Oh, to wonder for the days when life was kinder and slower. For the Gay 90s [1890s] when baseball was king and Benjamin Harrison was President. When fresh cool breezes whispered gently across the open land telling furtively of a coming rain, gentle, clean and cold. When the rivers ran deep and clear majestically through the plains hissing along their tranquil path as a paddlewheel steamboat, chugging like a grand old lady, paddled its misty way, whistle blowing, into an American panoramic history. Well, my friend, these days live on in the uniquely American steamboatin' tradition, held together by the cypress decks of The Spirit of Lansing, The Princess Laura, and The Michigan Princess, true American steamboats owned and operated by the J&K Steamboat Line of Grand Ledge, Michigan.

A Rich American History
The period of 1810 through the turn of the century (the height of the era around the 1850s) was a rich era for the American steamboat, when more than 10,000 of them pushed their way across the North American Continent. It was a fascinating time in history when steamboats, illustrious and imposing in their stature, were largely responsible for unprecedented progress and growth in the development of the American frontier. With little alternative for widespread travel, America's great inland waterways became the navigation centers for the transport of virtually everything from produce to farming equipment to fine furniture, all waiting desperately on the riverbanks for shipment to its assigned frontier-day designation. The amount of goods flowing, for example, through New Orleans during this period exceeded that even of New York City. Had the Civil War not held back the flow of riverboats, it is likely that New Orleans would now be the country's center of foreign trade. Chief among the items of transport was people. Within decades of the introduction of the paddlewheel steamboat to American rivers, small towns sprang up throughout the countryside, many of them growing steadily into cities such as Minneapolis, St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans, Detroit, and even Lansing, Michigan.

The ornate, rococo style of the paddlewheel riverboat rightfully earned them the name of ‘floating palaces’. It is conjectured by some students of architectural schools that the intricate gingerbread designs found on riverboats greatly influenced the interior decor of many Victorian era homes throughout the country. Even Samuel Clemens felt the romantic pull of the river, becoming one of the best riverboat pilots of his time. He later took his pen name, Mark Twain, from the river man's term used to mark two fathom's of water. It remains evident that the American paddlewheel steamboat is an integral and fanciful part of our national past.

The great tradition of the American paddlewheel steamboat is stoically and proudly kept alive in mid-Michigan through the memorable journeys and sojourns of Captain John Chamberlain of the J&K Steamboat Line, operator of The Spirit of Lansing, The Princess Laura, and The Michigan Princess paddlewheel steamboats of mid-Michigan. "Mostly," says Captain John, "we enjoy a ride on a slow boat from nowhere to nowhere." The Captain tips his hat and winks. "A relaxing time when the ride is slow, the air is open, and the food is great. Like stepping off the plank into yesteryear where there's no stress from daily life."

A Riverboat Adventure
Passengers can still experience for themselves the rush of the river on one of J&K Steamboat of mid-Michigan's four, authentic paddlewheel riverboats. If you'd like to enjoy food and music and good mid-Michigan scenery, consider a cruise along a breathtaking bend of the Grand River, just west of downtown Lansing, to see the nature-painted palette of brilliant fall colors on The Michigan Princess. Three decks high, the grand princess stands proudly, having floated passengers down river since 1991. She can accommodate up to 400 passengers at any one time (190 on dinner cruises).

Stepping off the dock located at Grand River Park (off Lansing Road near Waverly Road) and onto her hand-hewn decks of cypress is like stepping back into time. Walking through the beveled glass doors of the main salon is an awe-inspiring, picturesque river adventure as one scans wide river views through handsomely handmade oak trimmed, cathedral-style windows that stretch the entire length of the cabin. A touch of modernization, however, adds just the right comfort in the form of heating and air condition. As in the riverboats of old, a solid oak bar stands in the corner, beckoning patrons with cold refreshments as brightly colored riverbanks full of natural splendors drift pleasantly by at a kinder, gentler pace. The sparkles of crystal chandeliers reflect their coruscating prism colors throughout the posh and plush dining room. In the far corner, tunes flow passionately from the piano as passengers are serenaded. Dancers dance as wine goblets ring their applause to the toasts of the evening. A true 1800s experience unsurpassed by even the great riverboats of a bygone era.

Upward, the grand stairway leads to the second deck, where more passengers enjoy the evening, some inside, some outside and along the deck railing waiving to rafters floating down stream. The refreshing snap of a mid-Michigan breeze reminds of upcoming cooler whether as The Michigan Princess kicks her way over the wavelets of the Grand River in old fashioned, Mississippi-like charm. A pageant of sights and sounds lift along.

