Here's the front page of the Lorain Journal of July 26, 1956 – the day after the collision – with the story.
Forty-six people lost their lives as a result of the tragedy. Actress Ruth Roman (who starred with James Stewart in The Far Country, one of his Anthony Mann-directed Westerns) was one of the surviving passengers.
Also on the front page: the winding down of the 26-day steel strike at National Tube, and the hunch that Lorain was going to be the site of a new National Gypsum plant.
A day later, the front page of the July 27, 1967 Lorain Journal revealed that one of the surviving passengers was the brother of a Lorain man, Rosario Pillari.
The brother was on his way to Lorain after a five year struggle with immigration authorities to gain admission to this country. There was a happy ending in store for him since a Lorain contractor had already promised to hire him.
I was somewhat ignorant about the SS Andrea Dorea. I had heard of it – just like the RMS Titanic, the RMS Lusitania, the USS Maine, etc. – but for some reason didn't realize that the tragedy had occurred in the late 1950s. I thought it was decades earlier.
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It was nice having last week off.
That's because sometimes it's a little stressful cranking out content for this blog. You would laugh if you knew how many times it was 8:00 in the evening when I realize that not only have I not prepared anything, I have no idea what to write about. And I would like to either go to bed or watch a movie on GRIT. So I'm going to have to either plan better or cut back. We'll see.
The funny thing is, I didn't even get the things done that I was planning to do. So it was a real vacation.
One thing that I did manage to do while I was off slumming was to get into is what my doctor thinks is a mild case of benign vertigo. (No, that doesn't mean that I'm obsessed with Kim Novak.) It's somewhat disruptive, both at work and at home.
So if that's what it turns out to be, hopefully the cause of it goes away on its own, as it does sometimes. If not, there are a variety of ways to deal with it.
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| Hey, I just realized that makes two pictures of James Stewart on this post! |
And that's the way I'm spinning it.
Nice to have you back! Your post made me want to go to YouTube to see some videos on the sinking. I’d heard of it but never knew much about it. I had that type of vertigo about 10 years ago and my doctor told me to look up videos on these simple exercises to move the ear crystals back in place. It was things like getting on all fours facing the ground and turning my head to the left and then right. Cleared it right up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the welcome back and advice! It may come to that, we'll see.
DeleteAccording to Wikipedia: "No determination of cause was ever formally published, largely due to a confidential out-of-court settlement agreement between the two shipping companies signed during hearings immediately after the disaster. However, Stockholm's commander, Captain Gunnar Nordenson, was absolved of all guilt because Andrea Doria's captain Piero Calamai gave the order to turn to port at the meeting, when according to standard he should have turned to starboard."
ReplyDeleteMy dad used to talk about Andrea Dorea, how beautiful a ship she was and how lucky it was there were so many ships in the area to assist.
And Dan, I'm happy you're back. Having gone through the pain of writing a measly monthly newsletter for a paltry five years, I simply cannot imagine the work and dedication it has taken, keeping your daily blog ticking for so long. No matter what you decide, you have my admiration and appreciation!
I, too, am sometimes afflicted with fairly severe "spin-dizzies." In my case, however, it is not inner-ear crystals (which a friend of mine had and got rid of with the exercises Anon describes) but low blood pressure not sending enough life-juice to my misfiring brain. Personally, I'd rather be obsessed with Kim Novak. Though, honestly, I prefer Grace Kelly.
Thanks, Don! Good luck with your dizzies too!
DeleteWelcome back, Dan!
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember watching a documentary about the Andrea Doria on TV when I was real little, but it's possible that I 'm confusing it in my memory with watching the 1950's disaster film THE LAST VOYAGE on NBC SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES in the early Sixties.
I wonder if that fellow in the gambling stamp case owned the newsstand at the SE corner of E. 28 th and Pearl .
Praying for relief of your vertigo; no fun, that.
Thanks, Alan! Just call me Dizzy Dan!
DeleteDan - Sorry to hear about your vertigo! I assume you're not turning green and spiraling down a vortex like Jimmy Stewart. Not to make light of the situation - it sounds dreadful. And thanks for the articles and pictures on the Andrea Doria. I remember that happening - it was big news. The Titanic sinking was living memory for many people back then.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Buster!
DeleteThis is a bit random, but do you have any photos of Januzzi's store at the Sheffield shopping center? I wanted to show a friend what the building looked like, but I can't find photos anywhere. And it's long been demolished. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any but I'll see if I can come up with one.
DeleteWelcome back Dan.Maybe cut down to a few posts a week and that would take alot of stress off of you.Or maybe even just do one heavy duty post a week.And that's it.
ReplyDeleteAnother casualty of the Andrea Doria sinking wasn't a famous person but a very famous concept vehicle.The Chrysler Norseman.
Chrysler contracted with the famous Italian coach builder Carrozzeria Ghia to built them a showcar in 1956.It was designed by Chrysler stylists in Detroit but built in Italy because Ghia had experience in one off vehicles.It took over 15 months to build and missed its freighter on its way to the states so they put it on the Andrea Doria instead.Many of the Chrysler designers from Detroit had never even gotten to see in person what they helped create when it sank.Chrysler wanted to showcase the Norseman for the upcoming 1957 auto shows all across the country.
It had lots of futuristic ideas and features and some were even incorporated in vehicles decades later.
It was found in the wreck in 1994 and had totally disintegrated to where only the steel rims were the only distinguishing feature of the car.
Thanks for the welcome and for the very interesting information about the car!
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