Interested persons attending Wednesday evening’s Speaker Series presentation on the Titanic at the Strauss House Museum will also want to plan a second visit to view the new Titanic exhibit that just opened and will be on display through May.
Give credit to a mom who wanted access to her dining room table and an equally creative and ambitious daughter adept at putting together Lego blocks to create a scale model of the famed passenger liner.
Joanne Dellosso, the acting vice-president of the Atlantic Highlands Historical Society, researched and created a Titanic Exhibition for the Mansion, located at 27 Prospect Circle., after her daughter, Katie, frustrated by Covid restrictions and shutdowns, purchased a Lego kit of the Titanic. Over the course of a week, working every night, Katie transformed 9,090 Lego blocks into the 1:200 model of the ship, doing her work on the Dellosso dining room table.
Knowing others would enjoy seeing the model, and realizing the intricacy of it since it also includes interior rooms in her daughter’s Lego model, the society’s vice president focused on more research to open a special and limited exhibition at the Museum.
With the approximate five foot long completed model a focal point of the exhibit, there are also numerous photos, historic explanations of the ship and its crew and passengers, along with décor and fashions of the 1912 era when the Cunard ship struck an iceberg April 15 on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York. Discovery of the remains of the ship in the 1980s regenerated interest in the ship, its passengers and crew with most stories concentrating on the wealthy and well-known names of travelers. Ms. Dellosso did all the research herself on this special exhibition at the Strauss House and created a unique angle for the presentation..
The local exhibit focuses more on the lesser known names and personalities, including stories on the two dogs that were rescued from the ship, as well as the second and third class passengers. It gives details about the brothers who were orphaned on the trip as well as the cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and stories associated where some of those who lost their lives are buried.
During the exhibition, Dellosso said visitors will also have the opportunity to either sit and watch an entire 90 minute movie on the Titanic, or simply stop and view small portions of it depending on their own schedules., Three different videos will each be on screen in the living room of the Mansion each on separate Sundays, when the Museum and exhibition are open to the public. The Museum is open every Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Visitors are invited to make a $5 donation for their visit.
Local resident Steven Schwankert will present his program on a small group of passengers aboard the ill-fated Titanic when he addresses the Society Wednesday, April 20 at 7:30 pm. His presentation is part of the museum’s feature of shipwrecks and maritime disasters as its central theme for 2022, and Schwankert’s presentation presents a unique and surprising view of six Chinese passengers, all survivors, as well as Titanic owner J. Bruce Ismay. No reservations are required and the lecture is free and open to the public, though donations will be accepted.
On Friday, Apr. 22, the Museum is also offering a showing of “A Night to Remember” at 7:30 p.m. with seating limited to 30.
For more information on this and all programs, events, and hours at the Strauss House, visit the Atlantic Highlands Historical Society website at http://www.ahhistory.org.
