Episode 34: Anchors Away (Aweigh)
While the younger heirs prepare for their rites into adulthood, the older heirs enjoy the life of exploration and adventure. The most important form of travel always involves the high seas.
After bowing at Buckingham Palace, Doris Duke returns to the United States aboard the Mauretania to prepare for her debutante ball. Traveling the opposite route, Huntington Hartford avoids his cheating scandal with a summer in Europe before starting Harvard. Utilizing the private yacht Nourmahal for the Astor Expedition, older heir Vincent Astor explores the Galapagos Islands among other tropical locations and brings back specimens of all sorts.
Archival music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.
Publish Date: June 24, 2021
Length: 19:40
Opening Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 1 Music: A Foggy Day by Carroll Gibbons, Album Sophistication 3
Section 2 Music: A Reckless Night On Board An Ocean by Sydney Lipton, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s
Section 3 Music: Red Sails In The Sunset by Casani Club Orchestra, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s
End Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
AS THE MONEY BURNS
Podcast by Nicki Woodard
Episode 034 – Anchors Away (Aweigh)
00:00
[Music – My Heart Belongs To Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast by Nicki Woodard. Based on historical research, this is a deep exploration into what happened to a set of actual heirs and heiresses to some of America’s most famous fortunes when the Great Depression hits.
Each episode has three primary sections. Section 1 is a narrative story. Section 2 goes deeper into the historical facts. Section 3 focuses on contemporary, emotional, and personal connections.
00:30
Story Recap
After Doris Duke gets presented at Buckingham Palace, she enjoys a surge of popularity. While Huntington Hartford’s cheating scandal during finals prevents him from walking at graduation.
Now back to AS THE MONEY BURNS
Title
Anchors Away (Aweigh)
[Music fade out]
Episode Tag
00:50
While the younger heirs prepare for their rites into adulthood, the older heirs enjoy the life of exploration and adventure. The most important form of travel always involves the high seas.
01:02
[Music – A Foggy Day by Carroll Gibbons, Album Sophistication 3]
Section 1 – Story
[Music fade out]
01:16
The large ocean waves rock and sway the oversized ship. A modern marvel, technological feat, a luxury enclave,… floating, determined, pushing towards a direction with and against the currents.
The salty, breezy air tosses about ocean spray as waves douse the sides and splash over the edges.
Clear sunny days fill any water lover with excitement while soothing the nervous. Every lunge and bump increase the sense of adventure.
In the middle of dark and treacherous storms, fear faces the near realities of death. Any tiny creak a warning of disaster. Only the bravest or craziest thrive in exhilaration.
02:02
Huge squalls always a danger at any given moment. The sea is an unruly mistress with her own temperament. Yet the soaring freedom of the seas comes from untethering the restrictions of land and Society and to be left in the present and now.
Ocean liners cross the Atlantic coming and going from Old World to New invisible paths across the seas for centuries. The once creaky and leaky crowded wooden ships are replaced with steel floating cities taking willing passengers from one destination to another.
02:35
Aboard the British Mauretania, awkward teen heiress Doris Duke finds herself with her mother Nanaline returning to the United States where she will hopefully be welcomed and celebrated after her recent triumph of bowing at Buckingham Palace. The socially ambitious Nanaline thrilled at their social coup before this summer’s debut now must keep a watchful eye on her daughter. Doris is her own form of chaos capable of ruining any new status.
03:02
In the reverse direction, baby faced richest boy Huntington Hartford heads off to Europe with his smother mother Henrietta. Uncharacteristically for the social butterfly mother, they try to stay to themselves. Plenty of people would gladly congratulate the recent grad who heads to Harvard in the fall, that is unless they learned of his recent cheating scandal. Mother and son are not an adventure and instead are escaping potentially damaging gossip. This will not be their last trip for such reasons. Huntington can hardly get away from her grips, but he dreams of freedom.
