What's Your Favorite DQ Memory?

Steamboat Races

My favorite memories of the Delta Queen was on the Ohio River in Louisville. I still can see her passing the great water tower in Louisville with her beautiful whistle salute. I went to her last race in 2008, it was the first time I saw her. She took my breath away. She won the race, and the memories still come. Her big paddle wheel gleaming, the water drops of Ohio being thrown into the air. Her smokestack huffing and puffing as little children lined up on the shore with me gasping in awe at the amazing boat that races the Belle each year up until 2009. I've been to many of the other races, but they weren't the same without the DQ. I love the American Queen, but as huge and grand as it is, it just doesn't reflect the same memories. I dearly hope the Delta Queen will be back on the rivers there, because each of my visits to the Louisville Waterfront aren't the same without her and her calliope. I still remember the Belle doing "Old Kentucky Home." Then the Queen doing it's songs. Those were the good days, now I have to go to Chattanooga to see her. I stayed on her as a hotel, and she still amazes me. Godspeed, Delta Queen! Oh, the memories you've made!

This ought to be a lengthy thread Jim,

I have a few to share. First one was not about the boat herself but about one of her Captains, who graciously sat with me (at 14 years old) outside of the Texas lounge and looked through my photo album of boat pictures on one of my first passenger trips. I wonder if Gabe remembers that? Another of my favorites was when I met Fred Way, CW Stoll and others one year at CW's house and was asked to ride the DQ during the race with the Belle. Another one was blowing the DQ a salute from the whistles on the BONNIE BELLE while she operated out of Cincinnati and having the big boat answer back. Another memory was Captain John offering to take me to the pilothouse while the boat was underway. That was the one time I steered her if only for a few moments, southbound just above old Coney. Other memories are making my first landing as an employee at St. Francesville just me the lead deckhand and another guy and the Captain later said he could have kissed all three of us for making it look so easy. The pilothouse watch when the M/V MISSISSIPPI slipped up behind us and passed us in the late evening. And of course my Honeymoon on the DQ when all the wait staff joked with the Wife and I because we were either missing or late to meals, honestly we were on deck watching the scenary! Another found memory was on one of her last runs to Cincinnati we followed her for a short while with the BARBARA H. Even now she makes memories for me, taking my daughter for an overnight stay and explaining to her all about the boat and it's history. I hope my daughter gets a chance to ride her one day so she can add her own memories of that wonderful old boat.

ONE BIG ADVENTURE

A lengthy thread? You're right about that, AJ. For some of us, many of us, it would be a book. Look forward to seeing more postings, never-the-less.

I had finished taking my Mate license at the CG office in Pittsburgh. The examiner asked me what was the largest towboat I had worked on. I said the MARINER (UBL). He said there weren't too many towboats bigger than that, so he gave me an ALL GROSS TONS limitation. He asked me if I had any steamboat experience. I told him I walked on the DELTA QUEEN a couple of times. This guy was a newby to the inland rivers and did not have the understanding of certain twang of rivermen, with hillbilly, redneck, cajun, etc., dialects all grouped into one. He apparently misunderstood and thought I had said worked instead of walked and he gave me an endorsement of MATE, UPON RIVERS, ALL GROSS TONS, STEAM AND MOTOR. And that's the truth. Doubters can register a complaint and I will gladly scan my license and provide proof.

DQ Memories

I cruised on the DQ in 1996 - the result of a dream kindled by my Aunt Katie's trip in about 1966. My grandfather set up a matching fund for my wife and I - if we saved for one ticket he'd pay for the other. I remember choking up as we pulled away from Robin Street as the calliope played "I'm Talking Dixie". Then we raced the American Queen past St. Francisville and the AQ played the "Old Gray Mare" as she paddled by on the outside of the bend in the river. Finally, Marcy's story about playing "Claire de Lune" on MQ as told by her in a Riverlorian talk still brings chills when I hear the song.

Wesley

I only have one boring one but for a 7 year old bent on steamboats (and I don't know why) it was very exciting.

