Photo Courtesy of Robert Holden
A U.S. Coast Guard representative, left, former state Sen. Serf Maltese, Deputy German Consul General Jochen Wolter, Juniper Park Civic Association President Robert Holden, All Faiths Cemetery President Dan Austin, and Fire Marshall William Kregler gathered at Saturday’s service at All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village in remembrance of the estimated 1,021 people who died when the General Slocum steamship caught fire and sank in New York’s East River on June 15, 1904.
The majority of the passengers were German immigrants who were mainly women and children on their way to a church picnic. The Deputy German Consul General presided over Saturday’s ceremony, an annual event organized by area volunteers and historians.
The General Slocum disaster was the New York area’s worst disaster in terms of loss of life until the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and remains the worst maritime disaster in the city’s history.
During the ceremony, Holden received the General Slocum Hero and Community Service Award at the General Slocum Memorial Statue in the All Faiths Cemetery.
