121 River Ave., Sewickley, Pa. 15143
Old steam whistles from Ohio and Mississippi steamboats of yore
will be blown on Saturday, May 7, 1966. This will be second annual
‘Tootenanny’ staged by the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer
Rivermen.
The Union Carbide Corporation, Silicones Division, has again
whistle blowing. This location is along the Ohio River several
miles downstream below Sistersville, W. Va. on W. Va. Route 2.
Last year fifty old whistles were brought to the location and
blown. Mode-Art Pictures, Inc. of Pittsburgh had professional tape
recorders on the scene and later released a platter, 44 minutes
playing time, called ‘Whistle Echoes,’ narrated by
S&D’s president Capt. Frederick Way, Jr. Mode-Art will
again record this year.
The whistles blown in 1965 ranged in size from the mighty
three-barrel whistle of the old towboat SPRAGUE, weighing 480
pounds, to the shrill peeps o f several vest-pocket editions. Most
of the old whistles were brought by whistle buffs who had saved
them, but who had no means of blowing them. Nobody suspected so
many old steamboat whistles existed. This year’s repeat was
decided upon because many other whistles since have been
located.
The Whistle Committee of S&D is headed by Walter W. McCoy,
315 South Wells St., Sisterville, West Va., who also headed up last
year’s blow. Walter says:- ‘Visitors are welcome, and we
are particularly anxious to do a good job. Persons who have: an old
steamboat whistle are invited to bring it. Our requirement is that
it must have been used on the Ohio or Mississippi or tributaries,
and that the whistle is intactsame as when used on the boat it came
from. It will help a great deal if applicants will drop me a line
describing the whistle, and particularly the pipe size.’
Walter McCoy’s committee is composed of S. Durward Hoag,
proprietor of the Motor Hotel Lafayette, Marietta; Capt. Ross
Rogers, Jr., of the Wall Rope Co., Sewickley, Pa.; Robert L. Stone,
president of Mode-Art Pictures, Inc., Pittsburgh, and George M.
Fowles, plant engineer at Union Carbide’s Silicones
Division.
Inasmuch as this is strictly an outdoor affair, extremely
adverse weather conditions could defeat the program, in which case
the committee plans to postpone the date until the following
Saturday.
