Whom would you choose to be or emulate?

[Michael H. Standart]

Allison, whatever works...ah...so long as the time machine has a return ticket. I really don't want to participate in the swimming meet on Monday morning.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

 

[Kimberly R. Loop]

Tracy and others,
If I had a chance to meet anyone from the Titanic it would most certainly be Jack Thayer. I think one of the reasons why I like him so much comes from his detailed version of the sinking. I have lived away from home almost seven years now and I get homesick and one of the things that I miss so much is the sound of the locusts in the trees during the summer. I'm from Lancaster, PA and Jack was from the Philadelphia area. His home was probably less than an hour away from where I grew up. In his version of the sinking he mentions that the screams sounded like locusts during the summer near his home in Philadelphia. I've never really heard anyone refer to the locusts before and even though he refers to this in a negative way it struck a chord with me. From then on I just kept trying to find out more about him and his family. I wish I could meet someone in his family and find out more personal stuff about him. I would definately want to go back in time and meet him, Colonel Gracie, Alma Paulson, and the Allisons. I wish that I could tell Mrs. Allison that her son Trevor was safe in a lifeboat. I wonder if she would have taken Lorraine and gotten on a lifeboat as well if she would have known that Trevor was okay. It must have been so hard for her. Alma Paulson actually played her mouth organ for her for children on deck to calm them when she realized there weren't anymore lifeboats. She was so incredibly brave!
I often wonder why I think about these people so much. Is it possible that we could have been there in another life? I know it sounds weird, but I do wonder about it at times. Kimby

 

[Brandon Whited]

I'd also LOVE to sit down and talk with Jack Thayer (as you already know, Kimby!). I like him because of his fascinating story of that night, and the fact that I'm only two years younger than he was when he went on Titanic.

I'd also like to meet Richard Norris Williams; perhaps he could give me some pointers in tennis!

If I could meet any crew member, I would like to meet Fifth Officer Lowe, because I heard he had a brilliant sense of humor, and seemed like a fun person.

I would also want to meet Thomas Andrews and Harold Bride.

-Brandon

 

[Julie Brown]

I would love to meet Thomas Andrews. He has been my hero since I was eight years old and my dad first told me the story of the Titanic. His determination to help the situation in any way he could as the ship was sinking amazes me. I often wonder what I would have done if put in his position.
Edith Corse Evans also intrigues me. I feel a strong connection with her, I am drawn to her and wish that I knew more about her. I have also spent much time wondering whether we may have been there in another lifetime, as I am obsessed with anything about the Titanic for reasons I cannot explain.

 

[Kimberly R. Loop]

Julie, I am the same way about the Titanic. Not a day goes by that I don't spend time thinking about it. That is why I've pondered whether or not I may have been there in another lifetime. As you probably already read, my fascination is with the Thayer family. I'm not familiar with Edith Corse Evans. What is her story? Thanks- Kimby

 

[Julie Brown]

Kimby-
Edith was a single woman traveling on the Titanic who was surprised and delighted to find that her aunt, Malvina Cornell, was on board, as well as Malvina’s sisters, Caroline Brown and Charlotte Appleton. Colonel Archibald Gracie became the ladies’ protector, as was customary for men to do for women traveling alone. On the night of the collision, Edith, standing on the port side of A Deck as the tilt under her feet increased, told Colonel Gracie that a fortune teller had once told her to ‘beware of water’ and that she was sure she would drown. Unsuccessfully trying to reassure her, Gracie left the women in the care of Officer Moody who was loading Lifeboat 4. Edith and Caroline Brown ended up separated from the rest of their party, and were left desperately searching for a lifeboat, but the remaining boats were all full. Both women received a place on one boat, but were asked to leave because of overcrowding. They rushed to the last lifeboat, only to find that one spot remained. Edith pushed Caroline towards the boat saying, "Please take this lady. She has children." This boat, Collapsible D, was the last boat lowered at 2:05 am, only 15 minutes before the ship went down. According to Gracie, when he saw her at the end she seemed "perfectly calm". She bravely gave up her life to let Caroline Brown live. I’ve always been fascinated with this story, and wondered why she seemed resigned to the fact that she would die. I don’t really know very much about Edith. Everything I stated here came from the book Women and Children First by Judith B. Geller, an excellent source of information on individual passengers, though a bit presumptuous at times in my opinion. If anyone knows where I can learn more about Miss Evans I would greatly appreciate your sharing the source.
-Julie

 

[Kimberly R. Loop]

Julie- Wow! I think you've got me hooked on another person to find out info about. She sounds so interesting. I'm not sure how I missed her. I seem to recall Colonel Gracie helping several women. One of the names that stands out is Helen Churchill Candee. If I find anything on Edith Corse Evans I'll surely send it your way. Another story you may be interested in is the story of Alma Paulson and her four children. Have you heard of them? I wonder if they are mentioned in the book that you were telling me about. I'll have to get that one. Thanks, Kimby

P.S. If you were someone on Titanic do you think it would have been her?????

