Exploring the Mississippi from the Twin Cities to the Quad Cities

January-February 2007

IceboatingIceboating ExtremeExtreme RiverRiver SportSport

Riverfront Condos Cold Fish

www.big-river.com �“[A] tight plot,rich language,and lively characters.”*

Tomorrow The River By Dianne E. Gray A dramatic tale of family bonds, mysterious strangers, and love, set on a 19th-century riverboat. Fourteen-year-old Megan Barnett boards an eastbound train to the Mississippi River at Burlington, Iowa and begins a grand adventure. The parade of interesting strangers–some of whom aren’t what they seem–doesn’t end with Megan’s arrival in Burlington, where she joins her sister’s family on the riverboat, the Oh My. River travel, Megan quickly learns, is fraught with danger, both on the water and off. A keen eye, for seeing beneath the surface of things, can make all the difference.

� “As Megan meets each challenge, she discovers herself—the one thing she knows she’s good at, “seeing”, proves to be a powerful gift.” ISBN-10: 0-618-56329-6 • $16.00 —Kirkus Reviews, starred review* ISBN-13: 978-0-618-56329-6 Grades 5-9 • 240 pages • Ages 10-14 “A NEW MISSISSIPPI RIVER FABLE HAS BEEN BORN.”*

Horns and Wrinkles By Joseph Helgerson Illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli

Readers will delight in this spell-binding fantasy featuring troublesome trolls of all kinds along the Mississippi River.

� “With the Mississippi River full of magic, and a touch of the Pinocchio effect, a thriving “rivery” realm spills out into the real world.” —School Library Journal, starred review*

� “Helgerson does a remarkable job of making the magical goings- on seem completely plausible. This charming book’s paradoxical success as a thoroughly believable fantasy in which magic and Black-and-white illustrations the real world co-exist.” ISBN-10: 0-618-61679-9 • $16.00 —Publishers Weekly, starred review ISBN-13: 978-0-618-61679-4 Ages 9-12 • Grades 4-7 • 368 pages “Twelve-year-old Claire and other Blue Wing townsfolk know there’s something magical about living along the Mississippi River. Folksy charm, inventive fantasy, and diverse characters blend in this offbeat river tallish tale.” —Booklist Available now, wherever books are sold. Houghton Mifflin Company • www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com Do you like what you see in Big River? We do custom publishing, too.

The same crew that designs and produces this magazine also designs books, promotional materials, interpretive signs, logos and websites. Let us help with your projects. We can write, edit, design and layout your documents. We take the same care with each project as we do with our own magazine. Riverwise, Inc. Two companies, one crew Books • Brochures• Business Cards Logos • Newsletters • Websites www.riverwise.com Give us a call about your next project • (800) 303-8201 • (507) 454-5949

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January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine  MAYBE IT’S TIME FOR JANUARY 17–21 T H AT B OAT. MINNEAPOLIS CONVENTION CENTER

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 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 C o v e r i n g t h e U p p e r M i s s i s s i p p i s i n c e 1 9 9 3

TM

January-February 2007 FEATURES 22 18 Iceboating Lake Pepin is a hot spot for the oldest and coldest extreme sport on the river. By Pamela Eyden 22 Backwater Classroom In “School on the River,” in La Crosse, Wis., students learn on the water as well as in the classroom. By Meggan Massie 26 Green Tree Hotel LeClaire’s riverfront elm tree was a witness to river history. By Robert Stumm 28 28 River Condo Bubble? Are condos on the river the new cabins up north? By Pete Beurskens 18 DEPARTMENTS 5 From the Riverbank WRDA Weirdness By Reggie McLeod 7 River News Snails & Snot, Island Getaway, The Ibis & the Manatee. Know Your River: 17 Cold Fish By Pamela Eyden Cover: Iceboaters photographed by a radio-controlled camera 35 Advertiser Index mounted on a large kite. (Craig Wilson, Kite Aerial Photography) Where did I see that ad…? Top: Student Joey Yoshizumi paddles to class. (Meggan Massie) 36 River People Middle: Eagles Landing condos in Wabasha, Minn., overlook the Judy Patsch: Nobody recognizes me without my Mississippi. (Pete Beurskens) cookies. Bottom: The iceboat Friluftsliu (Sig Anderson) By Gary Kramer

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 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 From the Riverbank

Reggie McLeod Editor/Publisher Big River™ Big River Magazine (ISSN 1070-8340) is published six times a year by Open River Press with assistance from Riverwise, Inc., 70 1/2 E. Fourth St., PO Box 204, Winona, MN 55987; (507) 454-5949; fax: (507) 454-2133; email: [email protected]; website: www.big-river.com Reggie McLeod...... editor/publisher WRDA Weirdness Molly McGuire...... managing editor Pamela Eyden...... news/photo editor he Navigation Study recom- lated to make expanding the locks Contributing editors mended expanding seven locks look like a very good idea. After Marc Hequet...... Twin Cities on the Mississippi and Illi- the first study was discredited and T Gary Kramer...... Quad Cities nois rivers. This recommendation scrapped in 2000 (see “Donald Swee- Pete Beurskens...... Red Wing, Minn. made it into the Water Resources and ney, Holding the Corps Accountable,” Maureen J. Cooney...office/sales Development Act (WRDA), which Big River, July-Aug. 2006), a review has passed both houses of Congress committee created by the National Kathy Delano...... sales/design in slightly different forms. However, Academies of Sciences told the Corps Robert Copeland...... bookkeeping/subscriptions senators John McCain, R-Ariz., and Patricia McGuire...... bills & renewals assistant Russ Feingold, D-Wis., added a U.S. Subscriptions are $27 for one year, $49 for two Feingold dug in his heels years or $4.95 per single issue. Send subscrip- Army Corps of Engineers reform pro- tions, single-copy orders and change-of-address vision to the Senate version, which on the Corps reform issue, requests to Big River, PO Box 204, Winona, is intended to eliminate pork-barrel so, as of early December, MN 55987. projects. Second-class postage paid at Winona, MN. Feingold dug in his heels on the WRDA seemed unlikely to go POSTMASTER: send change-of-address Corps reform issue, so, as of early De- requests to Big River, PO Box 204, Winona, anywhere during the lame- MN 55987. cember, WRDA seemed unlikely to go duck session of Congress. Big River Magazine, Volume 15, Number 1, anywhere during the lame-duck ses- copyright January 2007. Reproduction in whole sion of Congress, and it will probably or in part without written permission of the expire at the end of the year. not to use that methodology in the publisher is prohibited. Meanwhile, a very strange thing new study. Congress and the Penta- is happening with the Navigation gon backed up the review committee. Study: the Corps is in the process of So the Corps used the tow-cost rewriting the economics part of it, model again in the new study, basi- ible economic modeling and newer even as WRDA is in conference com- cally making the economic part of shipping data. mittee and people are lobbying for its the study worthless, according to According to the newsletter, John passage. the committee that reviewed it. Un- Paul Woodley, assistant secretary of The crux of the issue is a discred- daunted, both the House and Senate the Army for Civil Works, asked for ited methodology, called the tow-cost passed the study’s recommendations the re-evaluation. The interim report model, that the Corps used to cal- anyway. is scheduled for completion in Sep- culate the economic benefits of ex- This is all pretty strange, in and tember 2007. panding the locks in the first study. of itself, but in the Sept. 2006 issue It is amazing that our legislators Economists had stopped using it a of the UMR-IWW System Navigation passed this discredited plan in the long time ago, because it didn’t work. Study Newsletter the Corps announced first place. They may pass it again It was used in the first Navigation that it is redoing the economic part of without waiting until September. Stay Study, because it could be manipu- the study, this time using more cred- tuned. F

Contacts (800) 303-8201. For information about stories, columns and River News, contact Reggie McLeod, Pamela Eyden or Molly McGuire ([email protected]). For information about placing an ad in Big River or for information about selling Big River magazines contact Kathy Delano or Maureen J. Cooney ([email protected]). We must receive ads by January 11 to get them into the March-April 2007 magazine.

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DUKE ADDICKS TELLS RIVER TALES ABOUT Eagles,Thunderbirds, American Indians, OutdoorOutdoor Adventures!Adventures! Fur Traders, Explorers, Ghosts and More! Most of His Stories May Be True!

Duke plays a unique blend of Celtic and Native American music on Conch Shell Trumpets, Bagpipes, Native American Flutes and a huge Thunderdrum. Here Duke plays his 2007 IOWA EVENTS Conch Shell Blues at the closing January 5-7 concert at the 2006 Conference of Iowa Boat & Vacation Show the International Native American UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls Flute Association. January 19-21 WATCH WILD EAGLES WITH EAGLE EXPERT Quad City Boat, R.V. & Vacation Show DUKE ADDICKS AND LISTEN TO HIS EAGLE AND RiverCenter, Davenport THUNDERBIRD LEGENDS AND LORE AT: Guttenberg Eagle Watch, January 13-14, 2007 (both days) February 2-4 Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Sportshow The 20th Anniversary Sauk Prairie,Wis., Coralville Conference Center Eagle Watching Days, January 20-21, 2007 (both days) Join Duke as he leads his Eagle Watching van tour March 9-11 of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Eastern Iowa Sportshow in Bloomington, Minn., Saturdays in February at 2:30 p.m. UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls reservations required: (952) 858-0740 Vacation Opportunities • Boat & RV Shopping Fishing, Camping & Hunting Adventures For more details about Duke’s many eagle watching events and Informative Seminars • Family Entertainment & Much More!!! for a schedule of Duke’s many other River Tales programs, see: www.DukeAddicksStoryteller.com Visit www.iowashows.com Or contact him at (651) 643-0622 [email protected] or phone 319-232-0218

