Streckfus Steamers was a company started in 1910 by John Streckfus Sr. (1856–1925) born in
Edgington, Illinois. He started a steam
packet business in the 1880s, but transitioned his fleet to the river excursion business around 1900. In 1907, he incorporated Streckfus Steamers to raise capital and expand his riverboat excursion business. A few years later, the firm acquired the
Diamond Jo Line, a steamboat packet company.
At the end of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Bandleader
Fate Marable was hired to recruit musicians from New Orleans. Streckfus Steamers expanded the number of excursion boats, acquired or converted larger boats, and hired more bands. After the death of the patriarch in 1925, the eldest son Joseph took over the company, and was assisted by his three brothers.
Family history
John Streckfus Sr. was the son of Balthazar (18111881) and Anna Mary (Schaab) Streckfus, both immigrants to the United States from
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
. In 1850, the couple sailed for the United States with their two daughters, Barbara and Catherine. Before their ship arrived in New Orleans, Theresa gave birth to their first son, Michael. The Streckfus family eventually settled in Edgington, but Balthazar later established his wagon shop in nearby
Rock Island in 1868. The family also had a grocery business.
John Streckfus married Theresa Bartemeier in 1880. Theresa bore nine children, and all of the surviving children worked on the riverboats.
Balthazar had been commuting from Edgington to his shop in Rock Island. His sons built a house for him in the late-1860s to facilitate a shorter journey to work. The Streckfus House still stands at 908 4th Avenue (as of October 2017), and the brick Italianate house has been designated as a Rock Island Landmark.
John and Theresa Streckfus had four sons who were later licensed as captains: Joseph Leo (1887–1960), Roy Michael (1888–1968), John Nicholas (1891–1948), and Verne Walter (1895–1984). Joseph took over Streckfus Steamers in 1925 after the death of his father. Of this second Streckfus generation, he also was the most engaged with the music side of the business.
There are at least four descendants of the Streckfus family who are active as river boat captains, at least through 2005. At that time, Captain Lisa Streckfus piloted the ''
Delta Queen
''Delta Queen'' is an American sternwheel steamboat. She is known for Cruising (maritime), cruising the major rivers that constitute the tributaries of the Mississippi River, particularly in the American South, although she began service in Ca ...
'' on the Mississippi River. She is the daughter of riverboat captain, Bill Streckfus, and great-granddaughter of the family's first riverboat captain, John Streckfus Sr. Lisa's cousin, "Sister" Joy "Mary" Manthey, is also a Mississippi River steamboat captain.
Troy Manthey, who runs a dining boat business in Tampa, Florida with paddle boat operations on the Mississippi, and Brian Bristol, both nephews of Joy Manthey, are also active on the River. Joy, Troy Manthey and Brian Bristol are all descended from Anna Streckfus.
Packet service
John Streckfus bought his first steamboat in 1889 for $10,000. ''
Verne Swain'', a small steamer with a narrow profile, measuring just 120-feet in length and 22-feet in width, was constructed in
Stillwater, Minnesota
Stillwater is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County. It is in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, on the west bank of the St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota), S ...
at the Swain Shipyard.
''Verne Swain'' ran every day with several stops between
Davenport
Davenport may refer to:
Places Australia
*Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality
*Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia
**Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta
**District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...
and
Clinton Iowa, making a three-hour, one-way trip, then departed Clinton in the afternoon and returned to Davenport every evening. By 1891, Streckfus had acquired his own operator’s license and the title of Captain, whereas before he had contracted for established operators to manage his steamers, earning an engineer’s license in this same period. The same year, he bought his second steamboat, the ''Freddie'',
a triple-decked, 73-foot sternwheeler with a 16-foot beam. Once established as an operator, he transported freight and passengers on both the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers, later restriciting his operations to packets on the Mississippi, north of St.Louis. Though he gained a reputation for punctuality and efficiency, he complained about the meager profits his packets earned running freight on the rivers.
[Kenney (2005), pp. 1516.]
