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Terra King 03-05-10

Survivor's Descendant  Visits Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition at Luxor Terra King National Independent Movie Reviews.
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Featured Writer Examiner.com Survivor's Descendent  Visits Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition at Luxor
Coverage and photos by Terra King

Luxor had a rare visitor on Friday February 26th. Thomas W. Goldsmith was given a special private tour of the history rich Titanic Exhibit at Luxor where he shared family stories.

Thomas' grandfather, Frankie Goldsmith and great grandfather Frank Goldsmith were aboard the ill-fated ocean liner. On April 14th-15th, 1912 the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank. It was her maiden voyage.

Frank J. Goldsmith was traveling with his son, Frank John William Goldsmith and Frank Junior's  wife Emily. Frank Sr.'s friend Thomas Theobald, and the son of a family friend, Alfred Rush were also on board. The group traveled third class.

During the tour, Thomas W. Goldsmith answered questions and shared his knowledge about Titanic.

A small group consisting of Thomas W. Goldsmith, his wife, a tour guide, and myself entered the exhibit. The first thing we heard was a recording of the horn of the Titanic. There is a soundtrack for each section of the exhibit. It makes for a dramatic and often eerie tour.

With the encouragement of his wife, Tom travels to as many Titanic exhibits as possible. The exhibit in Detroit was  particularly interesting as his great grandfather was moving his family there via the Titanic.

Q. Are you going on the 100th anniversary cruise?

A. We are trying to make the trip. We've been in contact with the company doing the tour for about a year and a half. My Uncle Frank was planning on making the trip also, but his wife just passed away so I don't know if he can make the trip or not.

Q. What memories did you grandfather have of the crossing on Titanic?

A. My grandfather was 9 years old at the time.  He talked about walking down Main St. and talking to the firemen and stokers, (who shoveled the coal). They were his heroes. As far as the cruise, he never mentioned much about the sinking except that the crash wasn't what woke him up.  It was the silence after the crash. There was sounds always going on, and when the motors stopped turning, it got very quiet. It was four and a half days and nights of constant noise. It was like an alarm clock, the lack of sound.

Q.. Was your grandfather scared when the ship hit the iceberg?

A. Like I said, my grandfather was 9 years old. He didn't feel scared.  He was actually excited because he thought the lifeboats would be 'cool'. In the lifeboat he never really expressed a lot of fear. Afterward  he experienced some fear. After they were in the lifeboats, as my wife mentioned, they heard all the people in the water. When he was older, he couldn't  go near the sea.  He couldn't go to stadiums. He lived close to  the stadium in Ashland, Ohio. That sound, you know, he just couldn't  take it.

Q. When did you grandfather pass away?

A. He died on the 27th of January 1982.  I think I was in elementary school.

Q. I have other questions.  But first I would like to ask...if this is overwhelming or hard to talk about?

A. I only had one grandfather, and he would tell me his stories. Not all at once, but in little snippets. These exhibits...now before his death he kept up on everything, you know as far as them trying to find the site Titanic sank. He knew one day they would get there. If they every brought anything back, he wanted his cap pistol. Now the story with the cap pistol is that when they were packing up in England, he traded his best top for a cap pistol with one of the other kids.  He took it home and showed it to his mom. When his mom saw it, she told him to take it back.  She didn't want him to have it. Well, out in the yard...and we're talking about a very small area, there was a crate with a sewing machine in it. In that crate was that cap pistol. He had hide it. He said if they ever brought stuff back he wanted that cap pistol back. We were at an exhibit one time, and in one of the glass cases there was a cap pistol. That  was really cool for me to see. It didn't matter if it was his or whose it was.  I'd never seen one from that era.

Q. Someone asked Tom something about the film 'Titanic.'

A. So many people ask me if Rose was real, especially talking to students.

Tom stated, "It doesn't matter how many times I see one piece or another, I love history.  I really love seeing this stuff. I actually bought some coins from 1912 for my collection, gold coins, because it represents the time they came from.