Last winter, Huntington wrote an essay about a young man who travelled and explored Europe with only $100 and a ticket home. The independence and self-reliance are something the heir greatly admires. He would even be willing to sail or by any mode of travel where he can set his course by the stars and whims. His overabundant fortune is a few more years away from inheritance and will provide him unlimited opportunities. There is no need to worry about schooling when the school of life is far more rewarding.
04:07
No one could exemplify that more than another richest boy back in his day. The intimidating patriarch of the American Astor line Vincent Astor. Vincent’s parents divorced, and his mother the very beautiful and stylish now Lady Ribblesdale remarried a British baron. Her absence somewhat a relief as she could hardly tolerate her gangly son and left him with his father. Vincent dropped out of Harvard when his father John Jacob Astor IV died on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic. Leaving Vincent with a fortune so large he was listed as No. 12 on the very first Forbes Richest list in 1918. Doris’s father Buck Duke was listed as No. 23.
04:53
Yet no tragedy prevents the rich from returning time and again to the seas. The private yacht is both a badge of honor and pride for those who want adventure or showing off a needless pricey expense. Vincent built himself the state of the art luxury yacht the Nourmahal in 1928, the third ship in his family with that name. He uses it regularly for excursions, even taking groups of poor children for joy rides on the Hudson River, and no not like in some creepy uncle sort of way. Vincent will gladly share his good fortune for those he deems worthy, especially close friend New York Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose health needs fresh air breaks.
05:34
The one person never welcomed – Vincent’s half-brother the proud young heir Jakey Astor, who born posthumously after the maritime tragedy received a mere pauper’s inheritance in comparison. Jakey and Huntington are friends.
However Huntington wants to be more like Vincent than Jakey. And Vincent is about to prove once again his appeal to the richest boy.
05:58
Over on the Pacific Ocean, Vincent has recently wrapped a most fabulous adventure. He privately funded the Astor Expedition to a group of islands on the edge of Ecuador more famously known as the Galapagos from Charles Darwin’s study leading to his theory of evolution.
With the Nourmahal, Vincent returns with several scientific teams to collect more research and specimens. Starting in Miami on March 30th, 1930 and returning to New York on May 2nd, 1930, the teams visit the Galapagos, Panama, the Pearl Islands, Cocos Island, and Dry Tortugas. From April 1st to the 15th, the focus was Galapagos Archipelago.
06:38
Partner on the expedition is Kermit Roosevelt, son of former President Theodore Roosevelt, with his father Kermit explored the Amazon decades earlier. Dr. Charles Townshend director of the New York Biographical Society was in charge of the marine life. The ever grateful scientists documented flora and fauna, gathering material to publish years later as they work to better Darwin’s evolutionary theories. Over 300 species of vegetation were collected, mostly ferns and flowering plants. Though most islands were primarily barren or thick brush.
07:10
The returning expedition got even more attention for the fauna. Birds that could not fly, penguins, sea lions that bark like St. Bernards, a fish with two backbones, and 8 piscatorial specimens previously unknown thus have no names on discovery… The blue footed booby bird, marine iguanas, and 8 giant land tortoises averaging 75 pounds in size all brought back alive. Galapago is Spanish for tortoise. The team’s prize catch was the testudo porter tortoise, long mourned as extinct but was found at 2,000 feet of elevation on the volcanic island.
07:49
Specimens would end up at the New York Aquarium, Zoo, and the Museum of Natural History.
Only science might not have been the only information they brought back. Vincent and Kermit are part of a secret organization the Room. Formed in 1927, members of the Room informally collect intelligence for the government.
Oh, the life Huntington could only dream.
08:14
[Music – A Reckless Night On Board An Ocean by Sydney Lipton, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s]
Section 2 – History & Historiography
[Music fade out]
08:28
The Great Depression’s reach was so far that of course expensive travel and the shipping industry was not immune to the accompanying economic downturns.
Furthermore ships were regulated by the national jurisdiction of the home operating company. That means that American ships are bound to follow the rules of Prohibition even on the open water. Therefore many travelers preferred other European vessels as the long trips were more enjoyable with alcoholic beverages.