 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 St. Paul

Minneapolis Prescott Hastings Diamond Bluff Hager City Bay City River News Red Wing Maiden Rock Stockholm Lake City Pepin Reads Landing Nelson Wabasha WISCONSIN Kellogg Alma The Ibis & the Manatee Minneiska Buffalo City MINNESOTA Fountain City Fountain City, Wis. — No one knows Winona Trempealeau why an ibis, a long-legged, long- Onalaska necked bird with a long curving La Crescent La Crosse bill that usually hangs out in warm Brownsville Stoddard coastal waters, was competing for fish Genoa New Albin Victory with gulls in a slough near Fountain Desoto City in early November. The bird was the promised opening in 2001. Lansing Ferryville Lynxville definitely not a scarlet ibis, but its The prison, originally a $140 mil- Harpers Ferry precise identity was never determined lion facility, includes 15 buildings on Marquette Prairie du Chien McGregor — it may have been a white-faced ibis 146 acres of land, surrounded by a Wyalusing Clayton Bagley or a glossy ibis. one-mile loop of two parallel fences, Glen Haven Guttenberg Cassville Maybe the ibis was flying down to the inner one 15 feet high and con- Potosi meet the manatee that was spotted nected to a 7,000-volt current, the North Buena Vista Dickeyville in the Mississippi River at Memphis. outer just 12 feet high and made of Dubuque East Dubuque Manatees are thousand-pound ma- razor wire. A network of 305 surveil- Galena IOWA Elizabeth rine mammals that also live in warm lance cameras keeps watch. (Quad Cit- Bellevue Hanover coastal waters. Since manatees can’t ies Times, 8-27-06) Savanna survive in water colder than 66 F and Sabula ILLINOIS the Mississippi River was 60 degrees FBI Studies Deaths Thomson Clinton Fulton Camanche or less in early October, rescuers from La Crosse, Wis. — La Crosse is not Albany LeClaire Cordova Sea World in Orlando, Fla., flew in to the only rivertown with a lot of bars Quad Cities Port Byron try to help. After a week of searching, and taverns, and a sizable college- Bettendorf East Moline Davenport Moline Buffalo everyone gave up, assuming that the age population, but it is the only one Muscatine Rock Island manatee had turned tail and followed where eight young men have died the current back downriver. from drowning in the river following Manatees have occasionally been a night of heavy drinking. found in the river, but never as far The most recent death was in Oc- north as Memphis, which is 700 miles tober 2006. Tourneys Tough on Fish above the Gulf of Mexico. The mayor, police and county La Crosse, Wis. — Preliminary results medical examiner all believe the from La Crosse’s participation in Pokey Progress deaths occurred accidentally. Each Wisconsin’s Bass Tournament Mortal- Thomson, Ill. — Five years after it victim had a blood alcohol content ity Study show that tournament-in- was built, the Thomson Correctional of 2.0 or more. But rumors have per- duced stress increased bass mortality Center received its first 200 mini- sisted that a serial killer was stalking by about 18 percent within five days mum-security prisoners last fall. The downtown bars, so police forwarded after they were released. prison hired 75 employees to open the their files to the FBI in November, The University of Wisconsin-Ste- prison and get things going. Thirty- where they will be reviewed by the vens Point study called for 100 bass one of the 41 new corrections officers FBI’s National Center for the Analysis to be caught by Wisconsin Depart- just graduated from the state training of Violent Crime. ment of Natural Resources (DNR) academy. Similar deaths have been reported staffers, and 100 bass to be caught The new inmates are being trained in other towns. After the body of a by tournament participants on both to maintain the grounds and do laun- young man was found in the river in the first and second day. All three dry and kitchen work. Eventually Minneapolis in 2002, police insisted groups of fish were placed in 12-foot- 1,600 maximum-security inmates will that he was not the victim of foul square pens in an area of slight cur- move in. They will remain in their play, but they reclassified the case as rent. After five days, 6 percent of the cells 23 hours a day, under tight se- a homicide late last fall. In Dubuque, smallmouth and 13 percent of the curity provided by sophisticated and a young man who disappeared from largemouth bass from the DNR pen costly electronic systems. a bar on Christmas Eve last year was died — an average of 10 percent. Of Nearby Thomson hopes to see a re- found in the river in March. His fa- the tournament fish, 37 percent of vival of its economy, which declined ther, a U.S. Marshall, called for an the smallmouth and 27 percent of the after hopes were raised and invest- investigation by the FBI later that largemouth died — an average of 28 ments were made in anticipation of month. percent.

January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine  Death rates are known to be af- counted, a number similar to last in Alton, which focuses on river ecol- fected by water temperature (warmer year’s count. ogy, the mechanics of the river, and water kills more fish), fish species Flukes, also called trematodes, are locks and dams, as well as indigenous (smallmouth are more susceptible parasitic flatworms with complex life peoples of the river region. than largemouth), wind and wave cycles that usually require two differ- The museum is next to the Melvin conditions (bouncing around in a ent hosts before they infect the birds. Price Locks and Dam, and operated livewell increases stress) and the A species of snail native to Europe by the Army Corps of Engineers. presence of a specific virus called is the intermediate host for the two LMBV. fluke species thought to be respon- Island Getaway In 2004, the Wisconsin Legislature sible for the waterfowl deaths. When St. Louis — The city of St. Louis is directed the DNR to study the im- birds eat infected snails, the flukes considering a plan to build a series pacts of tournaments. Final results then either feed on the bird’s blood of islands and terraces in front of its compiled from several sites and tour- or disrupt their water and electrolyte landmark Gateway Arch. The island naments were expected to be released balance, causing death either way. barges, connected by floating walk- in December. All birds found in this year’s die- ways, would support recreation and off had exceptionally high concentra- social events, beer gardens, restau- Death By Flukes tions of flukes in their intestines. rants and a skating rink. Million-dol- La Crosse, Wis. — Intestinal parasites Predators and scavengers of wa- lar feasibility studies to investigate known as flukes killed thousands of terfowl are apparently not affected the project’s effects on river flow, coots, lesser scaup, blue-winged teal, by eating the trematodes. There is no sediment and commercial navigation buffleheads and ruddy ducks in pools known health threat to humans who were to be completed by January. 7, 8 and 9 during the fall migration of clean, handle or eat the birds. (Waterways Journal 8-21-06) 2006, according to a report from the Meanwhile, just south of St. Louis, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Research Center Planned the Army Corps of Engineers will re- Flukes have killed birds during Alton, Ill. — The state of Illinois will move about 4,700 cubic yards of rock every migration since they were first contribute $6.8 million toward build- from the navigation channel in 270 documented in 2002. As of late No- ing a field and research station next locations. The jagged limestone rock vember, 2,400 dead birds had been to the National Great Rivers Museum that forms the riverbed from Chester, 3_122_bigriver:janfeb 11/07/06 12:24 PM Page 1

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 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 Ill., to Cape Girardeau, Mo., is inter- are working hard this winter to pre- fering with shipping after water lev- pare for a gala far from the river next els dropped, following seven years June. of low rainfall in the mid-Mississippi Kristine Kjos, artist and owner River Valley. of The Commercial gallery in Alma, In late November several tows will plan and sew 60 very large floor- bumped the bottom. When the Up- length damask tablecloths and 60 silk per Mississippi freezes, the flow will table toppers, to be used in entertain- drop even more. ing 600 guests at a fête at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris. Fish Fever Allison Lisk, owner of Clementine Stress from overpopulation may have flower shop in Stockholm, will pro- caused a sudden die-off of Asian carp vide and arrange flower centerpieces on the Illinois River last summer. An for the ball. estimated 1,000 fish per mile died in The ball is part of a four-day event a 110-mile stretch between Starved sponsored by the Friends of the Pal- Rock and Havana, Ill. The initial ace of Versailles, an American group suspect was the spring viremia virus, with a mission to encourage cultural known to be fatal to carp, but the die- exchange in education, architecture off had different characteristics than and the arts, and to raise funds to those usually found with viremia, ac- help restore the palace. The French cording to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- government spends more than $55 vice biologists. No viral or bacterial million a year to keep up the famous cause has been discovered. 2,500-room palace, which was built Shovelnose sturgeon died off sud- by Louis XIV in the mid-17th century, denly last summer along a 50-mile but that doesn’t cover new restora- stretch of the Des Moines River be- tion. Grounds, gardens and many tween Ottumwa and Bonaparte, Iowa, buildings were neglected for two about 35 miles above the river’s con- centuries. fluence with the Mississippi. The die- “I’m excited! I would never have off was limited to sturgeon, which thought this was likely, living in a meant that the cause was more likely small river town,” said Kjos, who to be disease than pollution, but re- moved from Milwaukee 10 years ago. search was inconclusive. “After I finish the tablecloths, I’m go- Sturgeon-only kills have been re- ing to sew a ball gown.” corded on the Des Moines, the Mis- sissippi and other rivers where wa- Snails & Snot ter levels dropped and temperatures Another invasive species has become rose. a matter of urgent concern, not for the Mississippi River, but for many Take the Wheel cold water tributary streams. A dia- What do you do when the captain of tom algae Didymosphenia geminata, the boat falls overboard or has a heart or “Didymo,” for short, has infected attack? What do you do if the boat trout streams in Virginia, Montana catches fire? What do you need to and South Dakota. Anglers describe know to safely rent or buy a boat? it as looking something like wet toilet The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary paper. Others call it “bubblegum” or offers a variety of courses, including “rock snot.” one for non-boaters called “Suddenly It poses no direct threat to hu- in Command.” The four-hour course man or fish health, but it does clog deals with getting help, coping with up ecosystems used by bugs and fish, fire, avoiding collisions, handling the just like heavy sedimentation would. boat, surviving in the water and gen- (River Crossings, July-August 2006) erally being prepared for an emer- Biologists have found several spec- gency. imens of an exotic snail called the channeled apple snail on the west Going to the Palace bank of the Mississippi River near Alma and Stockholm, Wis. — Two New Orleans. The snail is a voracious artisans from Mississippi River towns eater and became a serious pest to

