Amen concerning your views on the 5-pointy stars. Captain Ernie Wagner was the originator of the stars on the ends of the DQ's wheel shaft, to the best of my knowledge, and we, all in turn, painted them at his request. As Doc was the first-in-line after Captain Wagner, it stands to reason that he was probably the first to put them onto the wheel.
In 1978 when the Skipper was in remission from his cancer, he was the Captain and I was his mate. There were no stars on the wheel and I asked David Tschiggfie to line them out, and I fill them in with color. Those stars were Yellow Stars, symbolizing the Sun. The stars I painted on the capstan, years before, were white and had no special meaning other than being a tradition marine finale decoration with origins from at least the age of sail and brought to the river after the first cruise of the 1811 season.
All my boats, when I was on them, have been docorated with yellow Sun stars, including the DQ, MQ, PA DENNY, FLYING FISH, DIAMOND LADY, and both the GRAND VICTORIAs. Flatboat Bela Berty has a 16-foot yawl named the YELLOW STAR in honor of this same tradition. He can often be found rowing the YS between Rising Sun, Indiana and Rabbit Hash, Kentucky on his time off from the Grand Vic, a beautifully-constructed "gam'lin boat" that's as fine a sternwheel boat that's been built built in our time.
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