THE EDUCATION OF ROSE DAWSON: PART I
Chapter Eight
Accommodation
When Rose awoke the next morning,
she found Miss Howard already up and packing her things. "Good morning,
Miss Dawson. My train doesn’t leave until tonight, but I’m preparing now."
"Where are you taking
it?"
"At a place called Grand
Central."
"Oh, that would be Grand
Central Station. It is on 42nd Street. We passed it yesterday on our
way back to the shelter. You may recall seeing a lot of construction there.
They are building a new station in place of the old one, so trains have been
temporarily relocated to Grand Central Palace on 43rd St."
"If I’d known that, I would
have asked you to take me inside so that I can become acquainted with the
place," said Miss Howard. "I already washed, but I haven’t eaten
breakfast yet. Would you like to join me? I’d like to have at least one more
meal with you."
"I would be delighted
to."
Cadet Hill greeted them.
"Good morning, ladies!" She carried with her the clothes Rose and
Miss Howard had given her to wash the previous day, including Rose’s Büstenhalter,
and returned them to their respective owners. "Miss Howard, I understand
you’re leaving today. I’m so sorry to see you go."
"I really enjoyed the Army’s
hospitality, Miss Hill. I’ll be sad to leave, too."
"Where will you be
going?"
"To a little town called
Albion. I think that’s near Canada."
"Oh, then you must be taking
a New York Central train at Grand Central Palace. The Army has held its Christmas
dinners there, and that was how I arrived here after crossing the border at
Niagara Falls. It will be a long ride, so before you leave, we’d like to
provide you with some extra clothing and money. The Army has received more
donated clothes in the last three days than in the previous three months."
"I really appreciate
that," said Miss Howard.
"Miss Dawson, I heard you
needed a new coat. When you have time, you can come downstairs and I’ll be
happy to show you the ones we’ve collected."
"Thank you, Miss Hill,"
said Rose as she folded and stashed her clean clothes into her locker.
As Commander Booth had promised,
some volunteers from Stuyvesant High School arrived at the shelter to help
repair the leak. They were boys around Rose’s age led by a man who was probably
their teacher. They passed by Rose and Miss Howard on their way upstairs,
saying good morning on the way. Miss Howard returned their greeting, but Rose
only nodded courteously.
*****
After breakfast, Cadet Hill met
them again outside the dining hall with some good news. "Miss Dawson, it
appears that you’ll be able to sleep in your own room tonight. Our volunteers
have almost finished the repairs to the leaky roof, but they’re still working
on the ceilings in each room. You can go upstairs to see for yourself later.
It’s on the fourth floor."
"Thank you, Miss Hill."
"Now, please come with me to
pick out a new coat." Cadet Hill led Rose to a room where the Army kept
its donated clothes, which were separated by article. There were a good number
of coats and jackets available. Rose slowly looked them over, and then decided
on a single breasted jacket with dual pockets that was slightly longer than
Cal’s. So many good quality clothes have been donated. The Army must be good
at soliciting donations from the rich.
Rose and Miss Howard then went
upstairs to see her new sleeping quarters. The volunteers from Stuyvesant were
in the middle of their work and talking among themselves about Titanic
when Rose and Miss Howard stopped at the entrance. The man and Brigadier Bown
were there to supervise the work. None of them noticed that they had company.
"…almost sixteen hundred
dead in the last count out of twenty-two hundred people on board,"
remarked one volunteer, who was mixing something that looked like cement in a
pan.
"They would have saved more
people if they’d filled all the boats to capacity," said the other, who
was waiting for his friend to finish mixing so that he could apply it to the
ceiling.
"Many of the boats were only
half-filled," said the first volunteer. "Or even less."
And only one came back!
"Let’s watch what we say
now," said the man, who looked about forty, and was tall with a thin
build, slightly receding hairline, and a light mustache. "Some of the guests
here survived the disaster, and they wouldn’t want to hear you talk about it so
casually."
Rose and Miss Howard decided to
make their presence known. They walked into the room to study the repairs and
imagine how much better it would be compared to sleeping in the corridor.
Brigadier Bown noticed them
first. "Miss Dawson, Miss Howard! Good morning! Ladies, I’d like you to
meet the volunteers who are helping to repair the water leak." She turned
to the boys. "Could our worthy young gentlemen kindly introduce
themselves?"
"Solomon Schwartz,"
said the first one, who was short with fair hair.
"John Burkowski," said
the second one, who was taller with dark hair.
"And I’m Mr. Word,"
said the man. "I teach physical science at Stuyvesant High School. Today
I’m leading the volunteers here."
Rose and Miss Howard also
introduced themselves and shook hands with all of them. "That’s very kind
of you and your boys, Mr. Word," praised Miss Howard.
"It’s the least we can do to
help," said Mr. Word. "We have several more volunteers in the other
rooms and on the roof helping with repairs."
"Unfortunately, I won’t be
able to enjoy it," said Miss Howard. "I’m leaving New York tonight.
So Miss Dawson will have this room all to herself."
"Well, we’re sorry you can’t
experience our workmanship, Miss Howard. Now we’ll leave it all to Miss Dawson
to provide us with her impression." Mr. Word smiled at Rose.
"I am sure you and your boys
have done a fine job," said Rose halfheartedly.
*****
Rose and Miss Howard left the
volunteers to finish their work and returned to the lobby. "I have to go
to the bank to open an account, Miss Howard. After that, I am going with
Commander Booth to visit Mrs. Abbott at St. Vincent’s Hospital. Would you like
to join me?"
Miss Howard became excited.
"Yes! I met Mrs. Abbott on the ship." Then her face saddened.
