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Delta Queen offers leisurely ride on the Tombigbee River
The Delta Queen is now owned and operated by the Delaware North Companies, who purchased the assets of the bankrupt Delta Queen Steamboat Company in 2002. The company also operates two other passenger vessels in the American Queen and the Mississippi Queen. On April 10, Delaware North announced the steamboat company assets to Ambassadors International, based in Newport Beach, Calif. The Delta Queen cruises the Mississippi River and its tributaries on a regular schedule, with the Port of New Orleans being its home base. Because of Hurricane Katrina damage to its home port, the Delta Queen and its sisters have been forced to move their base to the Port of Baton Rouge. The company offers many cruises calling on out-of-the-way ports such as Little Rock, Ark., Chattanooga, Tenn., Tuscaloosa, Demopolis and Birmingham. Starting in 2007, the luxury vessel will add Mobile and the Tombigbee River to its itinerary.
Sutton hired Jerry Sellers of Coffeeville to assist in navigating the vessel where it had never been taken before. Sellers has had more than 30 years of experience on the Tombigbee and BlackWarrior Waterways in Alabama. Sellers is currently employed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and works on the Tombigbee River at Coffeeville Lock and Dam. "I enjoyed the experience aboard the Delta Queen," said Sellers. "The crew and passengers were some of the friendliest people I have ever met. I enjoyed it and had a very good time and will always remember the people I met."
Sellers has been called upon by many boating companies in hopes that he will assist in travel to and from different locations on the Alabama waterways. He has helped with Warrior and Gulf Navigation Company in Chickasaw, Magnolia Marine Company in Vicksburg, Miss., Yellowhammer Towing in Mobile and other companies who are no longer in business. The Delta Queen has been serving the public since 1948. Its maiden voyage was in the spring of 1948 when it sailed from Cincinnati, Ohio to Louisville, Ky. "This is one of the most historic vessels still on the water in this country," said Joy Graham, who was on the maiden voyage in 1948. "I still love to get on board and just ride." Graham was aboard the Delta Queen with her brother-in-law Bobby Ray Hicks of Tuscaloosa. One of the most fascinating stories of the Delta Queen is the ghost that roams the rooms at night. She is a well-known legend on the river. She is Capt. Mary B. Greene, of the Greene Line family who owned the Delta Queen after her days as a troop ferry in San Francisco. Legend has it that Capt. Mary would not allow alcohol onboard the Delta Queen. The only way one could drink onboard was to "brown bag" it, and by all means keep it out of Capt. Mary's sight. The Texas Lounge was a library at the time with a green and white linoleum floor, and the Mark Twain Service Bar in the Orleans Room just didn't exist. Days on the Delta Queen were filled with lemonade and water on the rocks. After Capt. Mary died onboard of a heart attack, along came progress and the Texas Lounge and Mark Twain Service Bar were installed. Right away, passengers in one particular stateroom began complaining to the purser about strange knocking sounds. The steamboat's engineers literally took the room apart, but no problem could be found. It was finally chalked up to cranky occupants, but the stories say subsequent cruises soon produced the same complaints. Finally with a medium onboard, engineers found the area where the knocking still persists. It was the room where Capt. Mary died, and some feel she is protesting the provision of alcoholic beverages on her boat. In the fall of 1992, the Delta Queen took one of its former masters on his last ride up the river. When the ramains of Capt. Fred Way were brought aboard, crew members whisper, an electrical problem promptly occurred. Its origin was also traced back to Capt. Mary's cabin, just an affectionate homage to her old friend and fellow pilot Capt. Fred. The crew of the Delta Queen is under oath not to tell anyone in which cabin Capt. Mary died, but they will tell you that it is in the Betty Balke Lounge located toward the stern of the vessel and toward the port side. Even today, Capt. Mary Blake Greene can be heard in that one particular room. Capt. Mary's picture hangs on the wall in the Betty Blake Lounge. Her spirit is gentle and pleasant, and should be treated with respect. She was a great lady, the first woman to earn both a master's and a pilot's license. Her original license is displayed in the showcase in the hallway leading to the starboard exit near the middle of the aft cabin lounge. It is dated 1912. Does Capt. Mary Becker Greene really still walk the decks of the Delta Queen? "I believe that the spirit of the ghost can be felt on board the Delta Queen," said Delta Queen Riverlorian Travis C. Vascondelos. "Her legend is known by many people and by everyone who has ever been aboard the Delta Queen."
The Delta Queen has many things to offer. It is a peaceful cruise and should bring many people and tourists on the Tombigbee River throughout southwest Alabama.
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