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Visit could be last for Delta Queen
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. -- Patty Rose of Huntington and Jerrie Howard of Point Pleasant took turns with the video camera on Tuesday. One would film while the other stood in front of the Delta Queen and waved goodbye to it.
They wanted to capture a day that could mark the last visit to Point Pleasant for the 81-year-old, steam-powered, overnight paddle-wheeler -- a tour boat that's the last of its kind.
"We think we're not ever going to get to see it again," Rose said as they stood next to the 300-foot-long vessel. "It's part of history."
The Delta Queen's future is murky because its exemption from the Safety at Sea act expires on Nov. 1.
The wooden super-structure of the Delta Queen doesn't meet the Safety at Sea Act. For the past 40 years, the boat has been able to run despite the Act, because Congress has passed an exemption specifically for the Delta Queen.
But the exemption was not passed this year.
That exemption has been stalled in the House transportation committee, said Bill Wiemuth, a historian and member of the Delta Queen staff. Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of that committee, has reportedly opposed the exemption, saying the boat's age and wooden structure pose a safety risk.
Wiemuth is quick to point out the boat's safety features.
"The boat is in the best shape she's ever been in, with the best, high-tech safety devices," he said. It has an on-board fire crew, as well as a sprinkler system, smoke detectors and heat sensors that go off every time it gets warm enough to pose a risk for fire, Wiemuth said. It's gone off when passengers take showers that are too long or too hot, he said.
From the top deck, Capt. Paul Theony and Wiemuth addressed the crowds who gathered at the riverfront Tuesday, and urged them to contact their congressional representatives to keep the boat up and running.
"It's never too late," he said. "If it comes to winter, and an exemption passes through, that still allows us another season (next summer)," he said.
The Delta Queen's current, 10-day trip started in Pittsburgh and now heads toward Cincinnati and then Nashville, Tenn., on the Tennessee River. It's the boat's final trip this far up the Ohio River. It returns to Cincinnati on Oct. 21, and from there, heads down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to Memphis. Its last day is Oct. 31, and its owner, Majestic America Line, hasn't announced plans for its future.
It would be a shame to dry dock an overnight tour boat that's not only the last of its kind, but a successful business and a way to bolster the economies of small towns along the Ohio River, such as Point Pleasant, Wiemuth said.
Plus, riding on it is a great time, he said.
"Getting to watch the interior of America drift by you is a pretty special experience," he said.
Towns selected to be stops for the Delta Queen are chosen because of their history and aesthetics, both areas in which Point Pleasant is rich, he said. It's the site of the Battle of Point Pleasant, a historic battle between the Virginia Militia and American Indians under Chief Cornstalk.
Wiemuth guessed that the boat has stopped there about a dozen times this year. On Tuesday, it offered extra attractions. Along with the charm of the shops and restaurants on Main Street and the intricate floodwall art depicting scenes from local history, there was a quilt exhibit and car show. Also, re-enactors performed for the passengers.
Before leaving the dock, the boat offered its thanks in the form of some river music and discussion about the boat's history. The Delta Queen was built to serve as a tour and cargo boat in Sacramento, Calif., before serving the U.S. Navy in World War II and then being auctioned to Tom Greene of Cincinnati. He had it towed eastward so it could sail the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, which it started doing in 1948.
Polly and Milford Hysell of Middleport, Ohio, have never taken a trip on the boat, but have toured its inside. They stopped by Tuesday to send it off.
"I like the whistle," Polly Hysell said. She got to hear it, maybe for the last time, about 1:15 p.m. Tuesday as the Delta Queen left the dock, playing "Country Roads" on its steam-powered calliope, as the passengers waved goodbye to the crowds at the Point Pleasant Riverfront.
And Point Pleasant waved back.
History of the Delta Queen
Delta Queen historian Bill Wiemuth keeps a blog with information about the historic paddle-wheeler at www.deltaqueenhistory.com. Here are some highlights:
CALIFORNIA YEARS: The Delta Queen was built in California at a whopping cost (for the time) of $875,000. She made her debut cruise on June 2, 1927, and ran overnight trips between Sacramento and San Francisco for the next 13 years -- through the economic and labor struggles of the Great Depression.
WORLD WAR II: In 1946, the Delta Queen served the U. S. Navy as a floating barracks, training facility and troop transport in San Francisco Bay.
A NEW LIFE: The Delta Queen was put up for auction in 1946, and a steamboat captain from Cincinnati became the new owner. Tom Greene won the boat with a bid of $46,250.
He had the boat towed more than 5,000 miles from California through the Panama Canal and up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Pittsburgh. It spent six months undergoing $750,000 in renovations. The Delta Queen then departed on her debut Ohio River cruise on June 30, 1948. It's been offering overnight riverboat tours on the Ohio and Mississippi ever since.
Today, it carries 165 to 170 passengers and has a crew of 150, with 75 working the boat at a time.