To that, the Tour Guide added, 'We have some currency coming up on the tour.”

Tom's wife said that 'her and their kids' favorite part was touching the iceberg most of the exhibits have, to see how cold it would have been that night.

As we were looking at some of the China brought up from the ship, Tom said,  "I have one of the cups...it came over after the sinking. It came with his grand parents that were still living over there.  (After looking in the case of different plates and cups, the tour guide mentions that she likes the items). Tom said how functional they were. There was an egg cup. A comment was made that they aren't even used anymore.

While standing by a case with utensils etc, Tom said " Now, this is stuff my grandfather may have touched...that gives me chills.

Tom and his wife were then given a chance to stand on the replica of the grand staircase for photos. They, of course, took advantage of this rare opportunity. (see photos) This photo is even more significant as it was their 25th wedding anniversary.

Next, the group came to the case with the aforementioned currency.  There is also a Vegas connection... some playing cards brought up from the wreck. Tom, again, spoke of the currency and coins he collects. Also in the case with the currency was a tiny little dice... very small. It's amazing that it was found.

Tom discussed how the wood was eaten away. However, so much paper survived...the playing cards, the currency, even letters.

Q. Are you aware that the grand staircase from the Olympic (sister ship of the Titanic with an identical staircase) was salvaged and is on display in a bar in Scotland?

A. I've heard that. Violet Jessup was aboard the Titanic and the Olympic during accidents. (After some research, I found she was also on the Britannic, another sister ship.) What they did with the Titanic is they took the cream of the crop (speaking of the crew,) and what happened was, they hadn't worked together...a lot of them. They weren't quite sure what to do. The lifeboat drill was supposed to take place on the April 14th, but with the cold they didn't want to interrupt passengers' lives and inconvenience them. There are a lot of things written about the Titanic...that she was trying to go too fast. It was a work up trip, so they increased the speed, day to day to day. It was 20 miles south of the shipping lanes at the time, so it wasn't that they were being dangerous. And the other misconception I find interesting is that the Marconi officers didn't work for White Star Line.  They worked for Marconi and made their money from passenger messages. They had no responsibility to the White Star Line ship.  (Laughing, Tom asks a Titanic historian that had joined the group early on, if he knew about this.  The man laughed and said he was surprised that someone was talking about it.)

The first talk Tom ever gave was in front of a genealogy  group. 'I was so nervous that I had all this stuff printed out , pages and pages and pages of notes, trying to remember everything. And so, I started it, and this was the old printer paper and it was as thick as a book. I went through one page and threw it aside. I told them this is a big part of history in my family. Every family has some. There is something in everybody's family. Take the time to find out what that thing is...that's why I do it. I appreciate people who are doing stuff, to take the time to show people what things were like back then...the differences now and why it was important. Our society today is so much different than it was back then.

A sign on the wall of one of the rooms stated that in today's money.   A first class room would have cost $40,000 dollars.

Tom mentioned that his grandfather actually had his boarding pass that was stamped through, with Titanic printed on it. He also mentioned a book his grandfather wrote, entitled "Echoes in the Night."

Q. Is your grandfather's book still in print?

A. They did another printing, but I'm not sure when it was.

Q.  Have you considered writing your own book?

A. We've talked about it as a family. We have things like some recordings, and personal stories of some of the family members.

Q. When James Cameron won his Academy award for his film version of Titanic, he thanked everyone in the world, except the victims. Did you notice that, or .....

A. I don't pay too much attention to Hollywood. I don't think it was a slight to passengers. I think he was thanking all the people involved in the movie, and probably everyone who went to see the movie and how many survivors were left.  I've met Robert Ballard. He discovered it and he was doing a talk at Akron at the time and anytime that anyone asked about the Titanic he didn't want to answer the question.  He said, "I'm not here for that." I don't take offense to it.

What would hurt my feelings more is if everything was brought up and sold to private people. I can't speak for my grandfather or for my family, but he knew they would get down there and bring things back. I don't think he would have any problems with people bringing artifacts up. I think he might have a problem if it was a profit making operation.

