093_HR0435

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 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, Riverboats, steamers, and  paddlewheels  were  a
 3    common  mode  of  transportation along the Rivers of America;
 4    the Illinois River has served as an essential by-way in  that
 5    transportation  network  and  has seen its share of passenger
 6    river traffic and, unfortunately, its share of disasters  and
 7    accidents; and

 8        WHEREAS,  Riverboat  excursions  had  become a common and
 9    popular form of entertainment along  the  Illinois  River  as
10    America  raced  to  the end of World War I in 1918; as trains
11    and cars were slowly replacing  these  boats  as  a  mode  of
12    transportation,  the  excursions  remained quite popular as a
13    way to spend a summer evening and be entertained; and

14        WHEREAS, Licensed and  trained  pilots  navigated  rivers
15    across  the  U.S.  with  inspected and well maintained boats;
16    boats such as the East St. Louis, the Julia Belle Swain,  the
17    Columbia, and the Idlewild were active on the Illinois River;
18    the  Columbia,  it was said, "was a veteran of the trade; she
19    had been on the Mississippi for a few  seasons  before  being
20    transferred to central Illinois around 1911"; and

21        WHEREAS, The Columbia had been rebuilt at the Howard Ship
22    Company in Mound City for the third time in her career before
23    the  start  of the 1918 season; federal inspectors pronounced
24    her "the safest boat on western waters"; and

25        WHEREAS,  The  South  Side  Athletic  Club   (of   Pekin)
26    sponsored  the  Steamer  Columbia  for  an  excursion  on the
27    evening of July 5, 1918; the ship left  Kingston  Mines  with
28    some  passengers  and  proceeded  north  to  Pekin, where the
29    majority of the nearly 500 passengers boarded to travel to Al
30    Fresco Park in Peoria; and

31        WHEREAS, The Steamer Columbia, known as the "safest  boat
 
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 1    on  western waters", instead became the worst disaster in the
 2    history of the Illinois River; on its return that night,  the
 3    ship  struck  the  Peoria  side  of  the river and swung back
 4    towards the Pekin side only to  sink  in  about  25  feet  of
 5    water; and

 6        WHEREAS,  This  tragedy  precipitated  the  end  of river
 7    passenger transportation on the Illinois River when 87  lives
 8    were  lost  including  Eugene  Bailey,  Louise Berends, James
 9    Blackburn, Letha Black, Hazel Bowlby, Mayme Bohlander,  Harry
10    Brown,  Jennie  Brown,  Mrs.  John  Brown,  Ricka  Brown, Wm.
11    Capoot, Mrs. Wm. Capoot, Mrs. Frank Callahan,  Jerry  Cloles,
12    Mrs.    John    Diepenbrook,   Norman   Diepenbrook,   Melvin
13    Diepenbrook,  Miss  Jennie  Evans,   Vera   Flowers,   Lizzie
14    Franklin,  Maurice  Feinburg,  Mrs. Wm. Freeland, Gordon Gay,
15    George Gillott, Mrs. George Gillott, Albert  Grewey,  Francis
16    Grewey,  Mrs.  John  Grewey,  Theresa Gunion, Thomas Hancock,
17    Jr., Mrs. J.C. Harboldt, Grace  Harboldt,  Mildred  Harboldt,
18    Mabel  Harboldt,  Mrs.  George  Haschert, Clarence Hill, Mrs.
19    Frank Hill, Mayme Holden, Ruth  Hoskin,  Mrs.  Alvin  Jacobs,
20    Hattie  Johnson,  Hazel  Jones, Mrs. James Kinney, Joe Kumpf,
21    Mrs. A.B. Loomis, Ada Lowry, Mrs. Mary Luther,  Baby  Luther,
22    Mrs.  T.J.  McPherson, Mrs. Phil Maser, Mrs. John Mogga, Mrs.
23    Cora Moldenhauer, Elizabeth Moldenhauer, Stella Murphy, Henry
24    Neaver, Louise Neaver, Doren Neaver, Mrs.  Sam  Neaver,  Miss
25    Ellen  Nelson,  Mrs. Al O'Hern, Charles Race, Rudolph Rachel,
26    Mrs. John Reuling, Jr., Ada Rumsey,  Miss  Addie  Sapp,  Mrs.
27    Martha  Sapp,  Kenneth  Saunders,  George Schuster, Mrs. Kate
28    Scott, Bessie Shemel, Orville Shryock, Chris  Sickles,  Mabel
29    Stout, Mrs. Harry Thurman, Clyde Thurman, Ruby Thurman, Edwin
30    Voll,  Dorothy  White,  Dorothy Whitmore, Theresa Wingenbach,
31    Mrs. Clyde Witcher, Richard Witcher, Donald  Witcher,  Nellie
32    Worth, Mrs. Kate Wright, John Wright, and George Stewart; and

33        WHEREAS,  The memories of these victims are kept alive by
 
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 1    an annual memorial  ceremony  held  by  the  Tazewell  County
 2    Historical Places Society; and

 3        WHEREAS,   The  Illinois  State  Historical  Society  has
 4    approved a historical marker sponsored by the Tazewell County
 5    Historical Places Society and Walgreens Drugs  that  will  be
 6    dedicated  on  July  5,  2003,  the  85th anniversary of this
 7    tragic event; and

 8        WHEREAS, There are  still  3  survivors  of  the  Steamer
 9    Columbia  tragedy, including Lucille Adcock of Pekin, Everett
10    Stringer  of  Bartonville,  and  Mildred  Deere  of   Joliet;
11    therefore, be it

12        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
13    NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  that
14    to  commemorate  the 85th anniversary of the Steamer Columbia
15    Disaster we declare that July 5,  2003  be  set  aside  as  a
16    solemn  day  of remembrance for those who perished aboard the
17    Steamer Columbia; and be it further

18        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
19    presented  to  the  Tazewell County Historical Places Society
20    and to the Pekin Park District.