We're two sisters who are craft book publishers and found ourselves in the midst of an avocado grove. We bought this house where we planned to conduct our publishing business and in the deal got 4 acres of avocado trees thrown in. Now we're not only publishers but ranchers as well! This blog is all about avocados and anything else that strikes my fancy.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Sepia Saturday #123 Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!

I had a feeling that May poles, May queens and May baskets might all be written about this week. So I've decided instead to use the term Mayday, the distress signal, as my inspiration for this post. And I'm tying it to the Titanic disaster even though the signals coming from the sinking ship were CQD and later SOS, not Mayday. 

This is Harold Bride in the message room of the Titanic. Doesn't this photo have a ghostly quality to it?

Now let's go back to 1956, not 1912. Our neighbors the Holts invited our family to join them in Laguna Beach for a vacation.
Barbara and me and friend (under the towel)
They had 2 cottages where we all could stay. But we had to share the cottages with their 2 maiden aunts. We were told not to talk too much to the one aunt because she was very shy, very quiet. That was Aunt Lillian and we were to find out later that she was a Titanic survivor. I've always been intrigued by her story and decided to write about her this week.

Lillian Thorpe was born in 1875. After her first husband died, at 28 Lillian remarried William Minahan, a  wealthy physician from Wisconsin. They were married nine years before they took a trip to Ireland to visit his family. They boarded the Titanic for their return at Queenstown as first class passengers, along with William's sister, Daisy. The three occupied cabin C-78.


William and Lillian

When the ship started to sink, William put Lillian and Daisy in lifeboat #14. His last words to them was, "Be brave."  For some reason, the two ladies were transferred to another boat (maybe their boat was overloaded), and then were later rescued by the S.S. Carpathia which eventually took them to New York where they were met by family members.

William's body was picked up by the CS Mackay-Bennett. Of the 306 bodies picked up by this ship, only 190 made it to Halifax and William's was one of them. The others were buried at sea.

Effects found on William's body:
Pocketbook; papers; gold watch, "Dr. W.E. Minahan"; keys; knife; fountain pen; clinical thermometer; memo book; tie pin; diamond ring; gold cuff link; nickel watch; comb; check book; American Express; $380; 1 collar button; £16 10s in gold; 14 shillings; nail clipper.

Can you imagine that Lillian, in her grief, had to write this letter?:

White Star Steamships
I hereby direct that you turn over to the bearer, V.I. Minahan, the body of my late husband, Dr. W.E. Minahan, and also all effects found thereon.
April 29, 1912
Mrs. Lillian Minahan




William's grave in Wisconsin
Daisy never recovered from the fateful trip. She died in 1919 at 40. Lillian, however, lived to the ripe old age of 86, married two more times and died in 1962.

The little cottages where we stayed are now gone, replaced by a big ugly apartment complex. But, I'll never forget the summer we stayed in Laguna Beach with Aunt Lillian, the brave Titanic survivor.

For more May Day stories click here Sepia Saturday.



29 comments:

  1. Fantastic story. I wonder if the unknown word is "bearer". Lillian must have been a real trooper - to marry two more times, and outlive all the husbands. William ended up in a magnificent grave..I wonder if it says anything about the way he died? I looked up Mayday on Wiki and it shows the grave of the radio operator who coined the term from m'aidez (French for help me).

    Great post.

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    1. Yes, I think you're right. It's "bearer." That makes perfect sense. Thanks.

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  2. Wow, that was a fantastic story. How did you get all of those facts and photos? Titanic stories are fascinating.

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  3. That was an interesting but sad story. Lillian couldn't have been too shy if she had four husbands.

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  4. A wonderful Titanic story. I am currently listening to radio podcasts of 'Titanic Letters' which really bring home the human side; real lives touched by disaster and tragedy.

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  5. Great story! The memory of such a tragedy must have been a terriblle burden given all the public attention.

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  6. "Be brave." What wonderful last words to remember someone by.

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  7. How sad and awful. 3 more husbands - that's sort of amazing even it it wasn't tied to a tragedy.

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  8. Oddly enough I too had the words Mayday, Mayday sound off over and over in my head! ..and I never lived through those times! This was a delightful post as well!

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  9. Fascinating post and wonderful take on May Day. What an awful tragedy though. Poor Lillian.

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  10. Amazing story! I live near Laguna Beach and yes, the apartments and gigantic waterfront hotels/houses are just terrible aren't they.

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  11. Brings real life to the memory of the disaster. Thanks for the piece of history that outshines any fictional account.

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  12. That is absolutely fascinating. A wonderfully creative take on the theme which gives us a truly fabulous post. Oh, this is why I like Sepia Saturday so much. Such quality.

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  13. Mayday, Mayday! What a fascinating and sad story and great segue from the May Day theme.

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  14. Nancy, I LOVE your stories. Aunt Lilian was brave, and I am glad that she kept moving forward with her life even if she was shy. How sad that all of those people died. I still haven't watched the movie.

    A most excellent post, my friend!

    Kathy M.

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  15. How terribly sad but what an amazing story!

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  16. A great and fascinating story that deserves to be told and told again.

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  17. Nancy, a fantastic story...and true. When I first read the book and then saw the film,sort of unreal, scary and sad to think about the people who were on this ill fated voyage; and what one would do in the same situation.

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  18. How timely to have such memories about MayDay, and the Titanic. It must have been of some relief to finally reach the safety of land for them all. Did Lillian ever go on a cruise ever again, or remained forever on terra firma? One assumes she might have some trust issues about boats...
    :)~
    HUGZ

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  19. Variety is very pleasant for Sepia Saturday posts and your variety of story is fabulous. What a wonderful twist on May Day and what an interesting story. While watching the little video I tried to imagine what it might have been like to be on the Titanic. Frightening, at best. Thanks for a great post, Nancy.

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  20. Wonderful story and well told. I have always been interested in the Titanic, but got a little obsessed again around the anniversary and read the book A night to Remember and watched some documentaries. Your story is a great addition.

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  21. A heartbreaking story, beautifully told. A girl's brush with history. It is amazing to know some Titanic survivors endured long into the 20th century. Didn't know about that French origin for May Day. Excellent and informative post.

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  22. A wonderful story of your connection to the Titanic story. I can't believe all the things that he had in his pockets. I am fascinated with the whole titanic thing so your posting was fun to add to my memories.

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  23. Yes,Be Brave really brings home the consequences.........A Superb Post.Thank You.

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  24. Incredible to have the opportunity to actually speak to a Titanic-survivor.
    American Express? In those days? Wow!

    It's certainly a sad letter to have had to write. Thank you for sharing this again, I had not encountered it before.

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  25. Oh my, I remember this story. The Titanic and its many stories never fail to amaze. Yes, this is the one to preserve in the SS book.

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  26. This was memorable post. I still find it unsettling how the tragedy of the Titanic overwhelms other ship accidents, some even more horrific. Did Lillian find the publicity an intrusion to reclaiming her life?

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  27. What a strong remarkable lady! Although the letter was sad it was good that she got to have William's body returned to her to have a burial, seems so many bodies weren't recovered.

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