Mississippi Steamboats and Steam Heat by Paula Mchugh

Volume 18, Number 31 Thursday, August 8, 2002 Mississippi Steamboats and Steam Heat by Paula McHugh Is this heaven? No, it’s Iowa. Except when the mid-July heat index reads 106 degrees and the air so thick with moisture that you’re wondering if Mephistopheles might have been calling the weather shots. The famous “heaven” lines from the 1998 movie Field of Dreams hits the mark for urban dwellers in search of lush and wide-open spaces. If one ignores the occasional steam heat of a summer day. The plans, as far back as March, were to participate in the Bix 7, Davenport’s annual challenge to runners and walkers of all ages. It involves a long, steep climb up Brady Street Hill. Runners complete seven grueling miles. Walkers, the category my friend Cindy and I chose, would stretch our legs and collect blis- A steamboat slices its way down Ole Man River, passing under the I-74 bridge that ters for only two miles. But, we didn’t. The connects Davenport with Moline. This middle bridge is one of three that links hellish weather was a good excuse to the Quad Cities of Bettendorf, Davenport, Moline and Rock Island. bow out. a Hoosier presence during the big Davenport week- The Bix 7 is just one of a flurry of weekend activ- end seemed appropriate. Fitness buffs like the Bix 7 ities that draws thousands to the Quad Cities to and the rest of the thousands of visitors groove to the memorialize famous jazz coronetist Bix Biederbeck. jazz that melds with the tooting of the steamboats along Bix was a very good friend of Hoagy Carmichael, so the muddy brown Mississippi. Grant Wood and Green Corn “Why are you going to Iowa?” several friends asked. The answer is easy, because I know firsthand what Iowa writer J.P. Kinsella meant when he authored those famous lines that Kevin Costner spoke in Field of Dreams. Dyersville, where most of the film was made, is a hop and a skip away from the places this indus- trial city native lived and worked around the upper Mississippi. Grant Wood captured on canvas the rolling expanse of this unglaciated region. You know— green corn and dairy farms, lazy hawks, soaring eagles, red barns, hills and valleys. Two-lane roads that take you through the best scenery, a secret I don’t really want to share. I don’t want to see traffic jams A single red rose sizzles on top of Bix’s monument. Bix, a contemporary down those beautiful backroads. Ever. of Hoagie Carmichael’s, played with the Hoosier musician and composer and the two were close friends. Iowa Continued on Page 2 Page 2 August 8, 2002 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 In Case Of Emergency, Dial e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] email: Classifieds - [email protected] http://www.bbpnet.com/ Published and Printed by THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden 911 Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is also Subscription Rates delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. 1 year $26 6 months $14 3 months $8 1 month $3 Iowa Continued from Page 1 The Quad Cities, an easy 3-hour drive away, has enough attractions to keep a visitor busy for at least a week without running out of things to do. Nevermind the annual Bix Fest. Equipped with an air-conditioned van and resident expertise in street navigation, my friend Cindy chauffeured me around a few of the many sites I was eager to explore. I had to narrow down my extensive list of possibilities gleaned from Internet research. Photographs and Cody memorabilia are just part of the museum’s displays. “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Well, actually, Buffalo Bill was born in the little town of LeClaire, a few miles upriver from Davenport and Bettendorf. LeClaire looks, feels, and smells like the river town it is, Maybe it is the ghosts of the dozen or so river pilots, champions of ford- ing the rock-strewn rapids, haunting the pre-civil Friend and informal Quad Cities chauffeur Cindy Sadlek kept us cool in war homes sprinkled around the town. Or the smell her air-conditioned van as we toured the sights. of catfish waiting to be hooked for someone’s dinner. We started at the Mississippi Valley Visitors Center, Ole Man River developed a treacherous current called collecting brochures with maps. In addition to Bix the Upper Rapids that stretched for 15 miles down- Beiderbeck, the Iowa side of the Quads likes to boast river until the Army Corps of Engineers dredged the about being the hometown of William Frederick river in the 1920’s. The museum houses Indian artifacts, Buffalo