Life After the Titanic

Before we move on from the Titanic disaster and Margaret “Molly” Brown’s heroic actions as a survivor of that tragedy, it is important to note that her life following that event was full of activism. She must have known as she fought for survival that she still had much to do during the rest of her life. Her immediate concern was for other survivors who lost their belongings and loved ones, and suffered terrible losses and difficulties. She organized a survivors’ association while still on the ship, and stayed on the rescue ship Carpathia until each person received care, was allowed to send translated messages to their loved ones, and she made sure all had a place to go from the port in New York City. Although she wasn’t invited to include her testimony with other survivors before a Congressional hearing, she used her connections to tell her version of the story in Denver newspapers. She helped organize a memorial for those who perished, and arranged special recognition of the crew of the Carpathia for coming to the aid of survivors.

The following year, Mrs. Brown briefly ran for Congress until it became apparent that she had no chance of winning her campaign. The following year, she organized Denver women to send supplies and assistance to poor mining families following the Ludlow Massacre in Southern Colorado. While visiting southern Florida, she led guests of the Breakers Hotel to safety when fire broke out. She turned her house in Newport over to the Red Cross during World War I, and traveled to France to help there with the war effort. She helped injured soldiers when they returned from battle, earning the French Legion of Honor Award. She attempted to organize a female military troop, and succeeded in establishing a female coalition for mine operations in Leadville. She supported the arts by organizing art collection displays, and helped mentor young women studying drama. When her life ended, previously arranged gifts arrived for struggling mining families in Leadville, so their families would have presents to open for Christmas. Her life, which continued to be full of adventure, was that of an involved person with intelligence, spirit and purpose.

Joyce B. Lohse
www.LohseWorks.com

 

An Evening with Muffet Brown

In Denver, Colorado, we are fortunate to have access to many fantastic resources of Western history in general, and specialized repositories and museums such as the Molly Brown House Museum. The staff at the Molly Brown House has done their usual magical planning by hosting Muffet Brown for the 100th Anniversary of the RMS Titanic Steamship’s Maiden Voyage and ultimate demise in 1912. Last evening, Margaret Brown’s great granddaughter spoke and answered questions to a roomful of history buffs at the historic Brown Palace Hotel. I was able to visit with her briefly, and gave her a copy of my book, Unsinkable: The Molly Brown Story.

An Unsinkable Gift

Muffet Brown’s presentation was enlightening and entertaining. She is thoroughly charming, intelligent, and a real person. Margaret Brown, her great-grandmother, must be smiling and appreciative of the job Muffet is doing to preserve the family legacy and to share its fascinating part in history in an open and unobtrusive manner. Her opinions and observations are fair and provocative. It was truly a pleasure to hear her speak. While in Denver, she is also visiting school classrooms, and a gala Titanic dinner celebration, which will bring out many historians dressed in period costume.

It occurs to me that descendants of historic figures carry a responsibility to maintain and preserve the stories and artifacts of a time past, to solidify their place in history, share their stories with those who wish to learn more, and to clarify the truth from past events whenever possible. I found this to be true when writing about Eliza Routt, Colorado’s Original First Lady, the first woman to vote in Colorado, and my cousin from my Illinois homeland. Accepting her induction in the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame was an honor I will not soon forget.

Joyce B. Lohse
LohseWorks.com

 

Titanic – A Scene of Tragic Beauty

As the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster approaches next week, the prevailing question is “Why?” Why does this story touch us so deeply a century later? Why did the Titanic sink?

The story is best told by one who survived the tragedy. If you asked Colorado’s Margaret Brown, known in modern culture as “Molly Brown”, she would describe the Titanic as a great equalizer. In the Denver Post on April 27, 1912, Mrs. Brown said, “It isn’t who you are, nor what you have, but what you are that counts. That was proved in the Titanic.” Death and loss did not choose between classes or character. Heroics and cowardice came forward and became readily apparent and helped determine survival. Regardless, whoever or whatever you are can be found among those who lived and died on the ship that fateful night, providing a link to our own lives.

Ice fields had been reported on the wireless radio. Other vessels had slowed their progress to dodge icebergs in the chilly waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. As of 9 a.m. on April 14, White Star Line officials announced, “We place absolute confidence in the Titanic. We believe the boat is absolutely unsinkable.”

On its maiden voyage, Titanic was racing across the ocean to break speed records and to reach a grand celebration of its achievements in New York City. According to Mrs. Brown, “The tragedy of the Titanic was indirectly due to J. Bruce Ismay [Managing Director of the White Star Line]. He was speed mad and paced the deck like a caged lion as the ship surged through the icy waters. His hand, deadly and terrible, was, figuratively speaking, on the throttle, and in his powerful selfishness, he cared not for human life. All day Sunday shafts of bitter cold swept the decks from the ice fields. The ship was plowing ahead at the rate of twenty-three knots an hour and most of the passengers had remained in their cabins or salons.”

