Titanic Gazette Souvenir Shop

Titanic Gazette Souvenir Shop

Titanic Gazette Souvenir Shop

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

How I Built A TITANIC Of My Own

I got this model for Christmas and it was not touched for around a year or two because it didn't have instructions so finally, I decided to figure it out and build it. It took me a week of painting, gluing, and constructing before I was able to complete it. After it was finished, I got out some brown sewing string from my mother's sewing room and made the ropes as modifications.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Iceberg right ahead !

The iceberg that the TITANIC struck was a part of an ice flow drifting south from Greenland. It was uncommon to see ice in April and many ships had to stop a few times to avoid hitting icebergs. As ice traveled south, they melt. Some icebergs are so big, that most of the ice is underwater. The biggest recorded iceberg was as high as a 55 story building! One was measured as almost 400 feet above the surface of the waters. Ice has been seen as a potential threat to some ships since the TITANIC and ice damage to other vessels. In memory of the TITANIC, the government has made the International Ice Patrol which warns ships ahead of time if they are in a course for a threatening iceberg. In the iceberg seen above, there was red and black paint and pieces of metal which was found in the berg. The Arizona
crashed into an iceberg a short time afterward and it's bow was ripped off completely but luckily, no one was hurt. When the TITANIC struck the berg, it made small holes which allowed the water to flood in. Today, ice is very good for the enviroment. They have served as home for creatures, they help purify the air, and they make the sea a more beautiful place.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Perisian Cafe

Located on B Deck, the Cafe was designed to look like a french sidewalk and even had real ivy growing up the walls. It had beautiful woodworking and even dividers to separate tables. Many little girls liked to play tea party and was a very famous place for conversation. There was cakes, tea, and other 'small snacks.' The lovely greenery was astonishing to most 1st class passengers especially when they found out that the ivy was real. It had authentic French Waiters and Waitresses in order to almost transport you to a Paris Cafe. It was one of the differences between the Olympic and the TITANIC. Most conversations happened there and at night, men liked to play cards and smoke cigars while feeling the cool ocean breeze. When the TITANIC struck an iceberg, men including Lucian Smith were playing bridge and they ran out on deck to see what happened. That is the last record of the Cafe.

Click HERE to learn about it's condition today.

Friday, March 21, 2008

The Countess of Rothes

Lucy Noel Martha Leslie was born on December 25, 1884 as the only child of millionaires Thomas and Clementina Dyer Edwardes. She was spoiled by her parents surrounding her with playgrounds, good food the best education, well you get the picture. After much courtship, she married Count Norman Leslie on April 19, 1900 after meeting at a soldier ball. She became social and beautiful. She was also excentric. The couple lived on a 10,000 acre land in Fifeshire, Scotland. Her husband's favorite pastime was hunting and he always wanted to live the simple life so he decided to go to Pasadena, California. There, they had a vacation home where Norman was a fruit farmer. Lucy was going to America on the TITANIC and then take several trains for the rest of the way. On board the TITANIC, she was titled as one of the rich and famous when they were living off the money she inherited from her aunt. She was also traveling in cabin B-22 with her cousin and her maid. When the TITANIC was sinking, she was woken up by the steward and told to get their lifebelts on and go up on deck. They got into lifeboat No. 8. After the TITANIC sank, one seaman in her boat said, "She had alot to say, so I put her to steering the boat." She was in charge of the tiller all night until they reached the rescue ship R.M.S. Carpathia. Because of her bravery, she was named heroine in the disaster and was presented with the name plate of her lifeboat which kept for the rest of her life. Her husband later died in 1927 of an unknown illness. Lucy later died of heart failure on September 12, 1956 at the age of 77.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Chief Purser McElroy

Herbert Walter McElroy was born on October 28, 1874 in Liverpool, England to a devout Roman Catholic family. He had two older sisters named Catherine Mary and Josephine. And a younger brother named Richard. His father was a merchant while his mother wanted them to become a minister of God. Herbert was only seven when his father died and he and his family moved to Ireland. Herbert and his brother, Richard went to the Regular of the Lateran where they were learning how to become a priest when the school closed.

