How Big Is Your Rowboat?

Another day quietly begins on the St. Lawrence.
I was usually up in the mornings by five o'clock while on vacation, but one morning I was wide awake at four. I tried to get back to sleep, but I gave up at 4:20 and got out of bed. I started a pot of coffee, and got the ingredients out to make a coffee cake. A friend gave me this recipe, and I like it for its old-fashioned taste. It is quite plain, no bells or whistles, but that's what makes it so good. I enjoyed being in the kitchen before the sun was up, baking a homemade treat while my companions slumbered. This cake is easy to make, and it was still warm from the oven when they wandered out of their bedrooms, looking for coffee.

Swiss Coffee Cake
¾ cup butter
1-1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter & sugar. Add flour & baking powder – crumble together with hands like you would pie dough.
Take out 1 cup of crumbs and set aside for top.
Now add eggs, milk & vanilla.
Place batter in a lightly greased 11x7 pan. Top with crumbs.
Bake at 350 about 30 minutes.

Once everyone was coffeed & caked, scrubbed & dressed, we drove to the village of Clayton. On the way into town, we stopped and made Robespierre pose beside Paul Bunyan's golf bag. Robespierre is a good head taller than the rest of us, so we don't get to see him looking short very often.

The land around Clayton was originally held by the Algonquins, but then the Iroquois told them to get out. Then the white man came along, and we all know how that turned out. Clayton experienced boom times with the installation of a railroad line in 1873. During this era, the concept of vacationing became popular and accessible to the middle-class, not just the wealthy. Tourists came from the cities, and many hotels were built in Clayton to accommodate them and lighten their wallets.

Clayton was the northern-most point on the New York Central Railroad, and during July & August over 30 trains per day arrived & departed Clayton. Tourists either stayed in town, or boarded steamships for other points along the St. Lawrence River.

Clayton argues with nearby Alexandria Bay over which town is the true birthplace of that condiment we all know so well - Thousand Island dressing.

We spent some time shopping along Riverside Drive, and bought hot dogs from a stand to eat alongside the river. Then Sadie bought us all tickets to the Antique Boat Museum, which was a first-class operation. Thank you, Sadie! The museum was a vacation highlight, and I recommend a visit to anyone who travels to the area.

Museum tickets include a guided tour of George Boldt's houseboat, La Duchesse, built for him in 1903. Cameras were allowed, so I have a bunch of pictures to show you.

La Duchesse
After George Boldt died, the houseboat was purchased by Edward John Noble, a candy industrialist who popularized Life Savers candies and was the founder of ABC, the American Broadcasting Company. You need a lot of money to float a boat like La Duchesse.

The galley was updated after the boat was sold by George Boldt's estate. It was large and efficiently laid out. Robespierre is walking through the butler's pantry, which is about the size of my kitchen.
However, keeping La Duchesse afloat proved problematic, no matter how much money was available. You also need reliable plumbing. In 1943, a pipe burst under a bathroom and flooded the hull, sinking the vessel up to the top of the first deck. When the houseboat sank, it rested on two submerged pilings which pierced the wooden hull.

(In AA, we call these "high-class problems")

This working brass fireplace is decorated with starfish and mythical dolphins. There is another working fireplace of green marble in the grand salon on the upper deck.
The hull was patched, and the boat refloated. It was purchased by one of the many Andrews McNally of the Rand McNally publishing dynasty, who had it towed to his summer home. The McNallys used La Duchesse as a party boat for entertaining. Their summer place is across the river from Sadie's property, and she remembers seeing the houseboat docked across the river when she was growing up.

Guest cabin
The interior of the boat is finely crafted, and features Honduran mahogany for its beauty & durability. Mahogany was prized for boat construction prior to steel because mahogany does not rot in water like many other woods. The original hull of the boat used this wood, but the hull was replaced with steel in 1958.

There were plenty of bathrooms on board!
La Duchesse was constructed to serve as a residence, a true house boat, as well as a place to entertain guests. It was never self-propelled, and was towed to its desired locations. George Boldt lived on it at times during the summers he was building Boldt Castle. Andrew McNally used it for entertaining, and for overflow guest space. Speaking of overflow, I wonder if the bath water sloshed out of these tubs if a passing boat created a large wake?

Another cabin for an overnight guest.

Yet another cabin on the first deck. This boat had more guest space than most homes. There were six cabins on the first deck. Also, two servants' cabins and bath across from the galley.

The master bath on the upper deck. I love the nautical-theme hamper. Note the bathmat with the La Duchesse logo.

George Boldt's study.

The owner's sitting room on the upper deck.

A nook for a piano or small band for party music.

The promenade deck, above & below. This deck and the adjoining grand salon were the only parts of the boat that many party guests saw (or remembered).

La Duchesse was just one exhibit of many at the Antique Boat Museum. Whether you are an avid boater or a landlubber like me, there were many things of interest to see and experience.

Sadie poses on a climb-aboard exhibit.

Sheldon in the galley, thinking of what he can whip up for dinner.
This was in an old boat-of-some-type-I-cannot-remember that was used for fishing in its former life. Schooner? Trawler? Sampan? Ocean liner? It's a foreign language to me, but I appreciate the craftsmanship.

Sadie, about to be attacked by a killer whale in downtown Clayton.

We close today's post with a picture of Sadie & Sheldon, Couple of the Year.
The next post should finish up my Thousand Islands adventure series. We'll take a boat ride up & down the river, checking out more scenery and peering at people's houses. See you next time!