January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine  rice and other agricultural crops in losses in the Upper Mississippi River into coastline. This alternative won Southeast Asia after it was imported basin. The bill relies on existing fed- unanimous approval of researchers at from South America to start a gour- eral, state and local programs. a meeting in New Orleans last spring, met escargot business and escaped. but left unanswered the question of It is huge, compared to native snails Fixing the Gulf Coast how ocean-going ships would make it — up to four inches long. So far it has New Orleans — Since the 2005 hur- up to the port. Lawsuits have already been found no farther north than In- ricanes ripped up the Gulf coastline, been filed against the Army Corps diana. (Waterways Journal, 11-13-06) everyone’s been talking about Loui- of Engineers to close the Mississippi siana’s rapidly eroding coastal wet- River Gulf Outlet (MR-GO) canal, Trail & Protection Bills lands. The state still has 30 percent of which is blamed for directing the Washington, D.C. — In late Septem- the nation’s coastal wetlands, but it’s storm surge from the Gulf directly ber, Congress passed the Mississippi lost a third of its area since the 1930s, into the Parish of St. Bernard last River Trail Study Act, which will mostly due to levees, canals and other year. The MR-GO is a shipping chan- amend the 1968 National Trails Sys- human engineering. nel dug in the late 1960s to provide tem Act and add the Mississippi River One proposal calls for dredged better access to New Orleans. to the list of potential additions to the river sediment that was previously Many scientists point out that the national system of historic and scenic cleared from navigation channels and most natural solution would be to trails. Nineteen trails are now part dumped off the continental shelf to let the river change its course, as it of the system, including the Appala- be deposited instead in the eroding has always done from time to time. chian National Scenic Trail and the shallows near land. Such a change would likely push it Mormon Pioneer National Historic Another proposal would reinforce through the Atchafalaya River chan- Trail. The bill was sponsored by Betty the shore using dredged material nel and out to the Gulf, to form new McCollum, D-Minn. pumped through a network of sedi- wetlands to the west. The Army Also in late September, the House ment pipelines. Corps has installed an enormous sys- passed the Upper Mississippi River Another would divert the out- tem of locks and dams to prevent Basin Protection Act, to develop a co- let of the river itself to send muddy this from happening, because Ba- ordinated public-private approach water over shallower areas, where ton Rouge, New Orleans and chemi- to reducing nutrient and sediment waves and currents could rework it cal plants between them would end

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10 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 Photo Contest Winner Visit Winona, Minnesota

There’s always something new to discover in Winona.

UPCOMING EVENTS JAN. 13 - FEB. 4 GERARD FERRARI SCULPTURES

JANUARY 15 LATE NITE CATECHISM 2 JANUARY 22 MOSCOW FESTIVAL BALLET, “DON QUIXOTE” JANUARY 25-28 FROZEN RIVER FILM FESTIVAL JANUARY 26 JON GORKA CONCERT FEBRUARY 24 WILLY PORTER CONCERT

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MINNESOTA’S HISTORIC ISLAND CITY AT www.visitwinona.com CALL 800.657.4972 or 507.452.0735 Tim Powell of West Burlington, Iowa, took this shot for a free Visitors Guide of the Burlington harbor in November 2006. Journey Through Time.... end contest entries for the March-April issue contest to Big River by Jan- At the Winona County uary 19. If we select your photo to print in these pages, we’ll send you S Historical Society. three free copies of the magazine. The contest is open to amateurs, profes- sionals, adults and kids. Email a digital JPEG (.jpg) photo file — high-reso- lution photos only, please — to [email protected]. Write “PHOTO CON- TEST” in the subject line. Or send a print to Photo Editor, Big River, PO Box 204, Winona, MN 55987. (We cannot return photographs, though.) Include your name, address, phone number and a short description of the photograph — who or what it is, when and where it was taken, etc. up on a backwater. Nonetheless, the As of November, a joint commit- threat of global warming, bigger tee was unable to reconcile the two IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE PAST IN THE REGION’S storms, higher seas and increasing versions of the bill and final passage LARGEST AND FINEST HISTORICAL MUSEUM. ENJOY AWARD-WINNING EXHIBITS. RESEARCH WINONA’S erosion is shifting priorities. (Plane- was unlikely. Feingold refused to give COLORFUL PAST IN THE MUSEUM’S LIBRARY AND tArk 10-8-06, New York Times 9-19-06) up the amendment. If the bill fails to ARCHIVES. VISIT THE MUSEUM SHOP AND THE become law this session, proponents “PREVIOUSLY READ” BOOKSTORE. WRDA Stalled would have to reintroduce it again Washington, D.C. — The Water Re- next spring. www.winonahistory.org sources Development Act (WRDA) 507.454.2723 Open Monday - Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. that would authorize expansion of Awards Closed weekends in January and February seven locks on the Mississippi and This fall, four Mississippi River en- Illinois rivers was approved by both thusiasts received recognition for the House and Senate last summer, their work. but the Senate’s version included an Storyteller Roald Tweet, Rock Is- amendment sponsored by Sen. Russ land, Ill., received the Illinois Hu- Feingold, D-Wis., and Sen. John Mc- manities Council 2006 Studs Ter- Cain, R-Ariz., requiring independent kel Humanitarian Service Award. Visit Winona and the Winona County peer review of all Army Corps of In nominating Tweet for the award, Historical Society are located at Engineers projects that cost more than which honors cultural contributors, 160 Johnson St., Winona, MN 55987 $40 million. Rock Island Mayor Mark Schweibert

January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine 11 said, “from the visual and performing Lock 11 at Dubuque will be closed big boat was leased to a private en- arts to Mississippi River historian, his from January 2 to February 28 for ma- ergy company in the Katrina effort. long and distinguished service has jor rehabilitation of the lower land The Delta Queen remained down- enriched our entire area.” guide wall. stream from St. Louis this summer. The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra All three boats are scheduled to Club gave a Public Service Award to Queasy on the Queen cruise the Upper Mississippi in 2007. Clayton County Planning and Zoning The paddleboat Mississippi Queen cut Commissioner Kathy Koether, honor- short a fall foliage tour to the Upper No Name Change ing her for her sustained opposition Mississippi in October when pas- Clinton, Iowa — A Clinton City to the River Bluff development project sengers fell ill with gastrointestinal Council member’s idea to change the near McGregor, Iowa. The club also symptoms. On Oct. 25, the boat left name of Riverview Drive to Veterans gave a Grassroots Activist Award to St. Louis heading for St. Paul, but Memorial Drive sank out of sight Clayton County resident Tim Mason turned back in Hannibal, Mo., when after council members realized how for his work to protect the environ- about 40 people got sick. awkward that might be for the city, ment in the Marquette-McGregor A week earlier, about 153 pas- whose marketing slogan is “Things to area. sengers and 15 crew members on an Do with a River View.” McGregor native John M. “Corky” Ohio River trip got sick, prompting a Bickel was elected president of the two-day Queen-clean in St. Louis. Af- Instant Fish Passages board for the National Rivers Hall of ter the Oct. 25 cruise turned around, Alton, Ill. — The Army Corps of Fame, founded by his late father, John the Queen got a 10-day scrubbing and Engineers is considering a fish pas- P. Bickel. The younger Bickel was cruised again Nov. 8 from St. Louis, sage at Melvin Price Lock and Dam once a cabin boy on the excursion heading to Hannibal and back with at Alton, as part of its Navigation and steamboat Avalon. Food & Drug agents on board. Of- Ecosystem Sustainability Program. ficials think that the illness was a Melvin Price is the first obstacle to Lock Repair highly contagious Norwalk-like virus. big fish trying to swim upstream to Locks 2, 4, 9 and 10 are scheduled (11-9-06, St. Louis Post-Dispatch) spawn and feed. The project is still in to close from early December until Earlier, all 2006 American Queen the planning stage. March 1 for repair work. cruises were canceled, because the On July 25, the Corps held a public

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12 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 Wetlands make a river Learn about wetlands at both ends of the Mississippi River at Wisconsin Wetlands Association’s Annual Conference Riverine Wetlands Connections, Corridors & Catchments Army Corps slide shows a structural option to facilitate fish passage. (From link on website of Jim Bensman) La Crosse, WI February 1-2, 2007 meeting about the proposed project Savanna. Both adults had been raised at the National Great Rivers Museum, in captivity and released in different next to the locks. After the Corps pre- marshes near the Mississippi a year KEYNOTE SPEAKER sentation, which mentioned several apart by the Iowa Department of Dan McGuiness, Director possible scenarios, such as adjust- Natural Resources (DNR). ing dam gates, building a rock ramp According to Iowa DNR biologist Audubon Society or bypass, or removing the dam al- Ron Andrews, the Savanna pair left Upper Mississippi River together (illustrated by a picture of the nesting area and were seen on Campaign a dam exploding), members of the both sides of the river, but with only audience asked questions and made one cygnet. Swans need open wa- comments. Jim Bensman of Alton ter in the winter, so this family may BANQUET SPEAKER urged that the dam be torn out. A stick around or may migrate south. Kerry St. Pé, Director story in Alton’s The Telegraph reported Trumpeters winter in west-central Barataria-Terrebonne National that Bensman said he “would like to Missouri, east-central Kansas, south- Estuary Program see the dam blown up.” Oops! ern Illinois, or sometimes in open wa- in coastal Louisiana An Army Corps security manager ter below dams. The largest winter- forwarded the newspaper clipping ing concentration of trumpeters is in Ticketed event to the FBI, who then called Bens- Monticello, Minn., just downstream February 1st, 6 PM man for a little talk. The Associated from a nuclear power plant. Press (8-26-06) and New York Times The swan population is nearing (8-22-06) picked up the story, report- sustainable levels in Iowa. Conference information and ing that Bensman, a coordinator with With an eight-foot wingspan, registration online at Heartwood, a hardwood-forest pro- trumpeters are the largest waterfowl www.wiscwetlands.org tection group, is a perennial critic of in North America. They were once 608-250-9971 the Corps, but not regarded as a ter- common in the Midwest, but disap- ror risk. peared in the 1890s, due to wetland loss and indiscriminate hunting. Trumpeters Nest in Illinois The Iowa DNR has released more For the first time in more than 150 than 700 trumpeter cygnets into the years, a pair of trumpeter swans wild since 1995. Each bird wears a nested in Illinois last summer, hatch- numbered neck collar. ing two cygnets in a wetland near

