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August 22, 2005 -- Vol. 5 Issue 34 Written by Jack R. Simpson (unless otherwise noted), owner of J.R. Simpson & Associates, Inc. and contributing editor to The Waterways Journal.
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 In This Newsletter:
Headline Errors
"Kids Make Nutritious Snacks" A Personal Note From Jack
 Low water produces myriad stories about the plight of the towing industry. When it happens, we know what to expect and are not surprised by the stories. But here are a few condensations, just to let you know that the news folks are watching:
— Television station KFVS reported on August 17 that the Coast Guard closed a section of the Ohio River the previous week and that it was not expected to be open for three or four days. Lynn Muench, vice president for the mid-continent region of the American Waterways Operators, was quoted as saying that "businesses are losing between $5,000-$10,000 a day having cargo stopped here in the heartland." (WFIE-TV reported virtually the same conditions.) — The "Paducah Sun" later reported that the Mississippi Queen had gotten stalled along with the other traffic due to low water. — The "Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune" reported, as did we, that the drought in the Midwest was the worst in 17 years and the conditions continued to lower rivers, causing barge operators to "shake their heads." — Reuters- USA reported on August 11 that the closed stretch of Ohio River was reopened late on the 10th but shallow water continued to limit barges. — WKYT at Lexington, Ky., also picked up on the Midwest’s drought story and said that barges are carrying lighter loads. It goes on and on, and very well it should. The impact of low water is negative and large financially. But the stories are without end. And we’ve heard most of them before. The stories appear nearly everywhere a news source is located near a navigable river in the Midwest. Other Matters It’s perhaps old news by now, but the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled August 16 to uphold the broad powers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in controlling Missouri River water for navigation and flood control. By doing so it restated its earlier rulings but added an important footnote: If in attempting to comply with the Endangered Species Act - that law used by environmentalists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to challenge the Corps at every turn - it interferes with the Corps responsibility to provide flood control and lower Missouri River navigation, then the ESA does not apply. "The Waterways Journal" has long contended that the Missouri River water problems would never be solved as long as ambiguity and conflict resulted from the ESA and the Corps’ role as spelled out in the Flood Control Act of 1944. The court’s footnote appears to be an attempt to rein in further lawsuits. Newsletter News
I owe you all an apology for getting sloppy. But I swear, I didn’t know the Celebration Belle thing was debatable. Nevertheless, slipups frequently serve as the impetus for many interesting letters. Give me a dozen lashes with the obsolete Ann Landers’ wet noodle. Web News
Anyone interested in checking out the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum at North Little Rock can go here: www.aimmatnlr.blogspot.com For Those Inclined To Pray
 We have modified the steps for joining our Prayer Circle. If you visit the Prayer Circle link on at www.littleriverbooks.com, you will find that those who sign up are completely anonymous. We do not ask for first names nor states of residence. Joining is as simple as providing an email address to which we can send future prayer requests. Each prayer request list includes a link for including requests.
By joining our Prayer Circle, you can tap into the prayerful support of circle members wherever they are. Membership and prayer requests are open to everyone. Advertising
Your classified ad can go in this space for $10 for one week, $20 for two weeks, $25 for three weeks, and $30 for four weeks. For details click here. On The Waterfront
This week we do a little globe trotting; some call it browsing the Net. Here’s what we found: — A Gallatin, Tenn., writer says that the Tennessee Valley Authority has already announced rate hikes, so any savings it realizes by moving coal by train through Gallatin will never be passed along to the consumers. In another report, TVA was quoted as saying that the company needs to transport coal by train because transporting it by barge has become too expensive. — As per usual, the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" editorializes to say that the court has handed the Corps of Engineers a blank check with its August 16 ruling about the Missouri River. It talks about protecting birds over 2,341 miles of Missouri River, but the stretch of river in question is much less than