Lamps from shipwrecked

Mass. boat found in Pa.

BOSTON — Remembrances of a decades-old shipwreck that killed seven New England fishermen have been rediscovered in a toolshed in western Pennsylvania.

Two forgotten ship lamps were dug up by Den Hickey as he did some spring cleaning in Slippery Rock, Pa. He was struck by an inscription on one that read: “INCA. ... Lost at Sea January 13, 1944,” with the names of the men who died.

It’s unknown, and perhaps unlikely, whether the lamps were aboard the Inca, a vessel based in Gloucester that was rammed by a steamer and sank off Virginia.

Wherever they’re from, Hickey wanted the victims’ families to have them, if they’re interested.

Peter Asaro, whose father died on the Inca, says the lamps would present an unwelcome reminder of his death. He prefers to remember his life.