The Day the Whistles Cried: The Great Cornfield Meet at Dutchman's Curve
A dramatic history of America’s Deadliest Train Wreck, exploring the lives and times of those involved.
When customs and social mores determined who would survive this cataclysmic event.
Meet The Author at Southern Festival of Books
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Who: Betsy Thorpe
What: Book Signing & Meet-and-Greet When: Saturday, October 14th, 2017, 11:00am - 1:00pm Where: Near the Nashville Writers Meetup booth at the Southern Festival of Books, at Legislative Plaza in Nashville, TN Author Betsy Thorpe will make an appearance in Nashville this weekend during the Southern Festival of Books to read from and sign copies of her book, The Day the Whistles Cried: The Great Cornfield Meet at Dutchman’s Curve. In her book, Thorpe details the inside story of America’s worst train wreck, which happened right outside Music City. It affected future railroad regulations, traumatized thousands, and, most importantly, cost many individuals their lives in just an instant. This tragic tale, underscored by wartime urgency and human error, unfolds in the midst of the racial and societal divisions of the early twentieth century. Segregation and cultural norms played a key role in deciding who would live and who would die during this cataclysmic event. These issues still echo for us today. The author will be signing books that are available for purchase inside the Nashville Writers Meetup exhibitor’s booth and will be available to answer questions about the wreck, the book, and her personal writing methods. |
Walk Through Time on the Richland Creek Greenway
On September 23rd, author Betsy Thorpe--The Day the Whistles Cried—will lead a walking tour through the site of the deadliest train wreck in U.S. history. Long before the train wreck occurred in 1918, the site, now the Richland Creek Greenway, played host to many dramatic moments in history.
Going back more than five hundred years when a village of Mississippian Culture natives occupied the land, she will share the events that unfolded in the area leading up to the time of the train wreck.
Walk Through Time will start at the pedestrian bridge behind the Publix grocery store near the intersection of White Bridge Road and Harding Road –230 Kenner Ave N at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 23rd. The bridge, known as the “Old White Bridge,” marks the trailhead of the Richland Creek Greenway.
Side note, for those who don’t know: That very bridge plays an important role in the story of the train wreck. It appears often on the pages of Thorpe’s book, The Day the Whistles Cried.
The walk is free and open to public
Going back more than five hundred years when a village of Mississippian Culture natives occupied the land, she will share the events that unfolded in the area leading up to the time of the train wreck.
Walk Through Time will start at the pedestrian bridge behind the Publix grocery store near the intersection of White Bridge Road and Harding Road –230 Kenner Ave N at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 23rd. The bridge, known as the “Old White Bridge,” marks the trailhead of the Richland Creek Greenway.
Side note, for those who don’t know: That very bridge plays an important role in the story of the train wreck. It appears often on the pages of Thorpe’s book, The Day the Whistles Cried.
The walk is free and open to public
Lunch & Learn at the Tennessee State Museum
Wartime Casualties at Home: How Nationalization of the Railways During WWI Led to the Deadliest Train Crash in U.S. History by Betsy Thorpe, Local Historian - July 20, 2017
Buy The Day the Whistles Cried at Wendell Smith's
Buy a copy of a The Day the Whistles Cried at Wendell Smith's Restaurant. Where the food is good and customers drive cool cars. 407 53rd Avenue North, Nashville.
Author to give an inside look at deadliest train wreck in U.S. History at Union Station
The morning of July 9, 1918 began as many other days at Nashville’s Union Station. For more than three hundred train passengers, it appeared to be a customary travel day with only the expected wartime inconveniences —delays and overcrowding—awaiting them. They settled into their seat. Minutes later, Engineer David Kennedy drove through a stretch known as Dutchman’s Curve, completely unaware that another locomotive up ahead was pulling a filled-to-capacity passenger train and barreling down the same set of tracks toward him at full speed.
The terrible wreck that followed remains the deadliest train wreck in U.S history. More than one hundred souls perished in the crash. They were only seven miles from the station.
On Sunday, July 9, 2017, Betsy Thorpe, author of The Day the Whistles Cried; The Great Cornfield Meet at Dutchman’s Curve, will lead a walking tour through Nashville’s Union Station, now a four-star hotel.
