"The most terrifying words in the English language are:
I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
~Ronald Reagan
"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession.
I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first."
~Ronald Reagan
"We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone."
~Ronald Reagan
One of my early ideas when I created my Updated Bucket List for Year 77 was to take the family on a tour of several of the many unique and special attractions located in the Greater Los Angeles area. One such attraction is the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum located in Simi Valley, California.
The Library and Museum has many different permanent exhibits, like the actual Air Force One aircraft, a full-size replica of the White House Oval Office, and the Berlin Wall. Periodically they have special, temporary exhibits, like the current Titanic exhibit, which was the main draw for our family tour on December 16th. In addition to information discussed in this blog, you can check the Library's website at https://www.reaganfoundation.org/library-museum/
On Saturday, December 16th, we drove to Simi Valley (about one hour north of Monrovia) to visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. There were seven of us, so we took two cars; Bonnie & I and Jenny and Tracy in Bonnie's car, and Heather, Sean and Griffin in Heather's car. I took a couple of photos in front of the Library when we first arrived.
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This Library opened in 1991, is on a 100 acre site, and is perched on a mountain-top with sweeping views of the surrounding mountains, valleys and the Pacific Ocean. There is more than 100,000 square feet in 24 different galleries. The Museum charts Reagan's rise from local hero and college standout to the glamorous world of Hollywood stardom, to governor of California, and ultimately to the presidency of the United States. The artifacts, historical documents and dozens of interactive displays are really well-organized and presented.
Our group was most interested in the special Titanic Exhibition, so that was the first one we visited. This exhibit is a fascinating look at Titanic, combining real artifacts with the real stories of the people on board the ill-fated ship. This brand-new 10,000 square foot exhibition reunites hundreds of Titanic artifacts that have not been together since the ship’s fateful night in 1912 with material and artifacts from the 1984-1985 discovery of the Titanic. Also included are items from the 1997 movie, Titanic. This is a first-of-its-kind exhibition not seen anywhere else before, and will be leaving the Library in January 2018. We rented the audio listening devices and they really helped in telling the full story of the tragedy.
A Little History of the Building and the Sinking of Titanic: The White Star Line set out to build the biggest and the most luxurious ships that had ever sailed. In 1908 the plans for the Olympic, to be built first, and the Titanic were approved. Construction of the Titanic began in March 1909 and it was built over three years in Belfast, Ireland. Titanic was 46,328 gross tons, 882 feet long, 92 feet wide, 175 feet high from keel to top of funnels -- or 11 stories high and 4 blocks long. Titanic was electric, boasting electric lights, elevators, and an internal telephone system. Titanic and Olympic were the first ships to have a swimming pool, Turkish baths, a gym, and a squash court. The four triple-screw engines produced 50-55,000 horsepower, and could travel at 24-25 knots at full speed. The engines was so efficient that only three funnels were required -- a fourth empty funnel was merely for show. The ship was well-publicized as unsinkable.
The sinking of the Titanic occurred on the night of April 14th through to the morning of April 15th, 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, four days into the ship's maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The largest passenger liner in service at the time, Titanic had an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg . Her sinking resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 people, which made it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.
Titanic received six warnings of sea ice on April 14th but was traveling near her maximum speed when her lookouts sighted the iceberg. Unable to turn quickly enough, the ship suffered a glancing blow that buckled her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen compartments to the sea. Titanic had been designed to stay afloat with four of her forward compartments flooded but no more, and the crew soon realized that the ship would sink. They used distress flares and radio messages to attract help as the passengers were put into lifeboats. In accordance with existing practice, Titanic's lifeboat system was designed to ferry passengers to nearby rescue vessels, not to hold everyone on board simultaneously; therefore with the ship sinking rapidly and help still hours away, there was no safe refuge for many of the passengers and crew. Compounding this, poor management of the evacuation meant many boats were launched before they were completely full.
So when Titanic sank, over a thousand passengers and crew were still on board. Almost all those who jumped or fell into the water either drowned or died within minutes due to the effects of cold water immersion, which can kill in minutes. A rescue ship, the Carpathia, arrived on the scene about an hour and a half after the sinking and rescued the last of the survivors, some nine and a half hours after the collision. The disaster caused widespread outrage over the lack of lifeboats, lax regulations, and the unequal treatment of the three passenger classes during the evacuation.
I copied the following account made after the tragedy by one of the survivors:
"11:40 pm, April 14, 1912: "Iceberg dead ahead." Titanic was doomed. As water poured into the forward compartments, Thomas Andrews, the ship's designer, told Captain Smith the Titanic could not stay afloat, though passengers and crew had no idea. Smith gave the order to call for help, and later to load the lifeboats. Wireless operators Jack Phillips and Harold Bride signaled to "any ship," and several, including the Carpathia, raced to help.
Passengers milled about on deck, more confused than panicked. They sported an unusual variety of attire, some in their nightclothes while others were dressed warmly in coats and furs. Lifeboats were initially sent off with empty seats as few wanted to leave the safety of the large ship, but this changed as it was clear Titanic really was sinking.