Upward again, the stairway gives way to the spectacular view of the upper deck, open and unfettered, twenty-five feet above the water's glistening surface, where it is said that unsuspecting passengers who sit and relax can be lulled to sleep by the undulating churn of the paddlewheel. In the bow, the dance band plays on as the setting sun lays its dazzling red pathway outward and away. On the bridge, Captain John, spinning the wheel for a bend in the river, blows the whistle and comments on points of interest along the shore such as undeveloped woodlands, park preserves, celebrity homes, and passing indigenous waterfowl. Suddenly a shot! Someone has been killed! The waiter?—the steward?—the bartender? No! Not the captain! Please not the captain! Every passenger's a suspect in the murder mystery, on one of The Michigan Princess's Murder Mystery cruises. A shipload of fun that awaits every passenger as a troupe of professional actors untwists a dynamic and dastardly plot where everyone helps turn up the clues. As characters wander and wonder, the crowd tracks, investigates, and interrogates the characters.

During the cruise, voyagers are invited to help themselves to a plentiful buffet in the main-deck salon, a fine dining buffet of salad, chicken, meat balls, augratin potatoes, green-bean-almondine, cottage cheese with pineapple (a five course meal of prime rib, chicken donovan, or vegetarian pasta on the murder mystery cruises), and, of course, cake or perhaps lemon meringue pie for a tempting dessert. Coffee or tea finishes the meal; a cash bar is made available for an after dinner salute.

After completing the three hour cruise, from Grand River Park, up stream to the Waverly Road Bridge, back to the Logan Street bridge, then returning to Grand River Park, debarkation is reluctantly surrendered by passengers who return conveniently to waiting cars. As each passenger disembarks, a personal good-bye from Captain John Chamberlain punctuates the experience with warm wishes and fond farewells. A good cruise, it seems, leaves passengers wishing for more.

The Michigan Princess - Commissioned in May 1991
Weight: 65 tons
Length: 110 feet
Width: 28 feet
Capacity: 350 persons for cruising, 190 for dinner on the interior 
with 80 additional seats on the upper deck.

Conveniences: 
Warming Kitchen
Bar
Dance Band Area
Enclosed, Heated And/Or Air Conditioned
Full Bathroom Facilities
Promenade Deck for Strolling

Captain John Chamberlain, Karla Chamberlain, And J&K Steamboat Line
The J&K Steamboat Line was founded in 1976 when the original Spirit of Lansing was christened on July 4th as part of the City of Lansing's Bicentennial Celebration. The Spirit had started life as an Ohio river barge and followed a long and convoluted route as a house boat, a children's ride, and a backyard project for two different households before it ended up being donated to John and Karla Chamberlain, who were then operating a canoe rental at Lansing's Potter Park Zoo. Completely rebuilt, it was destined to return as a children's ride at the zoo with occasional trips down the Grand River to participate in the various city festivals in downtown Lansing.

As the years passed, it was harder and harder to keep adults off the boat! So, the company, now called J&K Steamboat Line, gave in and began moving the boat around the state to various festivals in other cities such as Chesaning, Midland, Albion, Watervliet, and Grand Ledge. By 1985 it had become evident that if the children's ride portion of the business was to continue, something would have to be done-that being the second boat for J&K, The Princess Laura. The new boat, named after John and Karla's new daughter, was launched in July of 1986 in Grand Ledge, Michigan, the port for both the Princess and the Steamboat Line.

Dam problems in Lansing lowered the water level and from 1986 through 1990 the Spirit of Lansing was unable to run out of Potter Park Zoo. But, the completion of the new Lansing Center in Lansing, and a dock at Museum Drive flooded the Spirits tour business. The popularity of the Princess Laura as a charter and festival boat (over 200 charters in 1990 alone), motivated J&K Steamboat Line to build, at its Grand Ledge shipyard, its newest passenger boat affectionately named The Michigan Princess. The Princess is a 400 passenger, three deck charter boat that can be moved overland from event to event.

A River Runs Short
"In the space of one hundred and seventy-six years the Lower Mississippi has shortened itself two hundred and forty-two miles. That is an average of a trifle over one mile and a third per year. Therefore, any calm person, who is not blind or idiotic, can see that in the Old Oolitic Silurian Period, just a million years ago next November, the Lower Mississippi River was upward of one million three hundred thousand miles long, and stuck out over the Gulf of Mexico like a fishing rod. And by the same token, any person can see that seven hundred and forty-two years from now, the Lower Mississippi will be only a mile and three-quarters long, and Cairo and New Orleans will have joined their streets together, and be plodding comfortably along under a single mayor and a mutual board of alderman. There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture of such a trifling investment of fact."

1 Steamboatin' Background at http://www.deltaqueen.com/history.html by The Delta Queen Steamboat Company.

2 Sternwheeler Gazette, Published by Far West Services, Inc. of St. Louis Missouri.