE DERBY CRUISE!* The first cruise I worked on was the Kentucky Lake cruise when we tore the paddlewheel off!* Betty had to pay my agent a finders fee as he had insisted I bring in his cruise ship entertainers and I knew then (as now) that that doesn't work on the boats!* Years later Betty paid me the ultimate compliment when Bodine was saying that his expertise saved the MQ and Betty said "Without Mariam and the Tookers there would not be a Delta Queen Steamboat Co." Much of these memories came back lately as I've been going through my "stuff".*Is there anyone out there close to Thousand Oaks, CA? If so let me know.**

I don't live near Thousand Oaks - I'm still in Rock Island Illinois, where I lived when I took my first DQ trip Aug. 20, 1973 with you and the Tookers aboard. Good to see your posting! There are a few of us on here who were from your DQ time or even earlier. I found a picture from my first trip but couldn't get it posted - it's during Captain's Dinner. You are standing on the stage behind 4 passengers. They aren't receiving Vox Calliopus awards nor are they doing the Saga of Little Nell. I recall a bit where you had passengers sing "When You Wore a Tulip". Could that have been what was happening?

Here is the picture

Here is the Captain's Dinner picture taken on Aug. 23, 1973:

captain's dinner

I actually don't know. Sometimes we would get a request from a travel agent for some sort of passenger recoginition thing and sometimes we would have the passengers play the "spoons" with Cap. I don't remember the tulip thing at all. I do remember Captain Wagner always wanted me sit by him at the Captain's dinner. I am not sure that he wanted me for moral support but more likely because I don't like meat and always gave him my prime rib. He always ate the end cut and liked it really crunchy.

I am glad for the chance to tell some things that I remember as sometimes people have really gotten things wrong or more likely just didn't know what happened "behind the scenes".

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has an EXCELLENT wiki set up on steamboats, towboats, and the like, but of particular interest to (half of) this thread is an entire album of calliope photos: http://wiki.cincinnatilibrary.org/index.php/Calliopes . Of particular interest is a photo here about 10 photos from the top, with the caption: "Forward of the Texas, 1905; Mrs. Jesse P. Hughes at the calliope; This is a Kratz instrument, 37 whistles of peculiar style [good catch, David!]; Played soft music."

Jon, what a great website...just spent a bit studying these:

http://wiki.cincinnatilibrary.org/index.php/Delta_Queen

incredible older pictures of the gal...the picture that gets me is the top picture of the ones below. Gutsy!

Yes, Lil,
river language began to die in February, 1942, when the Coast Guard took over the Steamboat Inspection Service. "Cookhouse" was replaced with the insipid term "galley," which is what an attorney calls an unedited brief. Captain Charlie Lehman's Lexicon will correct much of the mis-used deep-sea language that has been thrust upon the rivemen.

This trip was one chartered by State Bank of East Moline, with Dick Billings in charge. So I suppose it could have been something he requested. Capt. Wagner had already played the spoons, with Purser Gabe accompanying him on the piano. I'm sure you remember dealing with Dick Billings as they had many charters from 1973 through 78, I believe. On one of them, Dick wanted to go up the St. Croix a bit but the pilothouse personnel were wary of the old railroad swing span at the confluence of the St. Croix and the UMR at Prescott. But Dick won out and we cruised up as far as Hudson and turned around and got back into the UMR without a problem with the span's operation. The band members on that first trip were the Tookers: Vic, Mom and Pop; and Pete Eveland. They and the cruise director were the entertainment department, for those of you currently riding that would be hard to fathom I suppose, only 5 people total, but we were well-entertained. What was your last year on the DQ Miriam?

How we loved baiting the ex-navy men when they asked, "Where is the head?" The reply was, "Downstairs at the front of the boat." When the deckhand on the bow was asked the same question he feigned innocence and said, "Oh, you mean the TARlet. It is upstairs at the stern of the boat." There was none of that aloft and alow stuff. By George we went upstairs and downstairs just as Nature intended. We didn't get rid of smoke through funnels, either!

