Delta Queen facts aren’t all there

Arthur E. LaSalle

Published Thursday, May 1, 2008

In a recent issue of The Natchez Democrat, in an Associated Press article on page 6A, there is another incorrect statement about the Delta Queen and other steamboats.

Really, the newspaper in Natchez, of all places should have their steamboat facts correct.

This is to take nothing away from the Delta Queen. She is a magnificent national landmark and should certainly be able to remain in overnight service. This would absolutely be the wish of most of the American people.

However, the record must be kept straight. The Delta Queen is a National Historic Landmark because of her long history, first in California and, since 1947, on the Mississippi system, and the only riverboat ever brought through the Panama Canal. But she is not the “last traditional steamboat carrying overnight passengers on America’s inland waterways.”

Both the magnificent American Queen and the Mississippi Queen are traditional steamboats, absolutely, and of course are overnight steamboats. Yes, they are traditional steamboats — go visit their boiler and engine rooms.

Making ignorant and false statements does not help the Delta Queen, and if she could talk, she would tell you that.

Arthur E. LaSalle

Historic Springfield Foundation

Jefferson County