November 2024

Nov 4

Murder! Music! Magna on the Danube!

Hello Tastorians!

This month's newsletter kicks off with an interesting tidbit I came across while researching the video on the Titanic survivors. In the video, I talk about how Carlos Hurd, a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, interviewed the Titanic survivors while he was on board RMS Carpathia. Afterwards, he wrote an article and, in an effort to be the first to print, he arranged to have a man named Charles Chapin hire a tugboat to pull up alongside Carpathia before they even docked, that way he could toss his article overboard to Chapin before any other reporters got on board. Well, Charles Chapin, who was then the editor of The New York Evening World, seemed a bit player in this story, but a few years later, he'd become infamous for something else... murder!

When searching his name in old newspapers, it wasn't the Titanic that came up, but the 1918 murder of his spouse, Nellie, at the Cumberland Hotel in New York. Because he was famous, the story made headlines around the country. This was the sort of event that the musical Chicago would portray. There was a media frenzy surrounding the murder and Chapin pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years to life in Sing Sing prison... where he started a newspaper! My favorite quote from the papers came from Andy Logan, a reporter who had once worked with Chapin. When asked if he was shocked, he said he "had known he would be involved in a murder some day, but had always assumed he would be the victim." By all accounts, Chapin was not a pleasant man to work with; nor to be married to.

Tasting History Leftovers

In the video on Croissants, I mentioned one quote which was written after the author left the premiere of Hector Berlioz's Romeo et Juliette. Here is one of my favorite pieces from the work which premiered in Paris in 1839.

Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette / Harding · Berliner Philharmoniker

Here is Arthur Rostron's (captain of the Carpathia) firsthand account of the rescue of the Titanic survivors.

Captain Arthur H. Rostron: In His Own Words

According to Harold Bride, junior wireless operator aboard Titanic, the final song the orchestra played as the ship went down was not "Nearer My God to Thee" as many others claimed, but "Autumn" by François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, which frankly, is just as haunting.

Titanic - Autumn

Thanksgiving Episodes

Make sure to catch up on the Tasting History Thanksgiving episodes, including old favorites like Pumpion Pie, here!

Travel with Tasting History

In case you missed the previous announcements, I'm working with AmaWaterways to set up a Tasting History themed river cruise where you can join me on a week-long trip down the Danube next year (October 26 - November 2, 2025) from Vilshofen, Germany to Budapest, Hungary. It will include stops in several cities and towns along the way including Vienna where we can try the original Sacher Torte.

Some tiers have sold out, but there’s still space available if you’re interested. Visit https://www.amawaterways.com/MaxMiller for more information.