Topic starter
19/03/2007 4:11 pm
Hi Folks,
I had a call late yesterday afternoon from the decks of the hallowed DELTA QUEEN. She had just passed Baton Rouge and was headed to Natchez, MS for the Spring Pilgrimage. Aboard as had been noted on here were many repeaters. The report was she was full and about 50% were repeaters. Among those were Pat Traynor, who called me. She was laughing as she had been given an upgrade in cabin from the bunk bed on the Texas to a Cabin Deck cabin. It was at the stern of the boat and a bucket board was making a racket during the night, so sleep didn't come as easily as usual on the boat. She was happy to report that many of our beloved crew were back in the dining room and of course, she was delighted that Walter Cross and his band was back. She loves the bon voyage party in the Texas on the afternoon of departure.
No flat screen TV's in the cabins. She did note that there were new fluffy towels though. She said the menu was different, but that the food was good. She mentioned the missing Eagle on the pilot house. From the pictures that were posted here, I thought our boat looked about half dressed. Do we need a campaign to bring it back?
She said they saw the MISSISSIPPI QUEEN, who looked like she still needed lots of work.
So green with envy on St. Patrick's Day weekend after that conversation I had to start getting my wardrobe ready for my trip in THIRTY NINE DAYS!
20/03/2007 12:38 am
Thanks, JoAnn, fo rth ereport. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I never cared for that huge eagle with the banner -- I preferred the old nameboard on the front of he pilothouse, for what it's worth...
20/03/2007 1:53 pm
Agreed that that "huge eagle" was a bit too much, but eagles were Captain Wagner's signatures aboard the boat. He put one up every chance he could. Remember the golden eagle on the spreader bar over the stage? Cap's. So every time I see a picture of an eagle on the DELTA QUEEN, including the aforementioned beast, I think of BIG CAP.
My mark is a Yellow Star. Who else has a certain distinctive decoration that they use to personalize their boat?
20/03/2007 2:39 pm
Bob can amplify on the design, but he was famous for his stars on the bow. When he left the DQ and went towboating, his towboat was very obvious as it locked through. Of course Doc always had shaded letters in the name, and calligraphy-type signs. Jim Blum once had the DQ stack trimmed in a railroad's colors.
20/03/2007 5:08 pm
The eagles on all of the American Classic Line's boats might not have been strictly river, but there certainly was precedent for them. Eagles since the begining of the republic have been a patriotic symbol that have been used in various poses and forms to embellish American merchant ships including river steamboats. From the engineroom up to the pilothouse their representations could be seen gliding forth over fresh and salt waters.
The eagles on American Classic's boats were copies of a stern quarterboard from an American nineteenth century whaling ship. The inspiration for these can be seen at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut. (Also, while there a trip on the coal fired Str.SABINO is well recommended.)
Now, if MAL wants to get rid of later embellishments on the DELTA QUEEN, that have no associated maritime tradition, my suggestion would have been to let the eagle be and take all of the circus trash from around the roof and calliope and haul it to a dumpster!
21/03/2007 1:14 pm
Hear, hear...Amen and amen!