Among the many visitors to the Delaware County Historical Society Museum & Library has been a 9-year-old Ridley Park girl.
While most patrons tend to be adults, Violet Bailey is unique not only because of her age but also because of her enthusiasm with the Titanic.
When she was 5-years-old, she saw a video on YouTube about the fated ocean liner. Her interest was launched and she was hooked.
And, that’s what brought her to the Delaware County Historical Society.
The Lakeview Elementary student said she’s fed her interest by reading books and watching YouTube videos about the disaster – and she wanted to take it to another level.
So, Violet came to DCHS to view its collection of items linked to the Titanic from the anthracite coal that was recovered from the Titanic itself in 1994 and books such as “A Night to Remember” by Walter Lord and “Titanic: Triumph and Tragedy” by John P. Eaton and Charles Haas.
There’s also a telegraph from the time period of the Titanic housed at the museum.
When Bailey visited the DCHS museum, she learned she shared the same first name as one of the Titanic survivors – Violet Jessop. Jessop was a stewardess, who survived both the Titanic and the Britannic sinkings.
Bailey eagerly spoke about the three things she’s learned in her studies about the Titanic.
One, she discovered that RMS stands for Royal Mail Ship. Secondly, she found out that Titanic Captain Edward John Smith went down with the ship. And, lastly, she read that men weren’t allowed on the lifeboats.
Violet said she hopes to learn even more about the 1912 tragedy by continuing to read more books and watch more videos about the topic.
The coal, books and telegraph related to the Titanic are stored at the Delaware County Historical Society’s museum. The museum is located at 408 Avenue of the States in Chester and is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Friday; 1 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday; and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. DCHS’s telephone number is 610-359-0832. Parking is free in lot behind the building or across the street in the municipal lot.
For membership or more information, please visit www.padelcohistory.org or call the Society.
Violet Bailey does research on the Titanic at the Delaware County Historical Society museum.