Greene Line Wharfboat in Covington

Sam: Interesting photo! That long flat building in Covington is the IRS Center. This was taken well before the changes to the Suspension Bridge. Any idea from what vantage point this photo was taken? Mt Adams with a telephoto lens?? Too far east for the Carew Tower. Does anyone know the name of the buyer and subsequent owners and their intentions for it? Seems to me that it did not last long before sinking, but not in Covington as I recall. Cap'n Walnut.

Cap'n Walnut: I dimly recollect that the old Greene Line wharfboat was sold to somebody who intended to use it for a marina. The late Dorothea Frye told me of watching the operation when the dilapidated wharfboat was moved over to Covington. Despite admonitions that it might sink, Betty Blake and a few other hardy souls made the trip across the river -- wearing life jackets!

I'll check my files as I think I have some news clippings about the sinking, which happened in late 1968, perhaps in the vicinity of Anderson's Ferry ??? I was last aboard the wharfboat in September, 1967, shortly after the arrival of the SHOWBOAT MAJESTIC and towboat I.U. (ATTABOY) from Jeffersonville, upon which both vessels were temporarily tied up to the stern of the wharfboat. It was an awesome structure and made spooky sounds as it creaked and groaned. I was especially interested in Capt. McMurtry's "museum" between the stairways that led up to the offices. Capt. Mac had all kinds of "steamboat stuff" on display there from the Greene Line boats -- gingerbread trim, whistles, ring buoys, nameboards, lanterns, etc. It was pure "catnip" for a 13 year old afire with the steamboat fever!

My guess is that the pic was snapped from an upper floor of, what was then called, the First National Bank Building on the south east corner of Fourth and Walnut. Now, I think it's been redubbed the Clopay Building.

Cap'n Mac

Probably a good guess.

Captain McMurtry was indeed a most interesting gentleman. He had been the Master of some of the Greene Line steamboats, I recall. Rand Cochran, Enquirer photographer and a fav of Ca'n Betty's, took a prize-winning portrait of Cap'n Mac, smoking his pipe and seated at the entrance to the wharfboat; taking a break during a painting session onboard. Big dollops of white paint on Mac's coveralls heightened the artistic interest of the photograph. I wouldn't be surprised if a copy of that celebrated pic lurks in someone's great big collection of steamboat stuff. I'd love to see it again.

I have a copy of that classic picture. Stay tuned!

it sank not too far below the old lock at Fernbank. I believe it was to be used for a restaurant or boat harbor about where the Fore and Aft restaurant ended up and then sinking in more recent times. I believe the stage(s) ran thru the side as they were trying to land it. Not an authority here, just a somewhat dim memory. I do believe 1968 being the correct year. Now to hear from the experts.

Jim, et al: 1968 seems about right. I was on the wharf boat several times but never had any business there. In retrospect I wonder how that big roof was framed. That is a longish span (width of wharf) at over 50 feet without any columns...free-span roof. Musta been a zillion rafters up there. Seems to me that was a corrugated iron roof...not very light in my book. Anybody know? Pulling it in and sparring it out had to be a real chore. Was the wharf boat yet another product of the fertile brain of Jesse Hughes? Cap'n Walnut.

Siren Song

Jim,

You should remember:

That old GLS wharf boat ended up in Madison, Indiana, sunk right below where we landed in 1971. Cap rode down on the boat as the MATE (!!) and I was the Captain. The only time Big Cap "worked" for me. When the Mate (you?) arrived, Wagner got off, but when I tried to get the boat twisted out into the swift current, it set back down toward all the twisted steel of the wharf boat. I kept it off the iron reef, but I did what was best even though it may cost me some pride, and I asked Cap to come back aboard and get the boat cocked out into the current so we could get out of there.

He did, and by time he had the DELTA QUEEN twisted around, the stage was about three feet off the bank, and poor ole Cap had to wade ashore in his new brown leather shoes, yellow suit, and unblocked, flat brim hat he wore Indian-style. I still feel bad for him, but if I hadn't used prudence over pride, I shutter to think of what could have happened … and I still grimace as I remember looking down at that twisted steel maul beckoning its siren song.

Jim's right it sank at mile 483.7, just below old lock 37 at Fernbank. Those six (6) sand flats under that huge structure each decided to go their seperate ways. Date was October 26, 1968. The sad owner was Sycamore Shores Marine.

Under the upriver end of the Wharfboat (the office end) the barge, or one of the barges had a cofferdam built into it as it apparently had a propensity to leak rather badly. The memory is pretty rough on this but I do remember hearing about it.

Shipyard, here is the photo of Capt. Mac on the Greene Line wharfboat, plus several others I found in my file folder of GL wharfboat memorabilia.