Q. Is it true that RMS Titanic cannot sell any of the artifacts?

A. They are under court order not to sell off items . They can sell a collection to a museum. It can't be a private individual, from my understanding. I'm not privy to all information of what's going on. There are other countries that are trying to lay claims also. Another wild theory is that the White Star line made all kinds of money off this sinking. 75% of the ship was self insured, and, you know...they didn't make anything off of it. White Star was actually owned by International Mercantile, which was a J.P. Morgan Company.  So,  in a round about way it was an Irish build ship, English run and American owned.

The Strauss' were in business with Macys. When my grandfather arrived in NY, the Macys came and picked up my grandfather and others  and gave them things they needed. My cousin still has the trunk they the items came in. They gave them clothes and things they needed. So, I thought  this was pretty interesting because their  business partners went down on the ship a few days before. One day if I ever get to NY, I'd like to thank the people of NY. They really went above and beyond at the time for the people who were on the ship. Most of them were immigrants with nothing. My great grandmother lost just about every thing they owned.  They lost their bread winner... almost all their money. You know, they lost so much on that....the New York American.  I believe it was a paper and they took up a collection for survivors and they actually got survivor benefits from that, more than from the White Star Line.

Afterwards the tour guide mentioned the elevators on the Titanic, Tom stated "No one knows this , but the elevators on the Titanic were made by Otis Elevators.  They still make elevators today. I always get a kick out of that".

Walking into yet another room of artifacts, Tom asked about the items in one case. 'That's a camera tripod' the tour guide responded. Tom was excited by this, and said 'My grandfather owned a camera store. He loved photography. He ran the shop for 25 years.  He would have loved seeing these.”

Speaking with an employee of the Titanic exhibit, Tom was told that they just traded out the paper currency and brought in other currency. Paper is particularly hard to preserve. After being at the bottom of the ocean for over 90 years, it's amazing any is still in existence. Some of other paper items, such as letters and journals, are still partially readable.

Ironically, as Tom says, a major Suffragette  movement was afoot. The movement seemed to go out the window with the 'women and children first' policy of the sea. 'My grandfather told the story of Alfred Rush, who was the son of a family friend (the family was already in the states. The Goldsmiths were taking him to his new home.) April 14th was Alfred's 16th birthday;  the first time he was ever allowed to wear long pants. When Mrs. Goldsmith and young Frank were guided into the lifeboat, a crew member took Rush's arm to guide him in with the family. He pulled away and said, 'I am a man and I will stay with the men.' Tom Goldsmith remarked 'what 16 year old boy today would make that life and death decision and choose death?' Kids' decisions are about how much money they get from mom and dad. This young man yanked his arm back and said,  “Today I am a man.” I can't fathom that.  It was a different era, a different time. There are things we could take from back then and use today.

Q. What did you end up doing as a career?

A. I'm an electrician. I love photography and I've won awards. I would have loved to have worked in the photography store, but they closed it in '73.  I was ten years old, so I never had a chance...You know, I've been to the store a few times and I remember little bits and pieces. Had I been older, maybe I could have helped out or worked in the store. But I love photography. Ironically, she (his wife) takes all the pictures anymore because I like black and white.

Passing a case of champagne that was brought up from Titanic, Tom revealed, "I've never seen the champagne, but I've seen the olives'.

"When the ship sank, Franks mother covered his eyes.  The ship came back up one more time and blocked out the stars.  People said, 'it's going to float! Tom believes Franks mother uncovered his eyes at this point.

One of the recreations at the exhibit is that of the railing of the huge ship. The stars are shining in the distance. When you look over the railing to where the water would be, it's pitch black.

Q. Did you see the touring exhibit at the Queen Mary?

A. No.

As it turns out, the artifacts at the Luxor are from that touring exhibit.

The tour guide then explained that the only piece of Titanic that can be purchased through the exhibit are pieces of coal. The ship was full of coal and it was found strewn all over the debris field.

