100 years since the sinking of the Columbia

July 5th 1918 the Columbia set sail for a night of adventure a trip down the Illinois River with hundreds of people on board it was a gloomy night there was a bend in the river the captain lost control and the steamboat hit the shoreline tragedy struck around Wesley city which is Creve Coeur today the boat sank 87 people died ken's ER skier aute a book about the accident the wreck of the Columbia they do call it a forgotten story but it's not a lost story because it's still there in all the newspaper clippings and the postcards the letters and the diaries not only in the libraries but also on nightstands and in drawers in homes earlier this week memorabilia was on display at the Pekin library and czarsky talked to the crowd about his novel some who were listening had relatives on the wooden boat sooo beanies grandfather John grew II was one of the survivors his first wife and their two kids didn't make it my father always told me the story and so I knew about it all my life I'm still kind of shocked that people from Pekin don't know about this it's kind of heartbreaking I I think how I would be if I was in those shoes it's like I would think that those that survived really kind of felt helpless like many in the crowd bud Moore has read Xerces book he says the Columbia really intrigued him what stood out was a bravery of the people who were in the water and we were saving each other it just it was amazing what they did and they went back and some of them paid with their lives because they went back to try to save someone else Helen's sprinkles father survived the disaster but her aunt and grandma didn't make it my father said that he had the fight to get out the window people were in panic and they were clawed at each other and her shirt was completely ripped off among the items preserved from that fateful night an American flag this is the very flag that was on board when hundred years ago today it's kind of awesome to see the flag it's like I hadn't seen the flag before and it's like okay yeah it kind of makes it a little bit more real and although this tragedy took dozens of lives it's a part of history in the heart of Illinois which many say should never be forgotten in pekin Jessica Cook heart of Illinois ABC you

Channel: Jessica Cook

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Length: 2min 58sec (178 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 17 2018