January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine 13 the deal, according to the county. the river, opponents of a proposed Bridges Reconfigured County commissioners want a de- floodwall to protect St. Paul’s Holman St. Paul — The developer of a pro- veloper “to find a reuse for the jail Field airport sued the city to stop the posed riverfront megaproject with- or knock it down,” said David Twa, mile-long structure, saying it would drew the plan’s rezoning request in county manager. Now nearly half a create more noise from air traffic and November to consult with community mile of riverfront is for sale. would obstruct the natural beauty of groups and gain city support. The abandoned jail, a unique de- the riverfront. (St. Paul Pioneer Press, Neighbors objected to the $1.5 bil- 11-14-06) lion Bridges project, which featured The 1920s-vintage hydro 30-story buildings with more than Green Potential 1,100 condos and 4,000 square feet of plant on the Mississippi at St. Paul — An abandoned riverfront retail space, plus hotels and a cultural Lock and Dam 2 is in good factory may be transformed to a green center. shape and still generates up residential or mixed-use development Mayor Chris Coleman called for powered by its own hydro plant on developer Jerry Trooien to deliver a to 18 megawatts. the Mississippi River. project more in keeping with the ex- That’s a distinct possibility for the isting residential neighborhoods. The sign that seems to climb the bluff to soon-to-be-shuttered Ford Motor Co. city’s comprehensive plan for that downtown street level, will be more truck plant in St. Paul. side of the Mississippi River, opposite costly to demolish than a freestand- Mayor Chris Coleman expressed downtown St. Paul, limits buildings ing structure, because it is partly un- interest in a “zero-emissions” rede- to six stories. der St. Paul’s Wabasha Street Bridge. velopment of the 122-acre Ford site, Meanwhile, across the river from Also for sale is the former West which already has retail and upscale the proposed Bridges site, developer Publishing building, which now single-family housing nearby. Rottlund Homes dropped plans to houses county offices. The county Such a development project could tear down the abandoned Ramsey thinks that such prime property draw power from an existing hy- County Jail and build a 25-story lux- should be on the tax rolls instead of dro dam on the Mississippi River ury condo tower on a prime piece of in government hands. and other energy sources — without riverfront. Rising construction costs Finally, just downstream from the producing carbon dioxide or other and a softer housing market nixed Bridges site and on the same side of emissions.

14 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 Ideas are in the “concept phase,” is part of the same new riverfront said Anne Hunt, the mayor’s deputy complex that houses the Isle of Capri policy director for environmental is- gambling boat. sues. “Can we as a community pro- A variety of businesses — engi- vide low-cost, reliable energy but also neering, accounting and real estate make it as green as possible?” asked firms — have already moved into Hunt. “These are discussions we the area, soon to be joined by a new, want the community to have.” themed retail shopping center. Bet- The 1920s-vintage hydro plant on tendorf is proud of the $104 million the Mississippi at Lock and Dam 2 is project, which is being funded with in good shape and still generates up a combination of public and private to 18 megawatts, enough to power as money, and will not increase the many as 14,000 households. tax burden on citizens. It is hoped Ford Motor Co. is looking for pro- that the project will create 125 new spective buyers for the hydro plant. jobs and bring $290 million into the Michael Lander, a Minneapolis de- community. veloper, called the Ford plant location The event center will be managed “one of the best if not the best rede- by the Isle of Capri. In exchange, they velopment sites in the Twin Cities,” agreed to absorb any operating losses except that it lacks immediate free- over the life of the agreement. way access. Vision Needed Canal Shore Drive Protest Davenport, Iowa — The city of LeClaire, Iowa — In late November Davenport is asking the Vision Iowa the LeClaire City Council approved a Board for $14 million in grants for request to build one of the four bars its riverfront development projects. and restaurants that were included The projects include $10 million for in a recent proposal to create attrac- construction of Centennial Park, $2.8 tions along Canal Shore Drive, but the million toward the construction of a building has to be finished by June public pier and a million dollars for 2007. a waterfront festival ground. The Vi- Neighbors protested the proposal sion Iowa Board in November said to build four restaurants and bars the plan looked promising, but it had and a banquet facility. They feared questions about the involvement of the plan would create a party cove private developers. with loud music, and parking and Faced with disagreement among run-off problems. city council members, the city will Two-mile-long Canal Shore Drive create a separate Community and At- is separated from the Main Channel traction Task Force to answer these by a lateral dam. It was a residential and other questions. area for a long time, with two ma- If the project wins approval, fund- rinas. When developers proposed ing would be spread over several building a hotel in the area, residents years because the board only grants protested, but the hotel was built. about $12 million a year. (Quad Cities Later, residents protested a plan to Times, 10-18-06) create a docking facility consisting of a moored barge. After that, they pro- Old Wetland, New Trail tested the idea of a marina sticking Davenport, Iowa — An always-soggy, out into the narrow canal. frequently-underwater section of the Proponents of the new restaurant- walking trail through 513-acre Nahant and-bar plan say the project would Marsh, an urban wetlands area adja- bring money to the community. cent to the Mississippi River, recently got an extreme makeover. Casino Development Volunteers from the Alcoa Daven- Bettendorf, Iowa — Bettendorf has port Works and several other public broken ground for a new 53,000- and private groups, coordinated by square-foot event center and placed nonprofit River Action, provided la- the final beam atop the new 12-story, bor. They laid down a new trail sur- 256-room Isle of Capri Hotel, which face that prevents the fill for the trail

January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine 15 from sinking into wetland mud. The and organizations, whooping cranes Territories of Canada. And about 55 material, called “Geo-Web,” is a mesh continue to make a slow comeback. wild birds live year round in central of perforated, vertical-standing cells Three birds from Winnebago County, Florida. that is laid on the ground, with a Iowa, arrived at their wintering gravel surface on top. grounds in Florida on November 10. Starting Small Nahant Marsh, one of the last wet- They will be joined, if all goes Hastings, Minn. — One way to im- lands in the Quad Cities urban area, well, by their Wisconsin neighbors prove water quality and habitat on is now a popular environmental edu- the big river is to protect water qual- cation site. It was used for skeet and Nahant Marsh, one of the last ity on the little ones. trap shooting for nearly 40 years. In The small but prized Vermillion 1996, the Environmental Protection wetlands in the Quad Cities River in southeastern Minnesota is Agency declared it a Superfund site urban area, is now a popular about to get improved protection because of lead shot. Eventually, 143 through new watershed standards tons of lead-contaminated soil were environmental education site. adopted by the Vermillion River Joint removed from the area. Powers Board. The river drains about The Nahant Marsh Educational from the Necedah National Wildlife 300 square-miles, including most of Center, managed by the Putnam Mu- Refuge. From Necedah, new cranes Dakota County, one of the fastest seum, sponsors activities to teach the follow ultra-lights on their first au- growing counties in the Twin Cities importance of wetlands and how they tumn journey. As of November 27, Metro area. The new standards will benefit water quality, wildlife and the Wisconsin flock and the ultralight cover floodplain and wetland altera- humans. crew were resting in Cumberland tions, stormwater management, ag- County, Tenn., having traveled 674.8 ricultural activities, and other water Whooping Progress miles. In 2005, the cranes had made it quality factors in two counties and in Necedah, Wis. — The snow birds to Florida by Dec. 12. the 20 communities along the river, have all gone south — not winter-shy There are 66 birds in the eastern including Hastings. senior citizens, but migrating whoop- North American wild flock. The only The Vermillion, a clear, cool trout ing cranes, a species that was nearly other migrating wild flock consists stream, empties into the Mississippi extinct in the 1940s. of some 220 birds at the Wood Buf- near Red Wing, Minn. (Hastings Star Thanks to a coalition of agencies falo National Park in the Northwest Gazette, 11-2-06) F

16 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 Know Your River Cold Fish — Life and Death Under the Ice By Pamela Eyden

