CASSOPOLIS — Visitors to the Cass County Council on Aging were transported Thursday to the decks of the Titanic.
With each click of a remote, Kathy Cyr, of the Berrien County Historical Association, narrated projected photos from the ship, her voice bringing the grainy, black and white photos to life, so that audience members could understand the workings of the Titanic and the lives of the people who inhabited it for a short time.
The COA, at both its Cassopolis Lowe Center and Dowagiac Front Street Crossing locations, hosted a presentation titled “The RMS Titanic and Southwest Michigan,” put on by the Berrien County Historical Association.
The presentation focused on the history of the ship that famously sunk in 1912 and several people who were aboard the ship. Included in the presentation were people who were on the ship that were either from southwest Michigan or heading to southwest Michigan.
“There is so much interesting history here,” said Cyr, the speaker. “When the presentations were put together, [we] always look for local ties.”
Famous locally, Dickson and Helen Bishop, of Dowagiac, were aboard the Titanic, riding in first class. Helen Bishop was heir to the Round Oak Stove Company, which was the backbone of Dowagiac industry for many years. Both of the Bishops survived the sinking of the Titanic, though the couple divorced in 1916, with Helen dying soon after.
Heading to Dowagiac was the Touma family, who had immigrated from Syria. Members of the family boarded the ship in France in the hopes of reuniting with other family members in Dowagiac. The Touma family survived the shipwreck, and the matriarch went on to work at a shoe store in Dowagiac.
Also locally, Ruth Becker was a second-class passenger on the Titanic heading to Benton Harbor. She also survived and lived until 1990, ending up to be one of the longest living survivors of the Titanic.
For many of the audience members Thursday, the discussion of local individuals aboard the ship was their favorite part of the presentation.
“I didn’t know there were people from Cass County on the ship,” said Joyce Lockwood, 78, of Dowagiac. “I thought that was very interesting.”
Those in the audience weren’t the only ones who found the localized details of the Titanic interesting; those who helped put on the event did as well.
Leslie Vargo is the lifelong living coordinator at the COA and the organizer of the presentation. She said found the local ties to the Titanic to be compelling.
“It’s really fascinating,” she said.
The Titanic presentation marks the third presentation the COA has done with the Berrien County Historical Association, Vargo said.
“[The Titanic presentation] is their most popular presentation, so I wanted bring that [to the COA],” Vargo said. “[The history association] truly is a hidden gem of history. They have some great presentations.”
Cyr said she is grateful to present at the COA as she believes it is important to spread history.
“There is so much we can learn from history,” Cyr said. “Beyond that, it’s just fun.”