Elbert and Alice Hubbard

         On a day such as this, in 1915, East Aurora and the Roycrofters were mourning the loss of Elbert and Alice Hubbard.  On the first of May that year they left New York aboard the Lusitania which was sunk off the coast of Ireland on the 6th of May.  The sky was blue, the sea calm, when the U-boat torpedoed the ship.  There were 2,000 aboard, 1,200 drowned including 128 Americans.  The captain was aware of the danger, as were the passengers.  It was reported one passenger had "hoped for a thrill".  Medals were awarded to the U-boat's German crew responsible for the sinking.

       It would be two years before the United States joined World War I that had just begun.