Goldenrod Showboat @ Kampsville, IL

Thanks for those great pics, Pete! You brought back some memories for me. My first gig on the Mississippi River was on the Goldenrod in 1977 when I played at the St. Louis Ragtime Festival. It was a thrilling experience for this boy (26 at the time) from Maine to be playing ragtime at the place it originated almost 100 years before - and on a showboat on the Mississippi, no less! I remember wandering around thinking things like - how did they keep ice on board to keep the beer cold, and was there plumbing for the toilets? Where did the crew sleep? The best memories are that everywhere there were jazz bands and ragtime piano players and I was a total goner.

Jazzou

I attended the Ragtime Festival just once, but I was on board frequently in the second deck lounge to hear Don Franz and the St. Louis Ragtimers. Did you ever play with them on either the GOLDENROD or when Don subbed on the DQ?

Thanks for the interesting photos of the GOLDENROD at Kampsville. June 2nd marked the 45th anniversary of the 1962 fire which nearly destroyed the 1909 built showboat, permanently moored at St. Louis from 1937 until 1990. Here's hoping the old boat gets another new lease on life!

More photos of river relics seen last weekend...

What nephew Pete failed to mention is that they missed old Aunt Judy, who was already on her way back from Kampsville before they even got started! Here are 6 more pix from that trip up the beautiful clifflined highway 100 through Grafton and along the Illinois to Kampsville. The first one is another shot of the GOLDENROD with the Kampsville ferry in the foreground. Number two shows the GOLDENROD's bow and a prop off of her neighbor at Kampsville. Number three is her neighbor, which is being repainted with a new decorative brass bell and other accoutrements. I presume its being readied for a restaurant or b&b career? And I'm not sure which one it is, the AMERICA or the UNITED STATES ????

Here are 3 more 'vessels' seen last weekend. First is the GOLDEN EAGLE paddlewheel ferryboat, which has been at Kampsville for sale a while. There is still a more modern one running in Calhoun County. Second is a retired Corps Dredge stored in Alton just upriver from the grain elevator. I don't have a clue to its identity. Names I can think of for which I can't account a disposition are: the JADWIN, POTTER, and BURGESS - but there is no evidence of a name anywhere from the highway. Anyone know it? The third 'vessel' is the famous model of the Corps snagboat HORATIO G. WRIGHT. This is now displayed at the L&D 26 museum, which in combination with a tour of the locks and dam is a great attraction.

Judy Patsch;5899 wrote: I attended the Ragtime Festival just once, but I was on board frequently in the second deck lounge to hear Don Franz and the St. Louis Ragtimers. Did you ever play with them on either the GOLDENROD or when Don subbed on the DQ?

Oh yeah! No, I never played with them, nor was I on the DQ when Don was there, but the Ragtimers were there both times I played the St. Louis Fest. They are the greatest....Check them out, with some excellent pics of the bandmembers by George Willick, and while listening to "Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown" at
http://www.gwillick.com/Jazzlight/StLuRagtimers/StLu.html

Busted! Well Aunt Judy, we were still in Alton @ Fast Eddie's having lunch!!!

Great pics...hopefully cousin Darin will post his pics...

Here are my photos

As requested, here are a few of my Goldenrod pictures. The Goldenrod is looking a bit worn, but no visible holes or vandalism.
Yes, we did have a dandy time at the legendary Fast Eddie's Bon Air, in Alton.

It is the Burgess

Judy, to answer your question about the unidentified boat, it is the Burgess. I found this out while on a boat trip on the Alton Lake a few years back. I've included two photos. In the larger versions of the photos, you can see the name Burgess on the bow. I've included a photo of the fine looking Argosy V, which used to operate in Sioux City, IA, and probably somewhere else before that. I'd like to know where it went, because it is no longer in Alton.

The St. Louis Ragtimers are TERRIFIC! Don Franz was a partner in the group of investors who purchased the fire ravaged GOLDENROD SHOWBOAT from Capt. J.W. Menke after the task of renovating the boat became too much for him. The late Frank C. Pierson was the primary owner and also purchased the Str. MISSISSIPPI in 1966 and had her towed from Hannibal to St. Louis to become the BECKY THATCHER. Another Pierson venture was converting the old Eagle Boat Store building on the St. Louis waterfront into a bar called THE OLD ST. LOUIS LEVEE HOUSE -- just above the Eads Bridge, opposite the landing where the RIVER QUEEN (former CAPE GIRARDEAU/GORDON C. GREENE) was moored and where the Ragtimers and Jean Kittrell frequently performed. Sadly, the boats are long gone from St. Louis and the Levee House burned in 1972, but I keep in touch with Don Franz and have a collection of tapes and compact discs of the Ragtimers, which bring back many fond memories of happy times on the GOLDENROD. Many of those CD's, cassettes and vintage LP's are available on EBAY and elsewhere.