Herbert was just 16 then and Herbert, instead of of transferring to a different school, he followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Merchant Navy while his brother continued his studies. Herbert married his long time sweetheart Barbara Mary Ennis in 1910 and had three children. Herbert had been with the White Star Line for 10 years when he was assigned to the R.M.S. Olympic as Assistant Purser. He was later transferred to the TITANIC on April 9, 1912 as Chief Purser. As 1st class passengers boarded, he urged them to store valuables, pocket change, and other things people would want kept from being stolen. He took the passenger's things, gave them a receipt, and put them in either a leather bag or a safe. He was paid 20 dollars as a monthly wage and was known to be very kind. Every night, he would go to either the 2nd or 1st class Dining Saloon where he would dine with those whom sat alone. He was
one of the main people to talk to about the ship besides Thomas Andrews, Captain Smith, or one of the officers. He was easy to find because he was almost always in the Purser's Office adjacent to the Grand Staircase. The Purser's Office consisted of the front desk, a room where the valuables were kept, and the Purser's Quarters. On the night of the sinking, the lifeboats were being loaded and Herbert was seen asking passengers instead of their jewelry, to get their lifebelts on and go up on deck. Later, he closed the Purser's Office and went up on deck. There, he saw the Countess of Rothes and said, "I'm glad you didn't ask me for your jewels as some ladies have". He assisted in the lowering of Boat No. 6 and Collapsible C. As they were lowering, two men jumped into the boat and Herbert shot into the air with his pistol while 1st Officer Murdoch ordered the men out. Later, Herbert was last seen standing on deck with mail clerk William Logan Gwinn as the ship sank under them. Both men died that night. Herbert Walter McElroy's body was recovered. On him was an address that said: Miss McElroy, Layton, Spottisbury, Dorset and a tag that said: "Linen Locker No. 1 C- Deck". He was so decomposed, that he was buried at sea. He was identified as:


When the wreck was discovered, they found a safe with the handle still gleaming as if brand new but the back was missing. They also found one out of six leather bags with tons of jewelry worth a fortune today.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

The Library

Located on C Deck, the Library was one of the most elegant rooms in 2nd class. It was an advantage to 1st and 3rd class which didn't have a library however 1st class had a reading and writing room. It had oak paneling and velvet seats with beautiful lenoleum tables. Lawrence Beasley whom was a science school teacher described the library by saying this: “The library was crowded that afternoon, owing to the cold on deck: but through the windows we could see the clear sky with the brilliant sunlight that seemed to augur a fine night and a clear to-morrow, and the prospect of landing in two days, with calm weather all the way to New York, was a matter of general satisfaction among us all. I can look back and see every detail of the library that afternoon—the beautifully furnished room, with lounges, armchairs, and small writing-or card tables scattered about, writing-bureaus around the walls of the room, and the library in glass-encased shelves flanking one side—the whole finished in mahogany relieved with white fluted wooden columns that supported the deck above. Through the windows is a covered corridor, reserved by general consent as the children’s playground, and here are playing the two Navratil children with their father—devoted to them, never absent from them.” When the TITANIC sank, the room either fell out when the ship broke apart, or it collapsed, or it just hasn't been explored yet.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

The Marconi Room

The Wireless telegraph was invented by Guglielmo Marconi in 1910 but the true inventor of the wireless telegraph was Samuel Morse. Morse didn't only invent the telegraph, but also invented a code called Morse Code. Before the telephone, dots and dashes were how people communicated and were able to send messages faster than by mail. The differences between Morse and Marconi's designs were that Morse's telegraph needed wires to connect and Marconi's sent messages by using antennas. The wireless telegraph sent messages by sending sound waves of dots and dashes through the electric currents in wires which was sent from one antenna to another. The message then goes through the wires up to the headphones. With Marconi's version, you could also adjust the range and volume of the messages. On the night of April 14, 1912, the ship R.M.S. Californian sent an ice warning to the TITANIC but Jack Phillips the chief wireless operator on board the giant ship said "Shut up, Shut up I'm busy!" The reason for his anger was that he and junior wireless operator Harold Bride had been up the whole of the previous night working on a problem which turned out to be only a disengaged wire. The wireless operator rooms or "Wireless Shack" consisted of a wireless operator room, sound room (for controlling the range and volume and adjusting the power, and the sleeping quarters for one or the other while off duty. Jack Phillips was lost that night in the sinking of the TITANIC and Harold Bride barely made it. When the rescue ship Carpathia arrived in New York, Guglielmo Marconi and a reporter came aboard to honor Bride of his heroic service (see Wireless
Shack). In 2001, submersibles went inside the ship and found the table and a machine
still in the shack and they found the power adjusting handles where Harold Bride last
placed them because of the weakening power.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Lillian Asplund

