ONE LUCKY GIRL
Chapter Two
April 5, 1912
Closing my suitcase with a click,
I sighed and took one last glance around my small, bare bedroom. Plain as it was,
I knew I would miss it. It was the room I shared with two of my siblings, Anna
and Rosemary. They were too young to work for decent pay, so when Mother fell
too ill to work, it was up to me to support the family. I was leaving for
Southampton that morning to board the R.M.S. Titanic.
When mother had fallen ill the
previous week, which the doctor informed us would prevent her from working
again, I'd swallowed my sadness and walked into town to search for a job. I'd
had a job before, as a stewardess aboard the Titanic's sister ship, the R.M.S.
Olympic. The pay was good, the work reasonable, but the ship had collided to
the British war ship H.M.S. Hawke, and had limped back into Southampton with
damage that would need emergency repairs. I and most of the staff of the ship
were dismissed from our jobs.
With experience aboard the
Olympic under my belt, I'd applied for a position as a stewardess aboard her
sister ship, the Titanic, for her maiden voyage. With a previous record of
experience, I was hired. I was delighted to be earning a wage I could send home
to my family, and not the least bit worried. You'd think that after surviving
the near-sinking of the R.M.S. Olympic, I'd be driven away from working on any
ship, let alone the Olympic’s sister ship. But I was not easily scared at the
best of times, and what helped was that the Titanic was unsinkable. Of course
this ship was completely safe; it was a huge, unsinkable structure. The biggest
in the world. And surely any ship that could be given such a title was as safe
as houses.
And with that security, I packed
my suitcase on the morning of April 5, 1912 and set off for Southampton.
Joining me on the trip was my liver-spotted Dalmatian, Chessie. She was an
ex-carriage dog who had been abandoned by her previous owners when she broke a
bone in her paw and couldn’t run behind the carriage anymore. I rescued her, as
I could never see an animal in distress and not do anything to help. I named
her Chessie after her spots. Liver-spotted Dalmatians were sometimes considered
not to be purebred dogs, but they were just as purebred as black-spotted
Dalmatians. But anyway, her spots were a wonderful chestnut brown. I did
consider calling her Chestnut, but it didn’t sound right, so I just called her
Chessie for short. My little brother Frank said I should call her Nutty for
short instead, as she sometimes did act strangely. Chessie would be staying in
the ship’s kennels with the other dogs. Her passage was free, courtesy of the
White Star Line, as I was an employee. So Chessie and I were both going to see
the land of opportunity that was America, on board the grandest ship in the
world.
I felt my stomach ache with
sadness as I said good-bye to my mother and siblings.
"You take care, Vi," my
mother told me as she hugged me tight.
"I will, Mother," I
replied tearfully. "And I'll send home my wages when I reach New
York."
"Oh, Violet, I wish you
didn't have to work so hard. Your job nearly cost you your life last year. I
can't think why on earth you want to set foot on another ship."
"You've seen the
advertisements in the papers, Mother. The Titanic is unsinkable. Don't worry.
I'll be perfectly safe."
"Well, all the same, you
can't stop me from worrying."
Well, Mother could worry all she
liked, but I was unfazed by working on a ship. In fact, I was buzzing with
excitement at working on the largest, grandest ship in the world. I did feel
important! Who cares if I was just a stewardess? I felt just as important as
those posh aristocrats in first class. I was a girl with a thirst for adventure,
so the added bonus was the fact that I'd get to see New York! I was originally
born in the Argentine, so I'd traveled a little. But I'd always felt the need
to see the world, to explore. What's the point of living if you're not going to
live a little? The Titanic gave me that opportunity. The freedom to travel on
the grandest ship in the world with a decent pay and the security of knowing
that I was on board a ship God couldn't sink. Jackpot!
April 7, 1912
After a smooth journey down to
Southampton, I spent the remainder of the time prior to boarding preparing for
the trip. I'd received my uniform for the trip, and was delighted to be wearing
crisp new clothes with barely a crease. I'd rarely had brand new clothes. I'd
always been given hand-me-down clothes or had made them myself from bolts of
cheap fabric. This smooth new black dress and white pinafore was like an early
Christmas present. I adored it.