My parents took me down to Lambert Landing which was only 3 miles from home to see the DQ which was docked.

I had never seen a steamboat besides the Johnathan Paddleford which even this 7 year old could see was a bit of a poser boat.

Anyway I never saw it run as I was always in school but my recollections of just gaping at it's size are fond.

I was always disappointed that it did not have the two tall ornate stacks the pictures in the library steamboat books had and her pilot house looked to modern and her bow a bit on the pointy side but knowing I was in Minnesota and not down south I accepted her as she was.

You're right about it being a book, Lex. In the five short years I worked on the boat and the 4 cruises I took as a paying passenger, I did, as Mel Hartsough says, more livin' than I 've probably done at any other time.

Indeed, there are MANY of us who could literally write a book about our love affair with the DELTA QUEEN, both as passengers and as crew members. At the suggestion of Miss Ruth Ferris, my steamboating mentor and patron saint, I kept a log book of my time as a crew member in the 1970's, jotting down daily what seemed, at the time, rather inane. When I look over that old log now it brings those long ago happenings on the boat back to life as if they occurred yesterday! I close my eyes and hear the DQ's hauntingly beautiful whistle reverberating over the river, see the majesty of sunrise on the Mississippi, feel the gentle tremor of the deck above the churning paddlewheel and revel in the voices of dear friends, many of whom have made their final crossings. It was a time in my life I wouldn't have missed for anything in the world! Long live the DELTA QUEEN!

Well Ron,
Those of us from Californy think them twin stacks look odd! 🙂
(Not really, but it's one of the interesting differences between west coast boats and inland river boats.)

Dang Keith, now there ain't a dry eye in the house!

One memory--I'll post others later OK, now 4 memories

Well, all my memories are as a passenger--I was never fortunate enough to work on the boat (OK, I know--it ain't always fun).
One of my most haunting memories is of Betsy Johnson (I hope I have that right) on the last public cruise playing the Delta Queen Waltz on her harmonica in the forward lounge one evening.
When I got home, I bought a harmonica, but I can't play it as an adult anymore than I could play it as a kid!
Of course, nothing beats the first time I saw her in person at the dock in N. O. --oh I knew what she looked like, but the real thing is so much more than a photograph.
And then on our second trip, I was standing on the deck in front of the pilot house when the Captain called out to me, 'David, we're coming to a lock soon" Whoa--he knew me by name & sight???? Uh oh--is this a good thing or not??? It was only the second day of the trip. . . .
I read this to Linda & she says one of her best memories was the boarding time of our first trip--I had been in contact with y'all here for some time before the trip, and Linda was bowled over by the welcome y'all gave us, especially when John & Carol Mullins gave us a bag of powdered sugar from Cafe Du Monde with beignets in it. Wowziers!
It's great to be a member of this family. We are the lucky ones.

I can relate, Dave. The DELTA QUEEN is a special boat, something no one can quite put their finger on. I've rarely seen an inanimate object (so to speak, because the DQ IS animate) engender so much respect and awe.

As we said, many of us could write a book on our DQ experiences, and teh experiences are never-ending, as Lexie said "one big adventure", but I think I would start with the people I've been blessed to meet on that boat. My wife Sharon, for starters. Life-long friends Lexie Palmore, Keith Norrington, Judy Patsch, David Tschiggfrie and many more who were in my life for a while and are not so much anymore, but who remain in my fond memory. There are those who have made their last crossings, as Keith said: Capts. Wagner, Ware, Tate, Prichard, Karnath, Louden -- too many to name. The list is literally dozens of folks who we laughed with and loved the old gal. We had a sitting President and his family with us for a whole week...how cool is THAT? I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

One thing that amazed this kid was that there were other people in this world who liked not only steamboats, but pipe organs and zeppelins, just to name a couple of niche interests...I had never encountered folks that had those interests until I went on the DQ. Maybe we should write that book, Lex.

