Remodeled for Pleasure

“We would run downstream and tie up at Belvidere Island or anchor out in Hattie's Cove. Both places were beautiful and quiet.” Guest

Dr. Will remodeled the raftboat, adding a distinctive room behind the pilothouse as a study, converting small staterooms into larger ones, replacing windows and making space for three automobiles on the lower deck. The Oronoco began taking groups - including the Sisters of Saint Francis, who founded and staffed Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester - for excursions on the river.

Captain JAMES RICHTMAN

Remodeled, the Oronoco sported 13 cabins, a dining hall and kitchen on the main deck, two cabins on the lower deck, an electric light plant with storage batteries, electric fans in the cabins and an icebox. A crew of 13 kept her humming. Dr. Will's study and a gold-leafed eagle on the pilothouse gave her a recognizable profile on the river.

The Oronoco drew 42 inches of water under the wood hull, which measured 132 feet by 30 feet. Power, fueled by coal, came from three boilers. On Lake Pepin, where she was a familiar sight, the captain claimed the Oronoco could make 18 miles per hour downstream and about half that speed against the current.

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