@ Steamboats.org Blogs - Entries from February 2006

Tuesday, February 14. 2006

The Introduction

The pilothouse of the gambling boat is six stories above the Ohio River where I am gazing out the window watching a passing parade of towboats shoving their barges and trying to figure out a beginning for the story that brought me here, over fifty years since the day I was no longer terrified of the river.

Aunt Mary was an alluring blonde who charmed the deckhand on the Anderson’s Ferry to let her to drag her feet in the water as she sat on the stern of the boat as it crossed the Ohio River from the Cincinnati side to the Kentucky shore. Mother’s eyebrows arched in disapproval as she watched her younger sister hanging her legs over the transom just above the churning propellers of the small ferryboat as the boatman gave her his undivided attention, waiting on her every whim, even leaving his post to fetch a towel for her to dry her feet on as the boat neared the shore. The short trip was nearing an end.

Inside the boat a terrified, panic-stricken child believed he was about to see his “Other Mommy”, as he called his dearest aunt, pulled into the thrashing water angrily erupting from beneath the back end of the boat. But just as he was about to emit a terrifying scream, the leering deckhand handed the thin blond a clean, dry towel, and she pulled her shapely legs back onto the safety of the deck and dried herself. Panic stayed with the boy until he was lead off the ferryboat and his small feet were firmly planted on the concrete ramp now filled with automobiles speeding across the steel apron and up the steep grade. He turned to give the boat one last glance before following his mother and aunt up the hill, but the gut-wrenching fear returned as soon as he looked back, so he returned his gaze to the top of the grade and comforting warmth returned as he left behind him a place he hoped he would never see again. Thus was my introduction to the river.

Posted by Captain Donald J. Sanders in Battens, Keys and Cockhats at 21:45 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

Monday, February 13. 2006

DQSC former/present employees postings

Some of you may remember how the steamboats.org message board started: It was a forum for communication and information amongst the then former employees of the DQSC after bancruptcy. The discussion then was decent, friendly, helpful and everyone was interested in getting information about the future and how to get the company back to business.

What happend since then? Today's discussion is aggressive, destructive, partly insulting. Are there really people out there hoping to get their jobs back by calling Bruce Nierenberg a liar? Do you really think DQSC will honor you for being destructive instead of delivering sensemaking, intelligent ideas on how to get the good business back? Do you really think that behaving like Katrina was personally handmade by the management of DQSC will improve the situation? Do you really think discussing all your disappointment right in front of your customers helps to improve your situation?

There are a few reasons why I don't want and even can't support this kind of discussion here any more:

1) I'm legally responsible for everything published on steamboats.org. And I don't have a multi-million-dollar company backing me up in case of legal problems. It is pretty easy to close down the whole website www.steamboats.org - just sue me and I have to close because I couldn't even afford the laywers to defend me.

2) There is a major misunderstanding what "free speech" means - and being a professional journalist, believe me I know what I'm talking about! Free speech mainly means that you're free to express your personal OPINION about what the goverment does (and to some extend what public companies do in the public). But it doesn't cover many other things like insults, wrong (or unproofen) statements of fact, and in general anything about privatly hold companies and privat persons.

3) I believe in fair, decent and civilized interaction between people who know how to behave. Everything can be expressed in appropriate language without insulting others and without ignoring rules. If you don't believe in this kind of ethical values, please go somewhere else.

4) Steamboats.org is a great place, but it's not everything. If you don't like how things work here, feel free not to attend. I'd be sorry to see you leaving, but this is my website and I make the rules here, nobody else. This is a fact and not up for discussion.

Please remember: Steamboats.org is a private website, driven and maintained by Carmen and me in the evenings and on weekends. We do it because we love steamboats, cruising the DQSC and other boats, and because it's a great thing to connect people around the world who have the same interests. We do not earn money with this and it's not our intention anyway. We've got limited time and ressources to do all this and we want to have at least a little bit fun with it, too. Therefore, giving us a hard time by violating the rules you force us to spend a lot of time for maintenance, deleting postings, etc. Do you really think it's fair "awarding" us for our work by giving us a hard time? Do you really think setting up rules, deleting postings, sending out numerous e-mails to remind you of the rules is fun for us?

I've heard this "free speech" thing regarding to our message board again and again now and in the past, usually from people who don't want to accept the rules: May I remind you that being a citizen of a free, democratic country does mean to have rights and duties. Don't only ask for your rights - remember your duties, too, please.

Just some more personal remarks: I don't get! What's happening here? Yes, I understand that you're angry. And yes, it's natural that you're not happy if your company doesn't re-hire you. And yes, of course, I see the very difficult situation many of you are in since Katrina. But that's how life is and nobody can change this, except the lord himself. Especially because not mismanagement caused this problems but an unbelievable natural desaster: Think again whether it's really the DQSC to blame for this. My personal opinion: Mayby you should think about blaming the local and federal government for not being prepared for such a desaster, for not improving the dams at New Orleans, knowing that they are much to weak for hurricanes that could happen to this city at any time ...

