{"id":23173,"date":"2026-08-31T14:36:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T18:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/?p=23173"},"modified":"2026-08-31T15:27:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T19:27:50","slug":"aug31-sep6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/2026\/08\/aug31-sep6\/","title":{"rendered":"Aug 31st- Sep 6th: Howard Hanson has a close call at sea"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\" id=\"wpb-content-root\"><p>[vc_row css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1763390766007{padding-top: 40px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1788191526765{background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;]<em>Published on Aug 31st, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/this-week-at-eastman\/\">Back to This Week at Eastman<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1658327150379{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1726852979961{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;}&#8221;][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;1924: Howard Hanson has a close call at sea&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h3|text_align:left&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1788191567609{border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;border-left-style: solid !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-top-style: solid !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;border-color: #dddddd !important;border-radius: 1px !important;}&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1658327150379{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1729000374562{padding-bottom: 20px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1788200932178{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}&#8221;]One hundred and two years ago this week, while in transit to Rochester to assume his position at the Eastman School of Music, Howard Hanson had a close call at sea on board the White Star liner S. S. Arabic.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a>\u00a0<\/sup> Two archival sources paint a vivid picture of the occurrence\u2014a handwritten letter that Hanson wrote to his parents on September 1<sup>st<\/sup>, 1924, and a press account published in the (New York) <em>Daily Mirror <\/em>on August 26<sup>th<\/sup>, 1924 (one of several press accounts known to have been printed).\u00a0 For my money, Hanson\u2019s eyewitness account is the more compelling and the more human of the two, given that it was a spontaneous, personal emanation to loved ones with the intention of providing reassurance.\u00a0 Moreover, Hanson always had an eye for detail, and so we can be certain of his telling.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; gap=&#8221;20&#8243; equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1731093341024{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1731528215801{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_images_carousel images=&#8221;23175,23176,23177,23178&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; speed=&#8221;5000ms&#8221; wrap=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1788200117303{padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}&#8221; el_id=&#8221;Letter&#8221;][vc_column_text]<span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\u25ba Howard Hanson&#8217;s letter to his parents (4 Pages)<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"> Source:\u00a0 Howard Hanson Collection, accession no. 2005\/3\/25, box 50\/4.\u00a0 Ruth T. Watanabe Special Collections, Sibley Music Library<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1731528223642{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_images_carousel images=&#8221;23179,23180&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; speed=&#8221;5000ms&#8221; wrap=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1788201210651{padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}&#8221; el_id=&#8221;News&#8221;][vc_column_text]<span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\u25ba <em>Daily Mirror, <\/em>August 26, 1924, ( 2 pages)<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Source:\u00a0 Howard Hanson Collection, accession no. 2005\/3\/25, box 50\/4.\u00a0 Ruth T. Watanabe Special Collections, Sibley Music Library.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1658327150379{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1729000374562{padding-bottom: 20px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1788200919240{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}&#8221;]Eastman\u2019s Howard Hanson was a well-travelled man.\u00a0 As a college student he travelled hither and yon by train between his native Wahoo, Nebraska and Chicago (Northwestern University) and New York City (Institute of Musical Art), in addition to side trips to wherever he happened to be gigging.\u00a0 (The latter included Chautauqua engagements in Kansas City, Missouri.)\u00a0 As a professional, he crossed the U.S. several times by train while on faculty at the College of the Pacific (in San Jos\u00e9, California).