Doc's log of the 1962 DELTA QUEEN season

1962 DQ crew

According to Doc's log, this was the DQ crew for the 1962 season:

E.E. Wagner Master
Harris Underwood Pilot
Albert Kelley Pilot
C.C. Hawley Mate
L.D. Poor Mate
Cal Benefeil Chief Engineer
James Saunders Asst. Engineer
Ralph Horton Asst. Engineer
George Hill Purser
Lou Dallio Asst. Purser
Ed Gallagher Steward
Chas. Huff Striker
Terrell Beckett Striker
C. Lambert Carpenter
Paul Benefeil Maintenance
H.M. Carr Deck Watchman
Bruce Edgington Deck Watchman
Jas. Powell Deck Watchman
Marty Stouder Hostess
Happy Briscoe Gift Shop
Harmon Mize Organist and calliope
Trip pilots included: T.S. Dunn Mardi Gras; J. Hughes and W.C. Dugan Pittsburgh; A. Maples, C. Fehlig St. Paul; Fred Way, Bill Dugan to Dravo

More tomorrow... hope this brings back some memories for our 'oldtimers' who post/lurk on .org!

More notes from the '62 log

On this dark and soggy day, a good time to add from Doc's personal log book of the DQ's 1962 season. In the front he lists the time between locks, both upstream and down, and of course this was in the days of the old lock system. He covers from 37-51.
1956 measured height from top of smokestack jacket to water's edge(while fueled down) = 51 ft.
When Cincinnati gage is 41.0 there will be 5 ft. clearance on Suspension Bridge with stack up - with 40 ft. on Lock 37 gage at same time.
Now for some happenings on the trips:
They went over all the old locks on the Mardi Gras trip, stayed in N.O. for 5 days. On the upbound they took the stack, whistle, flag poles down at Cairo, where the gauge was 50.25. They slowed down passing Paducah as the town was sandbagged. They spent two hours at the Sinclair Dock in Louisville taking on fuel before heading into Cincinnati, where Doc helped a sick passenger to an ambulance...
There was a week before they left on the second NOLA trip, with the Cincy gauge at 40R. Met BABY LERE, took Chanault Reach over Lock 45. At this point they were averaging 15.8 mph!!! While they were at Memphis, the County Sherriff came aboard to attach boat - result of suit. (They left at 5PM, so that must have been resolved.) They lost 20 min. due to rudder failure at Old River. They stayed in NOLA two days and on the upbound they went aground at Graham Point. The assist boat also grounded. They were freed in shortly under 4 hours. Once again they took the stack down at Cairo 48.75 ft.
The third NOLA trip was similiar and uneventful, although they had to tie up several times for fog. They landed at Warsaw and picked up Mrs.Greene on the upbound.
The Derby trip was unremarkable.
On the fourth NOLA trip they had to lock through, as river was only 13.8R when they left Cincy. On this trip they landed at the Dumaine St. wharf - that is now the Moonwalk. Previous trips landed at Toulouse St., now the NATCHEZ' wharf. On May 29 at 5:45PM a passenger died. They removed him at McAlpine Lock apparently. When they landed in Madison, they tied up below the MAJESTIC showboat.
On the Reelfoot Lake trip they knocked off drain pipe on boiler deck with protruding drift at Tiptonville, otherwise nothing noteworthy.
Jesse Hughes and W.C. Dugan were the pilots for the Pittsburgh trip. There was a big crowd on bank waiting to see the boat when they landed in Marietta. They landed at Wood St. in Pittsburgh with 5 ft. clearance under Ft. Pitt Bridge with stack up. They landed in Portsmouth waiting for lock 31 to lower dam. There were 13 boats waiting to go over the pass.

The photo was taken in June 1962 by Fred Way. Jr. as the DQ left Pittsburgh. Jesse Hughes is the pilot, and this was his last trip as pilot on the DQ.

The Kentucky Lake trips and beyond....

