Bill Warren Mueller, Editor & Publisher, Steamboating

In 1984 "Bill" Warren Mueller created the Steamboat Society and published the first bimonthly issue of Steamboat News in January - February of 1985. This later became Steamboating and the society name was changed to the International Steamboat Society. The format of the magazine changed as did the publishing periods, by 1998 being only published annually. Steamboating Online ezine appeared in March, 2000, and continued weekly thereafter. The last printed issue of Steamboating came out in 2001. Bill died unexpectedly in June, 2003.

Bill's contribution to the hobby is best expressed by the following from an ISS Member:

**"He gave me access to all of the knowledge and expertise of you, the ISS members, and beyond. He also seemed to take a genuine interest in my project, no matter that it wasn't some huge outlay, and a home-built thing and that impressed me a lot. He seemed to be that way about the big and the small alike. He gave me good advice and put me on the right track more than once. But more than that, he gave us all a voice in a field that we love, and a means by which to express it. GOD SPEED BILL."

Denson & Gaylene Di Rosa**

Reliable Steam Engine Co. has acquired all the rights to the International Steam Society, Steamboating, Steamboating Online, and all other materials published or reprinted by Bill, as well as his ISBN Number. I was a Charter Member and Reliable Steam Engine Co. was one of the two firms to first buy display advertising space in Steamboat News ( Jim Thayer was the other in Issue No. 3, 1985 ) so I feel a real connection with Bill and the International Steamboat Society - we got into hobby steamboating about the same time.

Due to Bill's untimely death, it has taken two years of probate for the International Steam Society and Steamboating to be available for purchase - with some resultant setbacks, the worst being the loss of the domain name "www.steamboating.com"; hence our use of "www.steamboating.org". Fortunately most of the inventory of publications on hand at Bill's death comes with the purchase. We intend to continue Bill's work by providing information about hobby steamboating. It will be slow at first, and if a button in the navigation column to the left doesn't work, it means that we haven't got that page up yet. We simply wanted to get the word out that the International Steamboat Society is alive!

Steamboating Magazine will again be published, starting in January, 2006. Peter Carlich http://www.pioneer.net/~carlich/ISS/ISShome.html

William W Mueller