Lillian Gertrud Asplund, 99, Who Survived the Titanic's Sinking, Is Dead

BOSTON, May 7 (AP) — Lillian Gertrud Asplund, the last American survivor of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, died Saturday in Shrewsbury, Mass. She was 99.

Her death was reported by Ronald E. Johnson, vice president of the Nordgren Memorial Chapel, a funeral home in Worcester, Mass.

Ms. Asplund, who was just 5 when she sailed on the Titanic, lost her father and three brothers, including a twin, when the ship went down in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg.

Ms. Asplund's mother, Selma, and another brother, Felix, who was 3, also survived the sinking on the early morning of April 15, 1912.

Ms. Asplund shunned publicity and rarely spoke about the events.

At least two other survivors are living. They are Barbara Joyce West Dainton of Truro, England, who was 10 months old, and Elizabeth G. Dean of Southampton, England, who was 2 months old.

The Asplund family boarded the ship in Southampton as third-class passengers on their way back to Worcester from their ancestral homeland, Sweden, where they had spent several years.

Ms. Asplund's mother described the sinking in an interview with The Worcester Telegram shortly after she and her two children arrived in the city.

Selma Asplund said the family went to the Titanic's upper deck after the ship struck the iceberg.

"I could see the icebergs for a great distance around," she said. "It was cold and the little ones were cuddling close to one another and trying to keep from under the feet of the many excited people.


Because the family lost all of their possessions and money, the city of Worcester held a fund-raiser and a benefit concert that together brought in about $2,000 for the surviving Asplunds.

Lillian Asplund never married and worked at secretarial jobs in the Worcester area most of her life.

She retired early to care for her mother, who was described as having never recovered from the disaster.

Selma Asplund died on the 52nd anniversary of the sinking in 1964 at age 91. Felix Asplund died on March 1, 1983, at age 73.

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Published: May 8, 2006

Friday, March 14, 2008

The Escapade

3rd class was at the very bottom of the ship and was segregated from 2nd and 1st class.
In order to escape waters in the bow, you had to either run through corridors to the deck and then try get to the higher decks. Or the other way would be to go up stairs next to the 3rd class kitchen which would lead you to 2nd class and then you would need to find the deck. If your cabin was in the stern, you would need to get to the General
Room, get to the poop deck, and then go up 3 decks to get to the top deck. If you were
in 3rd class, it was not as easy as you would think. Most of the gates which were used
in segregating 3rd class and the rest of the ship were locked. Because many didn't know the design plans of the ship, most died standing there waiting for someone to unlock the gates. Also, a disadvantage was that some didn't understand a word of english so they couldn't understand directions. You also had to battle open doors that
wouldn't close, luggage and other things floating out of the cabins, and other people in those narrow passageways. Today, the gates are still locked as if just closed. For more info, go to my post called "Poor 3rd class".

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

TITANIC and Lincoln assassination comparison


1. Struck an iceberg on the night
of April 14, 1912

2. Completely submerged on
the morning of April 15, 1912

3. Sinking foreseen in visions
and dreams

4. Now at the bottom of the ocean

5. Right before WW1

6. On the maiden voyage

7. Best liner in the world

8. Celebrating maiden voyage

Abraham Lincoln assassination:

1. Shot on the night of April 14, 1865

2. Died on the morning of April 15, 1865

3. Saw his own death in a dream

4. Laying in a coffin today

5. Right after the Civil War

6. At the beginning of the his second term

7. Best president of our nation

8. Celebrating the end of the Civil War

"Dinner's Served"

Click HERE to
tour the 1st class dining room

Click HERE to see the Dining Room flooding.


