Hot off the Press: the Truth about the Titanic Sinking (1912)

 

A 1908 pic from Technical World magazine showing where the Titanic and the Olympic were to be built.

 

I found this interesting article written about the Sinking of the Titanic in a magazine published in the US in June 1912 that tells the story from a working man’s perspective – and an engineer’s perspective. Here’s the first part of  Loss of the Steamship Titanic: the World’s Greatest Achievement in Shipbuilding. From Locomotive Firemen and Engineman’s Magazine. (Amazing what you can find on eBay.)

 

My ebook, Threshold Girl is about a college girl in 1911/12,is based on real letters, and contains information about the Titanic, from the point of view of the woman on the street, so to speak.

 

The sinking of the Whitestar Steamship Titanic, at about 2 o’clock on the morning of April 15, 1912, is the greatest disaster in maritime history, one thousand,six hundred and thirty five lives being lost, out of a total of 2, 340 on board, while many of the 705 who were rescued suffered hardships and terror, that will doubtless impair their health and mar their future happiness.

 

The Titanic was on her Maiden Voyage, she was the biggest finest ship afloat and her reign as Queen of the Seas was only of five days duration. On April 10th she sailed from Liverpool and on the following Sunday night, give days later, collided with an iceberg and sank, about 150 miles south of Cape Race Newfoundland and about 1100 miles east of New York.

 

Nothwithstanding the presence of much floating ice, and repeated warnings from other vessels that the icebergs were in the vicinity, she was steaming ahead when the collision occurred at a speed of about 21 and a half knots, about 24 and 3/4 statute miles and hour.

 

Some few minutes after 11 o’clock, accounts vary as to the exact time, a veritable mountain of ice was seen ahead, against which despite all efforts the ship crashed, a submerged portion ripping open the vessel’s bottom  on the starboard side.

 

The shock was not violent, but the officer’s soon discovered that the damage was such that it was just a question of how long the leaking bulkhead and pierced air compartments would keep the vessel afloat. (to be continued)

 

 

 

The Titanic and Olympic being built. Pic from Technical World Magazine.

 

This article is to be Continued next post.

 

A Wave of Media Events to Commemorate the Titanic – and Threshold Girl

My Kindle (already out-dated) and Edith Nicholson’s (1884-1977)Copy of Middlemarch, published on the year of her birth.

Right now I’m reading a book called The Art of Fielding on my kindle, and Fall on Your Knees, with a tangible book and I’ve got this 1884 copy of Middlemarch I’ve been meaning to read, as it was Edith Nicholson’s copy, but the print is SO SMALL. Alas, I don’t have an iPad, new version or the latest or a smart phone. Just a dumb phone.

Anyway, March Break in Quebec is over and school librarians everywhere are likely putting out their “Titanic” displays to take advantage of a GIANT teachable moment coming up soon, the 100th anniverary of that unsinkable ship’s sinking.

There’s going to be a giant National Geographic Special on TV hosted by James Cameron.  He’s going to gather a group of experts in a unprecedented investigation of the iconic event.  Someone is going to LIVE TWEET the entire voyage of the Titanic.  ”@TitanicRealTime will chart the Titanic’s epic journey through ‘live’ tweets, broadcasting as though they’re coming directly from those involved.” .and the BBC is doing a number of specials.

BBC Radio Four is producing a number of programs in commemoration. According to their press release: “The station will mark the anniversary with a five-part series of programmes, beginning with the Ship of Dreams presented by Jeanette Winterson. It celebrates the Titanic as a vessel of dreams and realities and as a symbol of man’s power and fallibility.”

I love BBC Radio Four. NO ONE does history better. NO ONE. And any Canadian can access it through the Internet.

And the Royal Canadian mint is putting out a commemorative coin.  Woo Woo. And then there’s my FREE ebook Threshold Girl

Or.I must wonder,  are librarians going to bother with ‘cheesy’  low-tech book displays with all this other glitzy stuff going on?

I’ve been out the the ‘education’ field for while, my kids are now graduated university.

I don’t know if there are any librarians in the schools anymore, or if they put out displays.