"Pity that she lost her two sons. The crew let her board the lifeboat I
was in, but not her sons. So she stayed behind and almost died herself."
Rose put a hand on Miss Howard’s
shoulder to console her. "I was in the same predicament, Miss Howard. I
could have boarded a lifeboat, too, but I refused to leave my family
behind."
"I don’t blame you and Mrs.
Abbott for staying behind because family is more important than anything. But
I’m angry that most of the lifeboats weren’t filled up. I saw that and you must
have seen it, too."
"Yes, I did." I
certainly did. "We will meet here at noon. I will look for you
then."
"Just look what’s ahead of
you on the street when you walk," Miss Howard said mischievously.
"I will."
Miss Howard returned upstairs to
continue packing, while Rose returned to the receptionist’s desk to retrieve
her valuables from the safe. After doing so, she left the shelter and headed
west on 15th Street. When she and Miss Howard stopped by Union
Square the previous day, she had glimpsed a bank across the street from the
park and remembered its location.
Twenty minutes later, she arrived
at the entrance to the bank at the corner of East 15th Street and
Union Square East. It was housed inside a neo-classical building, on the front
and side of which the words "Union Square Savings Bank" were carved
near the top of the building. She went inside and waited in front of a
manager’s desk to open a new account.
The Union Square Savings Bank Building (20 Union Square East) in
1930
Landmark designation in 1996
"Good morning, miss. How may
I be of assistance to you today?" asked a short, bespectacled, and
well-dressed man who appeared to be one of the managers of the bank.
"Good day, sir. I would like
to open a new savings account, as well as a safe deposit account."
"I can help you with
that." The man sat Rose down in front of his desk and took out some
papers. "Now, if you would kindly fill in your name and address, we can
start processing your application."
Rose did as she was instructed,
and handed the completed application back to the manager. He studied it
carefully. "Miss Dawson, it states here that your current address is the
Salvation Army Women’s Rescue Home at 316 East 15th Street. Would
you have a more permanent address?"
"I wish I did, but I just
lost my family in the Titanic sinking, and the shelter took me in. The
money and valuables I would like to entrust to this bank are all I have left,
apart from my clothes."
At the mention of Titanic,
the manager froze. "Oh, I’m very sorry to hear of your bereavement, Miss
Dawson. All of us at the Union Square Savings Bank share in the mourning for
the victims of the disaster, and would like to do what we can do assist the
survivors. In that case, I shall expedite your application and set up two
accounts for you immediately."
"That is very kind of you,
Mister…"
"Adolph Hessler at your
service, Miss Dawson. Now, how much would you like to put into your savings
account?"
Rose had two hundred twenty-five
dollars with her minus the roundtrip train fare she spent the previous day
riding the El. She decided to keep twelve dollars in bills (after breaking them
down) plus all of her coins for herself, and presented the rest to Mr. Hessler.
"My family’s life savings," she said.
"We’ll take good care of it
for you, Miss Dawson." Mr. Hessler took out two forms and began to write
on them. Then he handed both of them to Rose, who saw that they already had
some of her personal information on them. "The first form is for the
savings account, and the second is for the safe deposit box. Now, if you can
kindly sign both of them, we can proceed."
After making sure all her
information was correct, Rose signed both forms and returned them to Mr.
Hessler.
Mr. Hessler wrote Rose’s name
inside a booklet and gave it to her. "Now, please sign here," he
instructed Rose, who complied. "This pass-book tells you the amount of
money you have in your savings account. If you want to make a deposit or
withdrawal, you must bring it with you."
"Thank you, Mr.
Hessler."
"You’re welcome, Miss
Dawson. As for the safe deposit box, the rent is six dollars a year, but
because of your special situation, I’ll waive the fee for the first year."
"That is most kind of you,
Mr. Hessler."
"Really, it’s the least we
can do."
Rose signed on the signature lines
for both forms. She almost signed her old name, but quickly corrected herself.
It was the first time she signed as Rose Dawson. After she returned the forms
to him, Mr. Hessler examined both and seemed satisfied. "Now, please
follow me to the safe deposit boxes."
He led Rose to the basement,
which housed the vault, and picked an empty one out for Rose and left her alone
for the moment. Rose took her valuables out of her bag and unwrapped the
newspaper holding them to ensure that the Heart of the Ocean, the earrings, and
the Iowa letter were still there. Seeing that they were, she rewrapped the
newspaper and put its contents inside the box. She noted its number: 1297. Please
keep the contents safe for me, Box Number 1297. As safe as Cal’s jacket.
Mr. Hessler returned just as she
had finished with her business with a key in his hand. He locked the safe for
Rose before giving her the key. "This key is bank property, Miss Dawson,
but it’s for you to keep as long as you maintain a safe with us. Note that it has
the number of the safe engraved on it. When you want to access your safe,
you’ll have to bring the key with you, or else we won’t know which one is
yours."
"I understand, Mr.
Hessler."
"Now, let’s return to the
vault." Mr. Hessler led Rose back to the vault, where he put her box into
its designated slot and locked it. "Your valuables will be safe here, I
promise you," he stated confidently. "Is there anything else I can do
for you, Miss Dawson? Just name it."
"That will be all for today,
Mr. Hessler. You have been of great assistance."
"My pleasure, Miss
Dawson." Mr. Hessler took a card from his desk and gave it to Rose.
"In case you need anything in the future, here is my business card. If I’m
not here, the rest of our staff will be happy to assist you."
Rose gratefully accepted the
card. "Thank you for everything, Mr. Hessler." She shook his hand and
left the bank with her new pass-book and safe deposit box key.