The Titanic broke in half under her own weight as the water dragged her under and finally slipped below the waves at 2:20 am, leaving passengers floating in the icy sea. Those in the lifeboats waited for rescue, with no idea if any ships were near. When survivors saw Carpathia, they signaled any way they could, burning papers and even a straw hat. At 4:10 am, Elizabeth Allen, in Lifeboat 2, was the first of Titanic passengers to board Carpathia. At 8:15 am, Second Officer Charles Lighstoller, in Lifeboat 12, was the last. The Carpathia returned to New York's harbor with all that remained from Titanic's maiden voyage - 74% of women and 52% of children were saved, but only 20% of the men."
The Search for Titanic: Almost immediately after Titanic sank, proposals were advanced to salvage her from her resting place, despite her exact location and condition being unknown. The families of several wealthy victims of the disaster formed a consortium to raise Titanic. The project was soon abandoned as impractical as the divers could not even reach a significant fraction of the necessary depth. There were many other proposals, but the lack of submarine technology at the time, as well as the outbreak of World War I, put off such a projects.
In later years, through the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s, a variety of audacious and impractical schemes were put forward to find and salvage Titanic. However, all fell afoul of practical and technological difficulties, a lack of funding and, in many cases, a lack of understanding of the physical conditions at the wreck site.
In 1984, Robert Ballard, who had searched for Titanic as early as 1977, entered into an agreement with the U.S. Navy to search for two submarines, Thresher and Scorpian, that had sunk. He found the submarines and in the process learned that debris spilled out from them as they sunk. He found that by following the trail of debris, the main pieces of wreckage could be found. This was the procedure he decided to use to find the Titanic.
Without detailing all the new technology and systems tried in the searches, Ballard ended up with a remotely controlled deep-sea vehicle equipped with sonar and cameras and a robot that could roam the sea floor, take close-up images and gather specimens. In September 1985, after a week of fruitless searching with his new systems, pieces of debris began to appear on the system's screens. The following day, the main part of the wreck was found and the robot sent back the first pictures of Titanic since her sinking 73 years before. The discovery made headlines around the world.
Found during President Reagan’s administration, the Titanic quickly became a dive site for many different companies and explorers trying to get a piece of her history. To protect the historic site and preserve it for generations, President Reagan issued the 1986 Titanic Memorial Act to designate the wreck as an international maritime memorial.
A Few of the Exhibits on the Tour: One of the early exhibits was a representation of the "debris field" with the following explanation on the sign: "Thousands of items from Titanic spilled onto the ocean floor as she sank. Cooking utensils, coal, shoes, ship fragments, and a child's doll head all have been spotted in the debris trail. Many of them are perfectly preserved, and others are covered with rust. Objects on the seafloor are uncovered and reburied in the sand by underwater currents, so the debris field's appearance changes over time.
Following his discovery of the wreck site, Ballard returned to Titanic in July 1986 aboard a research vessel, including the deep-diving submersible Alvin which could take people to Titanic, and the remotely operated vehicle Jason Jr. which could allow the explorers to investigate the interior of the wreck. Jason Jr. descended the ruined Grand Staircase as far as B Deck, and photographed remarkably well preserved interiors, including some chandeliers still hanging from the ceilings. The first photo below shows Bonnie, Tracy and Jenny by a model of the submersible Alvin. The second photo shows Griffin and Sean by the pressure sphere, with its three portholes, allowing Alvin to dive deep enough to land at the Titanic wreck site. The best shape to resist pressure is a sphere, and Alvin's titanium sphere is two inches thick.
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The photo below shows how the bow section of Titanic plowed into the sea bottom and collapsed. (Jenny is in photo at left listening to the audio).
Rooms on board Titanic: There were several exhibits with models of rooms inside the ship. The first photo below is a lower class bedroom, the second photo is the sitting room of one of the suites, and the third photo is of the communications room.
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There were three information boards at the lifeboat exhibit, which if enlarged to read are quite interesting.
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At the 3/4 model of one of the lifeboats: Griffin and Heather, and Tracy, Jenny and Bonnie.
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Throughout the exhibition there were signs to read, videos to watch, and of course the audio devices we carried along. We were all intent to learn everything about Titanic while we were there. First photo is Tracy and Jenny watching a video. Second photo is Griffin, Heather and Sean looking at an exhibit and also listening to a description of the exhibit on their listening device.
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It was almost noon when we had gone all the way through the Titanic exhibition, so we decided to have lunch in the Country Cafe located there at the Library. Heather was nice enough to take this photo so I could prove that I went on the Family Tour with them.
Permanent Exhibits: After lunch we toured the exhibits that make up a normal visit to the Reagan Library. These exhibits will continue after the Titanic exhibit leaves on January 7th. The first exhibits cover Ronald Reagan's early history, governor years, presidential inauguration, and the assassination attempt. The first two photos below are the full-sized Oval Office; the third photo is Jenny and Tracy preparing to make a speech at the Presidential Lectern.
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Below are photos in the Air Force One Pavilion. First is Bonnie, Jenny and Tracy waving from the top balcony, then the full-size Air Force One on display, next is Sean, Heather and Griffin inside Air Force One touring the aircraft, next the helicopter Marine One. The final two photos are the Daly's viewing the Presidential Motorcade.
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The final part of the tour covers many of the crisis and accomplishments that occurred during Reagan's years as president, his post presidency days, and finally his passing. The Memorial Site for the President and Mrs Reagan is located on the beautifully manicured grounds outside the Library.