When Titanic passenger Ida Straus stepped into a lifeboat and realized her husband, Isidor Straus, was not following her, she made a decision that would impact generations to come. She stepped off the lifeboat and had her maid continue forward with a few of her jewels for safekeeping.
"We have lived together many years," Ida Straus was reported to have said. "Where you go I follow."
She then requested the small orchestra on deck play "Nearer My God to Thee."
Ida and Isidor Straus were last seen holding on to each other on the deck of the doomed ship.
Isidor Straus' body was later recovered. Ida's was never found.
"It gives me chills to think that with absolutely no regret, debate or discussion they made the choices they made ..." said Anne Musgrave, the Straus' great-great-granddaughter. "Their children were grown and they knew that they had said all that needed to be said."
Musgrave visited Titanic; The Artifact Exhibition, on display at the Tropicana on Aug. 17 to share her grandparents' story and the jewels they left behind. Due to a snag in the insurance process, Musgrave was not able to bring the jewelry that day but she plans to offer the pieces on permanent loan to the exhibit once she gets clearance.
"I would never wear the jewelry, I would never sell the jewelry, it's not mine to do that with. It was hers and his," Musgrave said.
She did bring with her the story of their romance, which did not have a very romantic beginning.
Married for more than 40 years, the couple was actually the product of an arranged marriage, Musgrave said. Their parents knew each other.
Isidor Straus and his three brothers became the owners of R.H. Macy and Company in 1886. He and subsequent generations of his family built the retail empire until they sold controlling interest in 1985.
Although they were very wealthy, Musgrave said her great-great-grandparents also were very generous. Their priorities had nothing to do with money and possessions.
The stacks of letters and telegrams the Strauses left behind portray their habit of making family relationships a priority above anything, long before that fateful night on the Titanic.
"The letters they left behind basically said do not ever allow business to divide you, always make family first," Musgrave said.
About 45,000 people came to the Straus' memorial service and there are parks across the country named after them.
"What do you have to give back -- that's always been the spirit of this family," Musgrave said.
Although neither her generation nor the one before was heavily involved with the retail business, Musgrave has felt the effects of her great-great grandparents' generosity. The building of the Macy's empire enabled her to pay for college. And there were experiences as a child that kept her in contact with the retail giant, even though she grew up in New Orleans without a Macy's in sight.
"We always knew we'd be at the Macy's parade at Thanksgiving," Musgrave said.
The first time Musgrave ever learned about the romantic tale of her great-great grandparents, she was 7 years old. She and her brother had learned a camp song with a Titanic theme that basically sounded like a drinking song. The song referenced "hitting the bottom."
Her mother was not pleased with the disrespectful tone of the lyrics.
"When we came home singing it, my mother had to sit us down and tell us," Musgrave said.
She has had an abiding respect for her ancestor's tale and the fate of Titanic passengers ever since.
Musgrave said she was very close with her great-grandmother. "She told me all of the stories," Musgrave said.
She loved the story of her great-great-grandparents' sacrifice.
"I just remember hearing this story and being completely floored by it -- the purity of their love," Musgrave said.
When she first went through the exhibit she, like all patrons, was given a boarding pass with a passenger's name on it. But for Musgrave there was no mystery at the end of the exhibit as to whether or not the person on her passes survived. She was given one with one of her relative's names.
"When it all comes down to it, it truly is about family and honor and an attitude of gratitude for what you have," Musgrave said.
Musgrave says her ancestors would love for their story to be shared.
"It is my responsibility to pay it forward," Musgrave said.
Tom Zaller, vice president of exhibitions for Premier Exhibitions, the owner of Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, said his company is always searching for new stories from the Titanic and new ways for people to relate to the exhibit. They learned about Musgrave's experience when an ad they were running in the Las Vegas Review-Journal caught the eye of Musgrave's husband, Roger, who was vacationing in Las Vegas. Roger Musgrave made the initial call to the exhibition organizers.
By press time there was no word as to when the Straus jewelry would become part of the exhibit. The artifacts already on display, including a piece of the actual boat, are on view daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Admission is $16.95 for adults; $15.95 for seniors; $13.95 for Nevada residents; $9.95 for children. Call 739-2411.
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