Topic starter
12/04/2007 12:52 pm
Today in steamboat history marks the 38th anniversary of the 1969 grand opening of the Midship Museum aboard the Str. BECKY THATCHER at the St. Louis waterfront. Designed and curated by the beloved river historian Miss Ruth Ferris, the large room on the main deck of the former steamer MISSISSIPPI was a steamboat buff and buffette's "dream" with wonderful displays of artifacts that focused heavily upon the Eagle Packet Company and Eagle Boat Store (operated by the well known steamboating Leyhe family), Streckfus excursion boats, the GOLDENROD SHOWBOAT, the history of the Str. MISSISSIPPI and her work for the Army Corps of Engineers and all sorts of other wonderful river related memorabilia.
For the pittance of 50 cents (25 cents for children) visitors viewed the museum room and then were taken by guides for a tour through the engine room, up through the cabin, on up to the Texas deck (a stop was made to peek over the stern at the 24' paddlewheel and monkey rudders) and then on up to the pilothouse. Of course, the tour ended back at the boat's gift shop! For an extra dollar, visitors also had the option of taking a one hour harbor cruise aboard the excursion boat MISSISSIPPI BELLE, which landed alongside the BECKY.
Ruth was always very proud of the museum she created on the BECKY and said it was the highlight of her longtime steamboat interest. Retiring in 1957 from her 35 year career as a teacher and assistant principal at the Community School, Ruth became curator of the river collections at the Missouri Historical Society. Under her lively and enthusiastic reign, the collections grew until a larger gallery was needed. In 1962 the elegant River Room was opened, dominated by the pilothouse of the Str. GOLDEN EAGLE, a gift from the children of Community School -- where the pilothouse had stood since its salvaging in 1948.
In 1965 Ruth retired for the second time, but in less than a year was asked to set up the riverboat museum aboard the BECKY, and the prospect of working on her beloved St. Louis levee lured her out of retirement again. She once said that "Looking out one door of the BECKY at the magnificent Gateway Arch and out the other door at Eads Bridge and the mighty Mississippi all day long make my thoughts and spirit soar above everyday things." Ruth had a contagious enthusiasm and zest for life that were an inspiration to all who knew and loved her. She was my mentor and patron saint of steamboating from the time I first became acquainted with her in 1967 at age 13, and was a tremendous influence in my life until her death in 1993 when she was nearly 96.
In 1994 the St. Louis Mercantile Library (where most of Ruth's fabulous collection is now housed) published a book of some of her articles and talks entitled St. Louis and the Mighty Mississippi -- The Collected Writings of Ruth Ferris. The softbound and well illustrated publication is still available from the University of Missouri-St. Louis bookstore.
The "boaty" and sparkling Midship Museum and the ornate River Room gallery of the Missouri Historical Society at the Jefferson Memorial Building in Forest Park are now but fond memories. But the legacy of Ruth Ferris lives on. I strive to continue preserving and promoting our river heritage through my curatorial work at the Howard Steamboat Museum, as well as other endeavors, in a manner that I hope would be pleasing to Ruth. With much gratitude, a long and two shorts of the whistle to this extraordinary lady.
_________________________________________
Attached are three photos showing portions of the compact and neatly organized Midship Museum. In the first view, the glowing chandeliers are from the Str. GORDON C. GREENE. Also visible are the six gallon coffee urn from the GOLDEN EAGLE, big wooden acorns from Eagle Packet Company boats and the encased diorama containing a model of the Str. MISSISSIPPI, now in my collection after having been pieced back together when it fell off the bar during the Becky's 1984 sinking.
The second and third photos show a section of the counter and shelves from the Eagle Boat Store, laden with steamboat hardware. Above it is visible the backing bell from the engine room of the Streckfus sidewheeler J.S. DELUXE and a section of the charred pilotwheel from the GOLDENROD SHOWBOAT fire of 1962. These pictures (except the color one) were taken in November, 1970, when Ruth retired for the third and final time -- and several days before the museum was largely dismantled for the room to be utilized by the gift shop, with the remaining artfacts used as background.
12/04/2007 3:49 pm
So what has happened to this wonderful collection of artifacts? The museum curator in me wants to know! 🙂
S'
David D.
12/04/2007 3:52 pm
Dear Keith:
Thanks for 'Today in Steamboat History' Re: Miss Ruth Ferris and the river museum she labored so long to establish and maintain. The photos came over here loud and clear.
I hate to ask or broach the question, but has there been any word on the status or movement with the MISSISSIPPI/BECKY THATCHER in Marietta, Ohio? We heard in the past on Steamboats.org but then PPOOF! Time and the elements are surely taking their toll.
Cheers,
R. Dale Flick
Topic starter
12/04/2007 4:16 pm
David: "Curator to Curator" and thanks for your interest! When the Midship Museum closed, Ruth removed all of the artifacts that belonged to her personally, as well as some things that Mr. Frank C. Pierson, owner of the BECKY THATCHER & GOLDENROD SHOWBOAT, gave her. The remaining relics and pictures become "background" for the gift shop and some of the Eagle Packet Company and Boat Store items that had been loaned by Mr. Fred Leyhe (son of Capt. Buck Leyhe) were returned and given to the Golden Eagle River Museum (soon to be exhibited at Cape Girardeau!) and to the Alton (IL) Museum of History and Art for their River Room.
The BECKY was foreclosed upon by the Bank of St. Louis in 1974 and sold at auction to Ohio Showboat Drama, of Marietta, Ohio, where the boat remains today (dark and for sale) after being towed there in August of 1975. The artifacts which remained on the BECKY when she arrived at Marietta were removed and stored in a warehouse until 1982, when they were sold to the Riverview Antiques store in Marietta, affording collectors the opportunity to obtain them.