hen the water cools to to Lock and million years old, breathes air dur- 50 F, most river fish move Dam 9,” Jan- ing summer months right from Wfrom their summer places vrin said. the surface of the water, but to their winter places. Most don’t go Fish spend a lot during the winter it finds very far, but some travel a surprising of energy to get back deep water, settles down distance. One study in Pool 7 found to their traditional winter- and holds its breath for that smallmouth bass near Black River ing sites, where they have a rea- weeks at a time. Falls, Wis., migrated down the Black sonable chance of surviving winter. Northern pike stay more River to the Mississippi River for A lot of these sites have disappeared active than most other fish, but they the winter, and then back up for the since the 1950s and 60s, because of prefer cold water in the summer, too. summer. Bluegills migrate as far as siltation. These tough guys go about their busi- three miles in the Mississippi. Large- The Army Corps of Engineers built ness under the ice, following their mouth bass migrate as far as 16 miles islands in Pool 8 to provide wintering prey, at least until about late January. between their spawning grounds and habitat for fish. Five years later, the Even pike slow down then. their wintering grounds. “Winter’s a good time to catch These fish — bluegills, largemouth “They just lay there, stacked pike. A lot of anglers go after them bass and their relatives — move to up like cordwood.” then, but the end of January is a spots at least four feet deep with little tough time to catch any fish,” Yess or no current that are slightly warmer “Stoddard project” has drawn lots of said. than surrounding water. They tend fish, Janvrin said. Walleyes and saugers settle into to go back to the same places every “It went from zero bluegills per the deep water below the dams for winter. hour to 400 per hour, which puts the cold months. Fish don’t freeze in icy water be- it among the top 10 sites between Brown bullheads have the odd- cause their bodies have slightly Red Wing and Dubuque.” (“Fish per est winter strategies. They swim like higher concentrations of salt, and, hour” is a measure of the number of mad to push their way head first into therefore, a lower freezing point than fish found by electroshock testing.) the muddy bottom. Then they turn water. The cold slows their metabo- Paddlefish and catfish, too, move around and blow water out of their lism. They eat less and move less. to deep holes for the winter. mouths, creating little cones of mud Jeff Janvrin, Mississippi River “They get together in big groups open at the top, and stay there until habitat specialist for the Wisconsin when they home into their winter- the warming water draws them out at Department of Natural Resources, ing areas,” said Scott Yess, fish biolo- the end of winter. just completed an inventory of blue- gist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Fish of the frozen North are built gill and largemouth bass wintering Service and coordinator of the Upper to handle cold, but their immune sys- sites between Red Wing, Minn., and Mississippi River Conservation Com- tems take a beating when winter goes Dubuque, Iowa. He found that all the mittee. “They just lay there, stacked on too long, making them susceptible good wintering sites were in the up- up like cordwood.” to disease. per third or upper half of each pool, They eat little and move little dur- Bald eagles convene on the river where there are more islands and ing the winter. ice in February looking for an easy sloughs. “You can dive down right next to meal of dead fish, mostly gizzard “There are big gaps, 10 to 20 miles them, and they won’t move,” Yess shad. Gizzard shad are abundant in long in some places, where there are said. the river, but they get stressed by pro- no wintering places for fish. The Cold Catfish lay with their heads longed cold. People often report fish Springs area, for example, is the only pointed upstream into the current, kills when they see large numbers of wintering spot from Lansing down one behind the other, like bicyclists dead shad at the end of winter, but saving energy by riding in another pollution is not usually the cause, it’s bicyclist’s slipstream. just winter taking its toll. F Longnose gar, one of Fish illustrations by Duane Raver/USFWS. the most ancient species Top: bluegill; center: largemouth bass; bottom: in the river, at least 100 channel catfish.

January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine 17 A DN-style boat steers by the runner in the front. (Craig Wilson, Kite Aerial Photography)

18 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 Flying Low, Flying Fast Over the Ice By Pamela Eyden

inter sports enthusiasts usually avoid those open to a tiller, and two runners extending out to the sides like spaces where the icy wind sweeps across miles outriggers. They generally hold two to four people and are Wof frozen river. Except iceboaters. They go out powered by two sails. The newer, more stable DN style has looking for it. the two outrigger-like runners extending out to the sides, Iceboaters harness the wind to push boats that are with a third at the bow of the boat. DNs carry just one per- mounted on skate-like runners. All they need is a good son and have a single sail. They are lighter, easier to move wind and good ice. Good ice is at least four inches thick, and assemble and are more responsive than the stern- covered by less than four inches of snow, and free of holes, steerers. The DN got its name by winning a design contest heaves, fissures and pressure ridges. When they find good sponsored by the Detroit News in 1937. ice, they’ll converge on the site at the speed of the internet. In his 11-foot DN, Anderson stretches out feet first and “Iceboating is about the most fun you can have in the steers with a tiller between his knees. All it takes is half winter!” said Sig Anderson of Lake City, Minn. Lake Pepin an inch of knee movement to control the tiller, which is is one of the country’s well-known sites. Last year, the Na- connected to the front runner. He keeps one hand on the tional Regatta was held on the lake. line that controls the boat’s 75 square feet of sail. That These cross-shaped rigs glide across the ice on three isn’t much sail, he said, compared with a sailboat, but it’s steel runners. They move much faster than sailboats — 60 plenty. Iceboats whip along at as much as five times the mph is common, 120 mph is possible. speed of the wind. There are two basic types. The older, bigger, stern-steer- As with ice skates, the pressure of the stainless steel ing boats have one runner in the back connected directly blades on the ice creates a thin layer of water. The iceboat actually glides on this water. “After you push the iceboat five or ten steps to free it from drag, you jump in and sheet the sail down. The boat jumps. You go from five miles per hour to 30 miles per hour instantly!” Anderson said. He’s clocked his boat go- ing six miles in six minutes, or 60 mph. It’s easy to stop. You just turn up into the wind, as you would in sailing a boat on liquid water. For protection, Anderson dons layers of winter insu- lation, coveralls, insulated boots, nice thick gloves and a snowmobile helmet with a full face mask. Still, he says, “It’s the adrenaline that keeps you warm.”

Last year’s North American Championship Regatta for the International DN Iceboat Association drew 80 iceboaters from several nations to Lake Pepin. (Geoff Sobering)

January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine 19 The Lake City Ice Yacht Club in 1898. (Courtesy of Bob Kemp)

Lake City Ice Yacht Club I’m talking about it,” he joked. “I’d say the ratio is 70 per- Anderson is one of the last people in Lake City to continue cent talk, 20 percent work and 10 percent actual iceboating this traditional river sport, although many people in town time.” still own old boats and remember when they used them. Iceboaters love the thrill of speed, but they also like Iceboating has a long history on Lake Pepin. In fact, it’s the technical details of sailing, and making and fixing the one of the oldest sports on the river. In the 1880s farmers boats. Iceboats are all home-made, except those made for built big stern-steering iceboats that carried 10 or 12 peo- national and international racing. They are bought, sold ple. Some of the crew rode in the boat; others stood on the side runners to give the boat weight and prevent it from “When you hit something solid at speed, lifting off the ice and tipping over. it’s pretty common that something on “They’d race from one end of the lake to the other. They’d even race the trains!” said Anderson. the iceboat will break and the whole Some of the original stern-steering boats, or at least mess comes to a sliding stop.” parts of these old boats, are still sailing the windy lake. When the Lake City Ice Yacht Club burned down around and upgraded frequently via the internet. Hobby DNs cost 1900, the wooden boats burned leaving only their steel from $600 to $1,500, with the stainless steel runners ac- runners. They were salvaged and used to build other counting for most of the cost. boats. Knowing the Ice Love of the Sport Repair is part of the game. Holes hidden under the snow Pepin, Wis., just across the river from Lake City, is a hot- can snag a runner; fierce gusts of wind can lift the boat off bed of iceboating. The 25 or so members of the Lake Pepin the ice and tip it over; cables can fail. Ice Yacht Club own 14 boats, ranging from kids’ boats to “When you hit something solid at speed, it’s pretty small DNs and larger, older stern-steering boats. They meet common that something on the iceboat will break and the at the Pickle Factory Bar and Grill on the waterfront. Their whole mess comes to a sliding stop,” said Geoff Sober- biggest boat is the Rum Runner, an antique 33.5-foot long ing, a Madison, Wis., iceboater who also sails on the Mis- by 18-foot wide boat that carries four people. Club mem- sissippi. “Injuries are remarkably uncommon, given the bers restored it 10 years ago, and they sail it every year. speed and proximity in a race.” “It’s not terribly fast, but it will go 50 or 60 mph,” said One rule of iceboating is to wear a good helmet. An- Ed Newcomb of Menomonie, Wis. Newcomb started ice- other is to always watch for other iceboaters on the ice. boating when he was ten years old, on a DN his father “Two friends of mine had a nearly head-on collision built for him. That was 46 years ago, and he still sails the on Lake Pepin last year,” said Sobering. “Both their boats same boat. were pretty much destroyed. One fellow sprained his an- “In the winter, when I’m not out iceboating, I’m work- kles and the other was unhurt, but they had to walk the ing on the boats, and when I’m not working on the boats, two miles back to the landing.”

20 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 The most important safety precaution is to know the ice in the area or sail with someone who does. “You have to be watchful for cracks, pressure ridges and other local conditions, like places where the water comes up over the surface,” Anderson ex- plained. “For example, on the downstream side of points that stick out into the current, there are fluid formations called ‘gyres.’ The water is warmer and moves at higher velocity. It makes for thinner ice.” Anderson, an engineer by profession, said he always carries ice picks with him, just in case he has to haul himself out of the water. Since the speed of the boat depends on both wind and good ice, some years, iceboaters only get a few good days. In Ed Newcomb’s memory, iceboaters got their fill of the sport only once. The Pepin Club’s fleet includes small DN-style boats, like the two in the front, and “Four years ago, we were out there from about larger stern-steerers, like the two in the back. The iceboat at the rear is an original Thanksgiving to mid-March,” Newcomb said. “We ice- Lake Pepin boat from 1900. (Ed Newcomb) boated so much we got sick of it.” When the ice isn’t good, some iceboaters pack up and central Wisconsin. After two days of drizzle and melting travel to lakes in Wisconsin, northern Minnesota, Michi- ice, they moved again, to Lake Pepin. gan and farther. For races, they think nothing of driving The annual World Championship (“Gold Cup”) alter- 1,000 miles to find good ice. nates between North America and Europe, and usually Last year about 80 iceboaters from the United States, draws from 130 to 150 sailors. This year it is scheduled for Canada and Europe gathered on Lake Pepin for the North February 18 to 20, with the location to be determined by American Championship Regatta for the International DN ice conditions. F Iceboat Association. The race had been scheduled for Mon- treal, Canada, but conditions there deteriorated, so two Pamela Eyden is Big River’s news and photo editor. days before the race it was relocated to Lake Winnebago in

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January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine 21 Backwater Classroom

