Titanic Survivor Story | Going Down with the Titanic in Third Class
Third-class Titanic survivor stories were rare, but passenger Elin Hakkarainen was lucky. Here, she recounts the April, 1912 Titanic sinking.
By Elin Hakkarainen|Apr 18 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanFrom “Going Down with the Titanic in Third Class,” Yankee Magazine, September 1987.
Very little was ever written about the third-class passengers of the Titanic; reporters, the United States Senate investigation, and the British investigation never bothered to interview any of the third-class Titanic survivors. Most of those in third class spoke very little English. But for some, like Titanic survivor Elin Hakkarainen, the memory lingered long enough for her English to catch up, and for her to share her Titanic survivor story with Yankee in 1987.
Going Down with the Titanic in Third Class | Titanic Survivor Story
We could hardly believe that in two more days we would be landing in America. Originally, my husband and I planned on making the trip on board the Mauretania, but we decided to wait a few months so we could make the crossing aboard the luxury liner Titanic. Married just a few months, Pekko and I decided to leave Finland and start a new life in America. Although we were booked as third class, we still enjoyed many “extras” on board and had quite a time in our little group. After a couple of days at sea we settled into a routine: attending church services after breakfast, strolling the decks, and during the evening playing games in the third-class general room.
We would leave the game room very late in the evening, and the night of April 14th was no exception. Just after we returned to our cabin and settled in, Pekko reached to turn out the light when we heard a scraping sound and felt the ship shudder. A few moments later the throb of the engines stopped. Pekko jumped out of bed, slipped into his clothes, and said, “I’m going to see what has happened.” Not thinking too much of all this, I dozed off. But after an hour or so, the murmuring of other passengers in the hall awakened me. I noticed Pekko was still gone, and when I tried to step out of the bed, the cabin was tilted at an angle.
Soon there was a hard and very fast knock at the door, and one of my friends from Finland dashed in to say the ship had struck something and was sinking. “Where is Pekko?” she asked. “He went to see why the ship had stopped. I don’t know where he is now.” “How did he get out of the passageway?” she continued. “All the doors are locked!” I was confused; I didn’t know what to do next. After a few moments I grabbed my purse and life jacket and ran out to the passageway. The door was locked! All of the doors were locked.
Photo Credit : Wikimedia Commons
Finally a ship’s steward came and gathered a small group of us together and guided us, “Come, there is another way to get to the upper deck.” On the upper deck, it was rather quiet — almost eerie. The deck on the ship’s bow was already under water, and the loud sound of the steam escaping from the funnels had settled down. The lifeboats were guarded by the ship’s officers standing in semicircles around each one. Soon I was motioned aboard a lifeboat, but I still was scanning the listing deck looking for my husband.
We rowed away quickly, watching our ship slide beneath the surface of the water. The screams of those in the water were horrible — I remember calling over and over, “Pekko, Pekko, I am here; come this way.” It was cold on the lifeboat, and I wasn’t wearing warm clothes. I didn’t know if I was falling asleep or freezing to death, but I drifted into unconsciousness.
Soon after, it was daylight, and we could see a ship in the distance — we would be rescued…and made warm. Once aboard the Carpathia, the passengers and crew did their best to console us. We were given clothes, food, and hot coffee. But with all we were given, I was still lacking. I slowly realized the last words I might ever hear from my husband were, “I’m going to see what has happened.” I remember standing at the railing for hours, looking out to the open sea and hoping upon hope that I would discover just one more lifeboat.
From “Going Down with the Titanic in Third Class,” Yankee Magazine, September 1987.
Ed. Note: Mrs. Hakkarainen’s monetary compensation for the loss of her luggage, belongings, and her beloved husband was $125.
Thank you for this information! It has certainly helped me a lot. ♥
Thanks! This helped me a lot on my report!!!!! Great information!
Back in late 60’s-70’s, there was an article in Yankee Magazine written by a woman who had survived the Titantic. She had never shared the experience with anyone until she told the story to Yankee Magazine. I thought I had saved that copy, but I couldn’t find it, which really saddened me. This story reminded me of her story. If I remember correctly, she was the only survivor in her family, and was a young girl at the time. If you ever have that issue, I would love to know.
