March S&D Reflector

Judy, Deb and I just got ours yesterday.

Hi, Judy:
I'm in the same boat [No pun intended] here tredding water. My REFLECTOR has yet to arrive here on Burney Lane just north of CONEY ISLAND. Many we know, as you said, received theirs early on as it was mailed by 'Richardson Print. Co.' in Marietta on/around March 12th. It goes out 3rd Class due to the expense. The first batch must have come down river on the QUEEN CITY with the rest being shipped on the next steam towboat headed south. There are recipients here in Mt. Washington, Cincinnati, just blocks away who have theirs. I'll watch my mail box here today for the 'mail person.' I was told that 3rd Class must be mailed within the present month to meet the mailing requirements. Well, we shall see. I tell myself 'patience is virtue.' My copy may be up in the post office here resting on their coffee maker for the gang to peruse. Some years ago the head postal manager commented on the S&D white envelope. I showed him the REFLECTOR, he thumbed through, and sent a membership in.

Cheers,
R. Dale Flick

My big question is: Does Richardson mail them all out at the same time? If they do, then I understand we are at the mercy of our local post offices as to when we get them. But, if Richardson sends them out in batches, then I suggest it be done on a rotating basis so that one group isn't always last to receive it. I never got my September copy before the meeting, and of course it contained the meeting details... food for thought: we should finalize or at least have in place the various speakers, activities, etc. for the June issue so everyone gets it before the Sept. meeting, maybe...

Hi, again, Judy:
The REFLECTORS are pretty much mailed all at once following stuffing, address tags etc. We're at the mercy of the U.S. Post Office on 3rd Class mail status. For what it's worth, I've noted mail cancellation marks bearing not only 'Marietta, OH.' but 'Zanesville, OH.' and the big mail depot in 'Columbus, OH.' Bill Judd has things under control up in New Richmond, OH and assured me he received his promptly. Lucky Bill.

Good to know the REFLECTOR is so eagerly awaited now. I hear Capt. David Smith has done an incredible job. He's ironing out the facets of the new computer composing/lay-out/editing program.

Wait! Can it be! I hear the foot falls on the deck of the front portico upstairs. I'll run and check with baited breath!

Cheers,
R. Dale Flick

How 'bout that! The mail boat landed here yesterday with my Reflector. David Smith has done one first class job, even if the U.S. Mail hasn't!

No Reflector here in Denver yet, Judy. But then I don't imagine there are too many that are sent out with my zip code address, so I'm used to being dead last in receiving mine.

NO REFLECTOR in our mail box in St. Louis. Don't think our Postman is a Steamboat fan, maybe others at the PO are reading it now!

The S&D Reflector

No joy here in Florissant, MO as yet. Maybe they were going to send it down via MQ mail. Even if they put it on a raft, someone would have to get the package up the Mississippi 180 miles. Waiting!!!!! More waiting for Judy!!!
John

Cap'n Walnut got mine yesterday (beat me to the mailbox) here on Gunpowder Rd while I was at the shipyard touchin' up MISSIE"s engine. We been waitin' for it so's to find out when the S&D meeting is in Marietta so as to make reservations at the Lafayette! The mail boat doesn't get up Gunpowder Creek this far (bout 30 miles...half that via crow). So, it's the US mule from there.

As Dale pointed out though, it is nice that we are in eager anticipation awaiting the arrival of the Reflector again. When Fred Way was editor, the day the issue came, no lesson plans were done or papers graded that night. It was spent carefully perusing each page. Of course, I never got to open the envelope, as my parents got to it first before I got home from school... but once again I want to point out that the magazine can only be as good as the material available. Its obvious that people on this board have a wealth of both depth and breadth of steamboat/river knowledge. Please share it with the editor. Hopefully one of his hardest jobs will be narrowing down what to include, not scrounging around for articles.

General Delivery RH General Store

Why don'cha have your Reflector sent up to the Rabbit Hash General Store like we do. Only problem was all them greasy paw prints on it after it made a few passes around the potbelly stove.

Oh no! This beats everything... the Rabbit Hash General Store has had its copy of the Reflector long enough to pass it around and get it greasy, while we in huge metropoli are still awaiting its arrival??? You might get a population explosion in RH that you won't be able to handle!!!

Steamboating colleagues:
The landing whistle blew here yesterday and my March S&D REFLECTOR arrived in one soggy envelope. After drying I settled down to digest from cover to cover. David Smith has done a great job with this his first production at editor. For starters the cover is stunning with a black/white photo of the packet LEROY taken by Capt. Jesse P. Hughes, courtesy of Jerry Stuphin. A wonderful photo study that artist Mike Blaser could well render in oil as a classic. David Smith's feature article 'The Cold Hard Facts - Dealing With A Frozen River' Pgs. 9 - 15 with steamboat/ice photos is, well, chilling. I like his sentence, "Grab a sweater and feel the chill on these pages!"