In the Denver Times, on April 30, 1912, Margaret Brown described the collision. “I was lying in my berth reading when the ship struck directly beneath my stateroom, and it scattered ice and glass across the deck. I looked out and seeing nothing but a strange, dark object looming through the cold and blackness beyond, went back to my book. Sailors came beneath my window, laughing, talking, and joking, and I was not alarmed. Finally, however, I was told to dress warmly, don a life-belt and bring all I had to the deck. I have no fear of water — it fascinates me. I saw none of the horror of that shipwreck — nothing harrowing, and to me it was almost a scene of tragic beauty.”

Joyce B. Lohse
www.LohseWorks.com
To learn more, read my book, Unsinkable: The Molly Brown Story
and my “Unsinkable” article in the April Issue of Colorado Central magazine

 

Unsinkable – the Molly Brown House Museum

With less than a month left before the 100th anniversary of the steamship Titanic’s maiden voyage, I was invited to participate in an event at the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver. “Women of the Titanic” told their stories to those who toured the house museum, while I conversed with interested visitors in the gift shop, formerly the carriage house, behind the Browns’ House of Lions. It was a delightful evening. As usual, the folks at the Molly Brown House, with storytellers in period clothing, hosted a wonderful time. Fans of the Titanic and the Molly Brown story cannot get enough of it. New information and various versions surface, the more the story is told and shared with others.

Joyce Lohse signed books at the Molly Brown House Museum in March during the 100th anniversary celebration of the Titanic.

For people in the Denver area who wish to learn more about Mrs. Brown and her role as a survivor in the Titanic disaster, a visit to the Molly Brown House is a rare treat. Exhibits regarding the doomed ship are on display while the museum focuses on the anniversary. Special events and activities will be offered throughout the year. To learn more, visit their web site at www.MollyBrown.org, and be sure to take a tour of the house at 1340 Pennsylvania Street in Denver, a couple of blocks from the Colorado state capitol. As with most Colorado history, the stories you learn there are fascinating and should not be missed.

Joyce B. Lohse
author of Unsinkable: The Molly Brown Story
published by Filter Press
www.LohseWorks.com

 

What’s in a name, Molly Brown?

One of the most remarkable facts about Molly Brown is that her name was not Molly Brown. How did it come about that such an iconic western heroine became known by a name that was not her own?

On July 16, 1867, Margaret Tobin was born into a large Irish immigrant family in Hannibal, Missouri, near the banks of the Mississippi River. The 1870 U.S. Census lists her as Maggy Tobin, age 3, with her family. In Leadville, Colorado, James J. Brown and Margaret Tobin were joined in marriage on September 1, 1886. After that, our subject was known as Mrs. J. J. Brown, or Margaret Brown. She was referred to as Lady Margaret in the Denver newspaper during the aftermath of the Titanic Disaster. In notes she wrote to her housekeeper in Denver, she occasionally simply signed “Brown” in her bold, scrawling script. Although long separated from J. J. Brown, Margaret never strayed from the Brown name.

Modern media is attributed with the popularity of the Molly Brown story, and to the nickname which stuck to its main character. In 1960, a frothy musical called The Unsinkable Molly Brown was introduced to Broadway theater patrons. The success of the play was followed closely by a movie production of the same name, in which Debbie Reynolds portrayed a singing and dancing Molly Brown. The feature motion picture film took broad liberties with the reality of her story in addition to the name change. Broadway and Hollywood supposedly changed the name from Margaret to Molly to make it more melodic for singing and dancing in the musical. As a result of broad success and a vast audience, the name stuck and was adopted as factual by many fans.

In reality, the name, Molly, was used in reference to Margaret Brown much earlier. When she died in 1932, an obituary by Jack Carberry of the Rocky Mountain News referred to Margaret as Molly Tobin, then Molly Brown, in a glib account of her story of growing up as a tomboy by the Mississippi River. The name “Molly” was meant as a slam to Margaret’s background as a poor Irish girl in an article full of legends and liberties. One such myth was that Mark Twain pulled “Molly Brown” from certain death in the riverbank during a fishing trip. The two characters probably never met, certainly not in Hannibal where they lived at different times, especially after Margaret acquired the Brown name.

The difficulty continues once you become aware of the facts surrounding Margaret’s name. The name Molly Brown is so wide-spread and well-known that it is difficult to avoid, even when doing research. The trick is to figure out how to bite your tongue when you hear her referred to as “Molly Brown”, or to find a way to politely correct and educate the offender about the truth and the correct usage of the name without committing additional offense. Chances are Margaret might not mind. After all, she was fond of saying, “I don’t care what the newspapers say about me, as long as they say something.”