One of the last of the rooms has an iceberg, a huge chunk of ice that one can touch. Tom and I had a bit of a contest to see who could leave their hand on it the longest....I lost miserably. Tom kept his hand there for at least ten minutes, I was numb after about two. This reproduction of an iceberg is to illustrate the horrid cold that the survivors had to endure. It also shows what a horrible death the victims experienced.  They most probably died of hypothermia before they had a chance to drown.

Q. Did your grandfather ever say anything about the iceberg? Obviously, he didn't see it because he was asleep.

A. No, not other than he would tell the stories of the kids kicking the ice around the deck and I'm not really sure if he saw that or if he heard about it afterward. He talked about right after hitting the water in the lifeboat. When the ship was sinking, my great grandmother held his head to her breast so he wouldn't see it. When the people saw the ship come back up momentarily, someone said it was going to float and he looked....he saw the ship sink. He went to sleep not too long after that. I'm not sure...I mean, people were screaming, but I'm not sure how long that lasted. The first thing he remembered was waking up and looking out what he thought was a porthole. It turned out to be an eyelet from the canvas side of the lifeboat.

Now, the story I told you about the fireman and the stokers.  Well there was a gentleman, a fireman named Sam Collins....he survived. Well, on the Carpathia, my great grandmother who was a seamstress. She was able to sew clothes. Mr. Collins came to ask if she wanted him to take my grandfather with him to keep him occupied so she and some of the ladies she organized could sew, (they made clothing for some of the passengers who escaped with just night clothing.)  He told his grandfather "Your dad will be in NY when we get there," stuff like that. Sam Collin  took him under his wing.

Grandfather got to talk to the crew members on the Carpathia.  He got to eat dinner with them. One time during a meal, one of the crew told Sam Collins, "I don't feel right telling sea stories in front of Frankie.  He's not a seaman. So Sam made up a ritual.  What it was, was a water glass filled with vinegar, raw egg and water. He told my grandfather that if he could hold it down, he would be a seaman. He managed to keep the concoction down. Anyway, when they were in Detroit, Sam Collins would come and see him, the last time my grandfather saw him was in 1914, which was the wedding day of his mother. His mother got remarried, I can't remember the name of her new husband. I have brain farts and I can't remember things...Anyway, she got remarried that day. Frankie was outside crying, because on some level that meant his father wasn't coming back. Sam Collins comforted him for the last time that day.

Tom told a story about a baker who was on the Titanic, as we were near a case with a baker's hat. This particular baker was at the back (stern) of the ship, actually where Rose was in the film Titanic, where they rode the ship to the sea.

Q. Was it hard for you to watch that last scene in Titanic, as the ship went down?

A. I get emotional about different things, I don't really remember my reaction to that. It's always bitter sweet because I know my grandfather lost his dad.  But at some point I think....I have a scrap book at home my father kept of different  articles from 1912 on. There was one I can't find anymore, but it was handwritten on a .....It was from a survivor in Canada and he couldn't find his name on the list and he wrote a note to his family to say he was fine. I think at this point my grandfather still thought his father survived.

There was an item in a case that caught our attention and Tom wondered out loud if it could have belonged to Molly Brown (I can't remember the item, but it was some clothing of some kind.) Tom spoke of how she was a rags to riches story. She wasn't accepted into the upper.....she was new money.

In the next room there is a large model of what the ship looked like when she was found in 1987. It is very rusted, very sad looking, and also an amazingly good representation of the photos I've seen of the sunken ship.  

I asked the tour guide how long each item stays in the exhibit?

A. They're permanent, We don't change them. For conservation reasons, they might change something out, but only if there is condensation forming....Each sealed case has an instrument inside to gauge the humidity in the case.

The last and most amazing event of the Titanic exhibit is known as 'the big piece.' It is the largest piece of Titanic to have ever been brought up. It is mostly flat with some metal works sticking out from the back. It can be viewed front and then back. There are portholes on the piece. Some still have pieces of glass attached.

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