Nicholls State University - La Pirogue Yearbook (Thibodaux, LA)

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'Hg5.,... f 25 WW: f -'uf s fm headquarters for rescue operations as divers worked to free bodies and attempted to haul the ferry up. As the bodies were recovered, the task of identification began. Two Nicholls students, Anita Poole, 25, a commu- nications arts sophomore from Olla, La., and Mary Linda Lightsey, 30, an education junior from Destrehan were among the victims. The 18 survivors were taken to St. Charles General Hos- pital, less than half mile from the river. Charles Chatlain, 34, of River Ridge, escaped through a window of his submerged truck. I surprised myself at how good I could swim. I guess I was under about five minutes. It seemed like a lifetime. . he recalled. The captain of the George Prince, Gene Aulletta, was a 35-year-old Seaman with experience piloting boats in the Gulf of Mexico. I-Ie had been the ferry skipper for just one year. A coroner's examination of his body showed alcohol present, but the test could not prove conclusively that he The ferry capsized after being hit by the Norwegian freighter, Frosta. The St. Charles Grain was drunk at the time of the collision. The news was only a small spark in the aftermath as lawsuits filed against the state by the victims' families and relatives totaled nearly S100 million. At this time the state of Louisiana is still working on set- tlements. The greatest irony was the location of the accident: one mile downriver from the construction of a new bridge. which would replace the ferry by 1981. Four days later, the Cincinnati Reds defeated the New York Yankees for the fourth time and won the World Series crown. On television, other stories had taken the place of a small overturned ferry. jutting out of the Missis- sippi River. In time, the rest of the world returned to normal, as life in the parishes along the river did too. But there will always be that moment for some, standing on the river levee, watching an anonymous ship pass by silently. And they would remember. Divers worked to free the bodies and to haul the ferry up from the water. Elevator can be seen in the back- ground. .J -s . A ., - Ji wa.: V ' . ff. .. uf gl 'iff' - . -gov 'LYS .lfflvi T if-if C-Q:'1'i4,.zf flflfif ' i ng, 1 I f 'f5'P'i1i':0Hi'e -K,-Wildgl the sister 1 1 A ' -e C' forry to the George Prince 5 , 5 . E E i forfescue oper a U 1' .al Y'-Y wma., ns. -,,.. -me - rr- ' --iihbdin-i .J . 'mE f- l........- ZI7...-44. ZZ- fu, ki xl' -SE , J-gi!-j'f,,.. 5- '-,f.,,L-5 , 'R afla- i r Z it i ' ---.i....,... qs-

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gi-L 5 'ftitllilitli ii ' W. iitttititatf-Qiii - aim .I me f it it 'ff-'iffx'I1'ff.-t5ii1iiMQA .' tJvf'Efi-my . '1'.q.iR.'ap. f 1 ,will.,-,yx:.igg.'-..5.g.f-.- ,,fi . H .,,.zct5i-g,, sp: .WJ ,Q 41 ' t , Vi ...flip ,.L.WW5H.Wy an y Kun ti S I Af, I O 4.7 yti-1-gait., Tw, . 2, r 515,395 ' 4 I 1 I 1 , 5. '11.'JfViff:tlW'Us it-f Pykflfl Avg MIM' VM' wig, ff'- .,.:.hc'r.,.1'.W-Qvmwiy-1 5 ji, Q -5 N 11. do ,1 t9 , ,Nh fi t fy 1 ff 1 i iv ,I .f.'-'11,-.:f',i1fr.t ,AL - , ,. , . . ff W' ' ' f by Kevin Fambrough It was cold and windy that Wednesday morning. So cold that the walk-on passengers and drivers who left their cars huddled inside the ferry's cabin as it began to cross the Mississippi River. Several topics filled the brisk air, as the 125-foot ferry. George Prince, left its Destrehan dock. The Cincinnati Reds had defeated the New York Yankees for the second time in the World Series and it was the middle of the week for the workers at the various chemical plants in St. Charles Parish. Payday was still three days away. But what many didn't know. and 77 never would. was that in less than half an hour, 18 dazed, stunned survivors would be telling reporters and sheriff's deputies of the horror they saw and couldn't prevent. At 6:23 a.m.. October 23, 1976, the freighter Frosta plowed into the side of the George Prince, pushing it until the ferry capsized and sank in 65 feet of the muddy Missis- sippi water. Two survivors said the ferry moved directly into the path of the ship despite whistle warnings by the freighter and the shouts and horn blowing from the ferry's passen- gers. Charles Naquin, a 20-year-old worker from St. Rose, and a foot traveler on the ferry. later said that it was only when the ship was right on us that the captain cut the motor off and stopped. But it was too late. . The impact knocked passengers into the freezing water as cars slid off the deck of the ferry. Waiting motorists on both sides of the river watched in disbelief. Gwen Breaud and his father, P.I. Breaud, would have been the last passengers on the ferry but deckhands would not let them put their pickup truck on board. I cursed the ferry because I was left behind, but now I thank God I am alive, Gwen said. Within minutes an array of ships and small craft began rushing to the scene. Two tugs pushing a grain ship to the dock at the St. Charles Grain Elevator were the first on the scene. Also responding to the disaster was the capsized ves- sel's sister ferry. the Ollie K. Wilds. The ferry became the Two stud nt fatalities in earl mornin disaster l 5 0 i 1 R -1 ,,, . , ,, , . 41.3 , N E R if 53 .iz if 5' W vi 4 4: :A lf. ' if 'L . I I ffyf it , 'V f A bs . 4 -ev ii? 14 X I -- s gi, f 1.-'gif'-4 I ,. . L, :KT-gfffif? -. f . ' ,pf We i. Y.. flif Z fn.,- ' I if I 7' ' I I -. 5, i-i ' ' V I .14 Z., . it .FRI-fetffftiaovf, ' ' . wl62315?L,1,,Q 4, n i . M- .4 I ' 4 W Mt t ' 'l v4-'-wwf -'eff'-1-wfpr-I-w ,-fy. - f gv:-li, I - f-f,'.,jjff-fifzfgj :,-' 5 ,,,J1,, :L ' t : ?:I ,-. .1153 . 'wp-x Qi'-f.'3gz,.'-, . , twiki' W fa 'W' Q t I I , ' J '-+fi.zv1t'.f'..-,,1- , A . ff' .I -f , 3 Qf.iyW,,. I X I uhm if 2 Q I l.53fZfj:'i,.1'5ufJv.1'.-.,2 ,'!'1ltPf-fifii,fE5E'?j 'V ya ' if ' Emiffi 1 - . .viiifZ':2'l4,,.5l1'ldi'itf:Iii.lf+l8f1 it- tial.. 'i13: 'l'JY '

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