Joyce B. Lohse
Learn more about MARGARET BROWN from my book,
Unsinkable: The Molly Brown Story
www.LohseWorks.com or www.FilterPressBooks.com

 

Why Mrs. Brown Chose The Titanic

As the one hundredth anniversary approaches of the Titanic steamship’s tragic encounter with an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean during its maiden voyage, I will provide some details about our heroine, Margaret Brown, who consequently became known to us as the Unsinkable Molly Brown. After all, she is the inspiration for this Unsinkable blog, which celebrates her story and Western history.

Margaret Brown

If you believe in fate, you will appreciate the circumstances that placed Mrs. J.J. Brown on the Titanic in April 1912 during its ill-fated voyage from Liverpool, England to New York City. Margaret was vacationing in Egypt with the Astors, her wealthy friends from the American East Coast. As usual, she was learning about a different culture and living it up by immersing herself in the sights, history and activities of Egypt, including a ride on a camel. In keeping with her adventurous spirit, she could not pass up a conversation with a gypsy fortune teller, who warned her of impending danger from icy, cold waters. Not likely in the hot, sandy dessert, she thought.

When she received a telegram from home with news that her little grandson was ill, Margaret did not hesitate. She cut her travels short and made plans to return home right away to learn his condition and offer whatever support was needed by her son’s family. Her daughter, Helen, who was a student at the Sorbonne University in Paris, had obtained a ticket aboard the Titanic to return home. She gladly turned it over to her mother, to allow her to return to the United States more quickly to check on her grandson. Helen would happily spend more time in Paris. Little did she know that the decision would save her from a potentially fatal ordeal in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, and place her mother, who took her place, in tremendous peril. Although owners of the Titanic bragged that their new steamship was unsinkable, their boasts turned out to be gravely untrue. Instead, as a result of her part in the impending disaster, Helen’s mother became known as the Unsinkable Mrs. J.J. Brown.

For the true story of the Unsinkable Mrs. J.J. Brown — read
“Unsinkable: The Molly Brown Story” by Joyce B. Lohse
Filter Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-86541-081-7, $8.95
See Joyce Lohse’s Events and Appearances for
Titanic Anniversary Celebrations in Colorado.

 

Regrouping in Winter

The Blue Goose - a favorite neon sign cowboys would try to ride back in the Yellowstone glory days

January has always been a time for me to clean out my desk and my brain as I turn the calendar and make plans for a new year. How timely that the Denver Woman’s Press Club invited Cynthia Morris to coach a group of us through the process of focusing on plans and writing notes to hold ourselves accountable for ideas which will make 2012 Our Best Writing Year Ever. The regrouping, re-evaluating, and re-purposing continues as the calendar begins to fill, and I begin to feel the creative juices flowing once again. Watch for magazine articles, presentations, and inclusion in a history compilation coming up very soon.

In the meantime, the search for fun continues during my quest for ways to reach out and touch Western history. The Western National Stock Show provided a step back into cowboy and cowgirl culture and an up close visit with some of the most beautiful livestock around. It was the perfect time to duck into Denver’s Buckhorn Exchange, established in 1893, for a truly decadent meal and a cold beer. Our heads swiveled to take in all of the artifacts surrounding us from the days when Buffalo Bill elbowed his way to the bar, which, by the way, boasts the #1 liquor license in Colorado. Vegetarians be warned. Animal heads of all sorts cover the walls, gazing with glassy eyes upon diners enjoying carnivorous delicacies from the menu. The third element of historic fun in the dead of Colorado winter can be found at the annual Post Card Show at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. The search is on for new images for future projects and re-purposed old ones, specifically an e-book from my original self-published book, A Yellowstone Savage. As my mental batteries recharge, everything is reevaluated. Useless baggage be gone as I move forward unencumbered with a new outlook and a clean(er) desk.

Joyce B. Lohse, 1/20/12
www.LohseWorks.com

 

All is calm, all is bright

Christmas Cactus

As the holidays dwindle down to a few days until Christmas, in the midst of a beautiful Colorado snowstorm, I am enjoying the many ways in which the season surprises and gladdens me. This photo of a Christmas cactus is a perfect example. It is not just any Christmas cactus. It belonged to my mother, and was adopted by a caring friend, who gave it a good home. It is obviously growing and prospering in her care. Links to the past appear in the most amazing ways, whether they be photos from the past or new blossoms on an old plant.

If Santa’s visit is part of your seasonal itinerary, I hope he delivers everything your heart desires. This is a good time to mention my writing bookshelf, those precious resources I consider mandatory to have within easy reach of my desk chair during my working days as a writer.

1. The Associated Press Stylebook -- which lets me know I’m not crazy. All of those rules I learned way back when in Journalism school are still intact. Many of those rules are dead wrong according to the Chicago Book of Style, which sits next to it. But, by golly, I feel affirmed with my trusty AP guide close at hand.