If Threshold Girlwere published in traditional print form, Librarians in Quebec and Canada would likely be putting it front and center in any Titanic Display. That’s because the book  is about a Canadian girl in the Titanic Era. And it is based on real letters and it contains Canadian references to the Titanic tragedy.

But it’s in ebook form. (Free though.) That didn’t stop the library at OISE (Ontario Institute for the Study of Education) at the University of Toronto from printing out a copy and putting it on their shelves. And Radcliffe/Harvard included a copy in their digital collection.

Yes, I don’t know where libraries in Quebec, Canada, or the World are at, although in 2005 I did alot of research on the subject for a Literacy Guide I was commissioned to write. But so much change happens in 5 years.  Ebooks are big, now. Really BIG. Reading  is “sexy” again, according to a recent article (somewhere.) Young people read today, but in a different way, while texting and watching video and uploading images to Facebook.

Here are some of the pages I put together for that 2005 Literacy Guide. I wonder what remains relevant?

A Day in the Life of a School Librarian

Susan Singer is a library technician dividing her time between Dorset, Edgewater and Allencroft Elementary Schools in the Lester B. Pearson School Board. She started as a volunteer at her children’s school and liked it so much she went back to school to earn a Graduate Diploma in Library Science at Concordia University. In the fall of 2002, student librarian Nancy Zsar (now Nancy Jones) reported on a Day in the Life of this busy school librarian. Here are some bits and pieces.
8:30-9:30. Susan Singer draws library curtains, arranges an eye-catching display of books so that the visiting  children can discover them ‘for themselves’.
9:15 – 9:45. Grade 3 arrives. Susan establishes a rule for The Guinness Book of Records: No looking at it until ‘reading’ books are chosen and signed out.
9:30. Storytime.
9:45 –10:15. Susan gives ‘the tour’ to a new volunteer-parent who will work the desk. Two more volunteers show up. She tells them about the upcoming volunteer training workshop.
10:15 –10:45. Grade 6. Susan gives her talk and asks the kids for feedback: what books would they like to see in the library? What new titles are out there?She sets one boy on a mission to find Hallowe’en books because he wants ‘to help’.
RECESS:
11:20: Kindergarten! Susan explains to these little ones they must keep their books away from younger siblings, pets and mud puddles. She reads them a book about a dog and the room becomes filled with chatter about family pets.
LUNCH: Susan grabs a bite while taking care of some administrative details, updating the budget and such.She compiles a list of books to buy after work.
1:15 – 2:45. Grade one arrives. Our librarian arranges a selection of books on a low table to make the choosing easier. Too much choice is no good for this grade level.
2:50 – 4:00. On her second attempt, Susan gets a meeting with the school principal. He’s on her side, believing the school library should be used for more than taking out books. A lively discussion ensues. He gives his OK to apply for a subsidy for an author visit.
The bell rings. Susan is off to Babar on her book-buying mission. A librarian’s job, you see, is more than 9-5.
Quebec Federation of Home and School Associations Inc.

The Importance of School Libraries

“It has been demonstrated that when librarians and teachers work together students achieve higher levels of literacy, reading, learning, problem-solving and information and communication technology skills.” Manifest de la bibliothèque scolaire. UNESCO/INFLA, 2000 as quoted in Shine Amid the Brightest with the School Library. Quebec Coalition of School Libraries, 2005.

School libraries in Quebec are in crisis. Their inventories are outdated, their budgets virtually non-existent.They are under-staffed, often managed by part-time library technicians and volunteers, with volunteers often the only ones keeping the library open. In 1992, the school system listed 125.6 non-teaching professionals: librarians, teaching specialists and pedagogical advisors; in 1998, there were only 76.4.

In 2004 there were about 40.
For parents and children in a number of English communities across Quebec, the only library with English books is the local school library, where one exists.
Roch Carrier, renowned Canadian author, believes libraries are central to our identity as Canadians. He describes school libraries as ‘the heart of the school’, sustaining our culture, our economy, our democracy.
“Let us not forget,” Carrier wrote in a 2002 article in the Montreal Gazette, “our children must learn to read before they can learn to find resources on the Internet.” He said more: “Invest in a library to ensure that children in Canada grow up to be literate citizens and life-long learners.” Montreal Gazette 2005
“Good school libraries are now a rarity in public education,” says the Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP), “which has resulted in limiting children’s access to books. For many students, their only regular exposure to Canadian books is through their school library.”

