Steamboats

Mark Twain once wrote about how the "romance and the beauty" of the Mississippi River vanished when he became a steamboat pilot and learned the river's dangerous snags and reefs. But Mike Keesee, a modern-day descendant of those old steamboat captains, has been out here more than 20 years and still has not tired of its dark currents. "The first time I came out here, it was just a job," Keesee said as he maneuvered his towboat, the Conti-Afton, around a sharp bend in the river.

"Steamboat Bill, Jr." (1928) considered one of Buster Keaton's finest comedies, will be shown Saturday night at the Yorba Linda Forum, accompanied by an original score written and played by noted silent film organist Robert Israel. The movie, made just two years after Keaton's recognized masterpiece "The General," was his last independent feature. Despite critical raves, "Steamboat Bill, Jr."

Frederick Way Jr., a retired riverboat captain who made a career of chronicling the history of steamboats on inland rivers, has died. He was 91. Way died at his home Saturday in this Ohio River city in southeast Ohio. "He was the foremost river historian in the country and had a tremendous importance in the further study of steamboats," said John Briley, manager of Marietta's Ohio River Museum.

The mighty, majestic Mississippi River: Mark Twain popularized it, and the Delta Queen Steamboat Co. has packaged it in convenient, captivating cruises that have made its two paddle-wheel steamboats favorites with mature travelers. According to the company, "active retirees" make up the majority of its passengers, with an average age of about 56.

A diversified Japanese recreational firm is bidding on the Steamboat Springs ski area, and resort officials appear to be nearing a sale of the 26-year-old facility, the Rocky Mountain News reported today. Steamboat Ski Co., owned by a group of eight that includes Denver industrialist Charles Gates, confirmed its talks with Kamori Kanko, a diversified recreational firm headquartered in Sapporo City, Japan. Owners of the popular resort 150 miles northwest of Denver stopped short of confirming a deal, but it was the first time they have verified the name of a suitor, the newspaper said.

The last of the steamers that used to travel Keuka Lake from Hammondsport to Penn Yan and back burned at her dock in 1920. By then, cars, trucks and trains had so changed the patterns of tourism and shipping that nobody had the will to build a new steamer. I grew up looking at the old photographs of the Mary Belle and the Steuben and the Halsey.

In the old days, they raced steamboats seriously in New Orleans. When word of an impending race spread, crowds would gather on the levee to watch black smoke billow from towering white smokestacks and boat crews strain over steam-hot boilers as the great paddle-wheelers charged down the river.

It was irrational, unsettling, unreal. In its bizarre yet unavoidably hypnotic way, it also was wonderful. There we were, floating lazily down a watery time tunnel in grandma's parlor, to the incongruous music of Verdi, Puccini and Mozart.

Thank you for mentioning us in your "Travel Tips" column last spring. We wound up having a great summer and fall. I'm sure you're aware that Steamboat has nonstop 727 flights every day on American Airlines direct from Los Angeles International Airport to the Yampa Valley Airport less than one hour from the ranch and less than 30 minutes from Steamboat Springs. This truly makes us one of the most accessable downhill and cross-country ski areas for Southern Californians. I believe they are even selling $69 tickets if you pick the right days.