Ascarate's old River Queen found in New Mexico

?? Tales from the Morgue blog: 1963 -- River Queen Christened On Ascarate Lake

Think of this tale as a simple but confusing story about two friends and a small riverboat that sank twice.

One chapter began in 2003 when Nixon "Buddy" Morris III of El Paso spotted the hull and other remnants of the old River Queen boat in the water-starved lake at New Mexico's Elephant Butte Reservoir about 75 miles north of Las Cruces.

"It was kind of like seeing a ghost -- really cool," he said.

The River Queen first emerged as a popular excursion boat at El Paso's Ascarate Lake in the early 1960s. Morris' family bought the River Queen after it sank at Ascarate Lake in 1964. They converted it into a houseboat.

With its dual smoke stacks and paddle wheel, the River Queen was no Titanic. But it holds the distinction of possibly being the only boat in the region that sank twice in different lakes.

Flash forward.

Water levels at Elephant Butte Lake have dropped in recent years because of persistent drought and scarce rainfall in New Mexico.

A few days ago, Morris, an El Paso dentist, was cruising Elephant Butte, the largest lake in New Mexico, with a childhood friend. He spotted rotting remains of a boat -- it again was the River Queen.

The recent

discovery was a nostalgic trip for Morris, 65, and his friend, David Nisbet, 64, a retired AT&T employee from San Diego. In the summer of 1964, Morris and Nisbet were hired for 50 cents an hour to operate the River Queen and ferry adults and children around Ascarate Lake.

"About 10 years ago, the lake was down even further than it is right now," Morris said. "At that time, the top was still very recognizable."

It's still a mystery how the River Queen sank and disappeared at Elephant Butte. Morris speculates the boat possibly turned loose during a storm.

The boat was missing for many years before Morris found it the first time in 2003.

"It just disappeared after a few years on the lake," he said. "We had no idea what happened to it. I even had people tell me it was up at Navajo Lake up in northern New Mexico."

The River Queen made front page headlines in the El Paso Herald-Post when it made its maiden voyage on Ascarate Lake on July 20, 1963.

County Commissioner Richard Telles christened the riverboat with a bottle of soda.

Two of the boat's original owners, Louis Maldonado and Rudolfo Vaca, made the first 25-minute trip around Ascarate Lake along with then-County Judge Glenn Woodard and

city Alderman Hector Bencomo.

Vista Construction Co. built the $12,000 boat in El Paso. It was 31 feet long, 11 feet wide and 12 feet high. It could travel five miles per hour and carry 50 adults or 70 children, according to news accounts.

A boat ride cost 25 cents for children and 50 cents for adults.

On Sept. 29, 1964, the newspapers reported that "vandals have scuttled the River Queen, El Paso's own excursion boat."

The River Queen had settled to the shallow bottom offshore. The boat owners dragged the boat out and discovered a hole in the stern, possibly made with a hammer or crowbar.

Morris' father, Nixon Morris Jr., and Douglas Stubblefield, his uncle, bought the River Queen and converted it into a houseboat before putting it on Elephant Butte Lake, where the family used it for fishing, sleeping and partying.

"I'm guessing early '70s when it was up at Elephant Butte," Morris said. "It was up there on the lake (Elephant Butte) for four or five years before it disappeared, maybe even a little bit longer."

Nisbet has returned to San Diego after a recent summer vacation in El Paso that he will not soon forget.

"This brought back a lot of memories, most of them good," Nisbet said. "Operating the River Queen was a fantastic job. Back then, that bought us our gas money."

Nisbet and Morris graduated in 1965 from Ysleta High School.

"That made the whole trip worthwhile," Nisbet said. "This late in life, it was a really neat thing for something you did as a teenager to suddenly come back."

It's anybody's guess how long the River Queen -- or what's left of it -- will remain in its shallow watery grave. The boat wasn't salvageable in 2003, and it's in even worse shape now.

"This is nothing spectacular," Morris said. "It's just one of those things that El Paso had, that people enjoyed."

Ramon Renteria may be reached at rrenteria@elpasotimes.com; 546-6146.

Source: http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_21243749/ascarates-old-river-queen-found-nm?source=rss_viewed

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