08:53
Competing since the 1830s and later merging in 1934, the two British companies Cunard and White Star Line each employed 3 ships to try and offer twice a week voyages on the most heavily traveled North Atlantic route. They would try to outsize, out luxuriate, and out pace the other through more technologically advanced ocean liners.
09:14
From tightly packed passenger ships filled primarily with immigrants in fairly unhygienic and deplorable conditions in the early to mid-1800s. To more focused on speed and luxury by the 1900s. The speed of Cunard’s ships would compete against the slightly larger and more lavish of the White Star Line. These sizeable ocean liners would create 3 classes of service, with a considerable middle class from tourism, and the hyper luxury of the elite with access to a pool and Roman and Turkish bathing facilities among other amenities.
09:44
Cunard was leading the speed race with its two superliners the Lusitania and Mauretania. The Mauretania received praise as the largest ship of its time and 5 feet longer than its sister Lusitania and fastest with its steam turbine. Launched in November 1907, the Mauretania was making good time when it hit a large squall and its survival after turbulent waters and complications proved the ship’s durability and reliability. Not to be dismissed with the unpredictably of high seas travel. The Mauretania remained the lead as fastest ship often winning the Blue Riband for overall speed over multiple voyages within a designated year and holding both eastbound and westbound records for twenty years. In June 1913, Queen Elizabeth II’s grandparents King George V and Queen Mary received a special tour of the Mauretania.
10:33
By 1911, White Star Line attempted to offer a better competing service with its new advanced ships the Olympic and Titanic. Only the Olympic would be involved in highly damaging crash in its first year. The repairs took so long it delayed the launch of the next ship the Titanic.
Ironically, it would be another Cunard ship the RMS Carpathia that became more famously known for rescuing the Titanic survivors. Only that ship too had its own sad fate. Launched in 1902, Carpathia was sank by torpedo on July 15th, 1918. The wreck of the Carpathia would be discovered in 2000 120 miles west of Fastnet, Ireland.
11:12
Remember Carpathia and Mauretania’s sister ship the Lusitania met its demise not by nature but by man, torpedoed in 1915 and changed the line of inheritance in the Vanderbilts.
For more information on the Titanic see Episode 10: The Iceberg Cometh and the Lusitania Vanderbilt connection in Episode 7: The Setting Sun.
11:33
The ongoing economic downfall forced several shipping companies to reduce their volume of passages thus requiring other innovations to replace income. As travel eventually shifts to airplanes after World War II, cruise ships became options during the Jet Age, focusing more on the experience of the voyage versus the speed to destination.
11:52
Similarly, private yachts had also gotten larger, more luxurious as well as faster. It is said that happiest days of boat ownership are – 1) the day it is purchased and 2) the day it is sold. But for those in which the expense is not a burden, they find quite a lot of delight and use. Still, these yachts would meet several of the same challenges as the ocean liners, and some were so large they could serve other purposes.
12:19
Vincent Astor’s Nourmahal would go on to serve as a private refuge for an ailing President Franklin Roosevelt. It would also be given to service to the US Navy as a gunboat during World War II. Prior to its official military status, the Nourmahal also secretly scouted for submarines near the coast of Japan during another seafaring expedition. Vincent would report directly and personally to FDR any suspicious activities. His loyalty and involvement with FDR and the private espionage network existed nearly a decade before any looming war.
12:50
The glamour and lure of the high seas have long caught the imagination of many. Yet the tales of peril at sea are a reminder that money doesn’t always provide the protection and security one would hope.
13:00
But as things change, still some things stay the same. Charles Darwin’s study on the Galapagos included studying the large tortoises and their changes and adaptation over time to their individual habitats even with their long life cycles. Across the world, several giant and large tortoise species are known for their bigger size signifying and related to their long lifespans much like the rings of a tree. Today, Jonathan the Tortoise is the oldest living land animal estimated to be close to 190 years old. Found in the Seychelles from the Indian Ocean, he was brought to Saint Helena’s in the Atlantic Ocean in 1882 at the mature age of 50 years estimated due to his size at the time.
