Grand Old Manner

Dr. Will and Ed Howard drew up preliminary plans for a new boat on two pieces of paper. On Oct. 27, 1915, only 10 days after Captain Jim Richtman jumped into the frigid Mississippi, Dr. Will wrote to the Treasury Department. He requested the name Minnesota for his proposed sternwheeler.

The Minnesota left the Howard Boat Works on September 14, 1916. She was 115 feet long by 28 feet wide, drawing just under three feet of water. She cost $30,000. According to Howard biographer Charles Fishbaugh, the Minnesota was the last boat the firm was "ever to build in the grand old manner." The Howards used a steel hull, which was fabricated by a Chicago firm. She was shorter, faster and easier to handle than the Oronoco. Dr. Will and Hattie Mayo, along with Capt. Richtman, supervised construction to ensure quality and comforts not available on another boat. (At about this time, Dr. and Mrs. Mayo were making plans for their new home, which eventually became Mayo Foundation House. Hattie Mayo's artistic skill and attention to detail strongly influenced the family's home and boats.)

“Uncle Will turned to the river; the Mississippi has a lure that exerts a strong compulsion for some; I myself feel most at peace when I'm on the river.” Dr. Charles W. Mayo Son of Dr. Charlie

The Minnesota had accommodations for 25 people, with a private bath for every stateroom, plus room for a car on the boiler deck and a study for Dr. Will at the top of the boat. The second deck ran from end to end; the golden eagle was moved from the Oronoco. Dr. Will fitted a study on the Minnesota with the maps and geographies that fascinated him and the best of his novels, and he used to relax there in uninterrupted peace.

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