Girls on Wheels Vicki Baker, Karen Dipietro, Cassie Richardson, and Nancy Burns experience the wonder and tragedy of the world’s most famous ocean liner, Titanic.
Vicki Baker
The Titanic, a British luxury passenger ship, set out on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City in 1912. It was the largest passenger ship at the time, known for its grandeur and luxury. Touted as unsinkable, it struck an iceberg in the early hours of April 15, 1912. Within 2 hours and 40 minutes, the ship was totally submerged; it’s final resting place, the bottom of the ocean.
There have been many movies about the Titanic. But what we see in film is only part of the story. Girls on Wheels took the opportunity to learn more at “Titanic: The Exhibition,” offering a powerful and educational glimpse into the haunting past of this legendary ship.
Upon arrival, we received a replica boarding pass with a passenger’s name, age, occupation, personal facts, and, of course, which class they traveled. Vicki was a U.S. politician’s daughter married to a wealthy coal magnate who was returning early from her honeymoon in Egypt after learning she was pregnant. Nancy was a single woman with a beautiful singing voice traveling in third class—little else is known. And Karen was a socialite and philanthropist, the unsinkable Margaret (Molly) Brown.
An introductory film charted the story of its owners, White Star Lines, from dream to design to the building of the iconic ship and the many lives it affected during its three-year construction. Crossing the gangway, our self-guided audio tour took us on a narrative journey recounting the real stories of passengers and crew aboard the ill-fated vessel. More than 350 artifacts were on display, including China, cooking pots, coins, playing cards, souvenirs, jewelry, suitcases, musical instruments, toys, and even sections of the ship itself.
Period music (not Celine Dion) set the tone as we walked through recreations of the ship’s interior: first-class and millionaires’ suites, third-class cabin, Verandah Café, cargo and boiler rooms, promenade deck complete with starry night sky, and a two-story, full-scale replica of the grand staircase.
We touched a 20-foot-wide slab of ice (iceberg) to feel how cold it was at the time of the disaster. Items from James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic, including a script, props, costumes, and a replica of the necklace Rose wore, were also on display.
Guiding us through a timeline of Titanic’s journey from its sinking to its underwater discovery, the final gallery housed the memorial wall listing the calamitous fate of each of the 2,000-plus passengers and crew aboard the ship that night. As a final touch, we searched for the name on our boarding pass to see whether we had survived or not, adding an emotional connection to the lives of those who boarded the Titanic.