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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2015-06-03, Page 88 News Record • Wednesday, June 3, 2015 Lost and found on the S.S.Wexford Laura Broadley Clinton News Record It's a tragic story of love and loss. Almost 300 men and women lost their lives in the Great Lakes storm of 1913. The hurricane - like winds ravaged Lake Huron for three days starting late on November 8, 1913. The result of two opposing storm systems colliding, the storm produced hurricane force winds and over 10 -metre waves. It brought eight vessels down on Lake Huron including the S.S. Wexford, which was a well- known ship in the Port of Goderich. The wreck was dis- covered in 2000 by accident and has become one of the most popular dive sites in Ontario. On May 26 a remembrance of the Wexford was presented at Blyth Memorial Hall. The even- ing, called Faces of theFury, fea- tured a performance of Songs of the Karegnondi. The topic of the three -movement piece, the Great Lakes storm, was chosen by members of the St. Anne's band and written for them by composer Jeff Christmas. Playwright, Peter Smith, called the performance "haunt- ing': Smith wrote the play Fury inspired by the foundering of the Wexford and the storm. Laura Broadley Clinton News Record Thomas Wylie looks at the grave of James Barr Glen. Wylie is from Scotland and only knew that his great uncle had died on Lake Huron last year when he contacted Kathy Pletsch of the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 committee. Smith said that he has had a fascination with Lake Huron for a long time. It's one of the great- est bodies of water in the world and he wanted to put a story together to pay tribute. This region is so often associ- ated with farming but it's actu- ally a prominent water region, he said. Inspiration came in the form Laura Broadley Clinton News Record Paul Carroll, author of Great Lakes Storm: 1913, stands beside the wreath and plaque that will be placed back on the wreck of Wexford sometime in summer 2015. The plaque was added with the names of the 24 men and one woman lost during the storm. of a story a trucker once told Smith when he was only 18 -years -old. A story, he said, that will have to wait until Fury debuts on stage. Saddled with that recollec- tion, Smith met Paul Carroll who gave him further insight. Carroll is a historian, author of Great Lakes Storm: 1913 and Great Lakes Storm of 1913 com- mittee member. Smith knew he wanted romance, he knew he wanted music. He set about writing the play and lyrics set in August 1913, just months before the sinking of the Wexford. It's filled with emotion and heartache given the subject matter but Smith assures that it is sure to bring laughs too. SAVE THE DATE 3rd Annual Central Huron Mayor's Mingle A Celebration of Volunteerism July 7, 2015 5-8 PM Central Huron Community Complex Complimentary BBQ Meal Courtesy of: intsnn•w re ire. s Fury is the third to show in the 2015 season of the Blyth Festival. Opening night is on July31. Fury character Michael Gray is of Smith's imagination but 25 real people died on the Wexford. A wreath was placed on the wreck of the Wexford in 2013 to commemorate the 100 -year anniversary of the disaster. The wreath was recently recovered so that a plaque with all 25 names could be added. It will be placed back on the wreck sometime this summer. During Faces of the Fury members of the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 committee pre- sented the stories of each per- son that perished with the ship. Some stories were told with great detail but others are still shrouded in mystery. One story was of a man named James Barr Glen. Glen was 28 -years -old who had travelled from Scotland to work on the Lakes. His last voyage before returning to his wife, Jessie, in Scotland was to be on the Wexford. He never made it home. It was the duty of Reverend Walter Watson Wylie of Clin- ton to send the news to his niece Jessie (Glen's wife) back in Scotland. Rev. Wylie was one of those responsible for r OUR BEST GIC RATE {►a�,mx ! r++iapciy1 30. Gai. er ICricale ItiLt k,4I liFxlkL'R5 I ;,'= ILNrr .R- 5]9-235-2 29 GRAND BEND- Ek -239-8.04 CLINTON ON -5I9 -4S2 -3U411 Visit us onlin'e' For wrace; daily ran mmtr.pr' trr, •_.A.( L.a.. . 4Ark—a k , -6. 1, c4,_ ;Poi - _I ' _ D:74.741. ...� --104..7rt# A. t tit 1 Contributed photos The original letter sent by Reverend Walter Watson Wylie to James Glen's wife Jessie informing her of his death. identifying Glen's body. He wrote a letter on November 13, 1913 informing Jessie of his fate. Part of the letter reads: We had a card from Detroit two weeks after, and the rest we heard was the total wreck of the Wexford and all hands lost. She went down not far from Goderich, and was mak- ing for that port and was evi- dently in sight but the storm being so severe evidently made for a port called Sarnia. Fur- ther down the lake, but failed to reach it, and became a total wreck. This was on Sunday Nov 9th. We heard of it on Tuesday llth and communi- cated with the authorities who had found the bodies that had come ashore...Poor [James] was one of them... We are all overwhelmed at this calamity and I fail both to write and express myself I know you will all be greatly heartbroken, but what can we do? Nothing but submit. If only some of you could have been here but we have done all *** burial etc just as we believe you would have carried it out yourselves. The letter was discovered three years ago when a man named Thomas Wylie was looking through boxes at his aunt's house in Scotland. He didn't think much about it until his aunt told him about his great uncle, James Glen, who had died in Canada. The family had never fully discovered what had come of him and that clicked in Thomas' head. He had no pre- vious knowledge of the disas- ter and so the letter he had found took on new relevance. Thomas fired off a flurry of emails to people he read about in an article chronicling the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. Committee member, Kathy Pletsch of Seaforth, responded and the connec- tions grew from there. Through Pletsch, Thomas grew to understand that his great uncle had died on the Wexford and was buried in the Clinton cemetery. The munici- pality had placed a marker on Glen's grave a fewyears ago. Thomas made the trip from Scotland last week to attend the Faces of the Fury presenta- tion along with other descendants of the lost sailors of the Wexford. He brought the original letter from Rev. Wylie and donated it to the Huron County Museum in Goderich in an effort to pre- serve it. Aided by Pletsch Thomas was able to visit Glen's grave in Clinton last week. He was touched to learn that there was a committed group of people dedicated to preserv- ing his great uncle's memory. "It took my breath away."