Students fan out in all directions on Running Slough. Story and Photographs by Meggan Massie

ost students spend their Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wis.; Sil- south of La Crosse, to follow up on days in classrooms, lunch- ver Mound archaeological site in Jack- a project they started last May, when Mrooms, labs and gyms, but son County, Wis.; and Effigy Mounds they planted a mixture of more than students enrolled in Longfellow Mid- National Monument in Harpers Ferry, 200 swamp white oak and silver dle School’s “School on the River,” in Iowa. maples to protect the island from La Crosse, Wis., are learning on the In addition to field trips, the stu- eroding. water as well as in the classroom. dents are responsible for a two-year The still water was framed by a The School on the River program capstone research project. Modeled thin layer of ice along the shallow brings more than 100 seventh and banks. Squirrels rustled through the eighth grade students to the Missis- “When you are actually leaves. Gulls sat on the shoreline. sippi River to study a variety of sub- outside experiencing what Then the peace of the island was bro- jects. The curriculum combines natu- ken by childish laughter, innocent ral science, social science, humanities you are learning, you can get bickering and singing as the 50 stu- and philosophy in a two-year pro- up close, pick things up and dents poured from a yellow bus. gram that alternates between earth “In so many ways, this program and life sciences. Students study the turn them over.” is much better than regular school,” river’s ecological systems, because said William Ottow, 13, now in his these systems illustrate how politi- after a full-scale action research proj- second year in the series. “It’s inter- cal, cultural, economic and organiza- ect, the kids start by choosing a topic active. So often we just learn about tional systems work in the real world. they are interested in, developing a things from a two-dimensional text The students, along with four dedi- question and then developing a body book. When you are actually outside cated faculty members — Pam Popp, of knowledge to begin researching. experiencing what you are learning, Debra Buswell, Mike Johnson and Jeff Topics range from the negative effects you can get up close, pick things up Hansen — take more than 20 field of acid rain to which food variety do and turn them over. trips each year. Trips include archi- whitetail deer prefer. “The current from the Mississippi tectural walks through downtown In November the students trav- backwaters is taking away the is- La Crosse and visits to a La Crosse elled to Goose Island, a wooded is- lands. Because they don’t have any wastewater treatment plant; Devil’s land park just off Hwy. 35, five miles solid root systems, there is nothing

22 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 for them to hold on with. So, that is why we planted the trees, to give the island a chance,” he explained. “When you are in the canoe, on the river, you can clearly see exactly where and how the islands are deteri- orating,” Ottow said. “It’s really cool.” Thirteen-year old Jourdan Sta- cey explained the negative effects of reed canary grass, an invasive peren- nial grass, which she’d learned about firsthand. “In class we learned that the grass was overpowering tree life and kill- ing all the trees on the island before they had a chance to grow,” she said. “The trees are important because without them, in 50 years there might not be anything left of the islands.” When the students planted trees last year, their first task was to re- move the grass to make space to put the seedlings in the ground. “When we went back to measure the trees, a lot were completely taken over by the grass. You could see just how fast-growing and suffocating it was. It’s kind of sad,” Stacey said. Each trip, each class session, is an adventure in and of itself. With a cascade of splashes and un- certain screams, the cluster of canoes took to the 40-degree water of Run- ning Slough. Orange paddles shifted awkwardly from side to side. Each ca- noe held a group of three or four stu- dents rocking unsteadily to and fro. Two students paddled each vessel, sit- Leah Youngblood and Kelsey Freit measure the growth of trees planted in the spring. ting high at each end, while the oth- Science teacher Mike Johnson leads a flotilla of canoes. ers sat cross-legged in between. “They tend to use the whole river,” said science teacher Mike Johnson as the kids shouted commands and di- rections to one another. “No, turn to the right,” one girl yelled. “Ugh, your other right.” A round of “Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream,” echoed through the river valley accompanied with laughter and the occasional fem- inine shriek. The teachers divided the classes into two groups, and each took a dif- ferent route. Johnson took the lead, counting each canoe as he glided along. “Okay, we’ve got everyone,” he said. He shouted back a warning as his oar dug into the unusually shallow river

January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine 23  bottom. “Keep up, we’re heading to Once they reach their destination,  the left, and watch out for these logs,” nearly a mile away from the start- he said, pointing with his paddle to a ing point, the kids transform into re- gnarled mass of tree trunks protrud- searchers. Each tree must be carefully ing from the bank. exposed from beneath its protective “This is where we separate the tubing, measured and recorded.  boys from the men,” one kid spouted. For Ottow, this was one of the   “Mr. Johnson, you should get us coolest parts of the trip.  a yacht,” another “Last year, we  suggested. The program and its faculty just put sticks in  Canoes edged in the ground, and  front of each other, has earned national they tell you they’re  all striving to lead recognition, including the going to grow,” he  said. “But seeing the pack. Sea World/Busch Gardens  “Canoeing is all that they actually  about teamwork,” Environmental Educator did was amazing.  Johnson said. “Just of the Year in 2001. You really feel like  put the kids in a you are making a  boat and it forces difference.  them to work together — it just “Most kids just see this sort of  doesn’t work otherwise.” thing on a video in class, where we   The canoes also serve as a vehicle actually go and do it,” he explained.  to overcome fears, Johnson said, ei- “Maybe what we do will be on a video  ther of the water or the unknown. that other kids can see.” “Big, rough boys who you would Five months after the planting, the  never expect to admit a fear of any- students found that about 70 per-  thing are in tears two feet off the cent of the maples survived and were shore, begging us to take them back,” growing quickly. About 60 percent of  he said. “You just look at them and the oaks survived. tell them it will be all right.” Interactive learning occurs by es- It works. tablishing an educational classroom “It’s those same boys who are run- base and then making connections Prairie du Chien ning laps around everyone else by in the real world, said Debra Bus- the end of the year,” Johnson said. well, social studies and language arts Bald Eagle “Not all of them get better, but they at teacher. Appreciation Day least get the chance to try.” “What students do, they tend to re- Saturday, Feb. 3 211 S Main, Prairie du Chien 9 a.m-3 p.m. • Live Bald Eagle Programs, Exhibits • Birding Experts • Bald Eagle Viewing

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162 West 2nd Street Canoeists pick a sandy beach to land on a backwater island. Winona, Minn. 507-452-7020 member,” she said. “And they are do- of the Year in 2001 and the USA To- Open Tuesday - Sunday ing a lot.” day Teacher Team in 2000. Many lo- 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Back on the island, a burst of wind cal businesses and organizations gets teeth chattering. The kids endure have donated time, knowledge and Closed Monday the cold, misty, gray morning to get resources to the effort, including the job done. The pitter-patter of rain the Wisconsin Department of Natu- drops on winter coats accompanies ral Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife the faint mumbling about numbness Service, Friends of the Upper Mis- Hawks View in various extremities. sissippi Fisheries, U.S. Army Corps Their concentration fades. “Is there of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey, Cottages & Lodges a port-a-potty on this island?” one La Crosse Historical Society, the Uni- Deluxe forest cottages and lodges girl asked. versity of Wisconsin La Crosse’s Mis- high above the Mississippi, “They are amazing kids,” Johnson sissippi Valley Archaeology Center overlooking historic Fountain City, Wisconsin, and Hawks View said. “But like anyone that age, they and its Student Teacher Mentoring Vineyard can only stay focused for so long.” Program. They paddled back to the bus and The students themselves give the headed back to the school. Inside program high marks. Several partici- hangs a bulletin board with a quote pants have gone on to study natural by educational philosopher Robert resource-related fields in college. Hutchings: “It must be remembered Johnson concluded, “We try to that the purpose of education is not apply what we do out in the field to to fill the minds of students with what we do in the classroom. It’s the facts. It is to teach them to think, if difference between environmental that is at all possible, and always to education and outdoor education. We think for themselves.” center on making connections from The School on the River does just the inside out.” F that. Created by associate principal Jacque Durnford 13 years ago, it was Meggan Massie is a student at introduced as an experimental proj- www.hawksview.net ect with 14 seventh-graders. Since Winona State University. This is her first story for Big River. [email protected] then, the numbers have continued to rise each year. The program and its Call us toll-free: faculty has earned national recogni- tion, including the Sea World/Busch 1-866-293-0803 Gardens Environmental Educator

January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine 25 The Green Tree Hotel LeClaire’s Green Tree Hotel, Witness to River History

