Dale date of the accident was November 1882. The elevator was installed in 1878 and the report said it was hydraulic.....I assume it was operated off of city water pressure. When I was a kid a...
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Dale date of the accident was November 1882. The elevator was installed in 1878 and the report said it was hydraulic.....I assume it was operated off of city water pressure. When I was a kid a...
You're right Dale, no mention of law suits. In that day 5 doctors arrived on the scene, today it would be 50 lawyers. In the current environment, being in an accident like this would be more...
Capt. W.C. Hite started his river career as a clerk in the 1840's. He soon got his pilot and captains license; but he mostly invested in steamboats and packet lines. He left the river and returned...
With Barry on the way I hope the ol' gal the best, looks like she's right in the path. Time to double up the lines and make sure the bilge pumps are working (I've never known a boat that doesn't get...
No problem Jerry, glad I could help. I really didn't know if anyone would be interested in the story. You should really try to find the Botkin book; it's a fascinating read for anyone interested in...
The Courier Journal archives which are on line. They did an interview with John Wiest late in his life in which he told about the race. I also used the story of the race found in the book, TREASURY...
Bob...I never really thought about it being wrong. Guess it's a change in time. I knew some old rivermen who were of the "get it done" philosophy and to hell with the consequences. Times have...
Unless you are a real student of the big race between the Robt. E. Lee and the Natchez, you've probably never heard of John Wiest. John and his parents immigrated from Germany when John was 7 yrs....
They can no longer sell "Pluto Water". Sometime in the late 50's or 60's the govt. analysed the water and found it contained high levels of naturally occurring lithium and declared it unfit for...
Yes, Dale Jim and Loretta had a skating rink in Columbus, Ind. before and after their wedding (they were married in Columbus). They ran the rink for about four years. Jim thought that a rink in...
John Howard was a younger brother to James Howard, founder of the shipyard. John worked in the shipyard alongside his brother until James tragically drowned in 1876; after that John and, James' son,...
Dale and Bob.......some years are wet and some are dry. I think this is just an exceptionally wet year. We've had El Nino and El Nina for ever. The weather people down in St. Petersburg, Fl....
Every time I try to post a new message, I get an error report and it won't let me post?
For those who met Alan later in his life, he had mellowed a lot as he aged. As I said in an earlier installment Alan did not suffer fools lightly and he could be quite brash with those he thought...
Thanks Bill......as you might remember I built the model of the CHAPERON from the kit several years ago. Nobody, except a steamboat nut, ever heard of the CHAPERON but when you tell them the boats...
Alan's last public appearance was at the Howard Museum. For several years Howard's had an annual "Fall Into Art" exhibit each October which was underwritten by a museum supporter. I got involved...
I have a question....I know that James Hines as a young man was pilot on the CHAPERON...was his brother Duncan Hines, of cake mix fame? I know they were kin, but not exactly sure how. James would...
Steve, no I don't. It was about 14 ft long and 3 ft wide with about a 4 ft wheel. In calm waters it moved right along. I do have one of the name boards which Alan painted that's all thats left of...
Why Alan did not come back as mate for the 1966 season, I'm not sure. Rumor had it that he had gotten "cross wise" with some of the board members and they didn't want him back. Maybe he was tired...
I have no way of knowing for sure, but perhaps Jeffboat closing will have something to do with their decision. For its 5 yr mandatory drydocking, they will now have to take the boat to Paducah or...
When the AVALON was towed from Cincinnati to Louisville, the tug landing the boat at Jeffboat made an oopsey, hitting a barge and buckling the stage. Jeffboat tried to straighten it but was unable...
When classes let out in June of 64, I started working under Alan as a deckhand. The first year the boat ran I was purser a job I really didn't like, I was much happier on deck than I was in the...
No Keith he didn't as far as I can remember. I've checked with Kenny Howe to make sure my memories of the events are accurate...we seem to agree. Looking back, how lucky we were to have been part...
Without a person like Commander Jacobs, I doubt the BELLE would have ever run. The last season of the AVALON, Betty Blake, against the advise of people who knew, scheduled the boat up the Missouri...
If Alan stood for his mates license today, he wouldn't have gotten it. Under today's Coast Guard licensing procedures, they wouldn't let him even take the test because he didn't have nearly enough...