that, and Corps bird counts show that the interior least terns and piping plovers are increasing in numbers. — At Angola, La., we learned that Louisiana State Penitentiary halted its vehicle ferry operations due to low water on the Mississippi. — The Associated Press reports that a 90-foot tug, pushing a 300-foot barge carrying two G-E turbines, made its way across the Erie Canal last week. State officials are hoping to see more commercial shipping along the New York canal system. The cargo, originating in Albany, N.Y., is headed for a nuclear plant in Ontario Canada. Other turbines are scheduled to moved along the canal system in the next two months. — From New Orleans we learned that Blessey Marine Services, Inc., was to launch its newest vessel, the 85-foot, 2,000-hp. towboat on August 16. If all went as planned, it was christened James L. Oberstar, after the Minnesota congressman who is said to be a leading voice on Mississippi River preservation. Blessey plans to launch three more boats by the end of January bizneworleans.com reported. — It has been reported that OSHA has fined Bollinger Gulf Repair, New Orleans, $65,000 for failure to protect employees from hazards. Kody Marine, Inc., was fined $45,300 for the same reason. Citations were issued to both companies, the report said. — The Port of Everett, Wash., held groundbreaking ceremonies August 11 to start work on a rail-barge facility to serve Boeing production. — From Galveston, Texas, we learn that the Coast Guard is monitoring a sulfuric acid spill that occurred on August 17 when a barge ran aground. The barge, which was carrying 425,000 gallons of acid, was moved to Chocolate Bayou to make removal of the cargo easier. The barge actually grounded on the evening of August 15 when it started to sink, but the spill occurred on the 17th, according to the report. advertisement
The River School - Deck and engineer licenses, radar observer, tankerman, fire and water safety courses, video programs. Travel classes in convenient locations. (800) 238-7113 www.riverschool.com Recipe Box
If you are a towboat cook, home chef, backyard barbecuer, tailgater, or know anybody who is, please pass the word along to submit recipes!
BLACK WALNUT CANDY 1 pkg. white almond bark 1 small bag chopped black walnuts Melt almond bark in microwave bowl for 1-2 minutes Add black walnuts Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on wax paper. Let cool. Submitted by Joyce Cochran-Loyd Retired from W. A. Kernan Our Readers Write
Re: The Celebration Belle The Celebration Belle is the old Clinton, Iowa, gambling boat, the Mississippi Belle II and then moved to Ft. Madison and became the original Catfish Bend. Now she’s a pleasure boat out of Moline, Ill. I did a riverlorian trip on her last year. She’s very nice! I was wondering where the Mv. Karen Renee Hamm went this year. She’s been the harbor tug up at Savanna, Illinois, for several years. Worked the Bunge Elevator and, of course, the fleeting for it. Kathy Flippo Re: Celebration Belle and West Virginia Belle I can’t believe that you’ve let the Celebration Belle/West Virginia Belle thing go on for the third week. Here’s the dope on both vessels, garnered straight from US Coast Guard Documentation Records. The Celebration Belle was never named West Virginia Belle. The West Virginia Belle is now the City of Caruthersville. Here’s the information on both: Celebration Belle (official number 694689) was built by Patti Shipbuilding, Pensacola, Fla., in 1986 (hull # 132) as the first Mississippi Belle II. When the riverboat gambling craze started she was converted into the first Catfish Bend Casino. When she was replaced by the second Catfish Bend Riverboat Casino II (formerly Players Riverboat Casino at Metropolis, Ill., Shadler bought her and reconverted her into passenger service over a period of several months. The West Virginia Belle (official number 929687) was also built by Patti in 1988 (Hull # 131) (somehow I think that the Coast Guard got these hull numbers switched). After the 1992 Tall Stacks Festival at Cincinnati, rumors persisted that she had been sold to gaming interests. She was built for service between the West Virginia cities of Charleston (on the Kanawha River) and Huntington (on the Ohio River). Originally owned by Roberts River Rides, she was sold to Tim and Mary Ann Gantz in 1990. Both Tim and Mary Ann Gantz denied that the boat was for sale and claimed that they owned their office building outright. However, in January 1993, the West Virginia Belle departed Charleston, W.Va., bound for Jeffersonville, Ind., where Jeffboat was to convert her into the gaming vessel City of Caruthersville for Aztar Casinos. In the process, she lost her fake sternwheel and had fake sidewheels painted on her sides. She is still in Caruthersville, Missouri. Dimensions of the two vessels are similar, with the length of the Celebration Belle being 132 feet with a 38-foot beam. The City