I was told by the White Star Line
that the regulations required me to wear my hair pinned up. I'd groaned in
dismay. I'd always liked my thick auburn hair tumbling down my back. It made me
feel wonderfully feminine. I'd always detested my hair piled up on top of my
head, held into place with pins. But who was I to question the rules? If I
complained, they could easily replace me with a snap of their fingers. There
were plenty of people wanting to work aboard the Titanic. I was hardly an asset
to them. But I could live with my hair up. What mattered was that my family
would have food on the table and a roof over their heads. And with that thought
in my head, I was ready to work.
April 10, 1912
The day the Titanic was to set
sail, and my first day of work, was a busy one. I left the small inn I was
staying in close to the harbor and went to the White Star Line office early in
the morning with Chessie beside me, a makeshift leash around her neck--a piece
of rope loaned by the innkeeper--to see where they wanted me to be. I wasn’t
the only employee eager to start work, for when I arrived at the office, there
was a small group gathered outside the doors waiting to receive their marching
orders. I nervously joined them, eager to prove myself worthy of the job.
Within a few minutes, a man in a
White Star Line uniform came out to address us. He cleared his throat loudly to
get our attention, and we quieted to hear him speak.
"Thank you all for coming so
early. It will give all of us more time to prepare for the coming voyage,"
he said with a warm smile. "Now, the ship will set sail at exactly noon,
which should give you all a chance to settle in and begin working. Here is what
will happen..." And he began giving out instructions to people for various
jobs. I waited until he finally said, "And finally, stewards and
stewardesses, please follow me and I will take you to your quarters aboard the
ship."
We followed the man across the
streets to the pier where the Titanic was docked. I let out a gasp of amazement
when I first saw the huge ship. She was a great metal giant, gleaming, brand
new. She was a true beauty, and I was proud to be a member of her staff. We
walked along the pier to the gangways leading onto the ship’s decks. The White
Star Line officer led us up the gangway and onto the deck of the huge ship. I
looked over the side of the ship in amazement at how far down it was to the
pavement. I looked around at the spotless deck around me. It was so clean, so
pristine. Rather picturesque.
We were led across the deck and
inside the entrance that led down to our quarters. The inside of the ship was
just as wonderful was the outside. Clean, neat as a pin. In fact, I wouldn’t
have known I was on a ship. Why, it was just like a high class hotel! I
wondered just how splendid the first class areas would be. The staff areas were
wondrous enough! They were bright and clean, with decent furniture and a cheery
feel to them.
The White Star Line man led us to
the main staff quarters--holding the door open for us and nodding cheerily as
we went in--but gave me a frown when he saw Chessie.
"Uh…Miss, we do not allow
dogs in the staff area," he said, looking at Chessie as though she could
lunge aggressively at him at any moment, when really, she was standing quietly
by my side, not so much as whine coming from her.
"Oh, well, where shall I put
her, then? The White Star Line gave me permission to have her with me. I asked
them myself."
"Yes. It’s not a question of
it--um…her being here. It’s just that all dogs must be kept in the kennels and
may only leave to be walked on the third class deck. If you’ll kindly follow
the signs to the kennels, you can leave her there and come back."
A little annoyed that I couldn’t
keep my dog with me, I willingly led Chessie through the corridors, following
the signs to the kennels. I was amazed at how complicated it was to find my way
through a ship. Twice, I lost my way and only found the kennels after asking a
maid for directions. But in the end, we reached the right place, and I left
Chessie in the safe hands of the man who cared for the dogs, who assured me she
would be well looked after and that I was free to take her up on deck whenever
I wanted--not that I’d have much free time once the ship set sail. Chessie
whined a little when I turned to leave; she was nervous in this strange place
without me. I stroked her head comfortingly and left the kennels, wishing she
could stay with me.
After finding my way back to the
staff quarters--getting lost several times again--I entered into what would be
my home for the coming voyage.