(1) Capt. L.A. McMurtry at the wharfboat entrance door - 1960's.
(2) Capt. Mac's museum aboard the wharfboat - April 30, 1954 - Note roof bell of GORDON C. GREENE, railing from CHRIS GREENE, whistles, lanterns, etc.
(3) Wharfboat move to Covington - Dorothea Frye and Ethel Walker on bank. Johnston's party boat and sternwheel towboat "The Captain" in midstream.

And here are some sad old faded images of the Greene Line wharfboat sunk. The first one was taken on Sunday, October 27, 1968, the day after the sinking. The newspaper said a reporter saw a gangplank ripped off as towboats were moving the wharfboat to Sycamore Shores Marina. The wharfboat went down in 25 feet of water and the loss was estimated at $15,000. Although many things had been removed prior to the move, Dorothea Frye said that she was told later that a number of cartons of the framed reproduction of her DQ night scene painting -- that sold in the gift shop for $2 -- were still in the hull. Dorothea related this and other stories about the wharfboat's demise when she, Judy and I had lunch aboard the Fore & Aft Restaurant in July, 1999, near where the wharfboat went down.

The GREENE LINE STEAMERS emblazoned across the roof of the wharboat on both sides was originally painted by Capt. Jesse P. Hughes.

On December 5, 1936, The Waterways Journal reported:

NEW GREENE LINE WHARFBOAT

Cincinnati has a new wharfboat built for the Greene Line on a hull of six steel barges by the Dravo Contracting Company. It is 360 feet long and 76 foot beam, and will hold 6,000 tons of freight, or enough for several sternwheelers of the usual Ohio River type. The wharfboat, anchored by stout chains, which can be taken up as the river rises and let out as it falls, provides a bridge of elastic length between the shore and navigable waters. It is at once an office, a waiting room for passengers, a warehouse and a forum for the roustabouts.

The photo was taken shortly after the new wharfboat arrived from Pittsburgh and was not yet completed in January, 1937, a short time before the BIG flood! The TOM GREENE and CHRIS GREENE are in the distance along with another of the Greene Line boats.

OK, how did it end up on the Madison waterfront? Didn't someone buy the wreck for scrap? Was it taken there in pieces? Guess I'll have to call Doc for the answer.

Keith: Many thanks for sending these photos. The Greene Line Wharf was always looked for when, as a kid, I crossed the Suspension Bridge on a steetcar. I well remember, later, seeing the "museum" but was never able to muster the courage to mount those stairs. Can you read the caption on the photo of Cap'n Mac? I cannot. In another view of the wharfboat, you can see what we called the "Central Bridge" in the background. I always thought that it was the prettiest bridge of the local bunch...not as historic as the Suspension Bridge, but a real beauty. Alas, it too is gone now. Cap'n Walnut.

Sam: One of the nicer pieces of writing I have seen on this board is that of a fellow who wrote about this very event a year or so back! You wouldn't happen to know who that fellow was? Cap'n Walnut.

Tom, you are most welcome! It always gives this "curious curator" great pleasure to assist those seeking photos and/or the answers to questions regarding river history. The caption on the photo of Capt. Mac says First Award Photo by Ran Cochran and it came from an old Greene Line brochure of the early 1960's -- I think from an art show that was held aboard the DELTA QUEEN.

Here is a faded "collage" of wharfboat photos:
(1) A view of the wharfboat from the departing DQ.
(2) The cobblestone wharf and Greene Line wharfboat with DQ alongside.
(3) HIGH water!
(4) Another high water scene with the Str. AVALON aft of the wharfboat and the Suspension Bridge in the distance.

Ran Cochran was a friend of my father and mother for many years. He was a photographer for the Navy in WWII and took some widely published photos while in the South Pacific. He worked for the Cincinnati Enquirer for many years before his death in the 60s if I remember correctly. He photographed more than a few river boats and river people in his time. Thanks for the response. Cap'n Walnut.

Dorothea's DQ paintings

Here is the night view of the DQ to which Keith referred. This was sold on the DQ for $2.
The second pix is another Dorothea Frye painting of the DQ leaving the wharfboat. Keith will soon give info on this one, I'm sure.

For some reason, the pictures posted in reverse order.
The first is obviously the wharf pix, and the second is the night shot sold on the boat. No clue why that happened or how to fix it!!!

Dorothea often included river people in her artwork. For instance, in the night scene, E.J. Quinby is at the console of the calliope, Jack and Joan Strader are on deck at the railing, Chief Engineer Cal Benefiel is at the midship door and, in the pilothouse, Capt. Albert Kelly is the pilot on watch with watchman Brucie Edgington on the lazy bench. I think Mary Greene Stewart is also at the railing. When Dorothea identified everybody, I wrote it all down and later taped it onto the back of my framed picture so I'll check to see who I left out!