of Caruthersville is 129.1 foot long, with a beam of 40 feet. Hope this settles the issue once and for all. David Massie aka boat historian (Editor’s note: Not being a bona fide river historian, I had no inkling that the boat description was wrong. If the description had been correct the first time, however, our readers would have missed out on all the history you provided.) Re: That Wood Chuck Unh-unh! If you’re talking about Punxatawney Phil, he ain’t a Bay State wood chuck. Seems to me he come from Pennsylvania. Or was it Oregon? Or Oklahoma? or Crawford, Texas, maybe? or Missouri, even? Hugh Ware, News and Book Review Editor "TugBitts" Magazine (Editor’s note: I just grabbed a state out of the air. But you are correct, when you suggest I might have been thinking about Punxatawney Phil. Why didn’t I go to Google? By the way, we used to eat them when I was 60 years younger in the Minnesota woods. Good to hear from you.) Re: Monkey Rudders With all the posts on monkey rudders recently, I thought I would show how they were actually installed on sternwheel boats. I admit I lack knowledge of vessels operating on other waters, but I cannot recall monkey rudders on a propeller boat on the inland rivers, because such a rudder on a prop boat would suffice as a steering rudder. I know of some experiments of people placing rudders "beside" the props, but I think those boats were rebuilt with conventional steering and flanking rudders. I am enclosing a picture of the L. M. Smith (see Photo Center), built by Marietta Manufacturing in 1926. This boat had a split sternwheel; one could go ahead and the other back. How they could do that on a single engine was a marvel in engineering and always baffled me. These buckets were not very wide but look how deep they went into the water.  If anyone desires a close-up of the sternwheel and rudder arrangement, let me know and I will zoom in that area.
I am also sending a picture of the Harry Z (see Photo Center), built in 1921 by John Eichleay, Jr., Company, Hays, Pa. Dan Owen (Editor’s note: As relates to monkey rudders, see Harry Z, L. M. Smith, and Gravel Gertie.) Re: TECO Color Scheme I seldom submit a partial-view type photo but I felt this one [of the Julia Woods] was worth doing.  It’s the first time I’ve seen any of the TECO (formerly Mid-South Towing) boats with this dramatic new stack logo and color combination. This was taken below Mound City, Ill., on August 15, 2005, while she waited with 45 other tows for the channel to re-open during the recent extremely low water channel closures.
Dan Owen says this logo and color combination has been used on TECO’S ocean tugs for a few years now, but he had not seen it on the riverboats yet either. It’s certainly a change from their former red logo on white stack color scheme they’ve been using in recent years since changing from the former red "MST" letters. I hope they do this to all their boats. Jeff Yates P.S. By the way, excellent pictures from Germany. Just a note to compliment you for adding those excellent pix from Ingo Steller last week. Those are some very interesting, well-composed and exposed photos. Hope he submits more. Re: Delta Queen’s Wake I was reading the account of the recreational craft that overturned by the "rollers" of the Delta Queen at Bellevue, Iowa. A red flag went up, indicating to me they were following the DQ and were too close to her stern, when that roller hit and dragged the head under. There is no mention of this nor if they were anchored out in the channel. Regardless, you never, and I mean never, get in the rollers coming off that stern wheel. You hit it wrong just once and you’ve got a tremendous amount of water coming at you. Once that head goes under, it won’t come back up. Even if they were anchored, they should have realized what was coming at them, pull the anchor up and get the heck out of the way. You don’t assume your out of harms way. I have seen recreation boaters do this on a regular basis; then, when they realize what hit them and swamped the boat, they want to sue because the boat didn’t stop. Well, when you do joy ride those large rollers, you (the boater) are negligent, not the DQ or towboats for that matter. I remember making trips on the Amoco Missouri, and she made rollers better than the Delta Queen; and they, too, were always being sued by someone whose boat was swamped while they were riding the rollers. One tried to sue, claiming that his boat house was swamped by the Amoco Missouri. As it turned out, it was in sorry condition to begin with, and the wake from the Amoco Missouri did not cause any damage. Mind you any time someone saw AMOCO on the stack, they saw dollar signs and what they figured was an easy out. Stay well away from the DQ’s stern and don’t ride the rollers you will loose in the end. John Miller Re: Bitts & Bytes Newsletter Thank you for the many interesting letters, descriptions of events on the waterways, and [I] appreciate your continuing newsletters. (I’m writing again.) Hope to return to the Mississippi River someday and tell today’s story. All the best wishes, Ruth Crisman Collier (Editor’s note: Ruth is a California author of long standing but not a stranger to St. Louis. Among her books are: "The Mississippi", "Hot Off The Press", a book about Thomas Jefferson, and "The Ididerod Trail." She believes in "going on location", a fact borne out by her riding ACBL towboats and going to Alaska to write about dog sledding.) Boat Photo Center
