Hundreds watch events unfold from the riverbank
By Brad Bauer, bbauer@mariettatimes.comThe city parking lot in the 200 block of Front Street was at capacity around noon Wednesday, but it felt empty to many of the people returning to their cars.
"It just looks and feels so different without the Becky there," said April Myers, 35, of Marietta. "It's just a big empty space."
Hundreds of area residents lined riverbanks and boat docks Wednesday morning to say goodbye to the showboat Becky Thatcher and watch the efforts to free her from the bank she called home for most of the past 34 years.
Many who watched wondered if the bridge would turn, if the boat would be stuck in the mud, or worse, if the boat would sink.
"There's a lot of what-ifs with this," said Chad Murphy, 26, of Reno. "I came just to see if they could get the Becky off the bank."
Murphy, who grew up in the area, said he had only been on the boat once.
"My aunt had her wedding reception on there," he said. "It was a good time. I really don't want to see the boat go. But if they aren't going to fix it up, I kind of agree with the city and it probably should go."
The boat, which came to Marietta as part of a U.S. bicentennial project, operated as a melodrama theater and restaurant until about 10 years ago. Since then, two different restaurants opened and failed and the boat has sat vacant for the past four years.
The continued decline of the boat and riverbank prompted members of Marietta City Council to pursue an eviction of the boat. After boat owner Jeffrey Levin, of Nashville, Tenn., was unable to find a buyer for the 83-year-old vessel, he agreed last month to find a new home for the Becky.
Patty Adkins, 57, of Fort Gay, W.Va., said she and her husband, Johnny Ray Adkins, 57, traveled three hours to watch the Harmar Bridge turn and to bid the Becky farewell.
"We come up here often and fell in love with the town," Adkins said. "When we heard about this, we had to come."
Adkins said her husband was one of the lucky few to help turn the Harmar Bridge to allow for the boat to leave.
"He was extremely excited about that," she said. "He loves history."
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Parrothead
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10-15-09 9:51 PM
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asknot ask, “Why do you think colleges, and the pro's constantly are building new stadiums, updating existing, and constantly outdoing eachother on training facilities?” So that fools, like those willing to throw a lot of money at our schools while throw their money at these stadiums and teams. Let the Dallas Cowboys build their nice new stadium and then try to NOT pay the coaches and players top notch salaries and see how long it is before they can NOT field a team. Money SPENT on instructors attracts more and better instructors and thus improves education NOT buildings!
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DeputyDawg
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10-15-09 8:04 PM
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The becky is at the locks in Monaca, PA at 8:00 PM. Looks like not much father
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asknot
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10-15-09 5:59 PM
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Parrot, your football stadium analogy is a joke. It works against you. Why do you think colleges, and the pro's constantly are building new stadiums, updating existing, and constantly outdoing eachother on training facilities? It helps attract the best coaches and players. It also helps to draw people to see the new stadium. While I hate to turn this into a school levy forum, so be it. Your logic is flawed. While we can keep patching the old, it is putting a band aid on it. If you won;t vote for $141 a year bond issue, you won't vote for a #100 band aid issue. Yeah we have other fish to fry, but new schools sure won't hurt bringing in new business.
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sotired
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10-15-09 4:44 PM
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tingette, you could not be more right on. others, consider this scenario: you have the best intentions for your kids but because of your economic situation, low-paying job, whatever, you can't afford a nice home, you can't afford to keep the heat running all the time, hell, somedays you cant afford to feed your kid breakfast. you try to be the best parent possible but don't you think your child is going to be negatively effected? the same thing goes for schools that have kids trying to learn in a less than desirable environemnt. the kids are not going to be the best they can be. a community grows and appeals to young families by having schools that perform well and compete with others.
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sotired
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10-15-09 4:34 PM
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Parrot- I did not discount your experiences, I only stated my opinion. You are very touchy sometimes but if you would not read in to what others are saying, you might learn a different perspective. If you are insinuating that by my remarks that I am somehow a 'backwoods person' and unaccpeting of others, you are being very hyprocritical and jugmental yourself. I spent many many years living away from this area. And while I am saddened by the state of things in this area, the grass is not always greener. these problems plague everyone.
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Parrothead
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10-15-09 3:52 PM
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Tingette ask, “What came first the chicken or the egg. ….. so their children can have a chance to compete, and maybe have the opportunity to remain in the area because jobs are here, NOT somewhere else. ” I ask, “What came first the pipe or the dream?”
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tingette
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10-15-09 3:35 PM
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What came first the chicken or the egg. Many areas that are succeeding have invested in their educational programs. Ignorance is bliss. How can we compete with other areas for industry, more jobs, larger tax base, when our schools and thoughts about schools is antiquated? Blame teachers, blame the State,blame whomever makes you feel good, but the fact is we need to make a choice...Then live with it. I too have had children and now grandchildren in the schools, I disagree with comments made about staff. My children excelled, got blamed when they didn't, not the teacher. They are voting for the Bond Issue so their children can have a chance to compete, and maybe have the opportunity to remain in the area because jobs are here, NOT somewhere else.