Seating 554 people, the 1st class dining saloon was the largest room on the ship. It had lush green chairs, gorgeous windows, and excellent woodworking on the walls. It was three stories high and had stewards everywhere. You only had to wait the maximum of ten minutes. As selected, you got to be seated with a fellow passengers. Imagine hearing the clinking of dishes and the muffled voices, smelling the best food possible during that time, feeling the soft smooth napkins, hearing the faint music of the band in the background, and having an interesting conversation with Astors or maybe the Strausses. Imagine also when the TITANIC sank, and the forks, spoons, knives, dishes, falling off the tables as the chairs were picked up by freezing cold water. In 2001, they went inside the ship and when they stopped by the dining saloon, the found, completely intact windows not broken by the water pressure and the faint details of woodworking.


The 2nd class dining saloon wasn't as elegant but it did have oak paneling, linoleum floors (new and expensive back then) and a piano where children whom knew how to play
would entertain the younger children. The 2nd class dining saloon instead of separate table there was long tables but there was still room to move about. The sinking of the 2nd class dining room was much like the 1st class one but we don't know what it looks like today.


The 3rd class dining saloon had long tables just like 2nd class and had pine walls and there were really no manners at the tables. The food still was good to 3rd class
and the conversations were lively. The 3rd class dining saloon was one of the first rooms to flood but might be like 2nd class. In the 3rd and 2nd class wreck, I think that the long tables are still bolted down and the swivel chairs are still there.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The Youssefs

Anna Youssef was born in 1875 to the Thomas family. Through tradition, the children would obtain the father's middle name as a last name until married. Anna was living in a small village and was one of about five Christians in the whole village. She married Darwin Youssef when he was 29 and she was 14. At that time, it was a custom in Lebanon to be eligible for marriage after puberty. They lived in the village of Tibin where there were mostly Muslims in the region.

Darwin decided that instead of being paid little and having to do bible study in secret, that they would go to America where you could be free and be paid a decent wage. Darwin saved up for weeks before he and his brother, Abraham. By this time, they had children: George born in 1905 and Maria born in 1899. When Darwin went to America, they had to wait a long time before he and his brother found employment. The money came slowly. Every month, he sent a letter and a little bit of money. It had been seven years and Abraham had enough money so he sent the money and wanted to surprise his brother. Abraham also sent a paper indicating where they lived and on it said Dowagiac, Michigan U.S.A. They and other villagers whom saved up on their own traveled by camel for six days too. Then, they took a ferry for five days to France where they were to meet the TITANIC at Cherbourg.

They boarded the TITANIC as 3rd class. To them, it was very lavish and grand. The children explored the 3rd class sections (much to Anna's dislike) and used dormant cabins for playing. On the night of April 14, 1912 it was 11:30 and Maria was missing and George was almost ready for bed and Anna was speaking with a fellow Arab when the iceberg struck. This caused a small jolt which caused her cabin door to slam shut injuring her finger. A few villagers went up on deck to see what happened while Anna went to the infirmany. Anna came back with a bandaged hand . the villagers came back and told her to go back to her cabin and pray. She wanted to know what to pray for so she went with George to investigate. She went up on deck and made it to the top deck where she saw the boats being lowered. She decided to be safe. She told George to stay there and she went back down to the bowels of the ship. She found Maria napping in her cabin and woke her up and grabbed her money and her precious note that had where she was supposed to go. As they were going up some stairs, she looked behind her and saw the crew locking the gates. They found George right where she left him and got into Collapsible C. Anna put her shawl over the children so that they would not see the ship sink. It also muffled the cries of the hundreds in the water. They were the only people left form those who came with them from their village of about 10 that survived in their village. Anna however, would remember everything she saw and heard. Later, they rode the train to Michigan where they were joyously reunited after seven years.