Early excursion service
By 1901, Streckfus changed his business model. Rather than using his slow paddle-wheelers to compete with the railroads for the freight business, he started transitioning to the excursion business. He tested this idea around 1900 when he installed a
calliope
In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses".
Mythology
Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...
on the ''City of Winona''. The next year he increased his investment in the new venture with $25,000 in capital to convert a packet into a floating entertainment venue. According to his own design, Streckfus commissioned work on a 175-foot steamboat with a capacity to hold 2,000 passengers, sleeping berths for the crew and the entertainers, a 100 x 27 foot maple dance floor, a bar, a dining room, and electric lights. His first custom-built excursion boat he named the ''J.S.''
Howard Shipyard of
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio Riv ...
built the steamboat according to this new design.
''J.S.'' was the first steamboat in service on the Mississippi built especially for excursions. The 1901 excursions on the ''J.S.'' also corresponds to the first regular dance bands hired by Streckfus. Though the ''J.S.'' spent much of its time in
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
and
St. Paul
Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
, it
tramp
A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round.
Etymology
Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English '' ...
ed on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.
While cruising the Mississippi near LaCrosse, WI on the night of June 25, 1910, Streckfus lost his custom-built steamer, the ''J.S.'', to a fire allegedly ignited by a drunken and disorderly passenger. Streckfus started offering passenger service on his paddle-wheelers as a part of a new business model, balancing his business between moving freight and moving people.
Reorganization
John Streckfus organized the Streckfus Steamers Line in order to raise capital for an expansion of his steamboat excursion business. This was a closely held company, accepting investments only from members of the Streckfus family. He had started as a freight hauler who had sold passenger tickets, but his new company's main business was the excursion trade, though he also accepted freight about his steamboats.
The Diamond Jo Line
Moving freight on steamboats had already been dying as a business for a few decades, but this extended an opportunity. Since the packet business was unprofitable, this implied that many steamboat owners were motivated sellers. John Streckfus, who had seen his custom-built ''J.S.'' go up in flames, purchased a packet fleet from the
Diamond Jo Line. He applied new capital raised by Streckfus Steamers to the purchase of four ships–the ''Dubuque'' and three damaged riverboats: ''Sidney'', a 221-foot sternwheeler; ''St. Paul'', a 300-foot side-wheeler; and another side-wheeler, the 264-foot ''Quincy''.
[Kenney (2005), p. 19.] Included in this February 3, 1911 acquisition were docks, shipyards and warehouses. Streckfus Steamers paid $200,000 for the lot.
Low water on the Mississippi River often sidelined the erstwhile packets for the next five seasons, but Streckfus bided his time by more bond issues and stock sales. He and his sons converted the ''St. Paul'', which was fitted to run excursions between by 1917, when it tramped between St. Louis and St. Paul.
However, Streckfus business was executed at an inconvenient time: the Mississippi River was low due to droughts, and he would not be able to run regular excursions for about five years. Some years later, by the 1920s, the Streckfus patriarch had four sons to captain his fleet: Joseph, Vern, Roy, and John Streckfus Jr.
SS ''St. Paul''
John Streckus chose for his first conversion the largest of the Diamond Jo steamers, the 300-foot ''St. Paul''. The company ran the first excursion for the ''St. Paul'' in 1917, and the next year it tramped between St. Louis and its namesake city on the Mississippi. The cabin was fitted with electric lights and fans. In its third season, the steamer ran aground on a sandbar, though this may have been the only mishap of the season. During the 1920s, Streckfus tramped it a bit further south, between the
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeaster ...
and
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau ( , ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, Cape Girardeau and Scott County, Missouri, Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the ...
areas. The next decade, the large steamer plied the Ohio River until its 1930 rebuild. Rechristened ''Senator'', it ran excursions for just a few more years.
''J.S. Deluxe''
In 1919, Streckfus Steamers executed the second conversion from their Diamond Jo fleet, the packet ''Quincy''. The company developed different ships for different markets, and the ''J.S. Deluxe'' catered to wealthy people from St. Louis. The company hired white musicians to perform on this steamer. ''J.S. Deluxe'' continued to serve the upscale market in the St. Louis area until the ''President'' took over in 1934.
