Julius Fleischman

Rome Childers was a riverboat captain and artist. He made a whole series of paintings of famous boats, romantic in appearance, but authentic as to details. The First National Bank in Louisville displayed about ten or a dozen of them in its main office. When the bank was sold the decor was changed. Now the bank AND the paintings are gone. The Howard Museum has at least one of them. The others were probably sold to who knows whom. Captain Childers's works would be described as folk art by the unknowing. Some of his paintings are on display at the Mason County, W. Va. Library in Point Pleasant. Captain Childers served on the Iron Duke and other boats. And that's all I can provide.

The Julius Fleischmann was a towboat owned by the Hatfields of West Virginia, and towed coal out of the Kanawha to Cincinnati and Louisville and elsewhere. She sank after hitting a water intake pier opposite Catlettsburg, Kentucky, on March 21, 1945. Way's Steram Towboat Directory has a long write-up about her.

Rome Childers was a steamboat captain and very well could have worked on the Fleischman. Unfortunately, many who would have know have answered their last bell here on earth. Capt. Childers was a very talented artist, and, in my opinion, you have inherited a real treasure. During the West Virginia State Centennial, Capt. Childers was one of the pilots who was on the towboat that towed the OMAR around as the "Showboat" RHODODENDRON.

The JULIUS FLEISCHMAN was a wood hulled southern style towboat. She has an interesting history, and her demise at Catlettsburg, KY. still is a matter of speculation. Capt. Moten Stanley was on watch when she came to her end. She was named after the 1920's reform mayor of Cincinnati of yeast company fame. One of her strikers was Bill Prudent.

For further information check the S&D Reflectors. If memory serves right, there is a photo of the Fleischman turned turtle in one of the Reflectors. Also Way's Towboat Directory will be helpful.

Here's a photo of the JF

Not sure when this photo was taken, but it appears to have been part of a photo contest for the Cincinnati Enquirer. The back of the photo states "first prize" and accompanies a date(?) 2/16. The photographer was the Uncle of my dog sitter who quickly recognized my interest in steamboats and donated the photo to me. Odd how steamboat photos come into collections. Anyway it's a good shot of the JF probably in the Cincinnati area. Note that wildcat whistle which looks stickingly like the one used on the J. T. Hatfield in latter years.

Aaron Richardson

The Howard Steamboat Museum was the recipient of the First National Bank collection of steamboat paintings by Capt. Rome Childers. These are currently displayed on the back porch entrance area (soon to be revitalized) and on the third floor of the mansion. Apparently Capt. Childers was a prolific painter, for I have also seen several of his paintings offered on EBAY, and they sometimes turn up in antique shops and auctions throughout the Ohio River Valley.

Alan,
You have done a tad of Steamboat painitng, can you post any pictures of your art work? More correctly would you please post some examples of your canvas art!

Your "art" of history is quite welcome in the Waterways Journal.

It just so happens that I am from Point Pleasant, although I don't reside there anymore. Next time I'm there I should check them out

Jim, how in the world did you know I tried painting? Only one of my efforts is worth displaying. I will try to post it, but don't count on it.

While at the museum yesterday I checked on the Childers paintings. We have 10 of them, which include the SPRAGUE, J.M. WHITE. ROBT. E. LEE, NATCHEZ, etc. Thank goodness the bank saw fit to donate them rather than relegate them to a dumpster!

Dear steamboating colleagues:
Interesting discussion Re: the Str. JULIUS FLEISCHMAN and all of your memories and anecdotes hightly appreciated. I've been out of the 'loop' somewhat up here in the north this summer and have to take time to open and read the great postings. Summers can be like that. I appreciate the E=Mails and phone calls that trickle in up here in the piney north woods. I'm away from all of my records, photos etc. of steamboats back in Cincinnati and have to pull from memory.

QUESTION: I've a B/W photo of the FLEISCHMAN caught in the ice of 1917/1918 in Covington, Ky. Didn't Mike Blaser include the FLEISCHMAN in his stellar painting of the CITY OF LOUISVILLE in the ice? I'll try to dig it out and post when I return home in September. The Fleischman interests were/are big--really big in Cincinnati as Frank Prudent indicates. In later years the family owned a series of huge ocean going yachts that circled the globe. One yacht in the latter 1930s made charts/maps of Pacific islands and ports that were incredibly valuable to our U.S. Navy and others for logistics following the invasion of the Japanese in World War II. Not pure steamboats, but somewhat interesting.

Cheers to all,
R. Dale Flick

Dining With Mrs. Fleischman

Some years ago, at a Nation Trust for Historic Preservation banquet, I was seated at the same table with Mrs. Julius Fleischman . What a classy lady! Like royalty,the Queen Mum of Cincinnati Society radiated elegance.

John Leport;777 wrote: I recently inherited a painting of the Julius Fleishman from my late grandmother who worked on her as a cook. The painting was done by a friend of hers by the name of Rome Childers. I remember her saying she worked on the "Julie" as she called her but I don't know if Rome did.

Anybody know anything about this boat or Rome Childers?

Capt. Childers first name was Jerome. During the summer of 1965, he was the captain on a tow boat named after then West Virginia Governor Hulett Smith. The towboat was used to push the West Virginia Showboat Rhododendron, which was unable to operate under her own power. The Rhododendron was originally the towboat Omar whch had been converted into a floating theater as a part of WV's centennial celebration in 1963. As a 12 year old during the summer of 1965, I travelled throughout WV, Ohio, PA and Kentucky on the Kanawha, Ohio, and Monongahela Rivers. Capt. Childers, who was then in his 80's, spent hours telling us stories about his life on the rivers.

Walt Stout;10612 wrote: Capt. Childers first name was Jerome. During the summer of 1965, he was the captain on a tow boat named after then West Virginia Governor Hulett Smith. The towboat was used to push the West Virginia Showboat Rhododendron, which was unable to operate under her own power. The Rhododendron was originally the towboat Omar whch had been converted into a floating theater as a part of WV's centennial celebration in 1963. As a 12 year old during the summer of 1965, I travelled throughout WV, Ohio, PA and Kentucky on the Kanawha, Ohio, and Monongahela Rivers. Capt. Childers, who was then in his 80's, spent hours telling us stories about his life on the rivers.

The tow mentioned above was actually named the Mary Alice, after Gov. Smith's wife.