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The
age of riverboats began in the Eastern Canadian province of New Brunswick in
the early 1800’s. Heretofore relying on sail or small personal crafts such as
canoes, dugouts or rowboats, the steamboat era made for an elegant chapter in
the province’s history.
It
even found its way into the romantic suspense novel, Bound for Somewhere, Book
One of The Kavenaghs (1870-1879):
“The
woman, along with two hundred other passengers, made her way up the gangplank
to board the stern-wheeler, The Bluebird, for the trip up the St. John River.
It was a sultry August morning, with a mere wisp of a breeze to stir the air.
It promised to get warmer as the day wore on, and they got further inland.
Being on the water would be much more pleasant than travelling upcountry over
rough dusty roads.
And
then with a great bellow of steam they were on their way and a cheer went up
from the crowd at the rail. Such was the jubilant mood of those onboard as they
chugged out into the river headed toward Washademoak Lake. It was not a true
lake at all, but a widening of the Canaan River the captain pointed out.
To
say the scenery was breathtaking would be an understatement. The water was the
deep blue of the finest aquamarine, a brilliance matched only by the sky above.
Trees, of every shade of green stood proudly at shoreline, farmlands rolling
back from the water’s edge every mile or so. She thought about being cooped up
in that stuffy old stagecoach on her trip to St. John. This was absolutely
heavenly compared to that.
Luxury and comfort
were at the passenger’s fingertips everywhere you looked. This was the way to
travel! She joined a tour of the ship when it was offered, and passengers were
treated to a seemingly never-ending abundance of sophistication. From the
lushly carpeted dining room to the one hundred and fifty foot grand saloon with
its marble topped tables and generously carpeted chairs for maximum comfort,
the elegance was awe-inspiring. That included Victorian-influenced décor of
tassels and fringes, even sofas were spared no detail of grand style. There was
even an exquisite circular stairway, and she felt like a queen when she
descended to the group that had gathered below to admire its unique
construction.
For lunch she was able
to secure a coveted seat in the dining quarters on the saloon deck. There she
could not only continue to appreciate unparalleled scenery and the clean
fragrance of the river, but enjoy a mouthwatering luncheon menu as well.
And at the end of it
all awaited Garrett. This time she would not let him walk away. She would make
it work.”
Riverboats
were of course before my time, but my Great Uncle Walter who lived to be a
hundred and six and a half, remembered them well. For many years he operated a
general store at a place called The Narrows (now Cambridge-Narrows), and his
supplies were delivered by riverboat on the Washademoak Lake. Actually a
worldwide phenomenon, riverboats also became hugely popular with tourists in
the province, and indeed those boats did more than carry passengers on idyllic
cruises to various destinations along the picturesque waterways of New
Brunswick. They also provided freight service, delivering goods to farmers and
shopkeepers upriver, and carrying farmers’ wares to market back downriver.
These boats plied several New Brunswick rivers
during their heyday, including the Kennebecasis River.
The Kennebecasis River on a windy day.
A rise in rail travel
rang the death knell for the days of the riverboat in New Brunswick, the last
of its kind, the SS Majestic, decommissioned in 1942. Some of those splendid
old vessels met a difficult end, several destroyed by fire or other mishaps, while
others just ran the course and were finished. Many became dance halls. To this
day the rusted hull of the SS Majestic lies in shallow waters in Darlings Lake,
Nauwigewauk, Kings County. It was towed to the area to become one of those
popular riverboat dance halls, but was unfortunately the victim of a hurricane
in 1946. An inglorious end indeed for such a distinguished piece of history.
At one time the
Majestic and her illustrious counterparts ruled New Brunswick waters, and
stately hotels were erected nearby to accommodate their legions of passengers.
The Washademoak Lodge and the Cambridge Hotel on the Washademoak Lake are both
long gone now, as are most of the others. But the years have been kind to the
Eveleigh Hotel (now Evandale Resort & Marina), still standing in all its
Victorian charm on the beautiful St. John Rover at Evandale. It truly is a
wonderful step back in time, with most of the old steamboat wharves still in
place to remind us of those halcyon days.
While there are those
who currently conduct aquatic tours, and certainly countless pleasure craft enjoy
the incomparable scenery along New Brunswick rivers, the years of those
magnificent old riverboats (seventy-three in all over the years) was truly a
high point in our history.
And there is plenty of
colourful history, much of it kept by those who were involved in this seasonal
industry (May thru October). According to kingstonnb.ca/steamboat-stories, the
following is one of those lively accounts:
“This is a story by
steamboat captain and historian Capt. Donald F. Taylor based on letters from
Captain Fred Mabee.
The captain and
officers of the steamboat usually stayed the full season. In many cases the
entire crew not only stayed the entire season but returned year after year.
Occasionally did real
illness necessitate that a person go ashore. Once such occasion arose on the
Hampstead.
Captain Maybee writes:
‘ It was mid summer
1896. The stewardess became quite ill during the night while the steamer was at
Wickham and there was no time to get a girl even for a waitress on such short
notice.
‘It so happened that
our fireman had some restaurant experience and offered to help if a deck hand
could assist him in maintaining the steam at its usual pressure. Very soon
after leaving Saint John the fireman came to the wheelhouse and told me that
there was a young lady on board that would make the trip up just to help out.
“Very well”, said I, “you may tell her to go to work.”
‘The girl seemed to do
very well. I told her that she could occupy the room used by the stewardess. In
the middle of the night I was awakened by someone running around and around the
saloon deck. It really sounded like two people having a race. After they went
by my door twice I thought that I had better see what was going on. I opened my
door and lo and behold the fireman was chasing the new table girl around the
saloon deck outside the cabin in the moonlight. It was quite evident that both
were nearly naked.
‘I shouted and spoke
quite sharply to them. I told them that we were not going to have such antics
going on and that a lot of unnecessary noise when others were trying to sleep
must stop immediately. The turmoil was over and the performers disappeared very
quickly and quietly….”
For sure those were
gentler times (usually), unhurried compared to how we are slaves to unrelenting
punctuality today. Says
cbc.ca/news/Canada/new-brunswick/roadside-history-ss-majestic:
“While travel time was
relatively quick on the steamship, a May 1946 Evening Times Glove interview
with the Majestic’s final captain, M. C. McMurtry, illustrates how pastoral the
line once was.
“We were never in a
hurry, and many times went back for folks who arrived late,” said McMurtry.
“We even went back for
the occasional hat which had blown overboard. We just considered that common
courtesy, and usually recovered the hat before it got too wet.”
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