Interview with Mac Smith, author of ‘Mainers on the Titanic’

NEW VINEYARD – New Vineyard Library is pleased to welcome Mac Smith, author of the book Mainers on the Titanic on Sept. 30, at 11 a.m.

Mainers on the Titanic traces the stories of passengers on that fateful ship who had ties to Maine. Many of them were wealthy summer visitors to Mount Desert Island, but there were many other residents of the state aboard as well. Their tales are retold in a lively way here, along with the sinking-related events in the state at that time.

Meticulously researched, this book reveals the agonizing day-to-day wait of Mainers for news of what really happened to their loved ones aboard and tells the stories of Maine passengers from their boarding to the sinking, rescue, and arrival back in the country, and, for those who did not survive, their final coming ashore in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It’s a unique and fascinating addition to the Titanic story and to Maine history.

A Navy veteran of the First Gulf War and former news reporter for the Bar Harbor Times, Mac Smith lives in Stockton Springs, Maine, in the village of Sandy Point, where he is restoring the family homestead. Smith was kind enough to answer a few questions regarding the book, his first.

Do you have a background in history?

My background in history began with my Grandmother Ellis, who wrote the histories of Stockton Springs and Prospect, Maine. In addition, I grew up in a house that held the history of several generations, with plenty of old scrapbooks and diaries to poke through on a rainy evening or snowy day. The house in which I grew up was built in the late 1800’s and has been in the family since it was built, so history was all around me when I was young. I have a naturally curious mind. Growing up the youngest of five boys, there was always plenty of family story-telling around the supper table, many times about ancestors I had never met. As I got older I found that I enjoyed poking through historical assets to put together as much information as I could about a historical character and try to figure out what they were like.

What sparked your interest to research this topic?

My interest in this topic was sparked as a child, when we had a copy of “A Night To Remember” by Sir Walter Lord. He told the story well, and I remember my older brothers telling me about the rule at sea of Women and Children First. The story of Titanic stuck in my head. Several years ago I was in a bookstore looking at the Maine History section, and I started wondering if there was anyone from Maine on Titanic. After some initial research I found there were several people who were from Maine or were closely associated with the state. The stories I was finding about the people from Maine when they were on Titanic were astonishing, ironic, and being lost to time. I knew the material I was finding had to be preserved, and that the best way to do it would be to write a book on the subject. That began my ten years of research.

Did your research take you all over the state?

The bibliography in Mainers On The Titanic takes up a few pages, and that is because of the extensive research I did in the state, both virtually and in person. The research also took me to Connecticut, to meet with the descendent of a father and son from Brunswick who were on the Titanic. It also took me to Halifax, to find out as much information as I could on the people from Maine who traveled there to claim the bodies of their loved ones. In Maine itself, I did get to several places around the state – Bath/Brunswick, including Bowdoin College and the local historical society, Bangor, Orono, Mount Desert Island, and several other places. Fogler Library at the University of Maine at Orono gave me a virtual trip across the state with their extensive collection of state and national newspapers they have on microfilm. I also got to take a trip around the state and back in time going through those newspapers and getting a glimpse of what our state was like one-hundred years ago. There correspondence to churches and historical societies around the state. The research component of the book was truly a great experience in a great state!

To hear more about this exciting topic join New Vineyard Public Library on Sept. 30 at 11 a.m. For more information call 652-2250 or like The New Vineyard Library on Facebook.