My deep apologies to all the great, nice, decent people and friends I've found through this website. I'm so sorry that we even have to discuss things like this here. I hope for your understanding and I hope you do not feel affected by this or now feel limited by what you post on the message board. Please, continue the great parts of the message board - especially the last few weeks had unbelievable valuable and delightful threads. Let's continue this and forget about the unruly, destructive parts.

Now: Let's discuss how to continue with the DQSC issue - I don't want to close this issue on the message board totally. I just want to make sure the discussion is constructive, informative, friendly. any ideas and opinions are welcome. Just post a comment to this weblog posting. I really hope we find a good sopution for it. But to be honest: so far I don't have an appropriate idea for it ...

Until we found a final solution, I'm happy to accept continous postings about DQSC issues from DQSC or ex-DQSC employed or related long-time posters like Jazzou, Toots, Clara, Paul, Capt. Schultz, Miss Alice, Bruce Nierenberg, etc.

Posted by Franz Neumeier in Dot-Org Captain's at 11:59 | Comments (5) | Trackbacks (0)

Sunday, February 5. 2006

Evansville river area coming alive

Howdy Folks. Havent' forgotten about ya'. Just getting through the first of the year and all of the planning one has to do....and, it has been a planner month, indeed. Our Ohio River area use to be tops in the world around 1900.....so, for a while we've been stagnant but last few years there's been quite an upwind on commercial river traffic. Now, our city is slowly tapping into our river history and what made us great in this part of the country.

Changes we're doing include: a new CVB board of commissioners that will make this area sizzle. I'm impressed with the board and hope for the best. Now, the Executive Director can do her job more effectively, in my opinion, and has shown that in the past few boats I've had her talk to for docking clearance. What a major difference. We're nearing joining the rest of the country. WHHHEEEEEE!!!!!!! Stayed tuned til 2006 is over.

Our new Port Authority is feeling its way around with only a few meetings. But, somehow will appoint a maritime contract to someone to help run the 'dock' and area surrounding us in the river. They've looked at an Indianapolis Maritime company....no word yet if they've chosen a company. And, they were to set prices for boat visitors, like the boats I charter, and some may be charged to be there....this will be interesting. I hope they keep with wisdom, what the rest of the country does, and hope for the best in the growing process. The attitude is much better than it was last year. Some corner has been turned, but not sure what as of yet. In the process the area river fronts and docks are working harder to get themselves repositioned for great docking uses also.

Our river front may get an expanded bike path to lead up to the new Municipal dock and help the LST 325 get some business. The Executive Director did acknowledge to me that their boat 'got' some advertisement from the Natchez docking next to it. Say, what. We got a lot of mention of it and any and all mention they should graciously thank the boats. In time, that will work it self out. I'm glad for the help all the area volunteers did to help when the Natchez came to dock. They are still learning about Homeland Security, but I realize the next boats will correct that real fast to them. That will wake some up. This is a business and Homeland Security is an important facet. I followed it and they will too.

I'm going to give you a website of a photo gallery to watch of river boats we use to get years ago.....and the library stuck a picture of the LST 325 in the middle of this photo gallery. Ya' see what I have to work with. Anywhere the river boats go.....the LST 325 goes.....like a shadow.....whew......I'm married to it and don't know it, yet. Mary had a little lamb.....it goes where I go.....everywhere an LST. They need the help also. And, I was one in the background to help cheer that boat to be here...ya' think they'd understand that concept.....geez, get the money to be here/not get the money to be here....hhmmmmmm, how is that hard to understand. Anyway, we'll all work it out somehow.

Well, in time I'll go to our local CVB for some great photos and you'll see an old wooden boat steering wheel, some Jeffboat models of boats that were built in Jeffersonville, IN......I'll take the time soon, have been busy, more than I thought on getting these river boats here.....it is tough building Mt. Everest., and here is a website to check out some neat boats that visited us on the Ohio River in years past: www.willard.lib.in.us, hit "search database", then click on the inbox of "ohio river/riverfronts" and you'll see such riverboats that came: the Avalon (one of the most remembered for dances), the Chaperon Riverboat, the Delta Queen, the Kankakee Riverboat, the John S. Hopkins, some ferries and river barges, and the Evanville Boosters and river club. The librarian at Willard Library states this is just a small sampling of photos they have and have a lot on steamboats available. So, guess where another trip is sometime. And, in the middle of these photos....notice the LST 325. Yep, we built them, so they are a part of the river and river front history.

Well, talk to you soon....trying to tie down some boats that are coming and want them to come visit us. We're lonely here on the river. We want as many boats to come as we can get. By 2007 we'll have a great schedule. You'll be proud. 2006, I'm just trying to get them in this area to say "howdy". Well, off to find that wonderful word called sponsors. The ones with the money, honey. We've got boats to come and I've got to get them paid. Check out that website....you'll see some great boats on it. Til, then, enjoy yourself, have some sweet smelling hot brownies, and get those toots from the stacks starting 'cause its going to be a great year. Your river friend, Mary.

Posted by Mary K. Hukill in Ohio River in Evansville at 17:16 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

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