Attached are several photos of items in my collection that formerly were displayed on the BECKY, including the model of the MISSISSIPPI (made by a crew member) a small jigsaw table made by the boat's carpenter on an Eagle Packet Company boat, and a model of the Federal Barge Line towboat UNITED STATES. Ruth Ferris made the model, the tow and display case. The orange tabby lying on the desk is Casey, my faithful feline and the assistant curator of my River Room!
Topic starter
12/04/2007 4:21 pm
The BECKY continues to be offered for sale on EBAY with an asking bid of $550,000. Check it out by typing in the search words STERNWHEEL RIVERBOAT. Several bids have been received in the $200,000 range, but apparently have been rejected. I've had telephone calls from people who were interested and wanted to know details about the boat's history, but mainly folks with BIG ideas and LITTLE money. I referred several to Capt. Bill Judd for information on the boat's hull integrity, etc. The current owners need to be realistic!
Here are a couple of pictures of the BECKY at Marietta about 10 years ago.
Topic starter
13/04/2007 11:41 am
Here are a couple of vintage photos featuring Ruth Ferris. The first was taken at the 1948 dedication ceremony of the GOLDEN EAGLE pilothouse on the grounds of the Community School. The very special guest for the occasion was Capt. W.H. "Buck" Leyhe, the longtime and beloved master of the GOLDEN EAGLE. He is shown here with Ruth and Douglas Mesker, one of Ruth's fifth graders, who portrayed Capt. Buck in a special play about the boat. At the conclusion, a song entitled "GOLDEN EAGLE", composed especially for the event, was sung by the class as a bottle of water, from all the rivers plied by the GOLDEN EAGLE, was splashed across the pilothouse to "christen" it. Ruth said that Capt. Buck watched with tears streaming down his face.
The color photo was taken in September, 1972 in the pilothouse of the Str. BELLE OF LOUISVILLE. Left to right are Bert Fenn, noted river historian and owner of the Tell City Chair Company, Ruth Ferris, Capts. Doc Hawley and Alan Bates. As you can imagine, there was tons of steamboat talk in the pilothouse that night!
14/04/2007 5:44 am
HI Keith,
Thank you for the info. Neat pic of you back in '70. Guess I wasn't the only kid pushing "Save the Delta Queen" but out here we didn't have made buttons, etc. I had to make my own, including a bumper sticker that my folks had to put on their car!
Never thought back then that I'd become a museum curator!
So, what happened to the Becky's engines? I assume the boilers were cut up for scrap. AAAUGH!!
S'
David D.
14/04/2007 6:23 pm
Mississippi's engines
The Becky's(Mississippi III) engines along with those of the Gen. John Newton are stored in New Orleans, owned by the New Orleans Steamboat Co. Mr. Wilbur Dow was very shrewd - he bought them even though he didn't have any plans for another steamboat, but his idea was that no one else was going to build one either with those engines! The DQ Co. looked at the MIII's engines when planning the AQ, but opted for the Corps' dredge Kennedy's machinery instead.
14/04/2007 6:57 pm
Midship Museum purchase
Here are a couple of pictures when we visited Marietta and purchased several items from the Becky's Midship Museum. 1) Keith's caption:"sitting in the alley on a showboat chair, holding a chandelier from the Gordon C. Greene, TRUE happiness! 6/23/82" He's wearing a President t-shirt, and my reflection is in the mirror of my GCG door I purchased. 2)taken outside the Spears' house as we try to fit everything into my car. The door stuck out so we had to tie down the trunklid. That's Joan and Jeff Spear with Keith. Visible in the trunk is a cabin arch from the Erastus Wells, on top of the GCG cabin door.
Topic starter
16/04/2007 12:10 pm
David: The Becky's four O'Brien water tube boilers were removed and scrapped in August of 1969 to make space for THE BOILER ROOM BAR, a popular place on the St. Louis waterfront where The St. Louis Ragtimers often entertained. The two Gillette and Eaton steam engines were sold to the New Orleans Steamboat Company and removed in 1973 by Capt. John Beatty. Judy and I took pictures of them in a New Orleans warehouse in the summer of 1983 -- and the warehouse watchman thought we were insurance adjustors!
When I first visited the BECKY at St. Louis in the summer of '68, she was virtually intact, with boilers, engines and even dishes still in the cabinets. Today she is pretty much a "shell", with most everything, including the pilotwheel which is now at the Point Pleasant River Museum, removed from her. About the only "original artifact" still on the boat is the pilothouse lazy bench, which was moved downstairs to the bar some years ago. The current owners of the BECKY nearly tossed it out, thinking it was an old shoeshine bench, but decided to keep it after I told them it was original to the boat. It is visible in one of the photos on the EBAY site advertising the BECKY for sale.
Indeed, there were MANY steamboat buffs and buffettes all over the country who joined in the fight to save the DQ in 1970. I circulated petitions at school, at church and everywhere else I could. Betty Blake sent me a box of the bright orange buttons and bumper stickers -- many of which we distributed to interested visitors at the Howard Steamboat Museum, where a petition was kept next to the guest book!
16/04/2007 2:51 pm
Keith,
Thanks for the background, although it makes my day start out on a sad note. To survive intact that late. . . .
AAAUGH,, off to work. . .
I never thought of contacting Betty for "supplies" oh well, we succeeded anyway!
S'
David D.
16/08/2007 3:02 pm
If anyone is interested in assisting or advising us, we are in the process of exploring the possibility of opening a Riverboat / Steamboat museum on the Red River in Louisiana. It would be part of a complex with boats and museum space. One thing we will of course need are things to go in the museum. If anyone is interested in donating or partnering with us (or like I said just providing info) we would be very appreciative.
thanks,
drew