|
Letters
Empress of Ireland Artifacts Committee (See "Ill fated Empress of Ireland, collides with Norwegian Collier Storstad on the 29th. of May, 1914. Over 1,000 perish") Hello Mac, I was introduced to your website by Julie Bates. She is a great lover of the Empress of Ireland and we began to correspond. I am the chairperson of the Empress of Ireland Artifacts Committee. On behalf of thousands of Canadians who have a connection to this liner, I want to thank you so much for the wonderful section you have devoted to the Empress. It is not a well-known story. I doubt if 10% of Canadians know this story so it is wonderful when someone in Australia carries it. There is a relative of Laurence Irving, famed British actor who perished on the liner, who lives in Australia...yes, I know it's a continent but sometimes strange things happen. I'll have to check where she is...possibly down the street from you :) I am a retired Fine Arts Teacher who lives on a ranch near Czar, Alberta, close to the Saskatchewan border. I now spend all my time working on the Empress of Ireland Artifacts Committee. Again my thanks. I'd be interested in hearing from you if you care. Marion Kelch.
Thank you for your kind remarks about my Empress piece, Julie had indicated her dedication to the wreck, so I did some research and the article on AHOY is the net result. Of course Julie uses the name of Empress in the Cussler Forum she moderates. As I said at the time to her, Empress carries for me the connotation of some one quite ancient, and that did not jell with my conception of her, so I christened her Princess, and my E-Mails are addressed to PJ, short for Princess Julie. With the many coincidences that happen with me on AHOY, I would not be the least suprised if any relative of Laurence Irving did not live down the street from me, but could be in my Parklake Towers Apartment block. What does your work on the Empress of Ireland Artifacts Committee involve? Is it verifying various pieces claimed to emanate from the wreck? Or just trying to control the wreck from being plundered? I should point out that AHOY. Mac's Web Log is a composite work, my good friend and Web Master, Terry Kearns from Atlanta, Georgia looks after all my research and scribblings, to turn them into the pristine site that awaits for people around our planet to log on to, and then pose questions that I try to resolve, or they make comments, most of which are nice, such as your one Marion. Without Terry and his expertise and dedication, the site would not exist, and I cannot say thank him enough. We have never met unfortunately, but none the less have become the best of friends through the wonder of the net and E-Mails. You come from a lovely country, in some respects alike to Australia, although we do not have the USA sharing a border. Denise and I have visited on a number of occasions and always enjoy the experience. Would there be any benefit in adding an addition to the Empress piece talking about your Artifacts Committee and its work? If so Marion, please send some details and Terry would be pleased to put it up, we have had over 38,000 visitors, and more than a million page requests. What started out as a site to allow some of my Naval Historical work to get published has grown beyond my wildest expectations. Today I have had messages from China, Germany, USA, Norway, Canada, South Africa, and UK, and of course Australia, a real international day. It is a true delight to talk to people from around the world, and at age 83 I am indeed blessed by it all, as well as being thoroughly spoiled at home. Thank you again for taking the time and trouble to write to me. Do give me a yell from the Ranch from time to time. Best wishes from OZ.
What a pleasure to hear from you so soon! Yes, I agree that Julie should be called "Princess Julie". That suits her well. I am so delighted that she contacted me. Every letter is so interesting and full of exuberance. I have close to a thousand contacts across Canada, the USA, and Europe. The Empress of Ireland Artifacts Committee was formed in reaction to the continual exportation of Empress artifacts to other countries. No other country on earth is so hesitant about its maritime heritage. We are not talking about little items like spoons, saucers, etc from the wreck but items such as life-jackets, telemotors, bells and the like. In fact the Consequently we are attempting to raise 1.5 million dollars to purchase a major collection. So far we have purchased some items and all of these will most likely go in to the new National Maritime Museum to be built in Vancouver. Unlike Titanic that never made it across the Atlantic, the Empress made 95 successful voyages and brought over hundreds of thousands of our pioneers who settled Western Canada. I know a multitude of descendants from these immigrants. In fact, there are still a few ( very few) alive who actually sailed the Empress. I'd be glad to compose a small piece about our Committee for your website. Our other goal is to connect people who have a passion for the Empress. I will send you this in a few days. In many ways Australia is similar to Canada although certainly not as cold! Without a doubt we are also influenced by the USA but I always hope that Canada is regarded on her own merits. I greatly appreciate how you believe in coincidence and would not be one bit surprised if the Irving relative resided on the same street, so to speak. I'll have to ask her where she resides. Her e-mail server is" bigpond.net" but I'm sure that could be anywhere in Australia. It's very possible that you know someone who knows someone who knows someone I know. I find that so fascinating. You are 83! I correspond with so many octogenarians. They are awesome with their wealth of knowledge and their handling of cyber technology. What great contribution to our society and to our knowledge. Well I'm sure you need time to correspond with all those wonderful people from over the world. Thanks ever so much for writing back and for your contribution to the story of the Empress. I will be in touch again. Marion Kelch. |
