A 1930 20 foot Chris-Craft, the "Moxie" owned by Jim Frechette of Austin, Texas

This 1953 22 foot Chris-Craft, the "Lucky 7" owned by Jim & Jody Staib from Mchenry, Illinois

A 1999 30 foot FordCraft reproduction, the "After Hours" owned by James Ford of New York

Ken & Nan Jorgensen's
"Happiness Is..." from Brentwood, Tennessee
is a 1956 22 foot Chris-Craft

This 1970 22 foot Greavette "Summer Joy" is owned by the Freeman family of Ontario, Canada

The 1947 22 foot Chris-Craft "Jazz" from Alabama is skippered by Bill Gooch

Party DJ's Terry Hudson and "Big Mike" McKown

Birdsong owner Bob Keast bids farewell to Ken & Nan Jorgensen, the originators of the Tennessee River Cruise

Birdsong Resort, Marina and Lakeside RV & Tent Campground near Camden on beautiful Kentucky Lake, Tennessee was the destination for some 22 antique boats Wednesday, September 12.

The flotilla left Birdsong’s marina Thursday morning enroute to Paris Landing State Park for the last night before continuing on to Kentucky’s Land Between the Lake at Patti’s, of Cadiz.

The restored boat armada, made up of the Dixieland Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society, was on its fourth leg of a five-day cruise from Guntersville, Alabama to Cadiz, Kentucky. This is the fifth time this group has made this trip since 1993.  They love to stop at Birdsong for the warm reception from the staff and the hundreds of local Benton Countians who are on hand to meet and greet them.

“We treat the boating tourists really well here,” according to Bob Keast, owner of Birdsong. Bert and B. J. Kellerhall, residents at Birdsong Resort, served as the head of the welcoming reception committee said,  “We served our visitors ice cold lemonade and white chocolate-macadamia nut cookies for refreshments. After a day on the river, they really appreciated the hospitality that was extended to them.”

The group, consisting of 73 skippers and crew came from seventeen states and three provinces of Canada. The 500-mile journey began in Guntersville, AL on Monday, September 10 then ended Friday at Cadiz, Kentucky.

“We had several vans to transport them to and from Camden where we rented dozens of motel accommodations, had a catered steak dinner on Wednesday evening and country ham breakfast on Thursday morning. We literally threw a dance and bingo party…and that is what tourism is all about…where a good time is had by all,” according to Keast.

Party DJ’s Terry Hudson and “Big Mike” said, “These boating tourists were a fun crowd to be with for the evening. We played a variety of music from Duke Ellington to Bob Seager and Hank Jr., and I really look forward to having them back here at Birdsong in 2003,” said Hudson. They were disappointed that no one from the Chamber of Commerce came to greet nor visit them as had been done in the previous four times they stopped at Birdsong for overnight accommodations.

In the wake of the September 11 disaster, the 73 crew member tour group was saddened upon arrival at Birdsong as most all of America was during the time of tragedy, but the intense patriotic sprit was running high as “Mr. Bluebird”, Dan McCue of Camden, had a moment of silence and continued with prayer prior to the steak supper.  A special thank you was given to the Birdsong Staff for their linen table cloths displaying the American Flag with her stars and stripes, which were “a real touching and caring thought,” according to Ken Jorgenson, the originator and father of the first cruise down the Tennessee.

The cruise is actually a floating boat show made up of boats that have long since ceased to be produced. Names such as Chris-Craft, Lyman, Hackercraft, Century, Shepherd, and Gar Wood are from the past and stir memories from days gone by.

Ken and Nan Jorgensen began this cruise of the Dixieland Chapter of the Antique Boat Society in 1993. The Tennessee River Cruise has its origins from a 1992 meeting at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel in Chattanooga, TN with other interested members.

Several of the boats in the tour are powered by original engines and range in age from 1927 through the mid-1960’s. They are of an open type and range in size from sixteen to thirty feet. Most of the boats are constructed from mahogany.

The Antique and Classic Boat Society, Inc. was founded in 1975 by a group of individuals with a desire to bring together people with a common interest in the preservation and restoration of historic, antique and classic watercraft.

The Dixieland Chapter is one of 40 ACBS chapters throughout the United States and Canada, and was chartered in 1984 and covers the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky and Louisiana. According to Chapter President Tim Brown, the Dixieland Chapter has over 200 members from all over the south.

Additional photos can be found on the Birdsong Resort and Marina’s website at www.birdsongresort.com. Click on the Photo Gallery link to OLD BOATS.

“We are already making plans for 2003 when they are due back to visit us again…it is like a family reunion to have them back every other year,” said Bob Keast who co-coordinated them originally in 1993 to make their stop in Benton County a real warm hospitality success.