Maria died of disease in 1921 and George lived to have 4 children. She later went to live with her grandson and her grandson wrote down her story. The story was made into a book called "Grandma Survived the TITANIC" (pictured above). She became weak and was moved to the nursing home. As she was leaving, she gave him an 1871, 91.7 gold coin which was given to her by the purser on the TITANIC. As a coin collector, I'd price that coin at auction to about $12,000. She died in 1978. George became owner of a grocery store and attended TITANIC conventions and interviews. He died in 1991.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Henry Sleeper Harper

Henry Sleeper Harper was born in New York on March 11, 1864. His grand-father started the Harper and Sons Publishing Company. He graduated from Columbia University in 1888 and married Myra Haxtun. Myra didn't like business but loved being social and traveling. The couple were traveling on the TITANIC in B-33 back from Europe and Asia. Along with them was Hammad Hassab whom was a dragonman. Harper had met him in Cairo, Egypt and brought him along as a joke. They also were bringing along a Pekinese puppy called Sun Yat Sen. On April 14, 1912, they were woken up by the steward and told to get their lifebelts on and go up on deck. The Harpers, Hassab, and Sun Yat Sen entered Boat No. 3. All including the dog, survived . Myra died on November 27, 1923 and Harper married Anne Hopson. Together, they had
a son named Henry. Henry Sleeper Harper Harper died in 1944. In 2001, James Cameron
sent a robot into the Harper cabin where they found his bowler hat sitting on top of what was left on a wardrobe.

"Time For a Work Out"

Click HERE to explore the gymnasium.

The gymnasium was located just behind the 2nd funnel and if you were exiting the grand staircase on the starboard side, there would be a room where if you went to the right, you would find the gym but if you went straight, you would go out on the Boat Deck. The gym was open for women from 9 a.m. to noon and gentlemen were allowed in from 2 to 6 p.m. and children were allowed in only at 3 p.m. There was an electric camel, electric horse, rowing machines, a stationary bicycle, punching bag, and other exercise equipment. There was a gym instructor called William T. McCawley whom taught the passengers how to use the equipment. The survivors remembered him as always cheerful and kind. He is pictured above teaching passengers how to use the rowing machine. Douglas Spedden remembered how fun it was riding the electric camel saying how fun it was and said that it reminded him of a trip to the Sahara Desert.
After the TITANIC struck the iceberg, the gymnasium was opened. Passengers went inside and used the equipment to get warmed up. McCawley encouraged people to try out the rowing machines before getting into a boat. After all the boats were gone, the gymnasium was empty and the equipment was never used again. In Robert Ballard's second return to the TITANIC, he sent a robot inside the gymnasium and saw the handles to the rowing machines and the electric camel still in place; the bicycle is still there to.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Edith Haisman

Edith Brown was born on October 27, 1896 in Cape Town, Africa. Her father was an Englishman but lived with his wife in Africa because he owned a hotel there. She was
going with her father and mother to Seattle, Washington where her father would open a new hotel.

She was to sail on the TITANIC to New York and then take a train to Seattle. In the hold, there were 1,000 dishes and many beds and tables. On April 14, 1912, her father had come into her cabin around 11:40. In a later interview, Edith said this: "Father appeared a few minutes later. He told us, 'You'd better put on your life jackets and something warm, it's cold on deck. It's just a precaution. We've struck an iceberg, it's nothing much. The steward in the corridor says it's nothing to worry about. We waited for ages on the boat deck for someone to tell us what to do. The ship's band was playing ragtime. They played to keep our spirits up. Everybody kept saying: 'She's unsinkable. She won't go down. Father kissed us and saw us into Lifeboat 14. Up to fifty people got in as it swung perilously over the side. One man jumped into the boat dressed as a woman. As we rowed away from the ship, we could still hear the band playing, but now it was hymns. We were almost six hours in the lifeboat and during that time we had no water and nothing to eat. I kept wondering if my father had got off the ship, that's all I could think of."

