15 April 1912 - This Day in History - The Sinking of the Titanic

I, like most of you, first heard about the RMS Titanic in history classes or on television. I knew what happened, the whys and wherefores, and even indulged the movie by the same name starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.  I learned interesting things along the way, like the fact that it wasn't full - another 1100 people could have been aboard that night, and that it was the largest moving object ever built at the time.  But, it was only as I got older and began delving into not just the dates and places of my personal family history, but the STORIES behind the people, did I really give much more thought to this epic disaster.

Great Lakes Titanic Society

We are in Ohio after all, so who would've thought that there'd be connections here?  Well, Mary Ann Whitley and Janet A. White - that's who.  They are the co-authors of the new book, Ohio Tales of the Titanic: The Buckeye State's Fascinating Connections to the World's Most Famous Shipwreck, and I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Mary Ann Whitley today on this very subject.  Mary Ann is an award-winning journalist and communications professional with experience in the newspaper industry, magazines and public relations. Since 1994, she has been a copy editor at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, one of the nation’s largest daily newspapers. She has formerly been an editor with Cleveland Magazine, The Penn Stater, The Indianapolis Star, The Herald-Times in Bloomington, Indiana, The Corydon Democrat and a feature writer with the Gainesville Sun. Ms. Whitley has handled media relations since 2003 for the Titanic International Society, and was instrumental in creating the Ohio Titanic Memorial found behind the Great Lakes Science Center downtown.

Ohio Titanic Memorial

 
Unfortunately, my equipment failed, and I did not get to record her interview - but I will share with you a few things she shared with me:

 Me: Congratulations on your newest book, with Janet A. White! Tell me, what was your biggest challenge in pulling this piece together?
 
Mary Ann: Oh, finding the time to write it!  Janet and I worked on this for nearly 10 years.  She has been researching Ohio's part in the Titanic for about 30 years - and for me, about 15.
 
Me: Oh wow! In researching everything for the book, what do you feel was your greatest or most fascinating discovery?
 
Mary Ann: Well one of them was meeting Chuck Otter.  His great-grandfather, Richard Otter, died that day, and he had documents from White Star Lines. Those were just so amazing to see. Another discovery was from the niece of Mary Davison.  Mary was headed with her husband back from England to their home in Bedford, Ohio. Her niece had letters that Mary and her sisters wrote each other - they are heartbreaking.  Written before the sinking, she was telling her family that she was packing up and getting ready to go on the ship. After the disaster, she wrote them from the Junior League house, comforting her mother after the disaster, telling them she was fine, and was staying there with 12 other Titanic survivors. There is also a letter from Mary's sister, Alice, expressing her thankfulness that Mary is safe.
 
Me: Incredible. Was there a story that tugged at your heartstrings more than any other? Any stories of triumph that really struck you?
 
Mary Ann: Well, Richard Otter's wife was back in Ohio with a 12-year old son.  He died, and she had no real means of support.  It really devastated their family because she had to send her son to live with relatives. She had to clean homes to survive and finally saved enough to have a house built in Cleveland.  She lived in the top floor and rented out the bottom two floors of the home.
 
Me: Besides reading your fantastic book, what would you and Janet like the people of Northeast Ohio (and all over, really) to know most about the Titanic disaster and Ohio's connection to it?

Ohio Tales of the Titanic

 
Mary Ann:  The stories of these people are still very compelling, 100 years later. And its really the stories of the people that resonate with others. Any type of disaster like this - those first person accounts - are the same kind of thing - they give us that first person account of history. I hope people take that away. A lot of them - these families - were changed forever.
 
I cannot thank Mary Ann enough for giving us an author's insight into her new book on this, the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic! Order it here. 

Archibald Gracie IV

For those of you who would like to hear more stories about those who survived the disaster, we have a remarkable event right here in our backyard.  On April 23rd at 7pm in the Westlake Library's Dover Meeting Room, re-enactor and historian Mel Mauer will bring to life the incredible story of survivor Archibald Gracie IV. Reserve your spot here.