[Kenney (2005), p. 20.]
''Capitol''
The ''Capitol'' was born from the old sternwheeler, the ''Dubuque''. It did not require as much water depth as other ships in their fleet, so Streckfus Steamers put it into use in the Upper Mississippi, while it served local cruises at New Orleans in the winter.
Fate Marable performed on the ''Capital'' starting in 1920, leading a band which included
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
,
Boyd Atkins, Norman Brashear,
Baby Dodds
Warren "Baby" Dodds (December 24, 1898 – February 14, 1959) was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is regarded as one of the best jazz drummers of the pre-big band era. He varied his drum patterns with accents and f ...
,
David Jones,
Henry Kimball Hadley, and
Johnny St. Cyr
Johnny St. Cyr () (April 17, 1890 – June 17, 1966) was an American jazz Banjo#Six-string banjos, banjoist and guitarist. He was one of the original pioneers of jazz music, playing banjo and guitar in the bands of Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, J ...
.
Starting around 1924, the trumpeter
Ed Allen led the Whispering Gold Band aboard the S.S. ''Capitol'' and stayed with Streckfus Steamers for about two years before moving to New York City.
Papa Celestin
Oscar Phillip Celestin (January 1, 1884 – December 15, 1954), better known by his stage name Papa Celestin, was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader.
Life and career
Celestin was born in Napoleonville, Louisiana, to a Creole family, son o ...
brought his band to the ''Capitol'' around 1926.
Sidney Desvigne who had previously played corner in Ed Allen’s band aboard the ''Capitol'', left Streckfus Steamers for two years to lead his own band on the ''
Island Queen''. He returned to Streckfus Steamers, this time as a bandleader of the Sidney Desvigne’s S.S. Capitol Orchestra.
Fats Pichon
Walter Gabriel Pichon (April 3, 1906 – February 25, 1967) professionally known as Fats Pichon, was an American jazz pianist, singer, bandleader, and songwriter.
Biography
Pichon was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and began playin ...
followed Sidney Desvigne to the ''Island Queen'' and back. Eventually, the conservatory-trained pianist headed his own group, the last New Orleans band to have regular employment with Streckfus Steamers.
''Sidney''
The ''Sidney'' is a steamboat first built in
West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
between 1880 and 1881. On March 10, 1881, a breach in the steam line scalded fourteen people and killed four others. Diamond Jo Line acquired the steamer the next year for about $23,000, after which it ran the Mississippi River between St. Louis and St. Paul.
[ ]
Streckfus purchased the ''Sidney'' in 1911, a 221-foot sternwheeler from the Diamond Jo Line after it had been damaged by rocks while cruising on the Mississippi River. After repairs and refitting, he assigned the ''Sidney'' to winter excursions in the New Orleans area for about a decade. There was a 1921 rebuild, after which it was rechristened ''Washington''. Louis Armstrong performed aboard ''Sidney'';
Erroll Garner
Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad "Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first re ...
performed aboard ''Washington''.
Fate Marable started his first New Orleans band on the ''Sidney'' in 1918, starting his expanded responsibilities as bandleader and talent scout, duties he would continue until his retirement in 1940. He scouted and hired Armstrong, as well as
Warren “Baby” Dodds,
George “Pops” Foster, and
Johnny St. Cyr
Johnny St. Cyr () (April 17, 1890 – June 17, 1966) was an American jazz Banjo#Six-string banjos, banjoist and guitarist. He was one of the original pioneers of jazz music, playing banjo and guitar in the bands of Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, J ...
.
Later acquisitions

By the late-1930s, Streckfus Steamers had an inventory of aging steamboats with wooden hulls. The
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
was enforcing stricter standards for riverboats, so the company built its last two excursion boatsthe
''President'' and the
SS ''Admiral''with steel hulls.
