September 21, 2018 Dinner Meeting
Morgantown's Titanic Tragedy
Presented by Gary Friggens

Society Dinner Meetings

2018 Dinner Meeting Schedule: 6:15 PM

Friday, March 16
Friday, May 18
Friday, September 21
Friday, November 16*
*(sometimes moved to accommodate church functions!)

​The Society holds four dinner meetings each year on the third Fridays of March, May, September, and November where a program of historical interest is included.  Programs are held at 6:15 PM at the Suncrest (Drummond) United Methodist Church on Van Voorhis Road in Morgantown; ample parking is available.

​The public and guests are welcome; bring a friend or colleague.  Those wishing to join the Society may do so at or after the meeting.  The cost of the dinner is $10.00.  Persons wishing to only attend the free program, that follows the dinner, are welcome to arrive about 7 PM.

Dinner reservations are required, and may be made by calling Ron Ramsey at 304-599-5264.

Reservations should be made no later than the Tuesday before the meeting.  Payment for dinners can be made at the meeting.

The Society must guarantee paying for reservations made, so attendance of those making reservations is greatly appreciated.

Gary Friggens will present a talk titled “Morgantown’s Titanic Tragedy,” the story of a Morgantown man and his bride of two months who found themselves aboard the Titanic on its maiden voyage.  On April 14, 1912, at 11:40 p.m. in the frigid and lonely North Atlantic darkness, the huge ocean liner with 2,228 passengers and crew aboard struck an iceberg and shocked the world.  In less than three hours the largest and most luxurious liner of its time, considered unsinkable by her builders and the press alike, would be broken in two and swallowed by the depths.  Over two-thirds of those on board – 1,523 souls – would perish.  One of those would be 24-year-old Lucian P. Smith of Morgantown.  He and his bride were returning from an extended overseas honeymoon to make their new home here.  But it was not to be.
 
Gary was born and raised in Michigan but has been a resident of Morgantown for the past 49 years.  He earned a BA degree in physics and mathematics from Albion College in 1967 and did post-graduate work in physics and chemical engineering at the University of Maryland and West Virginia University.  He retired from the U.S. Department of Energy on Collins Ferry Road in 1995 after 26 years of service.  For 11 years he worked part-time at the Aull Center for Local History and Genealogy Research, a part of the Morgantown Public Library located in the historic Garlow House on Spruce Street.  Gary’s interests include genealogy, American history, gardening and walking.