The scene of the DQ departing from the Greene Line wharfboat is pre-1960, as there is no calliope in evidence -- and Dorothea (DF) was so detailed in her art that she wouldn't have left it out! I'm not sure WHO the folks are standing in the wharfboat doorway, but you can bet they are people DF knew! The painting hung over the sofa in DF's living room, framed in a large white "steamboat gingerbread" shadow box that DF fished out of a neighbor's trash! It was Dorothea's wish that, after her death, the painting go to Miss Jane Greene, who also owns the original of the night scene, a most appropriate person to own these wonderful paintings done by a dear friend and mentor to many of us.

Dorothea painted with a rare photographic quality and, because of her knowledge and interest in the river and steamboats, put things into her art that other artists would have easily overlooked. I have a DF painting of the GORDON C. GREENE landed at Louisville. A slender man wearing a hat is walking down the wharf in the distance toward the boat and I commented that it looked like Capt. Fred Way. DF chuckled and said, "Well, it IS!"

Rabbit Hash Connections

Thanks loads. That pic of Cap'n Mac as originally seen in all its finest, was an astonishing piece of the art of photography. Would I compare the work of the artist, Rand Cochran, to an Ansel Adams? Well, yes, in that what he celebrated on film, subject-wise, was comparable to the more famous Adams in its own right.

Sadly, when Mr. Cochran, a celebrated Cincinnati Enquirer cameraman and favorite fo'tog of Cap'n Betty's, died, all his prints and negatives were destroyed, or so we were told, and only a few examples survive. His son Randy, retired from Scripps-Howard as a photographer and photo editor, and remains a great fan of the river, especially steamboats, but the younger Mr. C. is best known as the “father” of Junior, I believe, the late Mayor of Rabbit Hash.

Ran's sons, Randal and Dennis have both been crew and pax in both MISSIE and Randal, in MISS FORTUNE. And, yes, Randy's greatest claim to fame is being the "father" of Junior, the late mayor of Rabbit Hash. The late mayor has also been a passenger in MISSIE where he was filmed going to work by Animal Planet's crew of "A Day In The Life of the Mayor of Rabbit Hash"...with a gamlin' boat in the background...a touch that I saw to. I have seen an Enquirer Sunday supplement that featured Dam 38 if I remember correctly...in which steamers were freely to be seen. Photography was by Ran. Ran had a place on the river at about mile 514-515. Herb Ralson...another River Rat, and the uncle of Shantyboat Mike...had a place just above there, below the mouth of Little Gunpowder. Randy ended up with Ran's place on the river and rumor control has it that the DELTA QUEEN under the aegis of a Big E usta promote the idea among the passengers that there were pirates around Hamilton Landing. A phone call would alert the locals that the QUEEN was on the way. Whereupon a muzzle-loading cannon of some size would be mustered and a length of fuse along with a suitable powder charge times two or three run down the barrel. When the QUEEN appeared the fuse was set alight and the happily entertained Pax could then repair to the bar or where ever for the rest of the evening...leaving the dense and voluminous cloud of white smoke (and the pirates) well behind. Now, I'm sure that none of this is true, but one evening some of the natives got into the whiskey...a rare event where beer supplies...or at least soaks up a goodly percent of the local currency. Well, the story goes, an empty (believable) beer can was somehow loaded into the cannon. Whether the can was actually empty, filled with dirt, rocks, concrete or ?? likely will be found to vary some with the teller of the tale. All versions I have heard seem to agree that the projectile, whatever it may have been, reached the QUEEN and Herr Captain was a bit less than amused. Whether this event (which I'm sure NEVER happened), or the infirmaties of old age caused the demise of pirates on the south bank is not clear. I'm not sure that all who have been to Old Timer's Day at Rabbit Hash will agree that all of the pirates are gone. Cap'n Walnut...on Gunpowder Road.

Time Trippin'

Those "six steel barges" were not new barges as the reader may be led to believe, rather they were old sand flats, already worn out when the GL got them, as is often the case. I heard long discussions on this subject in the pilothouse of the DELTA QUEEN by men who knew and were there when the "new" wharfboat was built. They related how the barges were perpetual leakers and the bane of the wharfboat watchman, Captain Mac, which demanded constant watching and pumping from the get-go. On the topside, though, I was always thrilled to be on the Cincinnati wharfboat, and it was like tripping back in time into a better era that all of us would loved to have experienced when steamboats were constantly arriving and departing from those very corrugated steel doors.

Shipyard, I've heard Capt. Doc Hawley talk about some "anxious moments" on the old GL wharfboat, when it was feared a sinking was imminent due to those leaky old barges. And, in 1967 when the Markland pool was literally drained due to a barge accident, Doc said the old wharfboat was high and dry before it could be pulled out into what little water was available! And then there was the fear that any "yanking" by a towboat could cause the fragile old wharfboat to come apart and sink. Thus it was a scary time to those in charge for all the nice automobiles left on board by DQ passengers who were happily cruising somewhere and had no idea their cars were in peril!

The Greene Line also had a wharfboat at Louisville for years, which looked quite similar to the Cincinnati wharfboat. What became of it? Alan????