Interesting Alan, kinda a precursor to the NOLA effect too. Why isn't it obvious to them that river runnin' and blue water sailing are two entirely different things???
S'
David D.

Mariam, funny you should post just now; I was just yesterday listening to you on "The Sounds of the DELTA QUEEN" as I cleaned house getting ready for some dinner guests! Good to see you posting on here. I know you were working on the AMERICAN QUEEN a few years ago; are you still doing any steamboat work?

We don't have much more than that now. The Riverboat Five turned into Riverboat Rhythm, a quartet. We have a 2-person singer/dance team who are interchangable with ALL the boats. The Cruise Director has no assistant any more; there is a Discovery Guide instead of a Riverlorian. No more songbird or Red Hot Mama in the Texas or background music at dinner. Those in this group that can, play the calliope also - sometimes Tony Schwartz from the band is the only one aboard who can play it - this gets a little hectic on an Upper Miss. trip, especially since he has to do the shows with the band. Interesting......................
I'm glad they eliminated the 'midnight buffet' but taking away the hot dogs is a laugh - how much money is saved by that little economy! I doubt if we ever ate over a pound a day.

Oops! This ended up in the wrong thread - sorry...................

How long ago on the DQ

I have no idea when I left the DQ. I can't remember dates well. I went over to Carnival Cruises for a couple of years and came back to the MQ. I did not like Carnival at all but I did have better living conditions. Leaving was a mistake for me but at the time it seemed the best thing to do. I had* an incident on the DQ when I came close to being scalded to death with a shower malfunction (steam instead of water trapping me).* I had to break the glass door to get out but I still received very painful burns. It was the public shower, (all I had), on the DQ. Using a restroom in a public area (especially at night) was a pain. Of course, the crew also had no private showers either but at least their's was in a crew area.* To answer Bob Reynolds, I came back again to DQSC in about 1993 (I have a crew safetly jacket for 1993 - 1997 so I must have been there.)* Those years during the building and inagural of the AQ were the BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE.* I loved the reception and the HOOPLA.* I had to leave in 1998 to care for my mother with Alzheimers. Mother, a true river rat, was on board during high water once when a passenger remarked to her how much water there was and Mother said " AW, we've had more water than that in the living room!"

Hey, Mariam - good to hear from you here! From the days on the MQ in the '70's to your return in the 90's there are lots of memories. I still have your 8 X 10 glossy promo photo among my river treasures, remembering at the time you gave it to me how impressed I was it was in color - first non B & W one I'd ever seen. I had your email for awhile but it became outdated. Drop me a note sometime at [email protected]. All the best, Jazzou

Kind of confusing when an old thread becomes a new one. And whatever happened to good ole STEAMBOATIN' as the term for taking a trip, cruise, ride, voyage...? A copywrited term I believe.

Lexie, I've been told that the term "steamboatin'" is copywrited and still owned by Delaware North, along with "riverlorian", "Delta Queen Steamboat Company" and the oval DQ logo. Majestic people told me March 2007 that A) No way were their SHIPS to have anything to do with any term that had the word "boat" in it, as market analysis, and I use those terms very loosely, had determined in their infamous wisdom that the public's vision of a "boat" is a fishing boat...and B) not all of their "ships" were steam powered, so the term steamboatin' will further confuse our passengers that may travel on some or all of our different ships. And as for the term riverlorian I was told that term no longer applies as some of Majestic's "ships" were never even close to a river, again why confuse the passenger that travels on our Mississippi "ships" and then travels on our Alaska "ship".

Very interesting that we fast forward to March 2008 and the American Queen is "Steamboat'n" again, notice the subtle variation in spelling to get around the copywrite. You think the company may have finally seen the value in the word? This new word is not used a lot, but the company is using it out in the open.

[QUOTE=You think the company may have finally seen the value in the word? /

Apparently they see some value. They're selling the boats. Individually, I'd imagine. I hope somebidy pulls the trigger soon.

Paul