2. Stephen King On Writing — As I told him, I’m not a big fan of his tales of horror, but he sure knows how to live the writer’s life. Furthermore, he passes on his philosophies in a most instructive and educational manner. It is a truly fascinating story about the evolution of a master storyteller.

3. Strunk & White’s Elements of Style — Don’t leave home, or sit at your desk, without it! Small but mighty.

4. Absolutely No Manners: On Having the Audacity to Write Biography, by Susanne George-Bloomfield — a small jewel of a booklet based on a speech by Susanne in Chadron, Nebraska. When my biography pals and I met her at a conference, we surrounded her as if she was a rock star, complete with chants of, “We’re not worthy!” Within this tidy little thome is everything you need to know about writing biography.

5. Biography: The Craft and the Calling, by Catherine Drinker Bowen — If you want to learn more after reading #4, this is your next step. It will fill in any gaps and lead you down the right path toward creating righteous biographical work.

6. Writing and Selling Non-Fiction, by Hayes B. Jacobs — An oldie, but a darn goody.

7. Writer’s Market — Of course. A critical resource for all writers. Acquire an update at least every three years. Just got my new one, Santa, so you don’t need to carry that heavy brick down the chimney for me this year.

Now, if you don’t get the books your heart desires for Christmas, go down to your local bookstore, hold books in your hands, sit down and browse, and buy. Help support your indie bookstores AND writers AND publishers. You’ll be glad you did when we’re all still here a few years down the road.

Joyce Lohse, 12/22/2011
www.LohseWorks.com

 

A Fun Secret Hobby

From time to time, I like to share new ways to enjoy the history and culture of the American West. Can you identify the figure in the image above? I spotted this one while driving through Gallup, New Mexico last year on old Route 66. If you are a Southwesterner, you probably recognize it as a loose rendition of a roadrunner, and this sign is on display to lure weary travelers into a motel along the Mother Road.

Road Runner Motel

Some time ago, I figured out it was great fun to shoot photos of neon signs at night. The advent of digital photography makes this hobby even more tantalizing, due to immediate results in case a do-over is in order. When attached to motels, neon signs usually indicate some sort of funky retro-decor or history related to the structure. One of my favorite signs is in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Since one must drive over Rabbit Ears Pass to enter the town, the significance of this neon art is readily apparent.

Rabbit Ears Motel

I’m not sure what I will do with these photos, if anything, However, it is a fun challenge to photograph them. I plan to take advantage of the long hours of winter darkness to shoot a few more in Denver this winter. I’ve had my eye on an especially attractive Cheshire Cat sign at a veterinary office nearby, which must look dandy at night.

Keep in mind that neon signs can look good in lighted areas as well. Notice the “Lowell’s” sign at Pike Place Market in the previous article about Seattle.

Joyce Lohse, 11/18/11
www.LohseWorks.com

 

A West by Northwest Conference

Fresh Fish at Pike Market in Seattle

Once, again, the annual Women Writing the West Conference has come and gone. This year, the conference entitled “West by Northwest” took us to the Seattle area, one of my favorite parts of the country. We spent our first day seeing the local sites, such as the fabulous flying fish at Pike Public Market, and eating a memorable bowl of clam chowder for lunch at Lowell’s, while we watched the ships and ferries in Puget Sound. It was a great way to relax before beginning the conference, which was a lot of work, but also a great networking and learning experience with many talented writer friends in WWW. This conference is always top notch, and a splendid western adventure to boot.

Ferries -- a common sight in Puget Sound

I often receive questions that remind me that writing conferences take a certain amount of preparation. Some participants do not know what to expect and benefit from a little direction. As manager of personal appointments with agents and editors for registrants, I was asked by two people on the same day about how they should prepare for their appointments, and for networking in general at a writer’s conference. In case others have pondered the same question, here is my response:

“There is no standard for this. A professional writer has their thoughts in order. Introduce yourself and show any books or publications indicative of your talent and background. Then, present a strong case for the project you have in mind, including a succinct description of it along with marketing platform. Mention how this fits into the publisher/agent’s library of works and customers. Ask appropriate questions. Be friendly and business-like. My experience has been that they don’t like to take proposals and papers with them. Instead, they might ask you to send something specific to them. Do it promptly.

“Would it be a good idea to send a thank you note once you return home? I think so. ALSO, bring plenty of business cards or bookmarks, whatever you have with contact information. (I just printed up 100 bookmarks on my inkjet printer). Hand one to your appointment person as you introduce yourself. Also, if you don’t have books, bring cover art, or a special photo or image as a ‘visual aid’, to focus attention on your work and your project. Relax, and have fun.”

I hope this helps — Joyce Lohse
www.LohseWorks.com