13:41
With all that technology can do, it is nature that endures all. Evolution is ongoing. But evolution whether by choice or forced can be slow or sudden, nearly invisible to excruciatingly painful.
Will our heirs and heiresses be ready for all the changes ahead of them?
14:02
[Music – Red Sails In The Sunset by Casani Club Orchestra, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s]
Section 3 – Contemporary & Personal Relevance
[Music fade out]
14:16
The popular quote by Franklin Roosevelt has been stated in two different ways
“Calm seas never made a good sailor.” Or “Smooth seas never made a skilled sailor.”
14:34
So few of us will ever have the opportunities of unlimited choices due to excessive financial resources. But oh if we had that choice, if we could make such and such happen – shouldn’t we at least try? Doris Duke, Vincent Astor, and Huntington Hartford will each make their own unique path in the world of the uber wealthy. But none of their journeys will be psychologically easy and will have other problems exacerbated by the storms money adds to situations.
15:03
I know that doesn’t sound right? Does it? If we had more money, all our problems would be solved? Well, yes, in some instances and in mostly those involving material exchanges. In others, it does more to complicate a situation.
Having more money can help you fix a flat tire, but it might make a family relationship more complicated. More money can lead to bigger addictions and the opportunity for more risky activities – private planes, racing cars, drugs… Even when things appear easier on the surface, a person can be struggling furiously underneath while the wealth presents a more serene veneer.
15:44
We all deal with the same issues, only the wealthier can have prettier settings and things. At other times, they might have harder times coping. Especially those born into money, because they have not had the chance to weather the storms and learn the skills from those experiences. The readily available solutions might not be the right ones, and the lack of frustration tolerance or self-sufficiency prevents learning more important skills and a resilience that money can’t buy but are just as necessary.
An easier life is not necessarily a better life. Even the blessed will envy those with resilience and survivor abilities. But that hard earned success can only come through overcoming obstacles.
16:25
The term “anchors aweigh” is commonly misspelled as A-W-A-Y referring to distance. The actual spelling A-W-E-I-G-H is a reference to the weight of the anchor as it is being pulled up to let the ship move forward. This term aweigh is only used in that particular context.
A fair amount of us dream of picking up anchor and exploring the world around us. The anchors are often more psychological. Sometimes too weighty from responsibility or fears, at other times lighter and more portable, and occasionally a stabilizing factor during chaos.
17:01
As I write this episode, I have learned I am losing my biggest anchor in life. As I feel adrift in turbulence amidst the emotions and fears surfacing and raging within, I struggle to steady my course not ready for what life brings next. I only truly know what it will no longer bring. Money will never replace the presence of someone I love so dearly and who loves me.
That connection evades so many whose tales I am telling. That is why I’m drawn to them – the loss and absence of what is so important while most others focus, obsess, and condemn due to envy and anger surrounding money.
May your rough waters turn into calmer seas, but let your journey take you forward out of darkness into better things.
18:20
Times are becoming brighter with summer and the end of some of lockdown’s rigid standards. However there are those who still face life threatening situations. And there is a different shortage happening. Please consider if you are eligible and capable of donating your blood. The Red Cross app and website will help you find available locations and times. Give the gift of life so others might make it to safer destinations.
Hook
18:50
[Music – My Heart Belongs To Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Next when we return to AS THE MONEY BURNS…
The show must go on, even as the veneer of wealth starts slipping away. An opportunity allows one to shine as her private world continues to fall apart.
Until then…
Credits
19:07
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast written, produced, and voiced by Nicki Woodard, based on historical research. Archival music has been provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, check out their website at www.pastperfect.com.
Please come visit us at As The Money Burns via Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Transcripts, timeline, episode guide, and character bios are available at asthemoneyburns.com.
19:40
THE END.