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Program: Maritime Mayhem, Bank Robberies and a Floating Family Business Captain Jim Kosmo was both our host and our program speaker, offering a history of steam ships on the Mississippi and of his family business, the Padelford Packet Boat Company. Jim and wife Shelly, whose father had started the company, agreed to move back to Saint Paul to help out with the business for a year or two, which ended up being from 1980-2010! Shelly is descended from a long line of Padelfords, including the namesake of the boat we met on today, and Frank Padelford who worked at the Northfield Bank during the great Jesse James heist. Frank reportedly watered the gang’s horses and then hid under his desk during the raid. The Mississippi has always been Saint Paul’s greatest asset and the reason for its fast growth during the early days of the territory and the state. In 1844 only 41 steamboats docked at the levee, but by 1857 that number had climbed to 1,000! The city’s population grew tenfold from 1,500 in 1850 to 15,000 by 1865, making it one of the fastest growing cities at that time. President Millard Fillmore’s grand flotilla of boats loaded with dignitaries and reporters from the East Coast in 1854 brought national attention to the natural riches and great potential of this area. In those days, the average life span of a steamboat was only three years. Lack of safety regulations or inland coast guard combined with the rocky river channel and the dangers of steam engines meant that most boats crashed or exploded after just a few years of travel. Maritime Disasters The greatest maritime disaster in the US was the sinking of the Sultana in 1865, when most steamboats were commandeered to return Union troops from the conquered South. On April 27, 1865, the boat exploded. She was designed with a capacity of only 376 passengers, but she was carrying 2,155 when three of the boat's four boilers exploded and she burned to the waterline and sank near Memphis, Tennessee, killing 1,196 passengers. This disaster was overshadowed in the press by other events, most particularly the killing on the previous day of President Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth. The Sea Wing disaster occurred on July 13, 1890 when a strong squall line overturned the excursion vessel Sea Wing on Lake Pepin near Lake City, Minnesota. About 215 people were aboard the vessel when it overturned and as a result 98 passengers drowned. An excursion barge that was being towed by the Sea Wing was unharmed. It is one of the worst maritime disasters that has occurred on the upper Mississippi River. Tornadoes had occurred earlier in the evening farther north in the Twin Cities area but it is believed that downburst winds from a thunderstorm were the cause the accident. In contrast, modern “steamboats” like the Padelford (built in 1969 and still in daily operation during the boating season!), replicate the paddle wheel mechanism with diesel fuel instead of the volatile steam technology. As the boat brought our members safely back to shore, President Chuck Whitaker drew the winning prize tickets, sending Jerry Falletti and Lynne Beck home with wonderful Padelford prizes. Thanks Captain Jim for an entertaining meeting experience (and for holding off the rain!). Respectfully submitted, Michael-jon Pease
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