“Union Station is the greatest remaining artifact to the train wreck,” says Thorpe. “Many of the victims passed through these very doors on the morning of the wreck. They are tangible, historic objects. Touched by those about to lose their lives, ninety-nine years ago. Touched by you and me today.”
Thorpe will share how events of the day unfolded in different parts of the station, both for the railroad workers and the stranded travelers. She will also share the personal tales of the many Red Cross volunteers, doctors, and nurses who immediately flocked to the site as soon as word of the wreck got out.
Attendees will also learn about the architecture and early history of Union Station, and how local preservationists in the recent past saved the historic building from falling prey to the wrecking ball.
Union Station is located at 1001 Broadway in downtown Nashville. The tour will begin in the lobby at 2 pm.
The terrible wreck that followed remains the deadliest train wreck in U.S history. More than one hundred souls perished in the crash. They were only seven miles from the station.
On Sunday, July 9, 2017, Betsy Thorpe, author of The Day the Whistles Cried; The Great Cornfield Meet at Dutchman’s Curve, will lead a walking tour through Nashville’s Union Station, now a four-star hotel.
“Union Station is the greatest remaining artifact to the train wreck,” says Thorpe. “Many of the victims passed through these very doors on the morning of the wreck. They are tangible, historic objects. Touched by those about to lose their lives, ninety-nine years ago. Touched by you and me today.”
Thorpe will share how events of the day unfolded in different parts of the station, both for the railroad workers and the stranded travelers. She will also share the personal tales of the many Red Cross volunteers, doctors, and nurses who immediately flocked to the site as soon as word of the wreck got out.
Attendees will also learn about the architecture and early history of Union Station, and how local preservationists in the recent past saved the historic building from falling prey to the wrecking ball.
Union Station is located at 1001 Broadway in downtown Nashville. The tour will begin in the lobby at 2 pm.
World War I to Come to Belle Meade Plantation, April 6th: Author Betsy Thorpe to Speak
The city of Belle Meade wasn’t always as it is today. Can you imagine Belle Meade overrun by thousands of soldiers in training? Can you picture barracks or a military airfield just around the corner from the grounds of Belle Meade Country Club? On April 6, 1917, America joined the “Great War .”
Soon after, Fort Andrew Jackson was born. Nashville’s new military camp brought a sudden influx of soldiers and military staff to training grounds on the city’s outskirts.
On April 6, 2017 Belle Meade Plantation will open a new exhibit to commemorate the centennial of America’s involvement in the “Great War,” and re-imagine life at this moment in Nashville history.
A brand new outdoor exhibition will focus on the changing landscape of Belle Meade during the early 20th century and feature a training trench, flag pole, and interpretive panels describing the area during the time of the Great War.
Soon after, Fort Andrew Jackson was born. Nashville’s new military camp brought a sudden influx of soldiers and military staff to training grounds on the city’s outskirts.
On April 6, 2017 Belle Meade Plantation will open a new exhibit to commemorate the centennial of America’s involvement in the “Great War,” and re-imagine life at this moment in Nashville history.
A brand new outdoor exhibition will focus on the changing landscape of Belle Meade during the early 20th century and feature a training trench, flag pole, and interpretive panels describing the area during the time of the Great War.
TROUBLE ON HAPPY HILL: A Reading by Betsy Thorpe
The scene in front of Dr. Clark was frightening. The crowd had increased; now, more than fifty men had gathered. Some wore masks. On the flatbed of a truck, two unmasked men worked together. One held a heavy coil of rope, letting a few feet of unraveled rope dangle between them. The second man grabbed it. Pulling it taut, he fashioned a noose.
Dr. Clark dropped the curtain and turned to the worried woman standing beside him.
Trouble on Happy Hill: a Book Reading by Betsy Thorpe
On Saturday February 18, 2017, Metro Archives will host a book reading by Betsy Thorpe. This special event will feature Thorpe in the third-floor Commons Room of the downtown branch of the Nashville Public Library at noon. She is the author of The Day the Whistles Cried, and will share with attendees an exclusive sneak peek into her next forthcoming creative nonfiction book, Trouble on Happy Hill.
