Q: Where was Hallie when the crash occurred?
DS: Actually I think mother and the governess and my uncle were all
sleeping in the same cabin, if I'm not mistaken, and they'd been hearing fog
horns all night. Mother said it kind of kept them half awake, half asleep, and
when the incredible impact happened, mother said she just leapt out of bed and
at the same time the steward came. He came knocking on their door and mother
had made friends with the steward and he told them to get dressed warmly and
get up on deck.
Q: What happened when the steward came?
DS: The steward, who was by this time a friend and cared about the
children, came to them with candles and told them to get up on deck. My mother
immediately ran into her mother and grandmother's cabin, I think my great
grandmother was less preoccupied with the jewelry than my grandmother. And
mother had already grabbed blankets from their cabin and given my uncle one, and
then the steward took them all upon deck with my grandmother strapping her
jewelry to one of those "our hearts were young and gay pouches" that swung from
the waist under the clothes. And they got up on deck.
I remember mother told me that when the captain said women and children first
very calmly they were led by one of the cabin boys to get on the life boat
which wasn't easy to get on. Fortunately they were together among the first
with my grandmother, my great grandmother and the governess, and they were all
in one life boat. I think that was the dramatic part for mother, when the life
boat started to lower and instead of going down one way, it suddenly went down
another way.
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