Becky Thatcher and the Dreamers
(Photo provided from Akron Beacon Journal circa 3/26/1984) Showboat manager Janet Herman warily eyes river water from the slanted second deck of the partially submerged boat.
(Photo provided by Bruce Rea, from steamboats.com Keith Norrington Collection) Restored BECKY THATCHER ca 1980’s.
(Photo provided from Akron Beacon Journal circa 3/26/1984) Showboat manager Janet Herman warily eyes river water from the slanted second deck of the partially submerged boat.
(Photo provided by Bruce Rea, from steamboats.com Keith Norrington Collection) Restored BECKY THATCHER ca 1980’s.
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Sounds like a Sixties rock and roll group. But we're talking about the showboat BECKY THATCHER and the dreamers who kept her active in Marietta as a theater and restaurant for over 20 years.
Dreamer: one who has ideas or conceives projects regarded as impractical; a visionary. Each of the BECKY'S "dreamers" wanted to make the boat the best it could be, often against long odds.
Only a dreamer would bring a riverboat theater to a small market like Marietta, Ohio. In 1975 the BECKY THATCHER (originally the MISSISSIPPI III built in 1926) moved from St. Louis to Marietta. Two years and $100,000 later she began her new career. The BECKY was a hit. She enhanced Marietta's river heritage. Bus loads of tourists flocked into town to enjoy the melodrama shows. Audiences really got into it, robustly cheering the hero and booing the villain.
The dream was shattered on March 4, 1984, when the BECKY sank. It was a crushing blow to a proud community. How could she possibly be saved? Though submerged in a just a few feet of water, flooding and swift current threatened to collapse the 60-year-old superstructure. After 10 nerve-wracking weeks of waiting for the Muskingum River level to fall, the BECKY THATCHER was raised with giant cranes and towed to dry dock for repair.
Then the Marietta dreamers went to work overseeing repairs and raising money for restoration. Theater manager Janet Herman Barlow, the non-profit board, and many others were heroic in their dedication and creativity. The theater melodramas were produced on dry land that year – the "dry dock season," it was called. Fenton glass containers filled with mud from the boat were sold as a fund raiser. Restoring the boat became a rallying cause in the region. Even Ohio Governor Richard Celeste took an interest, swooping into Marietta one day by helicopter. Incredibly, a year later the BECKY THATCHER was again entertaining thousands.
There were multiple dreamers who kept the BECKY THATCHER going in Marietta for many more years.
– Harry Robinson, Jr., a CPA and businessman, saw the tourism potential of the BECKY THATCHER and put up his own money to make it happen. After the first year, he was all in: "…there is something here that has captured the imagination of people."
– Marietta College drama professors Ron Loreman and Kent Nelson managed the theater for 15 years, staging up to 4 melodrama shows each year. The College provided dorm space and back-up theater facilities.
– Cast, Crew, and Staff members. They were young, adventurous types, who worked hard and played hard. Many went on to successful careers in fine arts.
– Other dreamers who believed in the BECKY THATCHER included board members, bankers, donors, government officials, and volunteers.
To use a lame mixed metaphor, it was a Marietta "dream team" who kept the BECKY "afloat" and active.
Tens of thousands benefited from her presence in Marietta over many years. Sadly, the BECKY THATCHER left Marietta and later sank at Pittsburgh in 2009.
After each show at the curtain call, the whole cast sang a song. The final verse appears below; everyone left the BECKY THATCHER in a positive frame of mind. That's her legacy.
So trust that the Becky Thatcher
Will always banish sadness and strife,
She'll be here always with people smiling
Who try to find the sunny side of life!!!