Based on a 1917 case out of Pulaski, Tennessee, Trouble on Happy Hill tells the story of fourteen-year-old J.D. Williams and sixteen-year-old Eddie Alsup, who were jailed quickly and without solid evidence after being accused of raping their neighbor, a sixteen-year-old white girl.
Their arrest set in motion a political firestorm that resulted in a hasty Tennessee Supreme Court decision. Was there a rush to judgment based on race? Were the boys guilty, or simply unfortunate innocents misidentified for a crime they didn’t commit?
Though these questions were raised almost one hundred years ago, the impact still resonates. Trouble on Happy Hill may be a story from a bygone era, but it is one with social and historical significance for readers today.
Set against a backdrop of racial tensions at a time when lynch mobs terrorized the South, this true story of the struggle for judicial equality in early twentieth-century America mirrors some of the racial injustice we still see happening in America today, begging two important questions: “What have we learned from the past?” and “When will it make a difference?”
Trouble on Happy Hill: a Book Reading by Betsy Thorpe is a free event and is open the public. For more information, visit www.betsyathorpe.com or email betsy.thorpe@gmail.com.
Dr. Clark dropped the curtain and turned to the worried woman standing beside him.
Trouble on Happy Hill: a Book Reading by Betsy Thorpe
On Saturday February 18, 2017, Metro Archives will host a book reading by Betsy Thorpe. This special event will feature Thorpe in the third-floor Commons Room of the downtown branch of the Nashville Public Library at noon. She is the author of The Day the Whistles Cried, and will share with attendees an exclusive sneak peek into her next forthcoming creative nonfiction book, Trouble on Happy Hill.
Based on a 1917 case out of Pulaski, Tennessee, Trouble on Happy Hill tells the story of fourteen-year-old J.D. Williams and sixteen-year-old Eddie Alsup, who were jailed quickly and without solid evidence after being accused of raping their neighbor, a sixteen-year-old white girl.
Their arrest set in motion a political firestorm that resulted in a hasty Tennessee Supreme Court decision. Was there a rush to judgment based on race? Were the boys guilty, or simply unfortunate innocents misidentified for a crime they didn’t commit?
Though these questions were raised almost one hundred years ago, the impact still resonates. Trouble on Happy Hill may be a story from a bygone era, but it is one with social and historical significance for readers today.
Set against a backdrop of racial tensions at a time when lynch mobs terrorized the South, this true story of the struggle for judicial equality in early twentieth-century America mirrors some of the racial injustice we still see happening in America today, begging two important questions: “What have we learned from the past?” and “When will it make a difference?”
Trouble on Happy Hill: a Book Reading by Betsy Thorpe is a free event and is open the public. For more information, visit www.betsyathorpe.com or email betsy.thorpe@gmail.com.
The Unexpected Joys of Book Writing
On November 5th I was initiated, as an honorary member, into the Beta Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. Being asked to join the society is just one of the many fun things that I have been invited to do since Whistles was released.
I had no idea that being a published author would improve my social life so much!
I had no idea that being a published author would improve my social life so much!
COMING IN 2017: TROUBLE ON HAPPY HILL
On August 30, 1917, two Negro boys—fourteen-year-old J.D. Williams and sixteen-year-old Eddie Alsup—were jailed after being accused of raping their neighbor, a sixteen-year-old white girl, setting in motion a political firestorm that resulted in a hasty Tennessee Supreme Court decision.
Was there a rush to judgment based on race? Were the boys guilty or unfortunate innocents misidentified for a crime they didn’t commit? Those questions raised almost one hundred years ago still resonate. Trouble on Happy Hill may be a story from a bygone era, but it is one with social and historical significance for readers even now.
Set against a backdrop of racial tensions at a time when lynch mobs terrorized the South, this true story of the struggle for judicial equality between the races in early twentieth century America mirrors the racial injustice happening in America today, begging the questions, “What have we learned from the past?” and “When will it make a difference?”
Was there a rush to judgment based on race? Were the boys guilty or unfortunate innocents misidentified for a crime they didn’t commit? Those questions raised almost one hundred years ago still resonate. Trouble on Happy Hill may be a story from a bygone era, but it is one with social and historical significance for readers even now.