\u00a0 During his fellowship years at the American Academy in Rome (1922-24) he crossed the Atlantic by steamship numerous times, and also travelled by train around Europe and the British Isles.\u00a0 He later sailed to Europe several more times, in 1930 and 1933) and again after the Second World War in the service of his UNESCO appointment.<\/p>\n<p>In 1962-62 he accompanied the Eastman Philharmonia on a much-celebrated three-month tour of Europe and the Middle East, a dizzying trek on chartered planes, busses, and trains.\u00a0 Throughout his ESM service (1924-64) and in his retirement he travelled regularly for academic service (President of NASM, etc.), speaking engagements, and guest conducting engagements.\u00a0 All told, many miles traversed, or to borrow the words of the distinguished American poet Robert Frost, miles to go before he slept<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\"><sup>[2]<\/sup><\/a>.\u00a0 Travel being what it is, it\u2019s only inevitable that along the way there would be incidents of one kind or another.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; gap=&#8221;20&#8243; equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1731093341024{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1731528215801{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221; image=&#8221;23193&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_outline&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\u25ba Howard playing a deck game on board the Saturnia (likely early 1922).<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Howard Hanson Collection, accession no. 2005\/3\/25, box 61\/8, sleeve f3.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1731528223642{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221; image=&#8221;23183&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_outline&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#4C4848E6&#8243; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\u25ba Howard Hanson with his parents.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Howard Hanson Collection, accession no. 2005\/3\/25, box 64\/18, sleeve b<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1658327150379{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1729000374562{padding-bottom: 20px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1788200885912{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}&#8221;]It\u2019s relevant to share some words about the young Hanson\u2019s correspondence with his parents, now preserved in the Howard Hanson Collection at the Sibley Music Library.\u00a0 As a college student and as a young teacher, and then as a Fellow at the American Academy in Rome, Hanson wrote home regularly to his parents, sometimes at the rate of two letters per week.\u00a0 (His letters from Rome are, in fact, the most complete extant account of those formative years in his life.)\u00a0 The fact is that Howard Hanson was an only son who enjoyed a close relationship with his parents, warmly suffused with filial love and also his own genuine concern for their well-being.\u00a0 That dynamic amply informed his letters home, which were carefully preserved (likely by his mother), the bulk of them (1912-21) pasted into four voluminous invoice ledgers with many more letters (1922-24) saved loosely.\u00a0 In 1924 Hanson brought his parents to live with him in Rochester, and there the correspondence ends.\u00a0 Inevitably, from our perspective today, such notions as <em>correspondence<\/em> . . . <em>the handwritten letter<\/em> . . . <em>a postmarked envelope<\/em> . . . and the rate classifications <em>\u201cfirst class\u201d<\/em> and <em>\u201cair mail\u201d<\/em> and <em>\u201csecond delivery\u201d<\/em> . . . now seem like artifacts of a by-gone age, a time when people took the time to sit down to compose letters in a considered way, and then dropping the letters a a U. S. Postal Service box.\u00a0 Today, when instantaneous digital communication has enabled the rapid and more informal exchange of words, delivery of a hard-copy letter by the U. S. Postal Service is all too often derided as \u201csnail mail\u201d<sup><a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a><\/sup>.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; gap=&#8221;20&#8243; equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1731093341024{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1731528215801{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221; image=&#8221;23188&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_outline&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][vc_column_text]<span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\u25ba Howard Hanson with his father.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Howard Hanson Collection, accession no. 2005\/3\/25, box 64\/18, sleeve i.