On the first Ky. Lake trip they put a woman passenger off at Lock 46. She had broken her arm. On the second trip, they landed at 4th St. in Louisville below the MAJESTIC showboat. Doc took his week's vacation from July 7-14. Before the sixth Ky.Lake trip they hung a new monkey rudder. Doc was Master on the Aug. 11-18 Ky. Lake trip as Capt. Wagner took his week's vacation.
The Labor Day Weekend Cruise had 203 passengers - those Texas rooms with the wide lower berths must have had 3 pax each!
For the St. Paul trip, A. Maples and C. Fehlig were pilots, with Geo. Hill as Purser. M. Bartenhagen was at Lock 17. They arrived in Rock Island on Sept. 14 at 4:35PM and left at 7:55 PM. Since that was a Friday and I was in high school, I suspect I was at the football game rather than at the levee... They stayed in St. Paul a little less than 24 hours before heading downbound.
On the first fall NOLA trip, they put a car off at 4th Street in Louisville - probably Mrs. Greene's. They landed below the Caruthersville ferry to put off a passenger with a heart attack. At Natchez, Deckhand L. Craig was shot to death and died at end of stage. Deckhand J. Johnson taken as a material witness.
The second NOLA trip had a movie crew aboard. When they landed at Natchez, they took on 240 gas masks as a safety precaution against sunken chlorine barge. On the upbound trip they stopped at Gladstone to put off gas masks on Coast Guard boat. The cruising season ended on Nov. 6th in Cincinnati.
Fred Way and Bill Dugan were the pilots on the trip to Dravo. They pulled the boat out on Nov. 12. Took off bent port rudder, hull inspection. Welded new stem and installed old rudder with new stock. Lowered into river, pulled back onto ways twice more due to faulty weld in sea chest. On the return trips, boys on bank at Rome shot at boat and hit smokestack. No damage. Landed at wharfboat Nov. 20th.

I find this fascinating. More! More!!!

Wow, Judy!

Talk about traveling down memory lane. That 1962 season described in Doc's log was the first time I saw the DQ in daylight, and the first time I ever photographed her. Here are three of the photos on that St. Paul round trip back in 1962, snapped just below Lock 11 at Dubuque on the morning of Saturday, September 15th. I presume the pilot on watch would have been Archie Maples, since Charlie Fehlig typically stood the afterwatch on the UMR. Hope you enjoy these shots. Notice the big "NO LOW BRIDGES" banner across the forward end of the sun deck, and also how the boat looks so clean and uncluttered in these views -- plus she still has her elegant sheer prior to the hull's hogging at the stern in 1991. Thanks also from this old-timer for posting these fascinating glimpses back in time on the DQ courtesy of Capt. Doc.

During the second autumn NOLA trip, did the stop at Natchez occur sometime during 22-28 October? If so, didn't the provision of gas masks more likely have something to do with fears over the Cuban Missile Crisis ?

They went by Natchez on the 24th, but I don't know anything other than the chlorine barge entry, and that is a story that Doc has often told. But who knows, maybe that was a coverup.

Ky. Lake Trips

I am interested in finding out how far into Kentucky Lake those trips went. Given the one-week round trip time from Cincy, and the length of Kentucky Lake, I doubt that they could have traveled its entire length.

The reason for my asking is because I was born and raised on Kentucky Lake (our house was right on the lake) at the 86 mile marker. We saw the DQ pass a few times, but it wasn't until about 10 years later.

I'm also interested in the Reelfoot Lake trips. I spent a lot of time down there as a youngster, and still return often to hunt and fish. To my knowledge, there wasn't a place for the DQ to tie up in that area. Also, did they run bus tours from the Mississippi to the actual Reelfoot Lake (a couple miles away)?

Thanks for any information; these posts are fascinating!

Kentucky Lake Trips

"... how far into Kentucky Lake those trips went."

The DELTA QUEEN would normally make a hard right after exiting Kentucky Lock, upbound, and go directly to the landing at Kentucky Dam Village resort and tied up. The boat usually had a hard time getting off the ground when backing down for departure. According to Captain Tommy Utter, that landing was a hilltop before the Kentucky Pool was raised, and the lake barely covered it.