She was only 15 when she lost her father that fateful night. There are thousands of china littering the sea bed and any of them could be her father's. In May of 1917, Edith Brown met Fredrick Thankful Haisman and 6 months later, they married. She had her first son in 1918 and had 9 other children. Fredrick died in 1977. By 1993, she attended conferences and was present when they raised a large piece of the TITANIC'S hull. She and a fellow survivor, Eva Hart opened a garden memorial to the TITANIC. She was given a pocket watch thought to be her father's with the initials T.B.
(Thomas Brown ?). As she was leaving the wreck sight for the last time, she threw a rose over where her father died. Edith Haisman died on January 20, 1997 at the age of 100.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Lucian Smith

Lucian Smith Jr.

Lucian Phillip Smith was born on August 14, 1887 in Morgantown West Virginia. He went to West Virginia University where he met Mary Eloise whom was a class mate. They later became soul mates on February 8, 1912. By that time, his wealthy uncle had died and he had a huge estate in Pennsylvania but he visited that place rarely because he grew up in the other house in Morgantown.

For their honeymoon, they went to Egypt, the Far East, and Paris. They were traveling home on the TITANIC and it was April 14, 1912. Mary Smith had gone to bed saying that she was not feeling well. Lucian, Alfred Omont, Paul Chevre, Pierre Mareclal, and other men were playing a card game of bridge in the Cafe Perisien when they heard this scraping noise and groan. All went up on deck and Lucian said "My God, we've struck an iceberg!" and sure enough, there was the iceberg looming on the horizon behind them. Lucian somehow found out that they were sinking and went to wake his wife. She put on warm clothing, her favorite ring, and went out on the Boat Deck. When Mary asked "Do I have to go in?" and Lucian said "I never expected to ask you to obey, but this is one time you must. It is only a matter of form to have women and children first. The ship is thoroughly equipped and everyone on her will be saved." With a long kiss, they parted and she got into the boat. Lucian called "Put your hands into your pockets and keep warm!" That was the last time that they saw each other.

She returned to her family until she married Robert Daniel whom was in the same boat as her. One week after the TITANIC disaster, she saw in a newspaper article that she was two months pregnant and she didn't know! The baby was born on December 29, 1912.

The Lookout

Fredrick Fleet was born on October 15, 1887. He never knew his father nor what happened to him and Fleet's mother abandoned him and went with a boyfriend to Massachusetts. He was raised in foster homes until age 12 when he was sent to sea. in 1903, he was a full fledged seaman. He had a contract with the Oceanic to serve as lookout for 4 years.

Once his contract was up, he was immediately transferred to the TITANIC where he was to be paid 5 pounds per month and an extra 5 shillings for being a lookout. On April 14, 1912, he and Reginald Lee had just relieved the other lookouts at 11:00. Their binoculars had been left at the home of a seaman inside a locked cabinet. The TITANIC was sailing at 22 1/2 knots. Suddenly, a black shape loomed out in the distance; Fleet rang the bell three times which meant "warning" and picked up the telephone. "What do see?" came the voice "Iceberg Right ahead!" said Fleet, "Thank You" came the reply. Fleet kept the phone in his hand and slowly saw the TITANIC turning. And then, he heard a groaning as the ship struck the iceberg. Fleet and Lee stayed in the crow's nest until they were relieved. Fleet went to the boat deck and helped 2nd Officer Lightoller load the passengers into boat No. 6 and then was put in charge of the boat along with Quartermaster Hitchens. He was later rescued by the Carpathia.

He served as lookout on the Olympic for a short time then resigned from the White Star Line because some considered him a coward. He later worked on the Union Castle and sailed on the Olympic on her last voyage before being scrapped. He left sea in 1936 and lived with his wife. His wife died on December 28, 1964 and he was evicted from his brother in-law's home where he was living. His body was found on January 10, 1956 hanging on a noose on his brother in-law's garden post. They concluded that he committed suicide. His body was placed in an unmarked grave until 1993 when they put the headstone (pictured above) on in 1993.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Charles Joughin

Charles John Joughin was born on August 3, 1878 in Liverpool, England. He became a very good chef and worked at a restaurant until heading out to sea. He had a wife named Nellie Ripley and three children. His first assignment was the Olympic as chief baker. It was very difficult because you had to prepare 11 course meals for over 2,000 passengers (with the help of 5 other chefs). He was then transferred to the TITANIC (with a 12 pound pay) where he made friends with fellow chef Maynard. On the TITANIC, it was even more difficult because even more people were on board than the Olympic. To make matters worse, he also had to cook for 2nd class passengers too!

