Nashville Riverboats Builds On Family Legacy

When Capt. Joy Manthey broke a bottle of Tennessee whiskey over the rail of the Capitol this spring, it marked not only the official beginning of Nashville Riverboats’ arrival in the city but also a new chapter in the special relationship between the company owner and the boat’s sponsor.

Troy Manthey is the president and CEO of Manthey Hospitality and Nashville Riverboats, but he’s also part of the fifth generation of a river family with its roots in Streckfus Steamers. One of the people who had the most influence on his career is part of the fourth generation, his Aunt Joy.

As he put it at the sternwheeler’s christening on May 13, “If there wasn’t a Joy, there wouldn’t be a Troy.”

Joy Manthey didn’t know she was part of a riverboat dynasty at first, though. Her start in the business came the summer before she was in fifth grade on a day when she had just gotten her 50-cent allowance, and the neighbor boys weren’t around to throw water balloons at the passing bus with her, the way they usually did. Instead, the New Orleans bus driver stopped, verified she was out of water balloons and asked her if she’d like to take a ride with him for 10 cents. Having not yet had the chance to spend her new fortune on candy bars or pinball games, she thought why not?

When the bus stopped at the end of the line at the foot of Canal Street, it was 20 minutes before she could get back on it and go back home. In that time, she found two girls to play with, and one turned out to be the daughter of a captain on the steamer President, which took passengers out for sightseeing cruises. By the time the next week’s allowance came in, riding the bus down Canal Street to play was a new pastime. Then, an even better offer for a ride came in.

Her new friend told her if she would agree to clean the boat’s popcorn machine, she could take a ride on the boat and eat as much popcorn as she would like. While Joy had to climb up on a chair to clean it, she found she enjoyed her new job. Capt. Roy Michael (R.M.) Streckfus even gave her 50 cents for bus fare, not knowing it was only 10 cents in her parish. That meant she had an enormous 30-cent profit every day she worked!

Quickly, she found more work to do, including helping the bus girls to bus the tables on busy days.

When she finally told her Dad she had a “job,” he revealed that the President’s captain was her cousin. She didn’t know that long before he owned a chain of liquor stores, taking part in his wife’s family business, her Daddy had spent time on the boats his family owned. He told her to tell the captain next time who her Dad was.

From then on, Joy didn’t just get to eat popcorn. She could have hotdogs and hamburgers, too. She became part of the crew, and even got paid an actual wage “on the pink slip” if she helped out on especially busy days. Soon Joy was making her way downtown early because if she got to the boat before 8 a.m., she could answer the business telephone line, and that made her feel important.

It wasn’t long until, under careful supervision and while standing on a steel milk crate, Joy even got to spend some time steering the smaller, 400-passenger mv. Mark Twain, and she knew she had found her career ambition.

That didn’t resonate so well with everyone, though, including her fifth-grade teacher, who asked students to write down what they wanted to do when they grew up.

“I said I wanted to be a riverboat pilot,” Joy Manthey said. “My teacher made me erase it. She said girls can’t be pilots. It’s a good thing she did because that’s why I did, because she said I couldn’t.”

In the end, Joy Manthey built her career in the industry, leaving the day after she graduated high school to work on The Admiral and working for various companies over the years, eventually retiring from a towboat company. She continues to take on trip work from time to time.

Though she never married or had children, as one of 10 siblings, she has had lots of nieces and nephews, and it wasn’t uncommon in her early years to be babysitting one. That’s how her close relationship with Troy began. When it came time to watch him, she didn’t want to miss out on her time on the boats, so she took him with her.

“Everyone who knows me knows I’m happiest when I’m on a boat,” she said.

It turned out, that’s what Troy loved, too.

By age 10, she knew she could give the keys to Troy on Sunday and have him set up the boat with the needed hamburgers, hot dogs, buns and beer.

“He thought he was hot stuff,” she said.

It turned out he loved working on the boat as much as his Aunt Joy did. When school was out, he would spend most summer days with her, working on the boat.

Before long, Troy was trusted to move the Mark Twain and Commodore around the larger Admiral and President to prepare for a day of cruising.

Over time, Joy watched Troy turn into a young man and take on more and more responsibilities.

“I’m very, very proud of him,” she said. “He’s like my son. Troy could do anything he wants to do. He can do anything he puts his mind to. He’s really something.”

For the past several years, Troy Manthey has been known for his Florida-based businesses, which include dining yachts, a 150-passenger river cruise boat, a pirate-themed family adventure boat and a fleet of pirate-themed water taxis. With Nashville Riverboats, however, he has returned to the inland rivers and his family heritage.

The company purchased and renovated the former Spirit of Peoria, renaming it the Capitol. The former Julia Belle Swain, with authentic steam engines dating back to 1915, has been renamed the Nashville. It is expected to leave the shipyard in Bayou Le Batre, Ala., for New Orleans the week of July 20 and to arrive in Nashville for passenger cruising this fall.

Jennifer Richardson, vice president of marketing, said the Capitol has received a warm welcome from Nashville visitors, who have taken sightseeing and meal cruises and chartered the boats for special events, including weddings.

“We currently have 743 Google reviews with a five-star rating, which speaks volumes about our operation,” Richardson said. “Based on these reviews, the guest experience aboard The Capitol is overwhelmingly positive. The recurring themes suggest guests see it as much more than a boat ride. It’s a relaxing, authentic Nashville experience centered on hospitality, storytelling and Southern charm.”

Guests enjoy many of the same activities on the Capitol that they did during the Streckfus Steamers days of the President and the Admiral, from learning about the history of the river and region to listening to live music, enjoying a good meal and watching the river roll by.

As the time neared to christen the Capitol this past spring, Troy couldn’t think of anyone better to do the honors than his Aunt Joy.

She readily agreed, thinking that her experience serving as a chaplain and helping to found the Seamen’s Church Industry’s Ministry on the River program in time between hitches meant that he wanted her to pray over the vessel, as she has 50 or 60 others.

“No, Aunt Joy,” she said he clarified. “I want you to break the bottle. I was shocked. I’m still very emotional about it. I’m honored.”

Joy Manthey helped her nephew bring the Capitol from New Orleans to Nashville, and she expects to do the same with the Nashville.

“It’s just like old times,” she said of the trip on the Capitol. We cut up. We had a good time. It’s one of the highlights of my life, working with him again.”

The feeling is mutual, it’s obvious when speaking with Troy.

“My Aunt Joy deserves the credit for the river water in my veins,” he said. “She exposed me to the river at a very young age by hiring and mentoring me aboard our family’s riverboats. I had a front row seat to the adversity she faced as a woman in a male-dominated industry. Joy was a trailblazer and has made the maritime career path easier for women who have come behind her.”

It’s obvious that for Troy and Joy Manthey, the only thing greater than their love of the river is their love for their family, and especially the relationship they have with each other.

Featured photo caption: Guests take part in the christening of the Capitol on May 13. The Nashville, the company’s second passenger cruising boat, is expected to leave the shipyard this month for New Orleans before arriving in Nashville this fall. (Photos courtesy of Nashville Riverboats)