Association of Canadian Publishers, Press Release/March 10, 2005
Many of the teacher-librarians the ACP interviewed in a 2004 survey said that inadequate budgets increase their reliance on fundraising from parents and students, further widening the gap between have and have not schools. Some teacher-librarians reported that they must purchase books from yard sales and discount stores.
In January 2005 the Quebec Government pledged $60 million over three years to shore up school libraries and their reading programs as part of the Ministry’s Action Plan on Reading in School.*www.meq.gouv.qc.ca. School Boards are expected to contribute $20 million of the above $60 million from their own stretchedbudgets.
It’s a beginning, but clearly not enough. Our public schools deserve more.
Quebec Federation of Home and School Associations 2005

Titanic in Fashion

Titanic Fashion. My Delineator. I cleaned up this photo with Corel and inserted it my ebook, Threshold Girl, along with many other beautiful colour plates from the era. I suspect that I have the only extant copy of this pretty photo.

“Oh, we have missed Miss Wiley’s speech! says Edith. “Did you get a good look at her, at least?”

“Yes,” said Flora, disappointed and excited at the same time.

“Let’s go in anyway,” says Edith. “They usually end their meetings with a tea. And maybe we can learn what she had to say.”

As the women enter, they are asked to sign a book of condolences for prominent Methodist businessman Hudson Allison and his wife Bess and daughter Loraine, who perished on the Titanic three weeks before.

Beside the book is propped a portrait of the couple, framed in a black ribbon.

“We had a service at school, but not just for the important people, for all the 1,500 victims,” says Flora. “I attended the service for Mr. Hays in the American Presbyterian,” says Edith and then she remarks upon Mrs. Allison’s lovely hair of curls. “They are all the rage. The Ladies’ Home Journal says so.”

The assembly hall is only ¼ full, and it can fit 150 bodies or so. There are six somewhat looking confused older women in out of date fashions, seated at a head table. One woman, though, right in the middle, is the picture of elegance and composure.

“Order. Order,” announces this regal lady. “Well, that was most interesting, wasn’t it? Such passion on both sides of this issue. I don’t think we’ve ever had to break up a fist fight before. But, after all the excitement and before our tea, there is still some business to complete.”

This is an excerpt from my ebook Threshold Girl - that takes place in 1911/12 and is based on genuine letters from the era.

Edith and Flora Nicholson have gone to see British Suffragette Barbara Wiley speak, but they just missed her.

Well, I see that a 3D version of the great Hollywood blockbuster Titanic is soon to be released commemorating the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking.

I will go to the theatre and see it. I love the movie. I’ll drag my husband. He likes the movie too (it’s one of those movies that appeals to everybody) but he can’t see in 3D. He has a weak eye and can’t triangulate. Many people can’t see in 3D, including many First Nations People, apparently.

The Titanic movie has all the elements, and plays on the class divide. Di Caprio’s character is poor, Winslet’s rich.

Middle class people too liners too, at least well-off middle class. 2nd class!
In the summer of 1912, the McCoys, good friends of Edith and Flora and sister Marion, go to Europe. They ask Marion to come along but she writes in a letter home, “Teachers will have to make much more money before I see Paris.”

The McCoys bring her back a blouse from Paris and Marion writes, “Imagine me, wearing a real Parisienne blouse.”

The McCoys sailed in mid June 1912. Right around that time, a Montreal newspaper ran this story:

“Large ships are still in demand. Olympic sails today with full list. 676 first class passengers.”

“The popularity of the large steamer with the travelling public does not seem to be on the wane, as was feared might be the case in consequence of the accident to the Titanic. White Star Olympic is due to sail from New York today for Cherbourge and Southampton.”

The Olympic sailed every three weeks or more, from what I can see. July 6, July 27, August 17, Sept 18. “All steamers equipped with wireless and submarine signals.”

Small Picture, Big Picture,

This is an artifact I have on hand that shows the connection between mundane family affairs and historical events. This train ticket was used in early April, 1912. Norman used it to go home to Richmond for brother in law’s funeral. It is signed by a Mr. Hays, President of the Grand Trunk. Mr. Hays, an American, was the most prominent Montrealer to go down with the Titanic days later. Edith attends his funeral at the American Presbyterian Church.