On April 14, 1912, it was 11:35 and Joughin had just gotten to sleep when he awoken by a jolt. He was called to the bridge and when he got there, he was explained what happened. Joughin immediately ran off not waiting for orders and aroused the other chefs. Together, they got all the spare bread and each person loaded the boats with four loaves of bread. They kept going back and forth until all the boats had 4 loaves of bread.

Joughin then went down to his cabin and drank two bottles of whiskey. He then went up on deck and started picking up women wherever he saw one and throwing the them into boats. He was placed in charge of a boat but seeing stewards, he got out and said "I'd better not set a bad example for the men". He then went to the promenade deck and threw over around 50 deck chairs and then started going inside and threw lavish seats into the water. His purpose was so that those in the water could use the chairs as rafts. By then, the TITANIC had listed so much, that it would have been impossible to climb steps.

Chief Baker later said this about how he survived: "I got on to the starboard side of the poop; found myself in the water. I do not believe my head went under the water at all. I thought I saw some wreckage. Swam towards it and found collapsible boat ("B") with Lightoller and about twenty-five men on it. There was no room for me. I tried to get on, but was pushed off, but I hung around. I got around to the opposite side and cook Maynard, who recognized me, helped me and held on to me." He stayed in the water for around four hours (the average man survived for minutes) until he was pulled aboard a lifeboat which came to Collapsible B. He was in another shipwreck on the S.S. Oregon which sank in the Boston Harbor. He retired and later died of natural causes on December 9, 1956 at the age of 78.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

The Turkish Bath

To see a clip of the Turkish Baths that were on the TITANIC you can click HERE.

Located on F-Deck, the Turkish Bath was designed by Thomas Andrews and was built in the style of the far east. It had beautiful tiles on the walls and beautiful oak wood with painstakingly carved details. The Turkish Bath was on F-Deck which was a 3rd class level however it was strictly for 1st class only. It consisted of a Steam Room, Hot Room, Temperature Room, Shampooing room, and Cooling Room. To get in, 1st class had to purchase a ticket from their stewards for 4 shillings or 1 dollar as pictured above. Women were allowed in at 9 a.m. to noon and men were allowed in at 2 to 6 p.m. Jack and his mother Marion Thayer went to the Turkish Bath but found it to their disliking and Jack went for a swim in the swimming pool. There were machines that would heat your body and was supposed to be a relaxation. There were four attendants to make sure that the machines ran properly and that the passengers were relaxed. During the sinking, the Turkish Bath was closed for the evening so no one knew what happened to it until 2005 when James Cameron sent a robot inside and found tiles still on the wall, chairs piled up towards the bow. arabian lamps still on tables, some of the oak paneling that survived, and even the heating machine still gleaming as if brand new.

The 3rd Class General Room

The 3rd class General Room was one of the grandest rooms in 3rd class. As you came aboard, the first thing you saw was the General Room with pine paneling and teak furniture. Located just below the poop deck, the General Room was easy to reach for all passengers. It was very lively and every night, there would be a party where there would be no rules nor dance steps. During the day, men would talk play cards, smoke, drink, and have a so called good time. Since there was no band, a group of passengers whom brought instruments would get together and play songs that all of them knew. Even some of the crew came down when they were off duty and joined in. On Sunday morning on the night of April 14, 1912, the band played hymnals for church service and after the meeting, a few men stayed to do their usual routine. That night, there was shrieking from women and the diving of boys onto the floor trying to catch a mouse running across the feet of ladies sitting on the benches chatting. The stewards then asked them to leave because they were turning the lights out for the night. When James Cameron went down there, he found a bar, the bases to benches, and a table for about 8 people.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

The Carters

William Ernest Carter was born on June 19, 1875. He made a fortune after his father died as a car enterpernual car salesman. His older brother was the owner of the Pennsylvania Railway and the Carters were famous during that time. William married Lucile Polk and had two children William (nicknamed Billy), and Lucile (nicknamed Lucy).

