DQ Returning to Cincinnati?

THIS IS IT FOLKS!!!! This is the moment we have been waiting for. It's time to get excited! The gear has been engaged and the wheels are turning fast. If it is going to work, it will happen within the next weeks.

I have been unable to post as my work does not allow certain websites. And I have attended a dinner at my mom's church tonight. But when I heard the news I was literally bouncing off the walls! I can envision the DELTA QUEEN running the rivers again. I can hear the laughter in the Texas Lounge. I can hear the calliope echoing off the hills. I can hear the whistle for departure. I can see my friends gathered (even those who have already gone beyond - but will always be there in spirit). I can see the new fans we'll gain because of her absense. I can see the children running along the shore shouting "It's the DELTA QUEEN. It's the DELTA QUEEN", as they did during the transit trip from NOLA to Chattanooga. I can see the landing and the locks where folks come out to wave and wish they were aboard. I can see the diamonds in the wake on a moonlight night. I can smell the steam and hear the hiss. I can see the stage swinging as we back away. I can see the crew going about their daily tasks loving their jobs because they love the DELTA QUEEN.

OH MY!!! There is no other experience like it. There is no other boat like the DELTA QUEEN. She will be alive again. As has been said, she has been slumbering just waiting for the right time. The time is here. It is now!

Get Excited! Spread the word! Call your TV, radio and newspapers and ask them publish the news. Send your emails of support to Mr. Martin and Mrs. Ingram. They have worked long hard hours to make this happen. And we will be rewarded by their efforts. They are to be applauded for their unwaivering faith. They have done it because they too LOVE THE DELTA QUEEN.

Let's help make this happen!!!!!! LONG LIVE THE DELTA QUEEN!

Dear Jo Ann.
I just finished reading your post, and it gave me chills all over. I'm an old river rat from way back. At 88 yrs. young, I, have been waiting for this news for months & years. I will be waiting for her to pass here at Jeffersonville, where I spent many days swimming in the river as a boy. I still have a picture of her as she passed here on here first trip to Cincinnati. Thanks very much, and I will be looking forward for more.
~ FRANK GRIMM ~

In the 11 May The Cincinnati Enquirer its Editorial Board presented a full page well written endorsement of bringing the DELTA QUEEN back home. It also urged the U.S. Congress to get off it's duff and do something constructive for a change, and pass legislation to exempt the DQ from SOLAS.

There are a few things that The Enquirer's Board did not seem to grasp though. There really is no need for expensive infrastructure changes to bring the DQ home, if she is to be an operating tourist boat. The Public Landing has served well for years, and is in good shape. The last winter lay up in Cincinnati, decades ago, was at Riverside Park about six miles below the Public Landing, and there is already a suitable landing space in the park. It really would be a win/win proposition for Cincinnati to bring the DELTA QUEEN home.

I once again urge everyone here to write a letter to Cincinnati.com | Cincinnati local news, sports, business, community, and entertainment | cincinnati.com or post something on The Enquirer's Facebook Page, if you belong to Facebook. Also important is to write the City Council Members and Mayor of the Queen City. Saving the DELTA QUEEN is perhaps truly within our grasp this time!

Please also check out the Save the Delta Queen website on how you can financially support the return of the DQ by becoming a honorary crew member!

Carmen

Jo Ann,

This is a remarkable statement you have made - straight from your heart:

" I can envision the DELTA QUEEN running the rivers again. I can hear the laughter in the Texas Lounge. I can hear the calliope echoing off the hills. I can hear the whistle for departure. I can see my friends gathered (even those who have already gone beyond - but will always be there in spirit). I can see the new fans we'll gain because of her absence. I can see the children running along the shore shouting "It's the DELTA QUEEN. It's the DELTA QUEEN", as they did during the transit trip from NOLA to Chattanooga. I can see the landing and the locks where folks come out to wave and wish they were aboard. I can see the diamonds in the wake on a moonlight night. I can smell the steam and hear the hiss. I can see the stage swinging as we back away. I can see the crew going about their daily tasks loving their jobs because they love the DELTA QUEEN."

What a great post. To say I can feel your genuine excitement and undying devotion to our dear old Delta Queen is an understatement. Someone needs to come video you saying these exact words and get that video out there for eyes and ears everywhere to see and hear.

Thank you for the exciting words you utter for so countless many who feel the same way.

Jazzou

Thank you Jazzou. You know me well enough to know I do believe every word of it. My best to you and Diane. You are both in my thoughts and prayers.

Jo Ann, you pretty much said it all - and very well too. I would add a couple more of my favorites. How about being lucky eough to catch the rainbow over the paddlewheel, the magnificent sunsets and the possibility of seeing/feeling that ghostly prescence in the Cabin Lounge? Could it be that there she has one more miracle in the wings?
I've asked for more info from the interested parties and will be making a decision as to support. Certainly the wonderful DQ memories have seen me through some difficult times and maybe it's payback time. Perhaps I could legitimately wear my DQ deckhand tee shirt? In any case I'll be lending moral support and any needed letters to the right people. I urge all of you to become informed and do what's right for you.
LONG LIVE THE DELTA QUEEN!!!

I have been a fan of PS WAVERLY in Scotland since enjoying rides in 1979. The WAVERLY has a non-profit owner. The boat has been successfully operated in this way for at least 30 years, so there is hope for DQ.

Good luck to Phillip, the Ingrams and the rest of Team DQ.

Wesley

Non-profit?

Wesley, I hope that you are right that the Martin group's corporation is non-profit -- but I don't see any confirmation of that in the materials that they have released so far. Frank's comments and the Enquirer article both refer to the group as "investors"; typically that means people acquiring an asset with the expectation of financial return.

I certainly have nothing against for-profit corporations -- I spent 36 years trying to teach my students how to make a profit -- but in this instance, that structure makes soliciting donations problematic. Becoming an Honorary Crewmember would acquire for you neither stock ownership nor a tax deduction for a charitable contribution. You would simply be sending the group some money so that they could refurbish their boat, in return for which you would receive psychic benefits and the hope of maybe getting some free trips some day. In economic terms, that is not a good deal.

Don't get me wrong -- I pray most earnestly for the group's success. But unless I completely misunderstand the institutional setup, Raelynn and I will not become Honorary Crewmembers. We'll save our money to book passage when our beloved DQ is again running the rivers.

Dave V.

A Mystical Place

I first set foot on the DQ back in January when I visited her in Chattanooga. I admired her when watching the vessels go by during the Grand Excursion in St. Paul in 2004, but never have been fortunate to go aboard for an excursion.

Even though I was in the lobby of the vessel and didn't overnight on her in Chattanooga, it was a mystical experience. I didn't want to leave!

Glad to hear the exemption from SOLAS has been reintroduced in Congress, and glad to know that she might be sold to a great group of investors and moved to Cincinnati. Things are progressing in the right direction, it appears (and I hope).