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1731528223642{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221; image=&#8221;23184&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_outline&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][vc_column_text]<span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\u25ba Howard Hanson with his father.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Howard Hanson Collection, accession no. 2005\/3\/25, box 64\/21, sleeve a.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column css_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1788199918073{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;background-color: #FFFFFF !important;}&#8221; offset=&#8221;vc_col-xl-inherit vc_col-lg-inherit vc_col-md-4 vc_col-sm-inherit&#8221;][vc_single_image onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221; image=&#8221;23189&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_outline&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][vc_column_text]<span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\u25baHoward Hanson with his mother.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Howard Hanson Collection, box 64\/18, sleeve i. <\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1658327150379{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1729000374562{padding-bottom: 20px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1788200854750{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}&#8221;]Hanson\u2019s letters home were rife with details of everyday life\u2014what he was doing and where he was living, what the food was like, how his music lessons and courses were going, and so on.\u00a0 He frequently wrote on the stationery of hotels, associations, or schools from wherever he happened to be.\u00a0\u00a0 He routinely addressed his parents as \u201cDear Honies\u201d and signed his letters \u201cfrom your loving boy, Howard\u201d (he signed himself as their \u201cboy\u201d even in his twenties).\u00a0 He not infrequently appended his closing salutation with an invocation of God; one letter written on December 5<sup>th<\/sup>, 1914 in New York closed with \u201cMay God Bless You, Honies. \/ Lots and Lots of Love \/ and God\u2019s Blessings, \/ from your loving Boy, Howard.\u201d He took special care to assure his parents of his well-being, hence the numerous details about his health and what he was eating.\u00a0 In a letter of August 23, 1914, written on stationery of the Depot Hotel in Fairfield, Nebraska, he opened with \u00a0\u201cDear Honies, \/ I have arrived !! \/ I got into Lincoln in plenty of time to get some more \u2018cello strings and also a \u201cshine\u201d which made \/ \u2018some\u2019 improvement. \/ On the train to \/ Lincoln \/ Dennis Moyer sat \/ behind me and pumped \/ Life Insurance into \/ my ear almost all \/ the way.\u00a0 Very interesting.\u201d\u00a0 He went on to describe his hotel room:\u00a0 \u201cI got into \/ Hastings about 8:35 \/ and went directly \/ to the best hotel.\u00a0 And it is <u>some<\/u> [underscored twice] hotel.\u00a0 My \/ room had running \/ water, electric lights, \/ nicely furnished for \/ only $ 1.00.\u00a0 It was \/ a very fine place.\u201d\u00a0 And also what he\u2019d eaten for breakfast: \u201cHad a fine breakfast \/ here this morning. \/ Canteloupe, shredded \/ wheat with <u>real cream<\/u>\u00a0 [twice underscored], bacon, scrambled \/ egg, fried potatoes, fried mush, \/ hot biscuit, wheat cakes \/ and coffee.\u00a0 Some \/ breakfast for a small \/ man.\u00a0 But I didn\u2019t have \/ any supper last night, \/ only some nice cream.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eventually Hanson would send his parents the occasional typescript letter (i.e. rendered on a typewriter).\u00a0 One of the earliest such was written on August 14, 1917 aboard the Pacific Limited heading west to San Francisco. Just when the train had passed the Great Salt Lake, he typed the lines, \u201cI have been spending a good deal of time with the typewriter and have written several letters and typed about a dozen more of my experiments for the acoustics class.\u00a0 One man told me that I was the busiest man he had ever seen.\u00a0 One man asked me if I were a war-correspondent.\u00a0 I finally admitted that I was a teacher and they knew the worst.\u201d\u00a0 ! Young Hanson industriously at a typewriter on a train; keep that image in mind as you read these next lines from that same letter:\u00a0 \u201cHave been practicing the touch system with another young man who is carrying a Oliver that is almost as heavy as my machine.\u00a0 I think I will laern [sic: Hanson\u2019s own misspelling] the touch system so that I can type write more quickly.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Inevitably, Hanson\u2019s professional duties were occasionally so strenuous that he was unable to take the time to sit down and write.\u00a0 On at least one such occasion he filled the gap by ending a telegram, inevitably more expensive, such as one sent from San Jos\u00e9 on September 25, 1921:\u00a0 \u201cHave been unusually busy and have not been able to write you until today feeling fine lots of love Howard\u201d.\u00a0 \u00a0Those of an age will recall the customary style when sending a telegram: extreme brevity and omission of punctuation so as to contain the cost.