Some moments in history imprint themselves on our collective psyche so strongly that the echoes cut through decades, generations and time like an ocean liner cutting through calm seas.
The April 15, 1912, sinking of Titanic after it struck an iceberg is clearly one of those events. The luxury liner, known as the Ship of Dreams, has rested on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean for exactly 100 years, but it continues to fascinate us, through novels, films and documentaries.
Locally, several people had direct connections to Titanic.
William Harbeck was a deputy sheriff of Lucas County who was on the great liner as a filmmaker, capturing the maiden voyage on reels of film that were lost in the disaster.
Henry Michael Mitchell had a sister-in-law in Toledo, named Anna Jeffrey. On his way to visit her, a coal strike changed his travel arrangements and he died on Titanic.
The Vanderplancke family was traveling from Belgium to work on a Fremont beet farm. All four family members were lost.
Martha Kuskie, a maid at the Madison Hotel in Downtown Toledo, came here from Hungary and was waiting for Titanic to deliver her fiancé, John Andonis. He never arrived.
There are other connections, from a survivor who died in nearby Adrian, Mich., to a local man whose grandmother died on the ship. Those stories and many others are told in this special issue, which collects well-known stories and reveals many new ones.
As part of the observation of the anniversary, there are displays at libraries in Toledo and Perrysburg, the national touring artifact exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, the film “Titanic 3D” at Rave Motion Pictures theaters and our Red Cross dinner, which re-created a dining and ballroom experience.
The images and legends of Titanic continue to hold our imaginations. As we move into the second century since the wreck, let us hope its twin lessons of hubris and heroism prevail in our thoughts and actions.
Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star.
