The storm that enveloped the Great Lakes region November 8 to 11 was the most destructive since the lakes have been commercially navigated. Called the "White Hurricane," this major winter storm stuck the Great Lakes on November 7-10, 1913, resulting in a dozen major shipwrecks, with an estimated 254 lives lost. It remains the largest inland maritime disaster, in terms of number of ships lost, in U.S. history.
Sadie Rex Black (left, at age 13), daughter of Martin and Lydia Rex, along with her husband, Clarence, was a steward and the only female aboard the Hanna, one of the few ships that survived this storm.*
Some 21 years later, Sadie was interviewed by a newspaper reporter at her home in Toledo, and the event was still vivid in her memory.
*In the following pages from "Tales of Michigan" by Constance M. Jerlecki is an account of her experience.
Sadie Rex Black (left, at age 13), daughter of Martin and Lydia Rex, along with her husband, Clarence, was a steward and the only female aboard the Hanna, one of the few ships that survived this storm.*
Some 21 years later, Sadie was interviewed by a newspaper reporter at her home in Toledo, and the event was still vivid in her memory.
*In the following pages from "Tales of Michigan" by Constance M. Jerlecki is an account of her experience.
