Monday September 15, 1930

The storm lasted two days. Mrs. Octavia Hobgood of Baton Rouge reported that for those two days, the passengers could not go on deck. All of the passengers spent much, if not all, of their time in their cabins for safety during the storm. Some, because of sickness, may have been confined to their beds for two full days.

Mrs. Hobgood reported that about 1,000 people were sea sick, including the ship’s doctor! Some of the sea sick passengers consumed only tea and toast for these two days. Mrs. Hobgood was one of the lucky pilgrims who did not get sick and could help those who were.

Mrs. Mary Everson of Missouri described the storm as “beautiful, wonderful, but terrible.” Mrs. Hobgood found it to be an exciting part of the trip!

The pilgrims learned, after the fact – once they landed – that it was only due to their having a careful captain that they were not in trouble. The captain of the SS America was Captain George Fried, U.S.N.R. Captain Fried was known as “Captain Fried of rescue fame” because he was remembered for his valiant rescue (in two separate instances) of the crews of the British steamship Antinoe and the Italian steamship Florida in the late 1920s while in command of the American luxury liners SS America and SS President Roosevelt of the United States Lines.

Captain Fried became familiar to thousands of Americans when his syndicated column “My Thirty Years at Sea” was featured in hundreds of newspapers in 1929.

Thankfully, for Josephine and the rest of the passengers, the SS America was in the capable, no-nonsense hands of Captain George Fried during an intense storm at sea.

Hopefully, once the two-day storm had ended, Josephine and most of the passengers were able to regain their sea legs. I will continue the narrative assuming this is correct.


Source: written by Carolyn Ourso