Mr. Carter was traveling home from France on the TITANIC with his family since he had business there to buy a brand new Renault car and also took a vacation. They occupied rooms B-96 and B-98. They also were bringing along two King Charles Spaniels which they had acquired in Paris. As the two children ran around the deck, Billy some crewmen walking the dogs on the poop deck and called out "You take care of my dogs now!". That was the last time that he saw them. The Carters were woken up at around 11:40 but stayed aboard until Boat No. 4 was being loaded. Mr. Carter led his family into the line for the boat, said good bye, and Mr. Carter went to the other side of the ship to help load women and children into Collapsible C. As Collapsible C was being lowered, Mr. Carter stepped into the boat with another man. The man was Joseph Bruce Ismay. On the other side of the TITANIC, Boat No. 4 was being loaded after some difficulty and the Carters hadn't gotten in. There was a shout from the officer that said "No more boys!". Mrs. Carter placed her hat on Billy's head as she was boarding. Billy went looking for his father but was picked up by a man and placed in a different boat. By the time Lucy and Lucile's boat touched the water, Mr. Carter's boat was half a mile from the ship. The family was reunited on the rescue ship Carpathia and Billy was still wearing his mother's hat.

Mr. and Mrs. Carter divorced because Lucile could not stand being married to a coward. Years later, Billy's wife divorced him because there was a rumor that he dressed like a woman. Billy died in 1987. It is not known if he saw the wreck. Nothing is known about what happened to Lucy Carter.

In his testimony , Mr. Carter said this:

Mr. Ismay and myself and several officers walked up and down the deck crying "Are there any more women here?" We called for several minutes and got no answer. One of the officers then said that if we wanted to, we could get into the boat if we took the place of seamen. He gave us preference because we were among the first-class passengers. Mr. Ismay called again, and after we had no reply we got into the lifeboat. We took oars and rowed with two seamen.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Ruth Becker

(Ruth Becker in an interview)

Ruth Elizabeth Becker was born on October 29, 1899 in Guntur, India. Her father (Allen Oliver Becker) and mother (Nellie E. Baungardner) were both missionaries to India. The Beckers had two more children Marion (born in December of 1907) and Richard (born in June of 1910.

Richard soon got an illness in late 1911 and the doctors said that the only way to find a cure was to go to America. Allen immediately booked passage for his family on the TITANIC in 2nd class. Allen planned on joining them the following year after his missionary work was done. They were in room F-2 and before the sailing, the 2nd class passengers were aloud to see the 1st class rooms as Ruth Becker recalled. After the iceberg struck, the Becker family was woken up by their room steward at 11:40 P.M. told "We've had a little accident. They're going to fix it, and then we'll be on our way." Mrs. Becker realized that the situation was more serious than the steward was telling them, Mrs. Becker took the children on the deck and Richard and Marion were put into the boat and when the officer said "That's all the passengers for this boat", Mrs. Becker had a fit and begged until the officer finally let her go with her children. Then upon seeing that Ruth was still on deck, she cried "Ruth get into another boat!". She later was thrown into boat No. 13 by officer Moody. The family was reunited on the Carpathia. As they were leaving the Carpathia, Mrs. Becker was surrounded by news reporters and she said "Ask my daughter!".

They later came to Benton Harbor Michigan where Richard was cured and Allen joined them in 1913. Ruth later graduated in Ohio and married a fellow student. Ruth never spoke about her experience on the TITANIC during a certain amount of time. She didn't even tell her children when they were young. She divorced after 23 years and became a teacher. Gradually, she started appearing at TITANIC conventions and interviews. She took a cruise in 1990 to Mexico. It was the first time since 1912 that she had been at sea. She died later that year at the age of 90.