Set against a backdrop of racial tensions at a time when lynch mobs terrorized the South, this true story of the struggle for judicial equality between the races in early twentieth century America mirrors the racial injustice happening in America today, begging the questions, “What have we learned from the past?” and “When will it make a difference?”
On 98th Anniversary of Nashville’s Great Train wreck, Local Author Leads Tour of Crash Site
On July 9, 1918, Nashville experienced unthinkable two trains collided just outside of town. More than 100 people lost their lives that morning, and to this day, that accident is considered the greatest train wreck in American history.
On July 9, 2016, to commemorate the 98th anniversary of the event, local author and historian Betsy Thorpe will lead a walking tour of the crash site, giving Nashvillians a first-hand look—and a lot of insider information—about what really happened at Dutchman’s Curve. Indeed, Thorpe is the perfect person to lead the tour, as she wrote the definitive work covering the event, 2014’s The Day the Whistles Cried.
Thorpe was immediately intrigued by the wreck after reading a few paragraphs about it in a book. She dove head-first into her research, and after learning that there was no historical marker to denote the site, she decided to lobby for one herself, kicking off a “seven-year adventure” that found her uncovering never-heard stories about the individuals impacted by the tragedy. “I’m a people person, so that’s what intrigued me the most,” she said in an interview with StyleBlueprint.com. “Most people were interested in the railroad or the industrial aspect of the wreck. But I wanted to know about the people and their families.”
Surprisingly, it wasn’t just the victims and their loved ones who were affected by the crash. Local residents were deeply touched by the tragedy and, in most cases, went out of their way to help. “The community response to the train wreck exemplified Nashville at its best as citizens temporarily ignored racial divides and barriers to rush to the wreck site to help rescue and care for injured passengers and railroad workers,” Thorpe explains. “That same sense of community was evident 92 years later in 2010, when flood waters trapped and displaced hundreds of people in the same neighborhood the train wreck happened in. And once again, people from all socio and economic groups came out to help their neighbors.”
Tour participants will hear these stories and more as they walk along the site with Thorpe, and it’s an experience that fellow author and Nashville historian Betsy Phillips highly recommends. “Betsy has a deep and rich knowledge of the history of the train wreck and of the history of the area; plus, she's entertaining and compassionate,” Phillips says. “If you want a good understanding of one of the pivotal moments in Nashville's history, take Betsy Thorpe's tour."
The tour of the train wreck site will begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, and will last for around an hour. Thorpe will meet participants at 230 Kenner Avenue North, at the Old White Bridge Trailhead of the Richland Creek Greenway. For more information contact Betsy Thorpe at 615 480-4306 betsy.thorpe@gmail.com
On July 9, 1918, Nashville experienced unthinkable two trains collided just outside of town. More than 100 people lost their lives that morning, and to this day, that accident is considered the greatest train wreck in American history.
On July 9, 2016, to commemorate the 98th anniversary of the event, local author and historian Betsy Thorpe will lead a walking tour of the crash site, giving Nashvillians a first-hand look—and a lot of insider information—about what really happened at Dutchman’s Curve. Indeed, Thorpe is the perfect person to lead the tour, as she wrote the definitive work covering the event, 2014’s The Day the Whistles Cried.
Thorpe was immediately intrigued by the wreck after reading a few paragraphs about it in a book. She dove head-first into her research, and after learning that there was no historical marker to denote the site, she decided to lobby for one herself, kicking off a “seven-year adventure” that found her uncovering never-heard stories about the individuals impacted by the tragedy. “I’m a people person, so that’s what intrigued me the most,” she said in an interview with StyleBlueprint.com. “Most people were interested in the railroad or the industrial aspect of the wreck. But I wanted to know about the people and their families.”
Surprisingly, it wasn’t just the victims and their loved ones who were affected by the crash. Local residents were deeply touched by the tragedy and, in most cases, went out of their way to help. “The community response to the train wreck exemplified Nashville at its best as citizens temporarily ignored racial divides and barriers to rush to the wreck site to help rescue and care for injured passengers and railroad workers,” Thorpe explains. “That same sense of community was evident 92 years later in 2010, when flood waters trapped and displaced hundreds of people in the same neighborhood the train wreck happened in. And once again, people from all socio and economic groups came out to help their neighbors.”
