Volunteer divers are exploring a spot in the Chicago River, Chicago, IL, in search of wreckage from the "Cursed Cruise of Telephony." They hope to find pieces of the SS Eastland, an excursion steamer that capsized in 1915, killing over 800 people. The Eastland story will be part of an exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in February.

We first heard the horrifying story of the Eastland while on a dinner cruise down the Hudson River, on a ship packed mostly with retired AT&T employees. An elderly Telephone Pioneer gentleman (who we'll call "Old Bill") standing near our table described it as the "greatest maritime disaster of the Great Lakes," and in the style of the craggy captain from "Jaws," spun his tale of horror:

"On the morning of July 24, 1915, a boat loaded with Western Electric employees, their wives and children cast off" for a day-long cruise with music and merriment. After pulling away from the pier, "something went wrong, and the boat capsized." Of more than 2,500 crowded on board, 812 (or was it 844?) people went down with the steamer.

"After this, the company never sponsored another family cruise."

But what caused the ship to flip? Old Bill wasn't positive, but he had "heard they all ran over to one side of the boat." On our Hudson cruise a few minutes later, all the Telephone Pioneers rushed to one side of our boat when we passed the giant Colgate clock in Jersey City. We did not capsize.

February 10, 2012

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