 

[Julie Brown]

Kimby- Yes, you are right about Colonel Gracie befriending Helen Churchill Candee. They, along with four other men, were part of an on-board clique of sorts, which Gracie called "Our Coterie". I have not yet heard the story of Alma Paulson and her children, would you please share it with me? I looked in the book I have and they are not in it. Maybe I will check some of the other books I own. If I were someone on the Titanic, yes, I suppose it might have been Edith. Who do you think you might have been? -Julie

 

[Kimberly R. Loop]

Hi Julie- Alma Paulson was traveling to Chicago to be with her husband Nils. Nils moved to Chicago two years before Alma and her four young children boarded the Titanic. He sent them money for their tickets. She was in third class and didn't make it up on deck in time to get on a lifeboat. She played her mouth organ to calm her children. All five of them died. They did find her body as well as her youngest son's, Gosta. He was two-years-old. At first they didn't know who he was. The crew of the Mackay Bennett cable ship found him and were so touched by him that they attended his memorial service and paid for his tombstone. They called him the Unknown child of the Titanic. Later it was found out that he was Alma's son and just by chance he was buried right in front of her. Nils Paulson, Alma's husband, was said to have shown the most grief over losing his family. When I went to Halifax, I visited the Titanic gravesites. This one touched me the most.

If I was someone on the Titanic, I wouldn't want to have been her. It is so heartbreaking that she knew that she and her children were going to go down with the Titanic. I'm very interested in the Thayers so I wonder if I could have a connection to them. I'm very impressed with how the Countess of Rothes handled herself during the whole ordeal as well. I'm outgoing and like to talk a lot so maybe I was Molly Brown. It is probably wishful thinking, but I can't figure out why I am so obsessed with the Titanic. Well, I better go for now. Take Care- Kimby

 

[Kimberly R. Loop]

Julie- Here are a couple of websites on Alma Paulson. Kimby

http://w1.426.telia.com/~u42602097/alma.htm

 

[Julie Brown]

Kimby- Alma Paulson seems cool. I'll have to check out those web sites. How ironic that Gosta was buried right in front of his mother.

Molly Brown is one of my favorite people who sailed on the Titanic. I really admire her for her charisma and compassion. -Julie

 

[Senan Molony]

"How ironic that Gosta was buried right in front of his mother."

Hrrmmmm...

That unknown child is still unknown, you know.
Gosta is merely a suggested candidate.

 

[Bibliophile]

Harry Widener was an interesting young man, possibly socially awkward yet very much involved in all the activities of a wealthy young man of his time, sport, amateur dramatics, acting and travel, and a member of elite social clubs. He seems to have been reserved and diffident, stand offish even, yet had some very close friends so long as they shared his interests. Most of them were older than him. His interests were literature and history. Despite his intellectual pretensions, his favourite book was Treasure Island which suggests an immaturity or childlike quality. Above all he was obsessed with building a rare book collection. His wealthy background enabled him to do this in a short period of time between Harvard and death, but there is something of the vulnerability of the poor little rich boy about him.

His photographs show him to be less striking in appearance than his portrait, but there is the same sadness and loneliness about him especially in the eyes.

The Young American Lycidas: A Romance with Books unto Death

So important was his collection of books to Harry Elkins Widener that his bedroom was also his library so that he would always have his favourite volumes to hand, available for him at night and the…

kevinbrownhistorian.wordpress.com

 

[Seumas]

Harry Widener was an interesting young man, possibly socially awkward yet very much involved in all the activities of a wealthy young man of his time, sport, amateur dramatics, acting and travel, and a member of elite social clubs. He seems to have been reserved and diffident, stand offish even, yet had some very close friends so long as they shared his interests. Most of them were older than him. His interests were literature and history. Despite his intellectual pretensions, his favourite book was Treasure Island which suggests an immaturity or childlike quality. Above all he was obsessed with building a rare book collection. His wealthy background enabled him to do this in a short period of time between Harvard and death, but there is something of the vulnerability of the poor little rich boy about him.

His photographs show him to be less striking in appearance than his portrait, but there is the same sadness and loneliness about him especially in the eyes.

The Young American Lycidas: A Romance with Books unto Death

So important was his collection of books to Harry Elkins Widener that his bedroom was also his library so that he would always have his favourite volumes to hand, available for him at night and the…

kevinbrownhistorian.wordpress.com

Well, I must be "immature or childlike" then because I have enjoyed reading "Treasure Island" as an adult along with other works by the immortal RLS.

What it actually suggests is that Harry Widener was just one of millions who enjoyed reading a timeless classic and a testament to RLS imagination and storytelling ability. In 1912, G. K. Chesterton and Rudyard Kipling were also among the book's many fans.

One of the world's most respected military historians alive today is Sir Max Hastings, and his favourite book ? "The Wind In The Willows".

 

[Gordon Mooneyhan]

My dinner party would be rather small and intimate: Molly Brown, Thomas Andrews, Harold Bride, and Jack Thayer