Pondering

Yes, it could be a book...I've been up to my neck in weeds in the garden, and unfortunately also on the golf course, but I'll post something soon. As everyone is saying, there are so many things, impossible to narrow it down to just one. I'll just say now that the DELTA QUEEN changed my life completely on that first trip. I was toying with the idea of getting a Ph.D in Reading but instead got NCP, BFR, UMR, AHP and other letters into my life. The DQ opened up an entirely new world to me, and as Bob said, introduced me to friends all up and down the river system. If I had to name one person or thing which influenced my life's path the most, it would be the ol' DELTA QUEEN...

There are just too many wonderful memories to nail one down, but I think that the funniest was sitting at the Captains' Table at the end of the 1987 trip to Chattanooga next to Roddy Hammett, Jeff Spear, and Robin Hixon . The self important Commodore, down at the far end of the table, was being verbally skewered by those three. To protect the not so innocent, I really can't elaborate any further.

David Dewey;31895 wrote: Well Ron,
Those of us from Californy think them twin stacks look odd! 🙂
(Not really, but it's one of the interesting differences between west coast boats and inland river boats.)

Yeah, I spent 22 years out there.....
I finally got out. But I did bring out with me a California girl.

Uh Oh, I do like Zeppelins too.. . And Pipe Organs (I'm working on two, a classical Reuter & a Wurlitzer "Unit Orchestra") And Old Theatres, and Model Ts and anything steam powered--oh, and player pianos (I will admit to having 3 for the house, and there are two more stored that I had to save from the dump--WHY???).
I think the DQ attracts the most interesting people to her. We're "Spechul" & proud of it!

You've got it bad, David....

What Bob didn't tell you is how he managed, as a youngster, to talk his way onto a Goodyear Blimp and get a ride on it. I was in Memphis once during the DQ days, visiting Bob, and we spotted a blimp. He knew exactly where it would land and we went to that spot precisely as the blimp landed at our feet. Funny how they don't look so big up close. But I digress...

WOW!

You must've gotten your license in the Dark Ages. They are nowhere near that lenient now.

My book of DQ memories, the condensed version

OK, here are a few:
Leaving St. Louis with Dan Forman playing the calliope and hundreds of people on the levee/arch steps watching us leave - you always felt like a celebrity when meeting people on shore.
Tossing thousands of dollars of souvenir doubloons to people at the locks. I'd call the Cincinnati office a couple of weeks prior to my trips and tell them to send more than the usual supply of doubloons to the gift shop. #4 at Alma, #8 at Genoa, and #13 at Fulton usually had the biggest crowds (Ohio River locks' viewing areas weren't very friendly for reaching the people with my tosses). At #8 there was a particularly greedy boy knocking over everyone else, so I started tossing the coins into the grassy area being watered by sprinklers. That cooled him off. One year a young mother and her daughter rode a 3 day trip and she came up to me and said I had tossed them doubloons the previous year and had a brochure put off for them, and that's why they booked! This is hard - I'm getting goosebumps and tears just thinking of these things....
#4 at Alma one Sunday morning. As we were in the lock, someone started the calliope. There was a family going up the church steps, they turned, saw the DQ, and came down to the lock rather than church.
Late at night, out in the darkness, nobody around, and then : HELLOOOOO DELTA QUEEN! from who knows where...
Passing the home on a bluff somewhere around Winona with the huge white block letters: AHOY DELTA QUEEN in their yard
At one of the few Captain's Dinners I attended my waiter Reuben steered me to a particular seat because he knew I didn't like bleu cheese dressing, so he had one salad with French dressing ready for me...Reuben Pilot, what a gem!
On my very first trip Aug. 20-23, 1973, I was sitting on the Sundeck stern as the Captain's Dinner was about to start. Someone came up behind me and barked: "What? You're not coming down to my dinner?" It was Capt. Wagner himself and I was terrified! I answered that I'd rather stay up there and watch the sunset, and he laughed and said, "So would I!"
On one of my first trips, I was up in the pilothouse with Walter Karnath. He told me to ask whatever I wanted, and that if I didn't have any questions, he'd give me some answers anyway. That started my interest in the navigation end.
Dan Forman's faux pax when singing MaryLou, which only Fred Dodd and I caught, but from that evening on, I brought every Avon Liberty Bell or other variety of cracked Liberty Bells to Dan, and 'my' calliope song became Marylou, even when Dan moved over to the MQ...
A knock on 338's door in the middle of the night and the watchman handed me something in a plastic bag and said to hide it where Louise wouldn't find it. Watchman Keith had just liberated a paddlewheel 'key' from the carpenter's shop. Louise Feilhauer was my maid and she checked my trash can for empty M&M packages....
Anytime that undescribable whistle blew... more goosebumps and tears...
Dubuque shore stops when David Tschiggfrie's parents and mine would sit together in the Forward Cabin Lounge and visit.
Being a passenger the two weeks prior to President Carter's trip and seeing all the preparations and getting the inside scoop from George, the Chief of White House Communications, in the Texas Bar (Major George Bafundo), and then seeing the first TV coverage at home as she came out of the fog into Wabasha, calliope playing away and thinking, That's MY boat!...
The workboat trip up the Yazoo Lexie and I made to climb aboard the SPRAGUE and bringing back 2 stirrups from her wheel, all before the normal passengers were up and about.
Lockhopping - too many times to recall individually, but the only time I asked to lockhop was on my birthday in 1978 in Dubuque .Best birthday present ever! It turned out to be Capt. Wagner's last DQ trip.
Sept. 17-26, 1954 - going down to the RI levee every night to look at a laid up DQ after she had run through herself. We'd sit on our camp stools for an hour or so, and often talked to passengers passing by. I suspect we also talked to Letha Greene, as Jane mentioned that her mother would go out on the levee and talk to the townsfolk.
Standing on the Muscatine levee in the fall and waiting for the DQ - and there she is, coming around the last island - STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND!
And just in general, the river family the DQ brought into my life.

