Betty Blake (September 20, 1931 – April 13, 1982) was an American

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

ist and promoter. She was best known for preserving historic

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...

s in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. Her biggest preservation project was helping to save the ''

Delta Queen The ''Delta Queen'' is an American sternwheel steamboat. She is known for cruising the major rivers that constitute the tributaries of the Mississippi River, particularly in the American South, although she began service in California on the ...

''.

Biography

Blake was born on September 20, 1930 in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

and grew up in

Carlisle, Kentucky Carlisle is a home rule-class city in Nicholas County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,010 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nicholas County. It is located at the junction of Kentucky Route 32 and Kentucky Route 36, a ...

. Blake was part of the campaign to help elect her father, Stanley Blake, to the

Kentucky Senate The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators. The Kentu ...

in 1936. Blake attended the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

and earned a degree in business in 1952. Blake's first job was working at WLW-TV in

, and while she was there, applied to work as a salesperson for Avalon Steamboat Lines. When she applied for the job, the president said, "Look, this little lady wants to sell our boat. Isn't that wonderful?" Blake was successful at the job and when the company was sold to the

Belle of Louisville ''Belle of Louisville'' is a steamboat owned and operated by the city of Louisville, Kentucky, and moored at its downtown wharf next to the Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere during its annual operational period. The steamboat claims itself the "most wi ...

, Blake went to the Greene Line Inc, as the public relations director for the ''

'' in 1962. The ''Delta Queen'' was "a floating hotel with a troubled occupancy rate" when she took over and was threatened by the federal Safety at Sea law which prohibited wooden vessels from carrying more than 50 passengers overnight. Blake promoted the ''Delta Queen'' using a steamboat race between the ''Queen'' and the ''

'' in 1963. The race eventually became an annual attraction during

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

Week. Blake helped the ''Queen'' reach around a 90% occupancy rate for is 188 bed-capacity. However, the Safety at Sea law threatened to put the boat in

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

in 1966. Blake collected signatures for a petition to get a special act passed exempting the boat from the new law.

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

passed the special act, saving the boat. The exemptions were limited, with one passed on 1973, extending into October 31, 1978. Blake also helped lead the campaign to have the boat listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1970. In 1975, Blake was one of two women on the board of trustees of the

Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce The Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, doing business as the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, is a regional chamber of commerce. It is one of the nation's largest chambers of commerce, representing 4,000 businesses and nearly over 500,000 empl ...

. When she was promoted to president of the Delta Queen Steamboat Company in 1976, she became the first woman to serve as the president of a major American

cruise line A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships that operate on ocean or rivers and which markets cruises to the public. Cruise lines are distinct from passenger lines which are primarily concerned with transportation of passengers. Though ...

. In 1979, Blake left the ''Delta Queen'' to open her own public relations and marketing firm called Betty Blake & Co. A 400-seat

passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

boat, the ''Betty Blake'', was named after her by on April 12, 1980. Blake became ill in December 1981. She died from

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

Georgetown, Kentucky Georgetown is a home rule-class city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 37,086 at the 2020 census. It is the 6th-largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the seat of its county. It was originall ...

on April 13, 1982. Blake was buried in Carlisle Cemetery where her headstone reads only "Hi There." In 1996, Blake was inducted into the National Rivers Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Betty Blake

Hail to Capt. Betty, the Riverboat Queen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Betty 1931 births 1982 deaths University of Kentucky alumni People from Carlisle, Kentucky Businesspeople from Cincinnati American women business executives Businesspeople from Lexington, Kentucky 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen Deaths from stomach cancer Deaths from cancer in Kentucky