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a><\/sup>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; gap=&#8221;20&#8243; equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1731093341024{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1731528215801{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221; image=&#8221;23191&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_outline&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][vc_column_text]<span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\u25ba Hans and Hilma Hanson.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Howard Hanson Collection, box 64\/18, sleeve a. <\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1731528223642{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221; image=&#8221;23192&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_outline&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;][vc_column_text]<span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\u25ba Hans and Hilma Hanson.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Howard Hanson Collection, box 64\/18, sleeve i. <\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1658327150379{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1729000374562{padding-bottom: 20px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1788200835544{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}&#8221;]<a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And so the incident on August 26<sup>th<\/sup>, 1924, when a hurricane met the S. S. Arabic off the New England coast.\u00a0 Hanson\u2019s letter of September 1<sup>st<\/sup>, 1924 is displayed <a href=\"#Letter\">here (4 pages in length)<\/a>. Written in the Catskills before Hanson headed to Rochester and Eastman, the letter opens with his relief at being on firm ground once again, and then plunges into details of the hurricane.\u00a0 The storm had begun in the morning and had kept up until nighttime.\u00a0 \u201cThe \/ highest wave was 100\u2019 in \/ heighth [sic] and smashed through \/ the doors on the top deck, broke \/ the windows, tore doors off \/ their hinges and smashed all \/ the furniture in the lounge! \/ The highest wave came \/ into the ship and she went \/ over on her side, 43 degrees, like this [see Hanson\u2019s drawing in his letter] and then \/ the steering gear broke and \/ the captain sounded the \/ last call on the steam whistle \/ and everybody got ready to \/ jump!\u201d\u00a0 Hanson further shared that he had \u201ckept absolutely cool, tied life- \/ preservers on some of the \/ women and even went out \/ on deck and pulled in a young \/ kid who had been swept out \/ by the big wave.\u00a0 This last \u2018exploit\u2019 \/ got me a mention for bravery in \/ account of the storm in the \/ <em>New York American, <\/em>but as a \/ matter of fact it didn\u2019t \/ amount to anything at all.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref5\">[5]<\/a><\/sup> I \/ must say that the women \/ surely were brave and most \/ of them beat the men!\u201d\u00a0 Hanson further reported helping the doctor with the injured, working until around 1 AM when he went down below and \u201cwas so tired \/ that I went fast asleep!\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s a vivid letter in which the thoughtful son reassures his parents that he was safe following a dramatic and potentially life-threatening encounter. He closes the letter on the fourth page with news that he will begin looking for a place in Rochester for all of them to live.\u00a0 Further, he described to them his preference for the type of motor-car that they should have.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column css_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1788197751463{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;padding-top: 40px !important;padding-bottom: 40px !important;background-color: #FFFFFF !important;}&#8221; offset=&#8221;vc_col-xl-inherit vc_col-lg-inherit vc_col-md-6 vc_col-sm-inherit&#8221;][vc_single_image onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221; image=&#8221;23190&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_outline&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">\u25baThe young Howard Hanson at the wheel: a covered sedan, just like he\u2019d written to his parents on September 1, 1924<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Howard Hanson Collection, box 64\/18, sleeve i. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1658327150379{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1729000374562{padding-bottom: 20px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1788204467509{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}&#8221;]A more formal account of the S. S. Arabic in the hurricane was printed in the <em>Daily Mirror, <\/em>displayed <a href=\"#News\">here (2 pages)<\/a><sup><a href=\"#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref6\">[6]<\/a>.\u00a0<\/sup> Not surprisingly, Hanson determined never to favor the White Star line with his custom ever again.