92 Years since Morro Castle disaster
On September 8, 1934 Spring Lake residents awoke to one last surge of summer visitors. The weather this day would in no way be considered beach worthy. In fact, a harsh nor'easter had been blowing through the evening. Unfortunately, "the tourists" coming ashore had arrived only out of necessity. They had abandoned The Morro Castle which caught fire off the Jersey Shore. It's likely the direction of this storm helped many of these victims make landfall. Had winds not been out of the northeast, many of them would not have had the strength to reach the beach.
40 years following this disaster, The New York Times published an article recalling the accounts of three Spring Lake residents involved in the mitigation of this disaster. One of these residents was chief dispatcher of Spring Lake Police, Lewis R. Norris. Descendants of Mr. Norris still reside in Spring Lake and keep close watch over his Morro Castle scrapbook. I have had the luxury of reading through this account of the disaster. Uncle Lew, as my father and Uncle's knew him, kept an impressive record of the event. We are grateful for this.
According to Lew, he was working a fairly quiet shift. At about 4:30am, the police got a call reporting a ship on fire off the coast. He drove to the beach to find the enormous cruise liner burning off Spring Lake. About 2 hours later, SLPD would receive a first aid call at the south end of the beach. Upon arrival, Lew watched as a lifeboat containing 14 crew and 1 passenger reached the shore. These survivors were treated and, as necessary, transported by the first aid squad to Fitkin Memorial Hospital.
Charles Wilbur Brahn was Captain of the squad at this time. We know from records that great grandpa was on scene for the Morro Castle disaster. His role was likely to direct first aiders in the transport of victims as well as set up the squad building as a temporary hospital. That evening more than 150 passengers were treated here and 40 transported to Fitkin Memorial. Dr. Louis F. Albright was a member of the squad and supervising physician of the field hospital that night.
The Morro Castle Story is a fascinating one which I hope to discuss more as time goes on. For now, we honor those who perished as well as those who saved lives. Keep an eye out for future tales. To read the entirety Lew's recollection as well as that of 2 more Spring Lake residents please follow NY Times link below (subscription required, sorry).
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