Occasionally, the QUEEN would venture into Lake Barkley via the Barkley Canal and immediated turn around and head back to the Kentucky Dam Lock and lower herself down to the old channel of the Tennessee River and down back to Paducah, or else head for home as soon as the Ohio River was breached. It depended on how time was going-- whether the boat was running ahead, or behind, schedule.

Of course, various Captains may have varied the trip according to their wishes. Of the many Kentucky Lake trips I made as a youngster, I was the Captain on only one very exciting adventure.

As Sam said, they went to the hotel area in Kentucky Lake, no farther. As to the Reelfoot Lake trip, the only notation Doc has is that they stopped in Tiptonville. I presume they bussed passengers to the lake for the day, but the boat did not go into the lake.

In the late 1970's, we would sometimes go up as far as about mile 30 or 32. The Barkley Canal is at mile 25; Eggner's Ferry (Aurora) Bridge is at mile 43. It depended on timing.

Capt. Jim Blum's license on the Tennessee runs up to Peggy's Light, about mile 38 or so, so he must have had sufficient trips up that far to get the endorsement.

Sam: OK, OK ! So what's the exciting adventure?? Cap'n Walnut

It Was Fifty Years Ago ....

Regrettably, unlike Captain Hawley, I did not keep a log of my "exciting adventures"] over the past fifty years since I first left Cincinnati in a trail of smoke and steam and headed into the mystery below. I tried to keep a log, though, but found a need to document every moment of the past day, so I had to choose between "living it" or "writing about it". Obviously, I did not realize that all I needed were a few lines to serve as a reminder to tweek the memory and not the next great American novel hot on the heels of Huckleberry Finn.

Every day was an adventure on the DELTA QUEEN, but my finest time was that glorious first summer on the Steamer AVALON, half a century ago this June.

Sam,

Here are a few visual reminders of that memorable first season on the incomparable excursion steamer AVALON. 1959 was your first year on the boat, and it was also the first time I ever took a camera in hand and snapped a photo. And here, 50 years later, are those first five pictures I took with the family's Kodak Brownie box camera. Yep, you guessed it -- the AVALON at Dubuque on August 6, 1959, after returning from her 2:30 afternoon excursion. And as they say on TV -- "You Were There!"

And here are the other two shots. Notice all the candy wrappers, paper and other trash sitting on the fantail after being conveniently pitched overboard by kids standing up above watching that big wheel roll during the excursion. We never had that kind of problem on the DQ as I recall, but I do remember lots of times when her buckets and wheel arms were all wrapped around and entwined with miles and miles of kite string from passenger's kites which ended up taking a nose dive into the river. Ah, the memories . . .

Another topic from Doc's '62 DQ log

Here's one that should especially resonate with Capt. Bill Judd, Capn Walnut, Shipyard, and Dan Owens, who probably has pix of each and every one named:
Here are the boats Doc saw from the DQ during the 1962 season. Spelling is unedited. Many times he just noted 'waiting' at locks without naming vessels. Most are towboats. There's a showboat, an excursion boat, and maybe a few ocean-going ships. Here goes, somewhat alphabetically:
ALFRED THEODOR ALTON ZEPHER A.D.HAYNES
BABY LERE B.BENTER BEN MCCOOL BAYOU LAROSE BARBARA BAYOU LACOMBE B.INGRAM
CHAS. STEVENSON CECELIA R. CRAIG M. CHICKASAW COTTON QUEEN CYPRESS CARL. D.
DAN QUINN DAVY CROCKETT DEFENDER
ESSO SUEZ ESSO BOSTON E.B. INGRAM E'DEANNA BOSWOR EASTERN ESSO TENNESSEE
FRANKLIN B.
GIRLIE KNIGHT GONA G. WOODS
H.E. BOLES
JERRY HARPER JOE CHOTIN JEFFBOAT J.L. DEAN JHN. B. HOOD JAS. BOWIE J.S. LEWIS JOHN ROWE
KOSMORTER
L.W. SWEET LANTANA LUNGA PT.
MAJESTIC MARK EASTIN MEMPHIS ZEPHYR MISSOURI MIDWESTERN MARY B. MIDWEST MINGO
ORCO OLIVER SHEARER OVEC
PRESIDENT
QUEEN CITY
ROBT. G. WEST RELIABLE
SALLIE H.
THERESA SEELEY TRANSPORT
UNCLE SAM UNITED STATES
VALLEY TRANSPORTER VOS. K
WM. CRAIG W. HOAGLAND W.H. CRAIG