By Robert Stumm

n the halcyon days of the steam- Growing in tandem with the steam- elm provided shelter and a command- boat era, the riverman’s num- boat trade, LeClaire quickly matured ing view in both directions. Approxi- Iber-one enemy was the tree. The into a thriving port. By 1850 it had mately 65 feet high, with a span of Mississippi River teemed with snags nearly 1,000 residents, several hotels, nearly 110 feet, 15 to 20 men could rest (trees embedded in the river) that a plethora of saloons and a livery sta- beneath its irregularly shaped limbs. could ensnare and sink any boat with ble, but the real action was down at It was also close to the town’s boister- a wooden hull. In fact, prior to the ous commercial district. damming and re-engineering of the A crowd of 150 mourners Whiling away the hours under- river, more boats sank from running watched as the tree hit the neath this tree was never a problem into snags than from any other cause. ground with a sickening thud. for rivermen whose favorite activ- So, one can appreciate why river ity was shoptalk. With great fervor pilots had such loathing for trees. In the eerie quiet everyone they would discuss and update each The illustrious “Green Tree” of realized they were paying other on recent steamboat accidents, LeClaire, Iowa, was an exception to changes in the channel and the id- this rule. Situated on the town’s river- homage to both the tree iosyncrasies of the boats they were front, the Green Tree was viewed with and an era. familiar with. Eventually some men fondness and affection by a genera- felt so at home here that the spot be- tion of rivermen, and it was a pre-em- the riverfront. It was busy and noisy came an overnight campsite. As time inent landmark for many years, until from sunrise to sunset. Dusty wagons elapsed, the tree was rechristened the it succumbed to old age and Dutch trafficked back and forth, while an “Green Tree Hotel.” elm disease more than a century later. army of roustabouts trudged the le- In 1852 it became the playground LeClaire continues to revere this tree vee carrying oversized sacks, and cart for a local lad who became the coun- as a connection to a time when this vendors sold their wares to travelers try’s premier showman — William community played a key role in river headed upriver. “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Cody, like many traffic along this great waterway. other youngsters in LeClaire, was LeClaire’s development was Sultans of the Riverfront drawn to the river. The Green Tree shaped by its position at the head The sultans of the riverfront and the became both a gathering place and a of the Upper Rock Island Rapids, a most respected class of this commu- playground for him and his friends. swirling cauldron of boulders and nity were LeClaire’s fabled rapids pi- With Cody’s rise to superstardom, he sandbars extending 15 miles below lots, whose only job was to safely became the person most often identi- LeClaire to Davenport, Iowa. Navi- guide boats through the treacherous fied with the Green Tree. That con- gating them in a canoe was relatively shoals of the Upper Rapids. These in- nection was given the town’s stamp of easy, but tackling them in a sizeable trepid rivermen assumed command of approval when a monument honoring craft was a hazardous and sometimes a boat heading downriver at LeClaire, Buffalo Bill Cody was erected near deadly proposition. guided it through the rapids, and then the base of this tree in 1924. Embarking on a mission to dis- disembarked at Rock Island, Ill., or cover the source of the Mississippi Davenport. Then they hitched a ride Rerouting a Train River in 1805, Lieutenant Zebulon back upriver to LeClaire. The glory days of the steamboat ep- Pike made the ascent in a 30-foot ves- Sometime around 1850, the river- och began to wane in 1860, when the sel called a barque. Pike’s boat was men of LeClaire started waiting for Civil War dealt a staggering blow to thrust about and nearly reduced to boats beneath the sheltering branches river commerce. In the years that fol- kindling wood, but he and his crew of a riverfront elm tree. No one knows lowed, the railroads gained the upper made it through unscathed, thanks to why they chose this particular tree, hand, and by 1880 the steamboat had an unexpected rise in the river. but it soon became the rendezvous become a relic. LeClaire, like other The town of LeClaire was founded point for the rivermen working on river towns, suffered a long and pain- at the head of the rapids in 1837, dur- this section of the river. ful period of adjustment, while the ing a period of unbridled optimism. Nicknamed the “Green Tree,” this Green Tree Hotel became just a big

26 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 The Jennie Gilchrist is docked just above the Green Tree in this 1880 photo.

The railroad tracks passed close to the Green Tree.

tree on the riverfront. Hall of Fame With all the trappings of a funeral, In subsequent decades, the tree In 1912 the tree secured a measure of the Green Tree was felled on July took on a new identity as part of the immortality when it was enshrined in 20, 1964. A crowd of 150 mourners town’s riverfront park. With the river the “Hall of Fame for Trees,” thanks watched as the tree hit the ground as a backdrop, the tree served as a to the labors of Joe Barnes, a life-long with a sickening thud. In the eerie venue for church socials, political ora- LeClaire resident and Civil War vet- quiet everyone realized they were tory and Fourth of July picnics. eran who for many years was the paying homage to both the tree and In 1899 the Davenport, Rock Island tree’s guardian and protector. This an era. and Northwestern Railroad proposed honor was a coup for LeClaire, be- Today the Buffalo Bill Museum in building a rail line through LeClaire. cause the Green Tree was the first tree LeClaire contains a wealth of infor- Noting that the route would bisect in the Midwest to win a place in this mation and items associated with this the Green Tree, LeClaire responded exclusive club. landmark, but overshadowing every- with righteous indignation: sacrific- By the 1930s, the Green Tree thing else is a slab of the Green Tree’s ing the tree was unthinkable. After a showed signs of decay. In 1934 the trunk. F protracted stalemate, the railroad re- town hired a tree surgeon who routed its line to bypass this sacred cleared out its cavities and attached Robert Stumm’s last story for Big ­River was “Captain Harris’ Eagle,” landmark. Perhaps as a peace offer- supporting wire to its main branch November-December 2004. He is ing, the railroad erected a protective system. In 1945 it was diagnosed the author of A Postcard Journey fence around the Green Tree several and treated by another tree surgeon. Along the Upper Mississippi. years later. Sometime around 1960 the old Green Early in the 20th century the lo- Tree was afflicted with Dutch elm Photos courtesy of the Buffalo Bill Museum. cal chapter of the Daughters of the disease. After hesitating as long as American Revolution placed a Civil possible the LeClaire City Council War cannon at its base. voted to cut it down.

January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine 27 River Condo Bubble?

Story and Photographs by Pete Beurskens

Buyers pay for panoramic views of Lake Pepin.

ews stories report a real 1999, and purchased by Nielson four of a property manager who handles estate bust, especially for years ago, have all long since been the details.” Ncondominiums, but devel- sold. Also in Lake City, Jerry Green, ex- opment continues on the banks and “Condos on the river are the new ecutive vice president of the Villas bluffs of the Mississippi, even though cabins up north,” he said. “It takes a at Pepin, Bella Vista and The Rivage a few bubbles have indeed burst. lot of work to keep those places up. — all condominiums, beginning at In the Midwest, things are stable, Here, owners can relax. The units $189,900 — is also sanguine about the said Larry Nielson of the Pepin Val- take the place of a hotel room.” Peo- condo market: “People want to buy ley Companies, owners of Willows on ple can drive an hour or two and be- second homes within one-and-a-half the River condominiums in Lake City, gin enjoying their weekend immedi- hours of a metro area near a major- Minn. ately, perhaps golfing, fishing, taking league amenity, such as mountains.” “If you’re talking about a premium a river walk, heading to a fitness cen- Our mountain range is the Missis- property with a view of the water or ter, boating, sailing, waterskiing, bi- sippi River, with Lake Pepin as an im- on the water, sales are brisk.” Nielson cycling or bird watching. When own- pressive peak, he added. is looking at sites for new develop- ers are not using the luxury units, “There is a serenity to a lake. You ments. The Willows condos, built in they can rent them out with the help can sit up on the sky decks on the condos and look at sailboats. It’s tranquil,” Green said. He expects the just-completed Bella Vista’s 34 units to be sold by next summer. Asked why the Jewel, a much touted residential golf course de- velopment in Lake City, failed, Green explained, “The Jewel was a fantastic vision, beautiful, a great place, a great course, but people don’t want to maintain a second home property.”

The condos at Eagles Point at the St. Croix, in Prescott, Wis., have a view of the Mississippi just below its confluence with the St. Croix River.

28 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 Value the Riverfront Eagles Landing in Wabasha, Minn., is another condo development with brisk sales. “Of 27 luxury units, 18 have sold, with the higher-end units selling first,” said Blaine Marcou of Mar- cou Realty. “And there’s lots of ac- tivity on the nine remaining units,” with a month to go before comple- tion. Marcou attributes the success to the historic, charming downtown on the river, with no railroad tracks or highway between it and the wa- ter. The condos cost from $355,000 to $520,000. Eagles Landing will also be adjacent to the new National Eagle Center, scheduled to be completed by Pepin Shores Condominiums in Pepin, Wis. next summer. Disagreements about the develop- those decisions, but many locals have Last year was still the third best real ment came to the forefront in Novem- realized that they may have taken estate year in history in the country.” ber when voters replaced their mayor access to the riverfront for granted, Peters, too, believes the Upper and all three councilpersons who while developers and out-of-towners Mississippi is “insulated from major were up for re-election, mainly over place a greater value on it, she said. swings, because there is not all that The new council members plan to much available on the water.” Many locals have realized change the decision-making process. Most of the owners at Pepin Shores that they may have taken “Less will be decided before the are weekenders, although there are meetings, and more will be decided few permanent residents. Prices range access to the riverfront for at the meetings,” Gibson said. from the low- to mid-$200s for the 1,400- to 2,040-square-foot luxury granted, while developers Room for Weekenders and out-of-towners place a units. At Prescott, Wis., Prescott Land De- greater value on it. velopment, Inc., built Eagles Point at Sustained Resistance the St. Croix. These luxury units, each In McGregor, Iowa, the Concerned concerns about the new development. with a view of the Mississippi at its Citizens of Clayton County have “The incumbent from my ward confluence with the St. Croix, have fought against the 300-acre Highland was very instrumental in working been for sale since 2005. Only 18 of Bluffs Resort (formerly River Bluffs with the company building the con- 43 units have been sold and are oc- Resort) development near Highway dos,” explained newly elected First cupied, although Daniel Desrochers, 18. The developer’s plans include an Ward Councilperson Melody Gibson. director of sales and marketing, said 18 hole golf course, hotel, water park “There was the appearance of some they hope to have the remaining units and some condominiums. conflict of interest.” sold by the end of next year. The units Concerned Citizens member Tim Gibson defeated the incumbent 233 range from $369,900 to $544,900. Mason said, “They have done some to 158, in the city of about 2,600. The towering structure has only large scale preliminary earth moving Many residents felt that after the a public river walk between it and and a commercial clear cut.” original plans were presented to the the water. But the 30 trains a day that At one point, a huge amount of public and approved, the developers pass behind the building each sounds sediment washed off the site and returned repeatedly to the city coun- a whistle at a crossing nearby, accord- damaged a trout stream. Work has cil asking for more. They asked to ing to one local real estate agent. stalled, and the developer is suing extend the height of the building 10 On the north edge of Pepin, Wis., Concerned Citizens for $10 million. feet to make room for mechanicals, Pepin Shores Condominiums, built “They threatened that if we didn’t which blocked the view of the river in 2003, has some of the best views stop our activities, they would sue us. for some. They asked for the road be- of any completed development in We would not stop,” said Mason. A tween the building and the river and the area. Dave Peters of Edina Re- trial is scheduled for January. got it. The city only retained a right of alty, who has sold 23 of the 32 units, The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra way on the river bank. said the condo and real estate mar- Club recently awarded Mason and “A lot of people feel taken kets have slowed down. “But rates are fellow Concerned Citizen Kathy Ko- advantage of,” said Gibson. down, and in the near future it will ether awards for their efforts. Not much can be done to reverse pick up, in a year to year-and-a-half. Downriver, developer A.J. Spie-