''President''
In 1933, Streckfus Steamers bought the steamboat ''Cincinnati'', a steel-hulled packet built in 1924. ''Cincinnati'', true to its name, ran freight between the Queen City and Louisville, Kentucky. The company installed twenty-four watertight compartments into the existing steel hull and rebuilt a superstructure in steel, and expanded to five decks. The new excursion steamer was dubbed ''President'', and Streckfus Steamers dispatched it up the Ohio River to serve Pittsburgh during the depression. Eventually, ''President'' replaced the ''J.S. Deluxe'' for excursions catering to wealthy people in the St. Louis market. The ship commenced carrying excursion passenger in July 1934 out of St. Louis, with bands led by Fate Marable and
Charlie Creath.
The ''S.S. President'' could accommodate 3,100 passengers and continued service for many years after riverboat excursions diminished in popularity after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. It was a venue for the
New Orleans Jazz Festival
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...
, and hosted performers such as
Pete Fountain
Pierre Dewey LaFontaine Jr. (July 3, 1930 – August 6, 2016), known professionally as Pete Fountain, was an American jazz clarinetist.
Early life and education
LaFontaine was born to Pierre, Sr. and Madeline, in a small Creole cottage-style fr ...
and
Louis Cottrell’s Dixieland Jazz Band.
In 1944, Streckfus Steamers moved the President from St. Louis to New Orleans. The company overhauled the ''President’s'' motive power, switching to diesel propulsion in 1978, before selling the ship to the New Orleans Steamboat company in 1981.
SS ''Admiral''

The SS ''Admiral'' was the first of the Streckfus fleet to be built with a metal superstructure on a steel hull. Originally the 1907 ''Albatross'', a railroad ferry, Streckfus Steamers stripped it down to the steel hull and rebuilt it with a steel superstructure and an Art Deco finish. The company docked on the Mississippi River in St. Louis, at the foot of Washington Avenue.
SS ''Admiral'' commenced excursions in 1940, featuring an air-conditioned cabin and a large ballroom with maple flooring. The top deck, also known as the fifth deck, allowed guests to access close-up views of the riverbank sights through coin-operated telescopes.
In 1973, the company removed the steam engine and converted SS ''Admiral'' to diesel power. Streckfus Steamers ran excursions on the SS ''Admiral'' through the 1978 season, and retired the ship in 1979 due to weakness in its hull. The company sold the ship to
John E. Connelly in 1981.
Riverboat jazz
Early riverboat music
John Streckfus started hiring musicians in 1901, when he engaged a friend to scout talent, which resulted in the first live musical entertainment, an African-American trio from
Des Moines
Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
playing
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin.
...
,
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
, and
mandolin
A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
. By 1903, Streckfus employed a house band to play popular music, a quartet which included a drummer, trumpeter, violinist, and a pianist. Charles Mills was the piano player, an African-American performing with three white musicians.
Mills remained with Streckfus until 1907, when he planned to seek musical opportunities in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Mills told
Fate Marable about his plans. The seventeen year-old piano player from
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern Unit ...
solicited employment from an agent of the company when a Streckfus excursion boat docked in his hometown. Streckfus hired Marable to play a steam
calliope
In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses".
Mythology
Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...
and to play piano in the boat’s dance bands.
[Kenney (2005), p. 38.] Marable first played piano for Streckfus on the ''J.S.'', playing in a duo with Emil Flindt, a white violist. Marable continued as a performer on the company's flagship until its conflagration in 1910.
The calliope was not just a musical instrument, it was an advertising medium for Streckfus Steamers. Its music carried for miles, announcing the presence of an excursion boat plying the river. People gathered at the docks, listening the calliope playing and some bought excursion tickets. Later, Streckfus allowed Marable to hire his own musicians. Around 1918, Marable assembled his own orchestra for the ''Sidney'', including many from New Orleans: George "Pops" Foster (bass), Warren "Baby" Dodds (drums), Johnny St. Cyr (banjo), David Jones and Norman Mason (saxophone), Lorenzo Brashear (trombone), and Boyd Atkins (violin).
