One thing you can say about Florence Brown’s older sister is that she is mighty secretive. Another is that she is a very fortunate woman.
Florence told the story on Sunday at the future Chicago Maritime Museum in the North Pier Terminal on East Illinois. It was the culminating day of the “History From the Heart” writing contest, which members of the Chicago Maritime Society set up to tap memories of the days when the lake meant more than a summer day’s recreation.
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Kowalenko and other organizers set up the contest last year and ran a series of writing workshops in January to encourage senior citizens to record their memories of Great Lakes shipping, yachting, or fishing. By the time of the contest deadline on Valentine’s Day, 112 entries had been received from 85 writers.
After it opens later this summer, the Maritime Museum may help redress that disregard. From the museum’s glass-enclosed terrace there is a fine view of the skyline and the Ogden Slip. On the terrace, on Sunday, there was a photo-panel display reproducing a view of the mouth of the Chicago River taken in 1893; the scene bustles with ships and smoke. In the main museum room two small exhibits had already been set up: a guide to Illinois lighthouses and photographs of the Eastland disaster.
She lamented the decline of Great Lakes shipping. “You could look out when I was growing up and anytime you looked out on the horizon you’d see a ship, or three or four.” Her family has left the shipping business completely.
“My friends and I were standing around talking and laughing when we noticed benches and deck chairs moving slowly across the deck toward the railing. That was so strange! I never thought about the ship tipping, and I don’t think anyone else did either right away.”
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Jon Randolph.
