RIVERBOATS SCHEDULE STOPS AT CAPE GIRARDEAU

The Mississippi Queen and Delta Queen steamboats will make three port calls at Cape Girardeau during their 1994 cruise season. No stops are scheduled at Cairo, Ill., next year.

Terry Westerfield, manager of public relations for the Delta Queen Steamboat Co. in New Orleans, said both boats will make their first port call at Cape Girardeau on July 3, during the Great Steamboat Race from New Orleans to St. Louis.

Westerfield said the steamboats are scheduled to dock here at approximately 11 a.m. and depart at 3 p.m., and complete the race at the foot of the St. Louis Gateway Arch on the morning of July 4.

The Mississippi Queen will return to Cape Girardeau July 6. The boat is scheduled to dock here at 9 a.m. and depart at noon.

The Delta Queen will make its final scheduled port call of the year at Cape Girardeau July 20. The boat is scheduled to dock at 9 a.m. and leave at noon.

"Of course, these dates and schedules are dependent upon river conditions," said Westerfield. "As you know, Old Man River and the flood of 1993 really played havoc with our cruise schedule on the upper Mississippi River last summer between Cairo and St. Paul, Minn."

Both steamboats docked at Cape Girardeau July 3, a day before the flood-swollen Mississippi forced the closing of the Broadway floodgate. Because of high water and low clearance under some of the bridges in the St. Louis area, the Great Steamboat Race had to be terminated the following day at Ste. Genevieve.

The high water forced the Mississippi Queen to cancel a port call here on July 5. Port calls in September and October were also canceled because the floodgates were closed, or the river was too high for the boat to dock safely.

The flood forced the company to cancel most of its summer and early fall cruises between Cairo and St. Paul. As a result, the steamboats spent most of their summer and fall cruises on the Lower Mississippi River between Cairo and New Orleans and on the Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, said Westerfield.

"We're hoping to see some positive things this year on the upper Mississippi River," she said.

When the two steamboats dock at Cape Girardeau, The Paddlewheelers, a group of local citizens who serve as ambassadors of the city, will be on hand to greet passengers and pass out brochures and information about the area.

Mary Miller, director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the Water Street Five band will be on hand whenever the steamboats arrive to play Dixieland music.

Tour guides from the CVB will be aboard motor coaches provided by the Delta Queen Co. that will provide tours of the city.

Miller said: "Next year, in response to requests from passengers, the downtown merchants will stock lots of postcards, stamps and newspapers. Many of the passengers told us this year they want to be able to purchase postcards and stamps to write home and newspapers to keep up with what is going on in the world."