Hi Sandra,
This might be the article you’re looking for: http://www.yankeemagazine.com/article/features/rms-titanic-survivor
125$ in 1913 (as far back as I could go) is the same as $2983.50 today.
My father in law answered the door when a Lutheran pastor of Finnish descent came door to door. It turns out this Finnish pastor’s mother was on the Titanic. When the first documentary was made she didn’t realize that it was only a re-enactment, a realistic re-telling of the actual events and kept on asking, “Why didn’t they save us?” It had to be explained to her that the documentary was made after the fact. It was such a tragedy — if only they had more life boats, if only the other ship was closer.
My maiden name was Hakkarinen. My grandfather was born in the late 1880s. I have wondered if they were related. He spelled his name with the extra “a” in it too.
I like this article….. I read the followup one, too, Brenda, but my favorite was the 100th anniv publishings April 2012 ….. indeed many family members were shocked to find out at the 50th and/or 75th anniversary that their grandma had relevant stories and just never said so…… one was the fourteen year old polish girl third class …… possibly the one mentioned:
peeling potatoes finally got fed up after hrs took it upon herself to walk on deck via a short break. as she walked up a man locked the gate and it was pandemonium on deck. Lifeboats were in the water and others were going in and/or being prepared. She admits she had no clue what was wrong…..noticed the beautiful stars….and had zero plans of going anywhere until some ten minutes later: “a big burly crew member took it upon himself to decide I wasn’t going to die that day” (paraphrase). She was cold and alive and said the screams were horrific and then just stopped while some around her sobbed. I also believe this last part is a radio interview her grandson set up lent credence to the lights going out and coming back on (but I can’t remember). No one in her family lived but her and she continued to America.
please forgive my typos last comment(I should have proofread). lastly I wanted to add – this big burly man had literally reached over and picked her up and physically put her on boat just as it lowered
On the anniversary of the Titanic sinking our newspaper published an article that said it was 212 hours from the time the ship hit the iceberg until it foundered and sank. Is that accurate?
Great to see support for Titanic history and culture! Discover more stories on The Titanic Channel.
Is anyone here a relative of a Titanic survivor. I recently watched the movie and my grandma told me my great grandpa was in the actual titanic. I would love to hear your stories, I’ve read so many and I just can’t believe the way that some of people treat others that were onboard, and how they tried to only let the wealthy survive.
How wonderful it is you are remembering the Titanic and her passengers/crew at her final hours!
It makes me continue to appreciate being a Cape Cod native & your magazine.
my best,
Chuck
My distant relative Ernst Danbom Was among the third class passengers lost on that night. Michael Danbom.
Here is a link to an article mentioning Mrs. Hakkarainen in a reminiscence by another Finnish survivor: https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/hirvonen.html . By the way, according to “Encyclopedia Titanica” online, Mrs. Hakkarainen died in 1957; does this article come from an older Yankee story?
My youngest son on his moms side is a direct decendant of TITANIC survivor Eva Hart.
My great-grandmother was one of the third-class survivors . She was a polish emigrant around the age of 12 I believe though this is unclear due to poor oral history in my family. My grandmother carried around a newspaper headline, NYT I believe, until she lost it. She said the names of the third-class survivors weren’t reported at the time except for the country’s biggest paper in New York. Her name was Mary Goniak. I’ve searched high and low and have never found anything on my great-grandmother sadly.
My great aunt and her 4 children died on the Titanic. My great Aunt is buried at Halifax
and it seems like they never learn – reading about disasters in the armed forces especially.
I went to school taught by the Sisters of Mercy in Worcester Ma when we studied the sinking. I recall our teacher (a nun) saying that one of the nuns at her convent was a child who survived and became a Sister of Mercy. She did not teach but worked in the convent doing housekeeping duty. This was the circa mid 50’s. Our teacher did not name her but said she did not like talking about her experience.