Sorry, I spaced these out, but they post right next to each other as if it were regular text......

Lots of memories in that list of boats. Five of them I had intimate knowledge of their behavior. On that list of Doc's are 63 boats. Now 47 years later 35 of them are still operating. That speaks well for the builders and operators. The M/V L.W. Sweet caught my attention as it now belongs to Capt. David Smith, Editor of the S & D Reflector, and is now called the M/V SMITTY, David has rebuilt it and it looks like a new vessel. If your Reflector is a little late just blame it on the SMITTY.

Indeed that is a great list, Judy! Also, the L.W. SWEET was Captained by our own C.S. "Rip" Ware.

'62 boats

That's amazing that 35 of those boats are still running, many I assume under different names and companies. But that certainly shows the American capability of building good solid products, and also the wherewithall to keep them running and maintained well. The rivers just don't get enough credit in American history, in my opinion. This is one reason the REFLECTOR is such an important publication, one of the few to be based on U.S. river history.

I was on the first Reelfoot Lake trip and on that trip we tied up at Tiptonville, Tenn and the good folks of that town used their provate cars to drive the passengers to the lake and to town. That evening the town had a big catfish fry dinner for the passengers and crew.

Thanks

Thanks for the information!

Landmarks on New Orleans trips

Here are landmarks which Doc noted on his 1962 DQ trips.
This first set is on the various New Orleans trips. How many of these still exist under these names?
Downbound: Stoll Oil Dock...... Island #1...... Milton Bell......Commerce Point......Deans Is. Upper Lt......Mhoon Ldg...... Hole in wall...... Chinaman Lt.......Sunflower Cutoff......O'Bannon Point......Old River...... Point Coupee......Thomas Pt. Sardine Point
Upbound: Brilliant Point...... Graham Point...... Terrapin Lt. Union Pt......Ajax Bar......Patton-Tully Ldg......Holly Ridge......Eutaw Bar Lower.....Palmetto Bend.....Crachaft Lt. Terrene Ldg......Bayou Sara......Prairie Pt.......Blue Grass Towhead......Peacock Light......Dade Park Br......Puppy Crk. Bar Lt..... Tobacco Bend......Sinclair Dock

Next, the Reelfoot Lake trip:
on the Tennessee: 21 mile Light, turned at Widow Reynolds; on the Mississippi: Grooms Towhead, Tiptonville; on Cumberland: turned at Dyersburg

The Kentucky Lake trips: DeKoven Lt.......Big Bone Island......Carters Lt.......Cedar Point Lt...... Fishtown Light......Mt.Vernon towhead......Pates Hollow......Thompson Ldg

The Pittsburgh trip: Shanty Pt......Fishcreek Island Lt.....on the Kanawha: Buffalo;...... 12 Pole Crk.....Manchester Is.

to Dravo: Cummins Ldg Lt......Cochranville Station Lt.....Wellsville Oil Co......Sliding Hill Bend......Twelve Pole Light

and finally, the St. Paul trip: Belgrade Lt......Grays Pt..... Liberty Island....Dandy Light..... from St. Louis up Doc only noted the locks, which of course come every few hours

Landmarks ended up in middle of thread

I have no clue how it happened, but I hit 'post reply' to the last posting in the thread to add a new one, and it ended up in the middle of the thread. Anyway, this one covers various landmarks which Doc noted in his log.