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Parrothead
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10-15-09 3:27 PM
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Sotired said, “ … looking at newer school buildings in other districts actually reflects better on the people of the community….” You are 100% correct! It also shows that the community is vibrant and has a prosperous economical foundation – GOOD PAYING JOBS! That is an image that Marietta can NOT honestly project at this time. We cannot afford this at this time and there are many more ways to spend out school tax dollars that will give much better return on the dollar than new buildings.
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Parrothead
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10-15-09 3:23 PM
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Sotired – I wish this was not a public forum and that I could give you names of actual people who have relocated here and left or not even come to start with because of the reasons I stated. As I prefaced my post with – “It is MY experience.” I did NOT say that it was everyone’s and for you to discount my experiences as you did only reinforces them. Marietta is backwoods, and in fact very un-accepting of those who are not “from here.” I can give you names of people who will confirm that statement also. One of them is even a business owner in the area who has lived here for over 20 years and still feels unwelcome at times.
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sotired
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10-15-09 2:36 PM
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adding to my last comment: thinking more about it, looking at newer school buildings in other districts actually reflects better on the people of the community because it shows how much they value education and their kids' futures. neglected school buildings, outdated materials etc., reflects poorly and i would be less likely to want my children to be schooled there.
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sotired
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10-15-09 2:32 PM
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sorry parrot, that argument isn't gonna fly with me because people who are moving or transferring here from out of the area are researching things like the schools, cost of living etc., and would have no idea how 'backwoods' - as you say - we are until they have spent time here and can make up their own minds about that. as someone who has looked at school systems in other cities, I can assure you that the quality of the building and the learning environment scores many more points than the characteristics of the people who inhabit the community. That is stereotyping and something im totally against. I do agree, though, that i am interested in what an area can provide culturally but if the schools are constantly trying to fix buildings and keep the kids from freezing, i would say, unfortunately, that arts programs are going to be the first to suffer.
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Parrothead
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10-15-09 1:46 PM
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sotired - My experience with people looking to move or transfer into the area that their reason for NOT wanting to relocate here has nothing to do with the schools, but the over all backwoods, being 10 years behind the rest of the world and lack of culture and art as the reasons. Educating a child can always be accomplished by ones self if need be, but the other aspects of the community can not.
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sotired
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10-15-09 1:24 PM
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sorry for going off topic, but since others have gone there i must interject...don't you think that people from out of the area who are looking to move here-for whatever reason, and don't say nobody does because the hospitlas still bring in people - dont you think they are looking at the state of our schools, both physically and the kind of students the system turns out, as a basis of their decision to move here? i don't want to turn this into a levy discussion - i am personally very sad to see the becky go -- but why does it seem like the anti-levy people are more against the administration, against a certain teacher or group of teachers and against what they deem as the elitist ed. system than they are FOR the kids?
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armybrat
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10-15-09 1:12 PM
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I agree with Parrothead, bring in better teachers. I have had two children and one grandchild go through Marietta schools and most of the teachers gave the impression of just drawing paychecks and waiting on retirement. I saw little compassion for students whose parents were not rich. Social status speaks loud at the schools. No to levy!
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Parrothead
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10-15-09 12:50 PM
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Tingette – I am sorry but new schools are not the answer. We would be better served raising taxes to increase teacher pay and attracting the best teachers available than building new schools. Isn’t that the end goal – a better education for our children or buildings we can be proud for others to see? Like I said yesterday, we need to build a new domed stadium because using the logic (or lack thereof) that the levy supporters are using our football team would start winning and become unstoppable! That sounds pretty stupid now doesn’t it? Yes it does and so does the arguments being made for new buildings improving education. Off topic but, Vote NO on the MCS Levy! Bring in some good paying longterm jobs first!
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tingette
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10-15-09 12:45 PM
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Parrot, although I have agreed with you on some points, let's start with new schools. Then it's time to pull the plug on the old stuff. It is the humane thing to do. Does the city have a living will?
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armybrat
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10-15-09 12:18 PM
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I took time elapse photos of the opening of the bridge and the Becky going through the opening. The pics are awesome. A definite keep sake.
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4PetesSake
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10-15-09 11:22 AM
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I wish there was a way to post video of the turning of the bridge and the Becky being taken away. Sad day.
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Parrothead
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10-15-09 11:22 AM
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If the powers that be do not start worrying about GODD PAYING JOBS for this area and less on the tourists the Becky will become one of many of our so called treasures that will be lost forever. This town has interstate, river and rail access, a reliable and dedicated workforce and we cannot attract, let alone keep our industry base? Something is seriously wrong and it will be much more divesting to Marietta than this boat leaving!
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Sara2247
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10-15-09 10:32 AM
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While it's really sad to see the Becky Thatcher go, it was even worse to watch her decline over the past years. It is a shame that a new restaurant could not be found to make a success of the location. In June, 1998 a friend and I had just bought our boat and he took me to dinner on the Becky Thatcher to celebrate. That evening stands out as one of the best dining experiences we had in our 10 years together; if not "fine dining" it was really great! Great wine, great food, great dessert and great service! We'd had a long day on our drive over from home to Marietta and we must've been pretty bedraggled looking by the time we appeared at Becky's door late in the afternoon. The host obviously evaluated us as "just "tired and rumpled" and escorted us to nice seats in the dining room for a lovely evening meal, again, one of the best. Au revoir, Becky. I will miss you.
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