Purest poetry, Judy. I need more Kleenex.

Steamboat round the bend!

Muscatine was the best place to watch for her - all those islands obscured her when she was downstream. And then, from behind the trees on the last island: the stage, the bow, the pilothouse, the stack, and finally the big beautiful red paddlewheel leaving her wake...

Muscatine just happened to be where I first set foot on her, back in September 1968. The calliope was playing Meet Me in St. Louis as Dad and I walked up to her. I remember those green railings most of all...

AMEN and HALLELUJAH! Preach on Sister Judy!!!

That's a VERY short book, Judy! You didn't even mention the night at Muscatine on teh ladder (it's been told here before). Keith and I ate all of Ted Guilliaum's chocolate chip cookies before he even knew they were on the boat. Unusually for me, I ate so much I made myself sick. 🙁

One of mine was probably in 1947 (or '48?) when the DQ made a stop at Louisville where the public was allowed aboard for an inspection, no doubt a PR event to let prospective passengers have a look at her. My grandmother took me down to the river and we went aboard. Though I was only 5 or 6 years old then, that magnificent staircase remained in my memory for many years.

Over the years, I would occasionally see the DQ on the river, tied up at Louisville, etc and I always dreamed of taking a trip on her. It was 2003 when I finally took my first cruise and there it was, just as I had remembered it with all that gleaming brass. It was kind of like going home with my grandmother again.

I've only had two cruises on the DQ, in 2003 and 2006 but both were memorable. The 2003 trip was the 75th Anniversary (and first under Delaware North) which was packed with dignitaries from the boat's history. The 2006 trip, from St. Louis to Cincinnati, was in bad weather and there was a tremendous lightening storm that went on for several hours as we rounded the bend near Cairo and continued on almost to Paducah. Every passenger, I think, was out on deck to watch it.

The saddest was in October, 2008 when I chased it from shore for the entire 10 day last cruise from Cincinnati to Memphis. That last night in Memphis when she began her deadhead run to New Orleans was a real tear jerker. Now, I'm hopeful for her re-birth and a new career.

-Jim Herron