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Delta Queen, hoping for ace in the hole, due here Monday
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By Pamela Hitchins
There’s a tall tale that says the Delta Queen was named during a poker game waged for ownership of the boat. One of the gamblers needed a particular card to win. When he was dealt a queen, he won.
Monday, a pair of queens will be the best bet in Vicksburg since, for one, it could be the final hand.
The historic Delta Queen, the last traditional paddlewheel steamboat to host overnight passengers on river cruises, will dock at City Front in the morning, accompanied by sister vessel the American Queen, currently called the flagship of the Majestic America Line.
“It’s a double feature, in a way,” Delta Queen’s historian, Bill Wiemuth, said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
While the American Queen is cruising the river with a full house of passengers, the Delta Queen may be cashing in its chips after this farewell tour. The two have been steaming in tandem since leaving Memphis Friday, docking at Helena, Ark., Saturday, and at Greenville today, before moving on to Vicksburg.
Monday’s visit will be the River City’s chance to pay tribute to the great old steamship, celebrating the National Historic Landmark that has docked in the city perhaps hundreds of times since Sept. 17, 1948, when it first cruised up the Mississippi.
Public festivities beginning at 4 p.m. at City Front will include music from the boat’s old calliope — rescued from a sunken steamboat in 1897 — remarks and proclamations by city officials and a special presentation to the River City by the captain.
Supporters of the Delta Queen believe this time the boat has been dealt a bad hand, and is the victim of legislation never intended to apply to a riverboat.
In 1966 Congress passed the Safety of Life at Seas act to establish fire and other safety restrictions on ocean-going vessels. The wooden superstructure of the Delta Queen made it subject to those restrictions even though the boat is never out of sight of a shoreline and also adheres to rigorous fire-safety standards.
Since 1968, a series of Congressional measures have exempted the boat from SOLAS, but the current exemption expired Saturday, and the Delta Queen is steaming without passengers now.
The American Queen, with a different construction, is not subject to SOLAS and thus can continue overnight passenger cruises.
Efforts this congressional term have seen bills filed in both the House and Senate to renew the Delta Queen’s exemption. Both bills languish in committees chaired by legislators who have vowed not to release them for a vote, citing Coast Guard safety regulations. Delta Queen advocates from Vicki Webster, chairman of The Save the Delta Queen Campaign, to Majestic America Line chairman Joe Ueberroth claim that in this deal, history has been trumped by labor unions, not safety.
Webster said in an email last week that the fight will resume when Congress returns during the week of Nov. 15. The steamboat’s ace in the hole remains those members of Congress — including both Mississippi senators, Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker — who’ve pledged to force the hand of the two legislators standing in the way of the exemption.
Monday evening at 5, after the celebration at City Front, the Delta Queen and American Queen will steam away, continuing on their journey down river to winter port in New Orleans. Along the way, they’ll stop for other celebrations in Natchez and Baton Rouge, where at other city river fronts, people will gather in tribute, hoping it won’t be the final hand for this pair of queens.
Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com.
Monday, a pair of queens will be the best bet in Vicksburg since, for one, it could be the final hand.
| If you go The Delta Queen tribute event will begin at 4 p.m. at City Front, featuring music and speeches by city officials and the boat’s captain. The Delta and American Queens are to arrive by noon. |
The historic Delta Queen, the last traditional paddlewheel steamboat to host overnight passengers on river cruises, will dock at City Front in the morning, accompanied by sister vessel the American Queen, currently called the flagship of the Majestic America Line.
“It’s a double feature, in a way,” Delta Queen’s historian, Bill Wiemuth, said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
While the American Queen is cruising the river with a full house of passengers, the Delta Queen may be cashing in its chips after this farewell tour. The two have been steaming in tandem since leaving Memphis Friday, docking at Helena, Ark., Saturday, and at Greenville today, before moving on to Vicksburg.
Monday’s visit will be the River City’s chance to pay tribute to the great old steamship, celebrating the National Historic Landmark that has docked in the city perhaps hundreds of times since Sept. 17, 1948, when it first cruised up the Mississippi.
Public festivities beginning at 4 p.m. at City Front will include music from the boat’s old calliope — rescued from a sunken steamboat in 1897 — remarks and proclamations by city officials and a special presentation to the River City by the captain.
Supporters of the Delta Queen believe this time the boat has been dealt a bad hand, and is the victim of legislation never intended to apply to a riverboat.
In 1966 Congress passed the Safety of Life at Seas act to establish fire and other safety restrictions on ocean-going vessels. The wooden superstructure of the Delta Queen made it subject to those restrictions even though the boat is never out of sight of a shoreline and also adheres to rigorous fire-safety standards.
Since 1968, a series of Congressional measures have exempted the boat from SOLAS, but the current exemption expired Saturday, and the Delta Queen is steaming without passengers now.
The American Queen, with a different construction, is not subject to SOLAS and thus can continue overnight passenger cruises.
Efforts this congressional term have seen bills filed in both the House and Senate to renew the Delta Queen’s exemption. Both bills languish in committees chaired by legislators who have vowed not to release them for a vote, citing Coast Guard safety regulations. Delta Queen advocates from Vicki Webster, chairman of The Save the Delta Queen Campaign, to Majestic America Line chairman Joe Ueberroth claim that in this deal, history has been trumped by labor unions, not safety.
Webster said in an email last week that the fight will resume when Congress returns during the week of Nov. 15. The steamboat’s ace in the hole remains those members of Congress — including both Mississippi senators, Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker — who’ve pledged to force the hand of the two legislators standing in the way of the exemption.
Monday evening at 5, after the celebration at City Front, the Delta Queen and American Queen will steam away, continuing on their journey down river to winter port in New Orleans. Along the way, they’ll stop for other celebrations in Natchez and Baton Rouge, where at other city river fronts, people will gather in tribute, hoping it won’t be the final hand for this pair of queens.
Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com.
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