As I edit my first rough draft of the first year, 1908, of Flo in the City, based on the letters of www.tighsolas.ca, I thought I would enter here a synopsis of the entire book. This is the outline for the story, which comes from real life.

Norm goes away to work on the railway in La Tuque Quebec; Edith gets a job in tiny Radnor Forges, teaching 10 kids; Marion gets a job teaching in the Montreal in impoverished St. Henri teaching 50 kids; Edith returns to the city and gets a job at a private school, French Methodist, in elegant Westmount; Marion and Edith shop for hats at Ogilvy. Herb is caught stealing at the bank where he works; Edith loses her fiance in a fire; Norman goes awol from work and is fired; Norman pays Herb’s way out West, staking him to -yikes- 500 dollars, half a year’s salary, were he working; Norman asks local MP Tobin to get his job with the railway back; Tobin obliges. Norman goes to Ontario. Herb drifts from job to job out West, eventually working for Massey Harris in collection. Flora is accepted at Macdonald College, ‘new teachers with new methods’; the family ‘sews her up’ for school; Flora boards in beautiful Ste Anne de Bellevue, attends classes, masquerades and gets ‘fat’ on soda and cake. Marion gets a raise and reaches for the top. Edith has a falling out with the Methodist principal at her school perhaps over Church Union debate. Margaret worries about getting enough wood to warm the house and to cook with; she attends political rallies and is all for free trade. Laurier loses the free trade election, the family is devastated. (Will Norman lose his job again?) Margaret worries about the bugs eating her potatoes; she tends a relative with typhoid, another with consumption; she feuds with her rich brother-in-law. Her brother dies, her mom dies (so many people dying). After the funerals, she takes a few trips around the Eastern Townships, sometimes by automobile, and joins the Order of the Eastern Star. “Nothing frivolous about it,” she writes. Marion is introduced to a nice man, Mr. Blair. Edith and Marion visit a rich doctor relative, Henry Watters, in Boston in the summer. He must be doing well for he has a Stanley Steamer ! Henry is everything Herb isn’t, successful and devoted to kin.Mr. Blair blows off his old girlfriend “We were never engaged and as for me there was no understanding either” and takes Marion to see Harry Lauder, the Scottish comedian.. Norman is transferred from Cochrane to Hearst and is impressed by the Indian Squaws he sees near his camp, how they can paddle a canoe and wield an axe with a baby on their back. The Titanic sinks. Herb’s debts build, he ignores all responsibility for them. The family almost loses the house. Marion saves the day with the extra money from her raise. (She doesn’t need it, she writes, ironically, because she isn’t going to get married ‘and that’s what girls save for, isn’t it, a trousseau?’)Marion is promised the 7th grade to teach and is sickened when a mere boy out of school is promoted over her and given a much higher salary. Laurier visits the Roundhouse at Cochrane to give a speech, Norm remarks upon it in his diary. Flora gets a class in school in the city (Griffintown) “not a good area of town” says Margaret, and is paid a much lower salary than the male graduate of Macdonald. Edith quits her Academy and goes to live in Richmond with her mom. She attends a local wedding and describes the fashions there. Marion looks – and looks and looks – for an apartment of her own to share with friends, for she hates the way the landlady in her rooming house lords it over her. She lands one on Hutchison with the daughter of an MNA (promising the landlady that her mother is coming to live with her) but she won’t let her obliging beau, Mr. Blair, or “Romeo” help her stoke the furnace. Marion loses the apartment (or choooses to give it up as it is impossible for the four tenants (all teachers) to work AND keep the home running well; she gets engaged to Mr. Blair, despite the fact his parents won’t have any part of it. She writes her dad asking if he can pay for a wedding or dowry. Her dad doesn’t know what to say, he is dead broke. For the first and only time, he questions son Herb’s integrity in a letter. “I hope he hasn’t got any bad habits.” BURN THIS LETTER he writes at the end. Marion and Hugh Blair marry in October, 1913. Hugh’s well off parents do not attend the wedding. Norman spends 30.00 on wedding clothes. 6.65 on a cake