\u00a0 \u201cI was disgusted with \/ the lack of system on the White \/ Star Line.\u00a0 When the big wave \/ struck us the doors had not \/ even been closed on the top deck. \/ A writer named [<em>illegible <\/em>] and I closed \/ one of them ourselves.\u00a0 There were \/ no [ <em>illegible <\/em>] lights for the portholes \/ and the lifeboats broke as soon \/ as the wave struck them! Never \/ again on the White Star for me.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Hanson\u2019s note about a systemic lack of attention to safety on the ship and his refusal to ever again travel on the White Star line is actually more relevant today in light of recent discoveries on the wreck of another White Star liner, the ill-fated RMS Titanic<sup><a href=\"#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref7\">[7]<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p>For Hanson, the incident on the S. S. Arabic was not his first rough Atlantic crossing that year.\u00a0 That previous January, when returning to the U.S. for several guest conducting engagements before beginning his final year at the American Academy in Rome, he was a passenger on the Italian liner Conte Verde which similarly encountered a rough storm.\u00a0 Hanson was mentioned by name as a passenger in a press article that described the incident.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn8\" name=\"_ftnref8\">[8]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 Interestingly, several years later in 1930, he had an unusual and totally personalized experience when the close timing of two professional engagements\u2014attending the Boston premiere of his Symphony no. 2 (\u201cRomantic\u201d) and then keeping a guest conducting engagement with the Augusteo Orchestra in Rome\u2014were potentially in conflict. Keeping the first date would interfere with his getting to New York in time to set sail for Rome.\u00a0 A flurry of communications conducted via diplomatic channels between Washington, D.C. and Rome resulted in the decision by the shipping line to make an exception in the ship\u2019s voyage.\u00a0 The Saturnia, on which Hanson had booked his passage, would leave New York harbor and, sailing some 250 miles off its course, turn northwards and stop at Boston so as to pick up Hanson before continuing on to cross the North Atlantic.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn9\" name=\"_ftnref9\">[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Finally, I should note that Hanson\u2019s experience on the S. S. Arabic would not be the only time that an Eastman School Director would have a close call in transit.\u00a0 Five decades later, on December 22<sup>nd<\/sup>, 1975, then-Director Dr. Robert Freeman was a passenger on a TWA 707 jetliner that made a crash landing at Milan.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn10\" name=\"_ftnref10\">[10]<\/a>\u00a0<\/sup> The jetliner was damaged beyond salvage, but all 133 souls on board managed to escape with their lives.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn11\" name=\"_ftnref11\">[11]<\/a>\u00a0<\/sup> In the event, Dr. Freeman was not among the injured, and he carried on with his intended travels during the winter break.<\/p>\n<p>Our Eastman School Directors and Deans all undertake extensive travel on the School\u2019s behalf.\u00a0 Let\u2019s wish them all\u00a0<strong><em><u>safe<\/u><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0and\u00a0<strong><em><u>uneventful<\/u><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0travel, every time![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1658327150379{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1729000374562{padding-bottom: 20px !important;}&#8221;][vc_separator color=&#8221;black&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1788198704131{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}&#8221;]<span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a>\u00a0 Note that there had been an earlier White Star liner RMS Arabic, differentiated in appearance from the one on which Hanson sailed by its one single funnel.\u00a0 That earlier ship was launched in 1903 and was sunk during World War I in 1915.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a>\u00a0 From the poem \u201cStopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening\u201d by Robert Frost (1874-1963), accessible in numerous places online and in countless published editions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a>\u00a0 \u201cSnail mail\u201d is a reductive term that is both derogatory and pejorative, whether or not the speaker actually intends it as such.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a> All correspondence cited herein from the Howard Hanson Collection, accession no. 2005\/3\/25, sub-group III, series 2.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\">[5]<\/a>\u00a0 Hanson wrote at the top of the letter\u2019s first page that he was saving a copy of the <em>New York American <\/em>for his parents, but as it happens, no copy of same is extant now among his papers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref6\" name=\"_ftn6\">[6]<\/a>\u00a0 The newspaper section was retained in its entirety, preserved among Hanson\u2019s papers.