Tour participants will hear these stories and more as they walk along the site with Thorpe, and it’s an experience that fellow author and Nashville historian Betsy Phillips highly recommends. “Betsy has a deep and rich knowledge of the history of the train wreck and of the history of the area; plus, she's entertaining and compassionate,” Phillips says. “If you want a good understanding of one of the pivotal moments in Nashville's history, take Betsy Thorpe's tour."
The tour of the train wreck site will begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, and will last for around an hour. Thorpe will meet participants at 230 Kenner Avenue North, at the Old White Bridge Trailhead of the Richland Creek Greenway. For more information contact Betsy Thorpe at 615 480-4306 betsy.thorpe@gmail.com
Join me May 19th for a Walking Tour of Dutchman's Curve.
The tour will begin at 11:00 am. We will meet on the Old White Bridge--the headway to the Richland Creek Greenway.
The bridge is located near the intersection of Harding and White Bridge Roads.
The tour will begin at 11:00 am. We will meet on the Old White Bridge--the headway to the Richland Creek Greenway.
The bridge is located near the intersection of Harding and White Bridge Roads.
On March 1st I moved my research and writing materials into the Eskind Family Writer's Room at the Nashville Public Library. The Eskind Room is one of four writer's rooms located in the East Wing of the Special Collections Center.
I was first awarded use of the room in 2011-- and again in 2012--while writing The Day the Whistles Cried.
I am very happy that the Nashville Public Library found merit in the book I am now writing--The Trouble on Happy Hill--and awarded me use of the room again. I look forward to spending many hours there working on the book.
I was first awarded use of the room in 2011-- and again in 2012--while writing The Day the Whistles Cried.
I am very happy that the Nashville Public Library found merit in the book I am now writing--The Trouble on Happy Hill--and awarded me use of the room again. I look forward to spending many hours there working on the book.
The Day the Whistles Cried adopted a bus stop on Harding Road--just a few yards south of Dutchman's Curve.
The worst train wreck in U.S. history occurred at Dutchman's Curve on July 9, 1918.
Copies of The Day the Whistles Cried are on sale, near the bus stop, at the Belle Meade Plantation Gift Shop on Harding Road, Elders Book Store at 101 White Bridge Road, Rhino Booksellers at 4918 Charlotte Pike and Wendell Smith's Restaurant at 407 53rd Avenue North.
I Am Now Writing Another Book
The Trouble on Happy Hill
I thoroughly enjoyed the process of writing Whistles and am excited to announce that I am now in the midst of writing another book titled The Trouble on Happy Hill.
In 1918, a white gentleman by the name of A.C. Price wrote a letter to the editor of the Tennesseean newspaper. Two young black boys had been executed by electrocution the day before in Nashville for raping a white girl. In his letter to the editor Mr. Price wrote:
‘There recently came to our observation two distinct cases, equally grievous in offence to us all—in one case a white man of mature year is the offender; in the other the two offenders are two Negro boys 15 and 17 years of age. “In the case of the white man, every influence obtainable was sought in his behalf, even your Honor assisting editorially all of which resulted in executive clemency being shown by the Governor of our state. In the case of the Negro boys, petitions from colored citizens all over the state bore appeal for mercy to no avail.
“Summary: the white man lives; the Negroes were executed.
“Permit me to ask: Are these two cases of such similarity in offense and so broadly different in penalty meted out worthy of observation?’
It is that same question I address in my new book. I will “observe” the judicial inequality of the times by following the cases of Homer Lawson (the white man in question), and the case of J.D. Williams and Eddie Alsup (the black boys who were put to death), who were all convicted of rape. By exploring the two cases “of such similarity in offense,” the book will reveal the historical background behind many of today’s policies and will re-ask the question first posed by Mr. Price almost a hundred years ago.
Are penalties still meted out in a “broadly different” way among the races?
Is that still worthy of our observation?
Come along with me as I attempt to answer these questions.
Join my new book writing adventure. Please clink on the link and like my new Facebook page. The Trouble on Happy Hill
I look forward to seeing you there!
