Joe's conversation with Uncle Martin continued for sometime, talking about when he was young, sharing stories about his family, places he had traveled and his job as an Iron Worker when he first came to New York City years ago.
The conversation quickly turned when Uncle Martin excitably spoke up,
"I was going to tell you in my mind, about when the Titanic sunk, (there was a long pause), now that's the big story to tell you!"
Uncle Martin eagerly goes on, "Well, I was out there when it sunk, (pause) I was just a young kid, (pause) it's kind of a long story, (pause) but my father went out there fishing in a little boat, with a buddy. My mother, she had the other children and went to the farm, well, we called it a farm, which was a little ways from the house."
"My father, he had his friend, and they had to take me with them." Reflecting on that experience, Uncle Martin questioned in disbelieve, "What were they going to do with me?, See I was a young kid, about 8 or 9, I was the youngest of the whole crew."
"They would put me down in the bottom of the boat, you know, down in the cuddy hole, that's right, that's right", he repeats as he reminisces .
"I will never forget that, never."
My Uncle Ray explains, that back in 1912 when the RMS Titanic sunk 350 miles off the southeast coast of Newfoundland, information or news about such an event traveled "around the bay" by "word of mouth". People in that area mainly relied on what had been passed along without knowing all of the details about the tragic event but eager to help anyway they could.
Uncle Martin was actually 12 years old at the time the Titanic sunk, but for an old man of 93 years the event left an impression in his memory, that he wanted to share with his great nephew Joe who came to visit him one summer in 1993. Joe, who just happened to tape record the visit for his father, and who I was able to hunt down and who share the tape with me so I could then share this story with all who are interested!
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