\u00a0 In archival work I\u2019ve noted numerous instances when an individual has retained an entire newspaper section when one particularly noteworthy article appeared within, as though intending to preserve the context around the event.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref7\" name=\"_ftn7\">[7]<\/a> \u201cThey Scanned Titanic with New Technology \u2014 What They Found at 3800m Shocked the World\u201d.\u00a0 Video\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/rZvdAg2zJEo?si=OEyhhZqmH0WtNK4D\">accessible on YouTube<\/a>, last accessed by me on August 28, 2026.\u00a0 \u00a0New exploration in 2022-24 resulted in findings that have prompted a reconsideration of the Titanic disaster, the design of the ship and its consequences, and the actual circumstances behind the tremendous loss of life. The new findings are controversial in that they refute the time-honored reporting on the Titanic disaster and ultimately point to systemic failure on the part of the White Star line.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref8\" name=\"_ftn8\">[8]<\/a>\u00a0 \u201cConte Verde battered by her first serious storm\u201d.\u00a0 January 15, 1924.\u00a0 Newspaper attribution lacking.\u00a0 Preserved in Scrapbook 1A, box 112, Howard Hanson Collection, accession no. 997.12, Ruth T. Watanabe Special Collections, Sibley Music Library.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref9\" name=\"_ftn9\">[9]<\/a>\u00a0 \u201cItalian liner top stop at Boston especially for Dr. Howard Hanson\u201d in the <em>Rochester Democrat &amp; Chronicle, <\/em>November 26, 1930.\u00a0 Preserved in Scrapbook no. 2, box 113, Howard Hanson Collection, accession no. 997.12, Ruth T. Watanabe Special Collections, Sibley Music Library.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref10\" name=\"_ftn10\">[10]<\/a> \u201cJetliner crashes in Milan fog\u201d in the <em>Rochester Democrat &amp; Chronicle, <\/em>December 23, 1975.\u00a0 Preserved in Rochester Scrapbook November-December 1975, Ruth T. Watanabe Special Collections, Sibley Music Library.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref11\" name=\"_ftn11\">[11]<\/a>\u00a0 An investigation by Trans-World Airlines later attributed the incident to the failure on the part of the pilot-in-command to follow established procedures.\u00a0 Interestingly, tenor Luciano Pavarotti was also on the plane.\u00a0 While some 30 passengers sustained injuries, all of the 113 passengers and 9 crew members onboard the plane were evacuated with no fatalities.\u00a0 A photograph of the jet, taken a short time later, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airliners.net\/photo\/Untitled-Trans-World-Airlines-TWA\/Boeing-707-331B\/1759167\">can be seen online<\/a>.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1658327150379{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1726852979961{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;}&#8221;][vc_empty_space]<svg id=\"gambit-row-separator-1\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMax meet\" class=\"gambit_separator gambit_sep_bottom gambit-sep-type-straight\" viewBox=\"0 0 1600 38\" data-bg-color=\"#f4f4f4\" style=\"display: none; width: 100%; height: calc(19 \/ 1600 * 100vw)\" data-height=\"19\">\n<rect x=\"-4\" class=\"gambit_sep_decor1\" style=\"opacity: 1;fill: #ffffff;\" width=\"1608\" height=\"18\"\/>\n<rect x=\"-4\" y=\"12\" class=\"gambit_sep_decor2\" style=\"opacity: 1;fill: #dddddd;\" width=\"1608\" height=\"18\"\/>\n<rect x=\"-4\" y=\"24\" class=\"gambit_sep_main\" style=\"\" width=\"1608\" height=\"16\"\/><\/svg>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1631195300893{margin-top: 40px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column][vc_basic_grid item=&#8221;17490&#8243; post_type=&#8221;post&#8221; max_items=&#8221;4&#8243; element_width=&#8221;3&#8243; grid_id=&#8221;vc_gid:1788204441186-da276168-9ae3-8&#8243; taxonomies=&#8221;18&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 1924, while in transit to Rochester to assume his position at the Eastman School of Music, Howard Hanson had a close call at sea on board the White Star liner S. S. Arabic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":276,"featured_media":23233,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,18],"tags":[19,17],"coauthors":[3],"class_list":["post-23173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-this-week-at-eastman","tag-august","tag-september"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/276"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23173"}],"version-history":[{"count":46,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23234,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23173\/revisions\/23234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23173"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=23173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}