After driving for and hour and a half or so (at well over 100 mph
I might add; Dianne drove, I slept) we finally arrived the Bernier
Museum. It was located on the bank of the St. Lawrence at L'Islet-sur-Mer
north of Quebec City. |
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Among
the items here are the ship's bell. It is engraved with the ship's
name and is sitting on the floor in front of a large picture of
the ship. I was surprised to see that the bell was out in the open
where anyone could touch it.
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| The Bernier
Museum also has a small compass and bridge telemotor. They are encased
in Plexiglas cases but are not restored. In fact, few of the items
on display look like they have been treated in any way. |
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I forget
exactly what this compass is called; I remember that it was the
outdoor compass and suffered the most abuse from the elements. It
was in poor condition. The glass was broken and the wood rotted
and dried.
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| Several large
china cabinets held dishes, silverware and personal items recovered
from the wreck as well as portholes. The portholes looked like they
still had mud and dirt on them from the bottom of the St. Lawrence.
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A
ship's wheel is kept in an open-ended display. Although it looks
to have been cleaned, it's suffered much deterioration over the
years. I was a little disappointed in the lack of preservation and
the condition of the artifacts here.
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| The builder's
plaque is in the same display as the ship's wheel. Among items recovered
from the wreck of any ship the wheel, compass, ship's bell and builder's
plaque are considered to be the most sought-after items. |
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As Empress
of Ireland was making for the open sea, she carried many full
bottles of wine and liquor. The Bernier Museum has several on display,
some with their corks still in place!
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| Unable to
resist, I reached into the exhibit with the wheel and plaque to touch
the ship's wheel. It was Chris' fault actually, he wandered what it
would be like to touch the wheel of Empress of Ireland. He
put the idea in my head and then snapped the incriminating photo at
right. Shhh! don't tell anyone at the Bernier! |
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