Judy Patsch is featured Pgs. 30 - 32 with her well-written, crisp, informative article 'NATCHEZ Trip to Tall Stacks '06.' Four black/white photos accompany Judy's submission and the one on Pg. 30 by Keith Norrington featuring the NATCHEZ framed over the whistles on the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE is a nifty piece of photo composition. The 35 Pgs. of this issue features fine photos from the collection of S&D President, Jerry Stuphin. Likewise, S&D's Jerry Sutphin and Board of Governors Capt. Bill Judd extend a warm welcome to David on Pg. 5 with their memories of David's early career. J.S. 'Woody' Rutter, Editor Emeritus, favors this issue with editorial comments and an article of his own. Welcome back aboard, Woody! I could go on and on, but won't.

If it sounds like I'm gushing in praise for a fine edition, you're right. Any readers/posters/'lurkers' of this web who are not yet members of S&D are cordially invited at $20 per year plus $1 for each family member if so desired. Send check or money order to:

Richard Prater, Secretary
602 Country Club Avenue
Fort Walton Beach, Florida 32547

Cheers,
R. Dale Flick

Thanks for telling me what's in the April Reflector, should it ever arrive here. Doc called last night, gushing about it as he received it Monday. Now considering the malfunctioning, understaffed NOLA post office got his delivered, I'm wondering if perhaps the Confederacy has blockaded the river above Cairo???????

Thanks for the joining info, I used to be a member, and have a lot of back issues, but somehow let it drop (probably when I was much broker than I am now (and am going to be as soon as I figure out the next DQ ride!) NOT a tough choice there!

Mail boat

Judy, The Mail Boat is on it's way up river. I received ours yesterday PM and spent the next hours of the day enjoying, as Dale said, a great S&D Reflector.
That picture on the cover IS a work of art!!!! 🙂
John

Seems the folks at the local PO finished with our copy and delivered it today. OK, it was unopened and dry---not opened yet.

Ok, I'll be checking the Corps' lock page for the progress of the GREY EAGLE, for maybe she's doing double duty, delivering news of the Atlantic Cable to St. Paul, and delivering my Reflector too!!!!

The Eagle has landed!

The GREY EAGLE finally locked through here today enroute to St. Paul with the news of the newly-finished Atlantic Cable. During the lockage, Capt. Daniel Smith Harris personally handed over my copy of the Reflector to the lockman who promised to give it to the Cookie Lady. It certainly was worth the wait. The first thing that I noticed was the older-reader-friendly sized type: I could even read it without my glasses for a while! And I had to put on a long-sleeved shirt after looking at those ice photos, brrrrrrrrrr. I would like to point out that the picture of the DQ, NATCHEZ, and MQ after Tall Stacks was taken by Lee Havlik, who usually holds forth on the JULIA BELLE SWAIN. But for TS, he and Kathy worked on the SPIRIT OF PEORIA, from whence that fine photo was taken. Doc was particularly happy to see the cover shot of the LEROY. He said that when his mother got her first little camera, the first picture she took was of the LEROY. (The next picture Grace's son takes will be his first.)... Let's see, how long until the next issue arrives????

I thought people would be interested to know that my copy arrived today. The envelope was sealed and there weren't any marks on it, but I wonder what travel tales it would tell if it could.

Maybe a story of life at the bottom of a bag in the back of the low priority section of a mail distribution center.

The Reflector has arrived via the overland route at Nashville, Indiana! And a fine issue it is, indeed.

Hi, Bruce, Keith B. & steamboating colleagues:
Just in and checking E=Mails and the web. Glad your March S&D REFLECTORS have arrived in good order. Judy Patsh, Cap'n Bill Judd and I keep tabs on the U.S. Mail delivery of the said issue. Mine arrived some time back in a wet, soggy envelope which I dried out here and read. I think we should implement the Steamboats.org 1st prize of the giant SNICKER'S BAR for the recipient who receives their copy last. *Little joke there.

I have a suspicion that the U.S. Post office people hold many copies back to read in the back of their offices to peruse the 'hot, steamy' contents. [OH, that was a bad one, indeed.] You don't think...YIKES!...Homeland Security, the U.S. Justice Dept. and even President Bush in the White House get priority copies to read in their off moments? There's some pretty 'hot stuff' in the current issue.

Cheers, with tongue-in-cheek,
R. Dale Flick

And an article by someone we know to boot too! Intials of J P (no, not Morgan!) Heh Heh Heh.
Made me wish I'd been aboard (Natchez) as crew too. Although I want their business to be good, would be cool to have them do the trip again.
S'
David D.

The pony express has not made this month's deliveries from Ohio yet. Our engineer is having to survive on Alan Bate's old boat colyum in the Waterways Journal. He is learning a lot, however. Alan ain't no slouch in painting river pictures with words. But engineer Jay has an insatiable appetite. I may have to dig out a Fred Way prime rib for him to munch on. I'll have to be careful, though, or our steam pressure will drop to 20 lbs. and we'll get behind schedule while he's back there with his nose in a Reflector.