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Anniversary of 921 Wreck Recalls Loss of 10 Men in Lake DisasterThirteen years ago yesterday occurred one of the most mystifying wrecks in the history of navigation on Lake Michigan, resulting in theloss of the auxilary vessel Rosa-belle, owned by the House of David, Benton Harbor, Mich. Ten men. the entire crew, lost their lives, and the boat, with the larger part of its stern torn away, was t towed to Racine two days after the occurrence.The Rosabelle was en route from High Island, on the east shore of the lake, to Benton Harbor. Mich., with a cargo of heavy lumber and cord wood. The crew, with the exception of one young man. were residents of the island which was owned by the Benton Harbor j group. He was connected with the House of L»avid.Blast Believed Cause.Captain F. W. Patten, government inspector of hulls, after inspecting the wrecked bout lying at the west end of the north pier, gave it as his opinion the wreck was caused by the explosion of 100 I gallons of gasoline stored in the lazaret in the after part of the boat. The gasoline boat which was suspended from davits at the stern, he believed, was blown to bits by the explosion, leavingnothing in which the members ofthe crew could make their escape.The Rosabelle first was seen off Milwaukee, bottom up. and the government boat Cumberland sought to tow it into that port. The crew had difficulty boarding the slippery hull to attach a line. After towing it a few miles, the line parted and the wreck was carried farther south in the storm which had sprung up the second day after the tragedy. Not until the craft was 10 miles off Kenosha was the Cumberland able to attach another line, the derelict breaking away a second time shortly after. The Rosabelle finally was brought to Racine.C argo tnloaded Here,The deck load, which was of cord wood, had been swept away but the hardwood stored in the hold was recovered with the possible loss of some of It which had been washed out by the seas from the large ojtenlng in the stern. The lumber was sold to the H A- M. Body corporation which then was manufacturing automobile bodies in the former Mitchell wagon plant.The Rosabelle now rests at the bottom of the like, some distance north of the harbor in many feet of water.
Newspaper Details
Racine Journal Times
Racine, Wisconsin, US
Tue, Oct 30, 1934
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Michael W.
NA, 31 Jul 2023
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