 In the spirit of what makes river folks great people, let me suggest once again that pictures in our Photo Center are for everyone’s enjoyment. They should not be utilized for purposes without contacting the photographers, which can be done through us. Most contributors are willing to allow the use of a picture under the right conditions. All they need is to be asked. But using pictures without asking permission is a violation, because the pictures are copyrighted and the descriptions include the name of the photographer. So in the spirit of good river folks, let’s try to carry on in a proper manner. - Jack
Having noted conversation regarding monkey rudders, Dan Owen of the Boat Photo Museum decided to share pictures of some boats that used them. They included the Harry Z, L. M. Smith and Gravel Gertie. Dan also contributed shots of the T. G. Gerow and Mateur. Other contributions to the Photo Center this week came from: John Miller, who sent the Dixie Challenge, Mary Harter, and Sir J-Ette. Tom Waller sent the Harry M. Mac; Jeff Yates sent the Julia Woods (in a new color scheme); and Barry Griffith sent the Sharon M. Keep those fine pictures coming. Book Beat
Views on The Mississippi (The Photographs of Henry Peter Bosse) - by Mark Neuzil  272 pages. 95 cyanotype photographs, 36 illustrations. Soft cover. Table top book. Said to be the first comprehensive collective of photographs by the foremost 19th-Century photographer of the Mississippi River. Henry Peter Bosse, a mapmaker and photographer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, lived from 1844-1903. He took more than 300 photographs of the Upper Mississippi River from 1883-1893, a time of precedented environmental and social change. View on the Mississippi brings together for the first time nearly 100 of Bosse's most stunning images. These photographs - tracing the river from Minneapolis to St. Louis - capture the Mississippi as it was being transformed from an untamed natural wonder to a modern commercial highway. The cyanotype process produced large-format photographs in crisp vivid blue tones. It is a large (13-1/4" x 9-3/8") volume. Usually same-day shipping! (We no longer offer the hard cover edition because our source has raised the price to $89.) Our Price: $29.95 Nautical Gift Shop
I have only six Cherokee Barge Line models available (see pictures). Each includes six barges, two buoys and a mat that holds the configuration in place for your desk display. They come in a nice Cherokee Barge Company bag. The price $37.00, which the suppliers tell me (but I have never confirmed) is less than some dealers charge for the set, plus $5 S&H for a total of $42. These will be the last models I sell. The reason for that is that there are so many combinations and price ranges for different boats that it becomes inconvenient for both us and the customers. If you click on the model picture by this notice, you will see pictures of the six boats I have left. If you are interested in buying a particular one, I suggest you call Jack at 314/921-4419 and use a Visa or MasterCard. This way we can eliminate the picture of any boat sold so other customers will know which ones are left. You can, if you wish, still buy on my web site, www.littleriverbooks.com, and use PayPal. If you do you must indicate which of the six boats you want. Tow Talkin'
August 22, 2005 By Kathy Flippo  As everyone knows, gasoline just went out of sight. On August 5th you might have heard me scream when I filled my Suburban with the cheap, $2.19 a gallon ethanol. Wasn’t even empty and it took $73.00 to fill it. SCREAM!!
Gee, now just eleven days later, $2.19 gas is a bargain because the cheap stuff, ethanol, just went to $2.53! But as my California kid says, "Mom, quit your bellyachin’. I’d LOVE to see $2.53 a gallon gas." So what’s the point? We are all screaming bloody murder at the gas pump and beginning to scream at the grocery store and other retail places as the price of diesel fuel skyrockets, causing the price of everything to go up to cover the cost of transportation. But…how come people still seem to have enough money for their toys and gambling? The river is still full of big, snazzy, expensive boats zipping around…to continue reading, click here. See you on the Web, Jack Little River Books jacksimpson@littleriverbooks.com Don't forget to visit our website! |
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