Bill posters and paintings, information on the region’s pearl button factories, a section devoted to the inventor of the Black Box, and much riverboat history. August 8, 2002 Page 3 Open ‘til 6 p.m. Evenings www.littlehousefashions.comElegant Apparel for the [email protected] Conscious Woman Cody in later Women’s Apparel years. He was buried in the “real” West, in Golden, Colorado. IN THE TENT SALE Two Racks $5-7-9 Value to $80.00 Two Racks $10-15-20 Value to $130.00 Two Racks $10-20-30 Value to $200.00 Two Racks $30-40-50 Value to $265.00 Two Dress Racks Buffalo Bill Cody had long since left his $10-40 LeClaire hometown Value to $330.00 at the time this picture of him was taken. Liz Purses 1/2 Price Foxcroft Blouses/Sweaters 1/2 Price Treacherous Rapids Discontinued Patterns The tiny riverside Buffalo Bill Museum held a few surprises, not all related to Cody. Wild West Show posters 1/2 Price and Buffalo Bill atop his horse may be less interest- ing items than the riverboat history available here. Devotees intent on roaming the country in search of INSIDE SALE the oldest, biggest, weirdest—well, you know—will find UP TO 60% OFF a polished slice of the largest Rock Elm tree on record, Pendleton, Bleyle, Susan Bristol, (Separates) approximately 225 years old. It is a well-preserved hunk Henry Lee, Philippe Maques and Castleberry of the “Green Tree,” which had been a marker for steam- Dresses boat and raft pilots. The leafy landmark warned Morning Sun Tees, Michigan Rag, Blast, Koret, pilots that they were approaching the mean rapids. Michael Simon, Copa Cabana (Casual Wear) Boats would dock here until the expert pilots took over to ford the 15 miles of rapids downstream. And where Meet Us For Lunch And A Style Show else is a tourist going to discover that Washington DC WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14 - HANNAH’S, NEW BUFFALO had—or has—something called the “Hall of Fame for Trees?” The Green Tree was inducted in 1912. Makes THURSDAY, AUGUST 15 - ROSKOE’S, LA PORTE 409 Alexander Street LaPorte, IN 326-8602 a Hoosier wonder if Kokomo’s sheltered Sycamore stump 409 Alexander Street LaPorte, IN 326-8602 OnOn Hwy Hwy 35 35 - - 55 BlocksBlocks South ofof Lincolnway Lincolnway has earned the same honor. TTurnurn RightRight on Alexander MondayMonday-Friday - Friday 9:3010 to to 6 7 Saturday Saturday 9:30 9:30 toto 55 Iowa Continued on Page 4 Page 4 August 8, 2002 An interior view of the Buffalo Bill Museum. To the right is the polished slice of trunk from the “Green Tree,” a giant elm that served as a marker warning packets and steamboats of the treacherous rapids ahead. Iowa Continued from Page 3 Dry-docked just outside the museum, a decaying steamboat is partially open to visitors. The Lone Star, decommissioned in 1968, was the last Mississippi River-running and only wood hull paddlewheel boat remaining intact, according to museum literature. Unfortunately, her paddlewheel was inaccessible to a visitor’s view and the stairs to the pilothouse were roped off. That left us with only the rotting innards to explore. Imagine two touring women trying to make sense of the boiler and other mechanisms. We were on our A partial view of the Lone Star’s pilothouse. own inside the creaky old steamboat. We were smart enough to identify the vintage speaking tube and imagined a river pilot shouting orders to the men below. But what riveted our attention was a rusty old cookstove, an old Monarch that probably serviced the hunger pangs of the captains and crew. There was no museum staff to guide us on the tour of the old boat, perhaps because of that day’s outrageously evil heat index. There were no comforting puffs of breeze com- ing off the river, either. Postcard views of the Lone Star’s red paddlewheel and pilothouse. Dry-docked just outside the museum, a decaying steamboat, the Lone Star, is partially open to visitors. The Lone Star, decommissioned in 1968, was the last Mississippi River-running and only wood hull paddlewheel boat remaining intact, according to museum literature. The boat is 133 years old. August 8, 2002 Page 5 Dilapidated and rusted out, this iron Monarch cookstove was no doubt in use at one time cooking up grub for the crew. The 133-year-old boat was originally wood-fire powered and later switched to steam boilers. The steam pressure gauge and calling tube (above) were recognizable gadgets. The other tanks and gizmo’s were puzzles to us. You have to use your imagination today to hear the steam whistle and Otto Ewoldt, museum curator, explains the area’s puffs of smoke from the steamboat’s stacks.

Load more