Role of Professional Divers in the Eastland Disaster

[KathyV]

A few years ago a grad student from the University of Illinois at Chicago discovered the only know film clips of the Eastland. They are included in some Dutch news reels at the links below. The first clips shows some of the recovery efforts and the second clip is the salvage operation. To my amazement they fixed the ship up and renamed it and put it back into service!

Recovery (starts at 1:10)
http://europeana1914-1918.eu/en/europeana/record/08614/cat36913?edmvideo=true&iframe=true&width=657&height=510

Salvage (starts at 9:10)
http://europeana1914-1918.eu/en/europeana/record/08614/cat36915?edmvideo=true&iframe=true&width=657&height=510

 

[Jared0425]

Divers were also involved in identifying of the overturned (but still floating) wreck of the Charles Price in lower Lake Huron right after the Great Storm of 1913. The diver was in almost 0 visibility and heavy seas pulling him up and down on the bobbing ship that was also slowly filling up with water and sinking. He went underneath the hull multiple times before identifying her. He would not say the name until he got his $100 (in 1913), a real diver in anyone's boom.

 

[Midwesterndvr]

Can you recommend any good books on this incident??

(The sinking of the Eastland) by jay bonansinga
Written in the style of narrative nonfiction. I highly recommend this read its very engaging and well researched.