Topic starter
01/09/2009 12:50 pm
A recent thread on this forum discussed the new movie Midnight Bayou, based on the best selling Nora Roberts novel and which prominently features Oak Alley Plantation, as well as stars Jerry O'Connell, Faye Dunaway and Lauren Stamile. The movie has been shown on the Lifetime Channel and has also been recently released on DVD, one of which I purchased this past weekend at Wal-Mart.
Attached herewith are three images, taken at Oak Alley on April 25, 1950, when the Str. GORDON C. GREENE landed there and her passengers toured the famous plantation at Vacherie, Louisiana on the Lower Mississippi River. These photos are from an old scrapbook kept by Capt. Roy L. Barkhau, who was purser on the GORDON and later circulation manager for The Waterways Journal. Capt. Roy's mother, Mrs. Bettie Barkhau, ran the concession stand aboard the GORDON, which was retired from service in 1952. Glorious days and grand people on the great river!
(1) Passengers crossing the River Road and making their way up the "alley" of oaks to the famous plantation house.
(2) Oak Alley (Bon Sejour) Plantation House.
(3) A view toward the river, with the Str. GORDON C. GREENE showing over the levee.
01/09/2009 1:07 pm
Quicky Reply won't let you just say WOW!! So DOUBLE WOW!!!!!
02/09/2009 3:02 am
Oak Alley Plantation
What a beautiful place. In 2004, my wife and I stopped there while on an AMERICAN QUEEN (sigh) cruise and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Here are a few photos.
02/09/2009 3:08 am
Oak Alley Plantation
Here are a few more from the trip.
02/09/2009 1:53 pm
*RE: GORDON C. GREENE/Oak Alley.*
Steaboating colleagues:
Many thanks to Keith for jolting our memories with his GORDON C. GREENE photos/history along with Jerry's contemporary color photos. I never get enough of Oak Alley--or other plantations. In many ways at that period in history they were analogous to the Great Houses of England, Chateau of France--somewhat. Rich history indeed.
The GORDON was based in St. Louis in 1950 following the entry of the DELTA QUEEN in service based in Cincinnati. The GREENE LINE was on to something then dividing up the operation of the two boats tapping into wide-spread markets. Capt. Tom Greene's preliminary thinking was to modernize river cruising for the new, emerging tourist market. Many DQ/GORDON passengers then still arrived by train/bus connections with air service and autos gaining. Postings here in the past mentioned the parking for cars at a minimal rate on the big GL wharfboat in Cincinnati.
Roy Barkau was one interesting man and a great writer. There was for a time a GL St. Louis office and I recall Roy being the agent during that time. Purser Bob McCann was on the GORDON for nearly her entire career under Greene operation before moving over to the then new DELTA QUEEN. Bob recalled the first time the renovated DQ landed next to the GORDON, Capt. Mary B. Greene was honored to be the first to walk over on the DQ. Thanks for the memories and pictures.
Well, what do I know!
Shores of very chilly, foggy north Lake Michigan [Return to Cincinnati next week.]
R. Dale Flick
Topic starter
02/09/2009 3:05 pm
There are many fascinating and beautiful plantation houses along the Mississippi, but OAK ALLEY has always capitvated me and been my all time favorite.
The Eagle Boat Store, operated by Capt. Buck Leyhe on the St. Louis waterfront, just above the Eads Bridge, was the agent and point of contact for passengers on the GORDON C. GREENE. Besides being a longtime friend of the Greene family, Capt. Buck was always pleased to have his former steamboat (CAPE GIRARDEAU) on his part of the Mississippi.
For those who might be interested in obtaining them, the books authored by Capt. Roy L. Barkhau are "The Great Steamboat Race", concerning the 1870 race between the ROBT. E. LEE and NATCHEZ (published in 1952 (by the Steamship Historical Society of America) and "A History of the Eagle Packet Company". published in 1951. The race booklet was reprinted in 1962 and again in 1970. We have a limited number of copies available in the Howard Steamboat Museum gift shop. The 45 page Eagle Packet Company booklet is not easy to find, but copies sometimes turn up on Ebay or through Bookfinder.Com. Both publications are well worth having in your river library!