Topic starter
17/09/2011 3:49 am
Greetings From Madisonville, La. !
At the mouth of the Tchefuncte River ( pronounced Che Funk Ta , Cajun French ) and actually in Lake Ponchetrain , lies the remains of an old tow boat that was in the back ground in a few scenes , of a fairly recent action adventure / sci fi movie , The Green Lantern !
She is definitely an " Ol' Timer " and if you look closely she has a model bow instead of the more modern raked bow . She has a single stack and I can only presume that she was a single screw boat as well . There are really no other names or plates or unique shapes or forms to correctly identify her so its any one's guess what her name or ancestry came from . Furthermore , the only way you can now board her is from her starb'd , lake side and no telling if any thing worth salvaging is still on board ! She has some what of a starb'd list and in all likely hood she is sitting on the bottom and no telling how long she will remain in a semi up right position .
Having said that , my old time friend , Capt. " Friendly " Finley Frasier tells me that he thinks that this is the remains of a boat that the Crounse Towing Co. had at one time and was then sold to an interested party here in Louisiana and then eventually came to rest at her present location .
Local rumor has it that the original intent of locating this tow boat here was to eventually convert her into a bed and breakfast but due to a number of hurricanes and tropical depressions she has been reduced her to a condition that I don't believe any amount of money can reverse !
When I first saw the opening scenes of The Green Lantern , of course my eye went directly to the shots with the America and recognized the boat and public landing at the mouth of the river where she has now resided for quite some time .
I have often wondered why the " Powers That Be " in Hollywood have not taken advantage of other old river boats and other nostalgic marine craft that would certainly add both realism and authenticity to any movie that they wanted to add a touch of the local culture and history to !
Go Figure !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
WA-4141
18/09/2011 7:36 pm
Ted: The boat in your pictures is the M/V FREEDOM. Capt. Fraser is close but not just all correct. The Freedom started out in the Pittsburgh pools, With a pool style pilothous. Built by Dravo in 1947, twin props with Kort nozzles. George Crounse, Jr. split with his father's company about 1980 and he rebuilt the boat, raised the pilothouse and placed new engines. George Crounse Jr.'s company was called St. James Transportation Co. and was based in Covington, LA. There were at least three boats in that Corporation, all old upper Ohio boats that were bought and refitted. The whole deal just fell apart and the boats just passed off to different owners. One of the other boats was the old Ductillite/ Juanita White which St. James called the CRESCENT.
Topic starter
19/09/2011 1:45 am
Bill , Thanks So Much !
Greetings From Madisonville !
Bill , thanks so much for that information ! I was hoping some one would chime in and connect all the dots and complete the story !
You are exactly right and I do remember now Finley telling me pretty much the same story !
I have seen this boat here at this location for years and it was just great to see it in the movie and of course recognize its location and unfortunate sad state of affairs !
Thanks , Bill , I do appreciate all your information and insight on this boat and its history !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
WA-4141
Bill Judd;27315 wrote: Ted: The boat in your pictures is the M/V FREEDOM. Capt. Fraser is close but not just all correct. The Freedom started out in the Pittsburgh pools, With a pool style pilothous. Built by Dravo in 1947, twin props with Kort nozzles. George Crounse, Jr. split with his father's company about 1980 and he rebuilt the boat, raised the pilothouse and placed new engines. George Crounse Jr.'s company was called St. James Transportation Co. and was based in Covington, LA. There were at least three boats in that Corporation, all old upper Ohio boats that were bought and refitted. The whole deal just fell apart and the boats just passed off to different owners. One of the other boats was the old Ductillite/ Juanita White which St. James called the CRESCENT.