After World War I
John Streckfus Sr. and his two brothers were amateur musicians and formed specific ideas about what kind of music his guests would hear. Often, one of the brothers attended rehearsals, marking the tempo with a watch to ensure 60 beats per minute for the slow tunes, and 90 beats per minute for the fast ones. While Louis Armstrong played for Fate Marable's band, he observed Joseph Streckfus smiling, laughing, and tapping to the beat.
[Bergreen, pp. 150153.] However, another account indicates that Joseph Streckfus made music evaluations with considerations beyond his own sense of taste. According to trumpeter
Henry “Red” Allen, Joseph Streckfus expected different tempi depending on where they played: St. Louis dancers liked a faster beat than the dancers in New Orleans.
John Streckfus demanded strict decorum on his steamships. Though he sold alcoholic drinks, he tolerated neither gambling nor drunkenness from his passengers or his musicians. Marable made a perfect fit as a bandleader since he enforced these rules, and he imposed the same exacting standards for studying, rehearsing, and playing music. Marable sometimes took extreme measures to make a point, as when he fired musicians. Sometimes he left a hatchet on a musician's chair, in order to him know that "he gave them the axe." Another trick was telling the whole group (except for one musician) to come to rehearsal an hour early.
Musicians on Streckfus Steamers did not achieve star status during their tenure. John Streckfus established a policy of standard wages. At one point, he offered band members $35 per week, plus room and board (or $65 per week without room and board). He lowered compensation in 1919 to $37.50 per weeknon-inclusive of room and boardalbeit with much shorter work schedules. Seven years later, the company increased pay to $45 per week and added $5 weekly retention bonuses, but without room and board. A few exceptional musicians were allowed to improvise for a few bars. One exception was Louis Armstrong. The Streckfus family and Marable otherwise insisted that the performers play the arrangements as written. However, this prompted expressive and gifted musicians like Armstrong to advance his career elsewhere.
In the period after World War I, John Streckfus followed the expansion of
Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...
practices, segregating his musicians and his passengers.
In 1920, Streckfus Steamers began running Monday night cruises for African-American audiences out of St. Louis. On the other hand, according to Louis Armstrong, Fate Marable’s band was the first African American group to play music on the Mississippi riverboats.
In Popular Culture
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
lore and riverboat culture feature prominently in the music of
John Hartford
John Cowan Hartford (December 30, 1937 – June 4, 2001) was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive kn ...
. A former Streckfus musician (and later chief engineer of the
Delta Queen
''Delta Queen'' is an American sternwheel steamboat. She is known for Cruising (maritime), cruising the major rivers that constitute the tributaries of the Mississippi River, particularly in the American South, although she began service in Ca ...
) Mike O’Leary is the subject of Hartford's song "Let Him Go on Mama" on the Grammy-winning
Mark Twang album (1976).
References
Further reading
* Meyer, Dolores (1967). "Excursion Steamboating on the Mississippi with Streckfus Steamers, Inc." (St. Louis: St. Louis University) unpublished dissertation. Available at the Herman T. Pott National Inland Waterways Library, a special collection sponsored by the St. Louis Mercantile Library Association.
External links
Riverboats and Jazz.Tulane University, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library.
The Streckfus Steamboat Line.Tulane University, Riverboats & Jazz.
Online Steamboat Museum
A Brief Look at American Riverboat Musical Styles.University of Arkansas-Little Rock
A Guide to the William F. and Betty Streckfus Carroll Collection.The St. Louis Mercantile Library Association, 2010.
J. S. Deluxe (steamboat)Indiana Memory Digital Collections
{{Authority control
Entertainment companies established in 1910
Defunct transportation companies of the United States
American jazz
Steamboats of the Mississippi River
Steamboats of the Ohio River
Paddle steamers
River cruise companies
1910 establishments in Illinois
1978 disestablishments in Missouri
Entertainment companies disestablished in 1978
Transportation companies based in Illinois
American companies disestablished in 1978