Arthur L. Smith, Inc. and Grand Strand Publishers announced today that “The Streckfus Riverboat Dynasty – Jazz and the Big Smoke Canoe” has been published and is now available on Amazon’s website (https://a.co/d/i8IYeQU), Barnes & Noble’s website (https://tinyurl.com/sffcr7np) and through other online outlets.
Arthur L. Smith, author and publisher, commented on today’s announcement, “With a great deal of research and a tremendous amount of pride, I am thrilled to announce today that my maternal family’s amazing Mississippi Riverboat history, ‘The Streckfus Riverboat 
Dynasty – Jazz and the Big Smoke Canoe’ has been published and is available for sale online. My book chronicles the excursion riverboat dynasty of the Streckfus family and the role of Fate Marable, Louis Armstrong and other jazz legends in the gumbo of jazz music ‘up and down’ the Mississippi and Ohio. Moreover, ‘The Streckfus Riverboat Dynasty’ includes a full complement of charts, drawings, photos and maps to share.”
Smith added, “In 1880, my great grandfather, John Streckfus, began a commercial packet business serving the Rock Island community that evolved to become the largest excursion riverboat operation serving the Mississippi from St. Paul to New Orleans and the Ohio from Pittsburg to St. Louis. Streckfus built the sternwheeler J.S., the first purposed sightseeing and music/dance riverboat in 1900. When the J.S. suffered a tragic fire and burned to the waterline in 1910, Streckfus and his sons, which included my grandfather, Captain Roy Streckfus, acquired additional wooden vessels which were transformed into palatial excursion vessels over the next eighty years.
“Music was central to the attraction of Streckfus Steamers and the legendary black pianist
and bandleader, Fate Marable ran the show on Streckfus vessels, which ‘tramped’ the Mississippi River with extraordinary bands that included Louis Armstrong and Charlie Creath, to name a few. Streckfus was eventually forced to retire its wooden fleet of the Capitol, J.S. Deluxe, Saint Paul and Sidney to make way for its gargantuan football field-sized all metal steamers, the President and Admiral. This is a thrilling story of the days of excursion riverboat glory on the great Mississippi and Ohio rivers,” concluded Smith.
About Arthur L. Smith
A native of New Orleans, Arthur L. Smith received his A.B. from Duke University and his MBA from New York University. His undergraduate focus in English and Zoology and his graduate concentration in Economics and Finance gave him a perfect tabula rasa from which to become a Wall Street energy investment analyst. After ten years, Art left Wall Street to acquire the highly-respected oil industry valuation expert, John S. Herold, Inc. (“Herold”). As CEO, Herold prospered under Smith for more than 20 years, where he strengthened Herold’s locations in Norwalk, Connecticut and Houston, Texas and expanded its reach among the global oil and natural gas industry. Smith divested Herold to NYSE-listed IHS (now S&P Global) and formed the investment and consulting firm, Triple Double Advisors. Previously Smith authored “Something From Nothing”, the biography of oil legend Joe B. Foster.
Purchase “The Streckfus Riverboat Dynasty – Jazz and the Big Smoke Canoe” available now at:
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/kax3be54
Barnes & Noble: https://tinyurl.com/sffcr7np
Bookshop.org: https://tinyurl.com/et5tcb8d
Thriftbooks.com: https://tinyurl.com/yc2s4fyn
