Yesterday, I visited the Titanic Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts. Now, when I say "museum", what image pops to mind? For me, I picture a giant white stone building with granite steps leading up to an enormous wooden door flanked by gothic columns. Sound about right?
Well, this museum is a little different.
The museum has a nice website that does a great job of building interest, and providing the prospective visitor with appropriate information, which we perused before our visit. We plugged their address into our GPS, and we were off.
Once we got close, we kept our eyes peeled for signs for the museum or it's parking area. But when the GPS announced "you have arrived", we saw nothing that looked like a museum. There were houses and an empty field. There was the a funeral home, and Henry's Jewelry. There was a "Community Survival Center", which, I'm sure, has a fascinating story of its own.
But no where could we spot anything that looked like a museum.
I scoured the website for a phone number, while my daughter did some googling. She was faster than I was, finding a review of the museum that mentioned it was in the back of a jewelry store.
Ah. Right. Henry's Jewelry.
OK, I thought, must be a small museum, probably set up in that house right next to Henry's. Once we're on foot, surely we'll see some signage and a door to the museum. Maybe they even share a door.
Well, I was right on that last count. Henry's Jewelry does, indeed, share a door with the Titanic Museum... because the museum is inside Henry's Jewelry.
Now you're probably thinking that Henry's must be one heck of a jewelry store, if an entire Titanic museum fits inside of it, right?
You'd be wrong about that. Here's Henry's:
Not what you were expecting, I'll bet??
As we walked toward Henry's, we looked for a sign to direct us to the museum entrance, or at least to give us some clue that there was, in fact, a Titanic museum on the premises. It wasn't until I reached for the door handle that I finally found the sign. Look closely at the door. Closer. Closer.
See that 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper next to the "Open" sign? That's the museum signage. You're going to have to trust me on this, since the image quality isn't sufficient to read it. It says "Titanic Museum", and gives info about the exhibits we'll find inside.
By this time, we had very little faith that this museum would be worth our time, but we pushed on, thinking we'd at least get a good story!
Stepping into the store felt a little like stepping into the past. The glass display cases to your left contain a handful of vintage jewelry pieces, while to your right, your attention is split between a collection of faded album jackets and brightly-colored, modern greeting cards. The overhead florescent lightbulbs cast harsh shadows, without benefit of the accent lighting used in modern shops. Straight ahead, you catch a glimpse of the back room, with a small desk and kitchenette.
The store is deserted, and we pause just inside the door, glancing around for hints of the Titanic museum. Not sure how to proceed, I think about yelling out "Hello", but before I do, a women appears from the back room, and greets us with a smile.
"Um, we're looking for the Titanic Museum," I tell her.
"Sure, right this way!", she tells us. We follow her to the back room.
It's a cramped space, as you might expect of the back room of a jewelry store, and we can immediately see that it's overflowing with Titanic memorabilia. The walkways are narrow, and with three or four other patrons already inside, it's close quarters. We pay our $7 entrance fee, and begin perusing the artifacts.
It doesn't take long to realize that this museum is a gem that is well-hidden beneath a shady back-room façade. We start by reading the hand-written journal entries of a titanic survivor. It's fascinating to hear her talk of the launch, and how the ship experienced a minor scrape as she pulled away from port. The journal pages are surrounded by a scarf and hair pins used by this women during her voyage.
There's a display that tells us about the three dogs (two Pomeranians and a Pekinese) that survived the sinking, including photos of all three, and notes about which lifeboat they were on. One dog was wrapped in a blanket by his owner, and was mistaken for a baby by rescuers! We learned that owner's had to purchase tickets for their dogs, and we saw a ticket for a pug who apparently went down with the ship.
The museum has intact china from both the first-class and second-class dining rooms. There are dioramas, models and blue prints, and lots of information about the Titanic's sister ships: the Britannic and the Olympic.
My favorite artifact was a Canadian newspaper published on April 16, 1912, one day after the sinking. The front page proclaims in oversized type that all passengers on the Titanic were rescued. It goes on to state that the ship would remain afloat indefinitely, and that a tug boat would be dispatched to tow it in to harbor. I realize that communications were slower in 1912 than they are today, but the gross inaccuracies of this newspaper were shocking, all the same. I imagine they spent the next several days printing retractions.
Although the museum is small, there is a much to see, and an hour slipped by quickly. The museum keeper, the same friendly woman who greeted us at the door, is a wealth of information, and eagerly shares her knowledge.
Turns out her brother, Edward Kamuda, founded the museum, along with its parent, the Titanic Historical Society. As a teenager, Edward became interested in the story of the Titanic through books and movies. It became a life-long passion for him, and he founded the Titanic Historical Society in 1963. He made contact with many Titanic survivors and remained in contact with some for the rest of his life.
Edward collected memorabilia related to the Titanic, and published a newsletter with stories about the disaster, along with copies of photos. His resources were widely used by the media, including the television program, In Search Of.
Edward's work was so influential that he was involved in the making of James Cameron's 1997 movie, including an appearance as an extra. In one scene, you can see Edward and his wife strolling along the deck behind lead actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
This little museum is the embodiment of the line from J.R.R. Tolkien's' poem in Lord of the Rings: "All that is gold does not glitter". There's no glitter here, but there's plenty of gold. Sometimes you gotta look for the good stuff where ever it may be hiding. In this case, in the back room of a jewelry store.
I love finding these little gems. Don't you?
Kimba
About the Author
Kimberlee Martin is a free-lance writer with a background in software development. In addition to the miscellaneous musings she posts here, she writes a technical blog on Microsoft Access and Excel at www.northportsolutionsllc.com.
Kim can be reached at kimba1228@gmail.com.
© Kimberlee Martin, 2023. All rights reserved.
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