By now, the Chamber contingent’s unnerving bus trip to Chicago during the area’s February 7 winter storm is tucked in its place in history.
The one announcement that stood out from that successful lobbying trip to D.C. was the return of Northwest Airlines to Dubuque! Without a doubt, that reality is remarkable news and absolutely essential to our growing business and tourism economy. Efforts to secure Northwest have been underway at the local, state and national levels for some time, and Senators Harkin and Grassley and Congressman Braley deserve our esteemed gratitude for their steadfast support of this transportation priority!
But, on another level, this trip had others deserving of our gratitude … American Eagle General Manager Bob Steinhauser, and staff, along with Bradley Jo Charter. I suppose some might say their efforts should be chalked up to just “doing their jobs,” to which I would suggest, “you had to be there.” Based on firsthand experience, I cannot emphasize enough how much their professionalism, patience, and service meant toward making this trip happen, period!
With the forecast of an impending storm, my wife and I attempted to leave Dubuque early for D.C. the prior afternoon. As we arrived at the airport, that flight and the next morning’s early flights were being cancelled. We witnessed all the American Eagle staff working together to contact all 50 business leaders and city officials to coordinate new travel plans for the next day. Bradley Jo Charter would be providing two buses to deliver us to O’Hare in time for flights that were being booked to DC later the next day. Road safety would determine if we left Dubuque at all, and so far, the forecast showed Chicago was not supposed to be hit as hard as Dubuque.
We called the airport at 4 a.m. on the 7th, and were advised the decision had been made that the first bus would leave at 6 a.m. and the second at 8 a.m. in an attempt to stay ahead of the next wallop of snow and wind. As we drove the empty streets to the airport, there was a clear sense we were on the brink of a major winter storm. As we all parked our cars and gathered in the main area of the airport awaiting the bus, colleagues were lighthearted, commenting on whether we were “of the right mind.” In fact later, City Manager Mike Van Milligen, who drove out to D.C. the day before, joked with me that the decision to make the trip was really a “sanity test,” and those persons who cancelled out, passed!
Joining us on the trip were Bob Steinhauser and staff member Connie. They were traveling to O’Hare to both pick up luggage from previously cancelled flights as well as locate and bring back folks who had become stranded there.
Early in the trip, it became abundantly clear we would be traveling to Chicago at speeds no greater than 20-25 mph. Things weren’t so bad until we hit the Elizabeth / Stockton area and found ourselves on ice, and burning the rubber off tires even on the most meager of inclines. Bob and Connie sat in the front and helped our bus driver gauge the lines when white-out conditions made visibility a concern. They also added a sense of confidence and humor to a very trying situation! The scenery unfortunately included semi-trailers and cars tilting precariously in the ditches on either side of the highway.
Because the bus was not filled to capacity, we were able to spread out the seating from front to back. At one point, after burning rubber at only 2 mph on an icy stretch, my wife, Deb, turned around in her seat and shot a look at me that spoke … volumes! I asked if anyone else saw that look, and Chamber Board Chair Mike Donohue said, “Yes! It went right through me to you, Roy!” Shortly after that, we pulled into a gas station where AE staff helped to remove snow and ice from the windshield wipers and I bought Deb some coffee!
The second bus had just left Dubuque by then, so the bus drivers stayed in touch, with ours advising his counterpart of where the worst conditions existed. I stayed in touch by cell with Council Member Ric Jones, who was on that bus and had his normal sense of humor in full swing. They were several hours behind us.
As we approached Chicago about 6 ½ hours later, the road conditions did improve, slightly. Before and during the trip, Bob Steinhauser had been in constant touch with American Airlines to advise them on our progress, anticipated arrival and to confirm that our flight would remain on schedule. As it turned out, ours was the only flight to go to D.C. the entire day, and the remainder of our contingent on bus #2 was able to fly out that night. The rest, as they say, is history.
The stories about braving the ferocious storm did speak of the contingent’s dedication, but truth be told, it was only possible because of the dedication of Bob Steinhauser, his staff and that of Bradley Jo Charter. These folks are a stellar example of a favorite proverb that says, “Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the persons doing it!”