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Titanic arrives in Orland Park
It was a honeymoon gone wrong for John Henry Chapman and his bride, Sarah Elizabeth Lawry. Lawry, 29, of Spokane, Wash., was headed from Southhampton, England, to Fitzburn, Wisc. with her husband to be closer to her brother, William.
The second class passengers were one of over 20 newlywed couples aboard Titanic.
And unfortunately, Lawry and her husband were two of the 1,523 that died that fateful night of April 15, 1912 when the Titanic sunk at sea.
Lawry was just one of the passengers whose story was told when COUNTRY Financial brought "Titanic: Treasures From the Deep" to Orland Park June 25-28. Held in the parking lot at Orland Square Mall, the exhibit featured over 60 artifacts recovered by RMS Titanic Inc. from the ship.
"I wanted to see more of the historical part of it," Bob Roberts of Tinley Park said.
"The kids love Titanic — they are obsessed with it," Chicago Heights resident Tracie Hallmark said.
And they were not alone — the four-day exhibit drew thousands of visitors.
Entering the mobile museum, visitors were handed a White Star Line boarding pass. On the back of the pass was a Titanic passenger's name, class, where they were headed and why and a passenger fact. At the end of the exhibit, visitors found out the passenger's fate by finding the name on the list of deceased or the list of survivors.
At least one passenger was prepared — Mrs. Marion Meanwell. On display inside the mobile museum were her insurance papers from insuring six bags with White Star Line. Other items on display included a gold-nibbed fountain pen, a hand mirror, Quotes from passengers and crew members hung from the walls about what it sounded like when the ship hit the iceberg.
Being prepared is the message COUNTRY Financial wanted to portray by offering the free exhibit.
"Regardless of what life throws at you, folks need to be prepared and plan for the unexpected. We help folks for the future and with catastrophic needs," said Jody Wilson, COUNTRY Financial district director of agencies.
For more information, visit www.countrytitanic.com.