LETHBRIDGE, NL— It was likely the first commemorative service of it's kind held in over 120 years.
On Sunday, Nov. 5, a memorial service at Heritage Collegiate was held to commemorate the 13 who lost their lives when the Maggie schooner went down in the Narrows heading into St. John's on Nov. 7, 1896, after a collision with the ship Tiber.
The ceremony was hosted by In Memory of the Maggie Inc., a group of volunteers who began meeting last December to discuss what could be done to memorialize and commemorate the tragedy, which they feel has been neglected and forgotten.
"It's been 121 years. And we feel that justice was never served to these people," explained Kay Young, chair of the group.
The captain, mate, and lookout man for the Tiger, which cut down the Maggie, were question, but never formally charged with culpable neglect resulting in the 13 deaths.
Young says that a large crowd, somewhere between 125 to 150 people, attended the ceremony.
Heritage Collegiate Grade 8 class performed a ballad, and the 310 Clode Sound Sea Cadets participated in the ceremony. MHA Neil King also participated.
"We're really pleased there was a lot of interest," said Young.
The group is still interested in seeking out descendants of those who were on the ship the day it went down.
The group is also interesting in erecting a lasting monument to the disaster.
They hope to erect a monument and perhaps storyboards, which document the events of that day. The group is currently seeking grounds on which to erect the memorial.
Anyone with information about the disaster or who is interested in coming to a meeting can contact Kay Diamond at 687-5018.
Related story: Lethbridge area group hopes to erect memorial to Maggie disaster