January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine 29 The Willows in Lake City, Minn. gel and his Royal Oaks Development serve Our Bluffs organized to fight Flats, failed a planning commission are busy with several projects in or the project. rezoning vote in October. The 33- around Dubuque, Iowa. “Originally, the developer was told acre project would reorient St. Paul’s “We don’t see the ‘burst bubble’ by the city engineer and city manager downtown towards the river, propo- applying here. That applies to places that they had to take 10 feet of bluff nents argued. Opponents claimed like Florida, Las Vegas and Califor- to build. They ended up destabilizing that the development would be elit- nia. In the Midwest, where things the bluff, doing damage that would ist and would crowd the river with didn’t go up so fast, the market is require $80,000 to mitigate for pub- tall buildings and provide mostly low more stable,” said John Greenwood, paying jobs. Jerry Trooien, the devel- Royal Oaks marketing director. Preserve Our Bluffs claims oper, has withdrawn his application “There’s a strong demand for water- the development would and is working on a revised proposal. front property. Much of the region’s Moline, Ill., recently built a plaza lakefront property is taken.” damage views from both the with a performance area and a foun- Efforts by rivertowns to improve park and the river. tain on the river near downtown as their riverfronts and add amenities, part of its Bass Street Landing project. such as museums, trails and hotels lic safety and $300,000 to stabilize for Developers, working with the city, have made the river more attractive. development,” said Charlie Winter- have built a hotel and conference cen- Royal Oaks’ projects include a wood of Preserve Our Bluffs. “Spie- ter along with retail and office space nearly half competed nine-unit condo gel has signed a document taking re- at the site, which includes some for- development in Bellevue, Iowa, over- sponsibility for any damage, but the mer industrial land that received an looking the lock and dam, and the city is trying to pay for it.” environmental cleanup, according to first phase of the bluff-top River Point Preserve Our Bluffs claims the de- Pat Burke, the city’s economic devel- Condominiums near Mercy Hospi- velopment would damage views from opment manager. tal in Dubuque, a 120-unit project both the park and the river, Winter- The Great River Trail runs through scheduled to begin soon. Spiegel and wood said. The group’s attempt to the site. Greenwood have also purchased halt the development failed because it The next phase of the project will property in Cassville, Wis., where missed a court filing deadline. Win- be construction of about 40 condos they plan to build a riverfront devel- terwood is “not optimistic about stop- and townhouses, most with views of opment with views of the Cassville ping the development, but a bluff the river. The city is working with a Ferry and a park. overlay ordinance is being looked at developer on the plan. Units will cost One controversial Royal Oaks and a citizens committee formed” to $300,000 and up. The schedule has project, now on hold — according to try to prevent similar problems in the not been set yet, but everyone hopes Greenwood, because the company future. to get started soon, said Burke. F has so many other projects going — is In St. Paul, another ambitious and a proposed 10-story, two-block wide, controversial project is stalled. The Pete Beurskens is a writer based 64-unit luxury condo development at Bridges of St. Paul, a condominium, in River Falls, Wis. His last story the base of Eagle Point Park, a bluff- retail, and entertainment develop- was a review of the exhibit “Cat- top park in Dubuque. The group Pre- ment proposed for the West Side fish Planet,” November-December.

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www.nolasflowers.com Monday - Saturday 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. 32 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007 January-February 2007 / Big River Magazine 33 www.big-river.com

Kann Imports The Landing...... gifts of distinction a Riverfront Inn www.kannimports.com (563) 252-1615 www.thelanding615.com 800-252-2072 866-252-1120 [email protected] IN GUTTENBERG, IA Advertiser Index Riverwise, Inc. 12th Annual Wetlands Conference 13 Lake City, Minnesota . . . . . 37 2007 Minneapolis Boat Show . . . . . 2 Lake Pepin Inn ...... 33 custom publishing American Trails ...... 4 Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum . . . 32 Books • Brochures• Business Cards Beno’s Deli ...... 31 Magnolias ...... 31 Best Western Quiet House & Suites 38 Natural Gait, The ...... 13 Logos • Newsletters • Websites Big Muddy Ghost Hunter.org . . . . . 6 Nola’s Flowers ...... 31 www.riverwise.com Bird-Song.com, Inc...... 1 On-Deck ...... 33 Blooming Grounds Coffee House . 31 Pepin, Wisconsin ...... 32-33 1-800-303-8201 Blue Heron Coffeehouse ...... 25 Piccadilly Gallery ...... 10 Let us help with your projects. Bluff Country Co-op ...... 10 Pickle Factory ...... 33 BNOX ...... 32 Pieces of the Past ...... 31 Catfish Charlie’s River Club ...... 9 Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin . . . . . 24 Century 21 Pepin Office ...... 33 Preferred Adventures Ltd...... 12 Dan’s Pepin Marina ...... 32 Pretty Things on Third ...... 31 Duke Addicks Storyteller ...... 6 River Road Bp ...... 32 Edina Realty ...... 16 Riverwise Publishing ...... 1 Festival of Owls, Houston, Minn. . 24 Signatures Restaurant ...... 15 Galena Cellars ...... 13 Smith Brothers Landing ...... 32 Great River Cafe ...... 33 Stoney Creek Inn ...... 8 Gregory’s Gifts & Greetings . . . . . 31 T&C Latané ...... 33 Guttenberg, Iowa ...... 16 Touch of Class Interiors ...... 12 Harbor Hill Inn B&B ...... 32 Twisted Chicken, The ...... 6 Hartland Log Homes ...... 21 Visit Winona, Minnesota ...... 11 Hawks View Cottages & Lodges . 25 Waterways Journal ...... 4 Houghton Mifflin Publishing Wild Rose Timberworks ...... 4 ...... inside front cover Willows, The ...... 37 Iowa shows.com ...... 6 Winona County Historical Society 11 Island City Harbor ...... 4 Winona Downtown ...... 31

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By Gary Kramer

“Doc” Hawley, from the Effie Afton. One of her fa- was the calliope vorite pieces is a signed photo Presi- player on the dent Jimmy Carter gave her when he Avalon at the rode the Delta Queen in 1979. She was udy Patsch was five years old time. on the boat when his advance team when her parents took her to In 1987, boarded to prepare for his visit. After Jsee the steamboat Avalon and she rented an they mounted an additional antenna listen to its calliope in Rock Island, apartment in as part of the security preparations, Ill. Judy doesn’t remember anything New Orleans’ Judy asked them whether it could earth-shattering about the experience, French Quarter be lowered. When they told her it but it may have sparked a lifetime and from then until couldn’t, she pointed out the number passion for steamboats. 2002, when she retired of bridges that were too low for the Patsch has taken countless steam- from teaching in Rock Island, spent antenna to pass under. boat trips, been aboard all six of the school breaks and holidays working She is a member of the Mississippi currently operating steamboats, rid- on the Natchez. She learned enough to Riverboat Buffs and gives presenta- den the Delta Queen 42 times since serve as the narrator during the boat’s tions to schools and civic groups. In 1973, and worked part-time and rid- cruises. one school she is known as the “Boat den on the Natchez in New Orleans Last October, Patsch worked 16- Lady.” for over 20 years. hour days in the gift shop on the Nat- Patsch is a local contact person for During one of her early trips, she the “Queens.” One of her unofficial ran into some crew members on She estimates she has given duties is to act as a “wharfman” when shore looking for a “junk food fix,” out 102,000 cookies so far they dock. and they told her about cravings they “They usually come in very quietly had for food not available on the boat. to the crews of the three around 4 or 5 a.m., and the docking Cookies were high on the list, so she “Queens” and the Natchez. process is like a ballet,” she said. She has baked chocolate chip cookies ev- runs errands for the boats while they ery time a boat comes through her chez during the Tall Stacks Festival of are in town, and once had to rush a area. steamboats in Cincinnati. sick crew member to the hospital. The She estimates she has given out “They were long days but it was a American Queen has had repair parts 102,000 cookies so far to the crews way I could help out,” she said. shipped to her home. of the three “Queens” and the Nat- Her home is a museum of steam- Patsch has a musical photo cube chez. She usually delivers the cookies boat memorabilia. One room is totally that plays calliope music from the while the boat is locking through, but devoted to her collection. She has a Natchez. In some ways, the music she has also left them hanging from bit of everything from a variety of serves as a reminder that childhood a post where they dock and has even boats but especially those that were experiences can make lasting impres- dropped them from a bridge as the part of the Streckfus and Greene sions. F boat passed below. On some boats she lines. There are postcards, photos, Gary Kramer is a boater and freelance is known as the “Cookie Lady.” She pictures, boarding passes, advertis- writer who lives in Rock Island, Ill. refers to the cookies she takes to the ing cards, harbor books, buttons, hats, His last article was “Greener Boat- Natchez as her “gangplank boarding plates, models and more. She has one ing with a Bilge Filter,” pass.” of the few, rare photos of the W. J. July-August 2006. “Nobody recognizes me without Quinlan burning. Photo of the Delta cookies,” she laughs. Patsch has artifacts from several Queen courtesy of After one of her Delta Queen trips, boats, including a cabin arch from the Delta Queen Patsch stayed in New Orleans and the Robert E. Lee, a pilot running light Steamboat Co. took a ride on the Natchez. When she from the Gordon C. Greene, a piece of Judy Patsch by told the crew about her childhood a pilot’s wheel from the Belle of Louis- Gary Kramer. visit to the Avalon, she discovered ville and a window from the President. that the captain of the Natchez, Clarke Her most valuable item is a ladle

36 Big River Magazine / January-February 2007