July 4, 2019 • 13 mins
A look back on Episode 1 - Our Lady of the Angels Fire in Chicago. The year 2018 marks the 60th anniversary of this tragedy. Listen to this week's mini-episode to learn about how the city and its people remembers the events of December 1, 1958.
======
Follow us on Twitter @UntimelyPodcast
Music: "Humbled in a Battle" by Antti Luode (http://anttismusic.blogspot.com)
Audio clip: FIRE in America! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z_Do3VGsEU&t=1253s
(licensed through CC)
======
Follow us on Twitter @UntimelyPodcast
Music: "Humbled in a Battle" by Antti Luode (http://anttismusic.blogspot.com)
Audio clip: FIRE in America! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z_Do3VGsEU&t=1253s
(licensed through CC)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:11):
The room started to warm up.Sister Mary Saint Pannis Lying instructed one of
the boys in her classroom to openthe door to the hallway. Try as
he might, the boy was notable to and when other boys tried to
help, the door still did notbudge. But even with the door closed,
(00:32):
smoke started to fill the air andstudents began to pan it. Sister
Mary told her students, calm yourselves, sit down, and pray. One
of these students was Luciana. Shewas originally from Italy and moved to the
United States four years earlier. Whenshe heard Sister Mary's telling her in her
(00:52):
classmates to sit down, she thoughtto herself, I'm not doing that.
Luciana walked towards the window, openedit, and stared down the ground.
Their classroom was on the second floorand the ground was about twenty feet down,
but from where she was it lookedlike she was one hundred floors up.
Luciana does not remember jumping, butthinks that someone or something pushed her
(01:18):
over and she tumbled to the ground, with the roof of a shed softening
her fall. Luciana did not suffertoo much, but her right arm blistered
from third degree burns from the fire. You were listening to Untimelyingly, a
podcast about events in earlier or recenthistory that resulted in untimely fatalities and damages
(01:42):
in its wake. I am yourhost, Lynne. The historical event that
launched this podcast was the untimely fireat the Our Lady of the Angels School
in Chicago. If you have notlistened to this episode, I encourage you
to stop now, go back todownload and play the episode, then come
back to this one. In today'smany episode of Untimely, we will revisit
(02:05):
the events of that cold December afternoonand the aftermath many years later. Twelve
hundred students and teachers were in OurLady of the Angel's School in Chicago on
(02:27):
a December afternoon in nineteen fifty eight. Fire broke out in rubbish in the
basement and burned twenty minutes before itwas reported. A thousand evacuated the building
before firefighters arrived, but despite rescueefforts, ninety five perished. Thousands of
schools were soon inspected and in manyautomatic sprinklers and alarm systems were installed as
(02:51):
a result of this fire. Evenafter six decades, public interest about what
happened at Our Lady of the AngelsFire Never Faded. Books have been written
about this tragedy, as well asan Emmy Award winning documentary from PBS called
(03:12):
Angels Too Soon. The Fire Museumof Greater Chicago has an exhibit dedicated to
the Our Lady of the Angels andanyone is welcome. From November twenty ninth
to December second of twenty eighteen,various mass services and ceremonies were held over
the West Side of Chicago. Decemberfirst, twenty eighteen, marks the sixtieth
(03:34):
anniversary of one of the devastating firesthat continue to haunt the city to this
day. While the city and countryfocused on sweeping changes to fire safety and
precautions in nineteen fifty eight, survivorsthose who lost their loved ones and rest
get on with your lives. Butexperiencing and surviving a trauma of this scale
will leave scars physically, emotionally,and mentally throughout the years. Many students
(04:00):
who lived through the tragedy suffered insilence. Their parents too. The nineteen
fifties and sixties did not offer anytime to talk freely about internal struggles,
and there was very little help availableto heal from the distress caused by the
fire. It broke the spirit ofthe neighborhood. One account of a survivor
(04:21):
said that when someone passes him onthe street, elders would make the sign
of the Cross, knowing that hewas alive, while many were not.
Obviously, this added to the guiltof living through the tragedy. This led
to broken families, bouts of depression, and unresolved guilt. A few families
decided to move away from the areathe memory was too overwhelming. A few
(04:45):
who survived admitted many years later howit negatively impacted their lives. One checked
in a mental institution for what isnow known as post traumatic stress disorder,
but at that time it was asign of weakness and lack of spirit ritual
guidance. Another kept having recurring nightmareseeing the faces of burned classmates every night,
and most had a silent aversion toChristmas since it happened so close to
(05:11):
the holiday season. Finally, intwo thousand and three, the Archdiocese of
Chicago made a conscious effort to offercounseling to the survivors. Although the cause
of the fire was traced to thebasement how the fire started is still unclear.
Speculations random plenty, including placing blameon boys who were smoking in the
(05:31):
stairwell to arson. If you remember, there was a boy who was questioned
in nineteen sixty two and was saidto have confessed to the authorities. He
also mentioned to a classmate that hewas going to set fire to the school
that day so they do not haveto go back at all. From the
interview, it was found that thisboy had a troubled background. The parents
(05:55):
were fully aware of the boy's problemsand he was going through counseling through a
psychiatry from the Catholic Church. Thefamily court judge was hesitant to convict the
boy, given there wasn't enough evidence. Instead, the judge sent the boy
to an institution in Michigan. Itwas believed that the judge, being Catholic
himself, felt the need to protectthe boy in his family from potential harm.
(06:17):
The boy eventually graduated from the institutionand joined the military, where he
was deployed to Vietnam. After thewar, he became a truck driver,
had a family, and settled somewhereon the West coast. It was said
that he passed away in two thousandand four. At that time, since
the families were mostly from the Catholicreligion, many were hesitant to speak up
(06:41):
and questioned the church. But ayear after the fire, a handful brought
lawsuits against the church, breaking therules of silence. The Archdiocese of Chicago
became the defendant against multiple lawsuits fromsurvivors and their families. The church paid
out seven thousand, five hundred dollarsto each victim's family, while the injured
(07:02):
received settlements that ranged from two hundredfifty dollars to three hundred fifty thousand dollars.
All in all, the total wasabout three million dollars. Despite the
odds stacked against them, many wholived are amazingly resilient. Survivors never let
the memory of their classmates fade awayand put their strength to good use.
(07:26):
A group of survivors banded together andcalled themselves the Friends of Our Lady of
the Angels. Charlene Jansik was asurvivor of the tragedy and became one of
the presidents of Friends of Our Ladyof the Angels. If you remember James
Raymond, one of the janitors atthe school, He was later questioned and
partially blamed that it was poor housekeepingthat caused the fire. Sensing the injustice,
(07:49):
Charlene, with the group's backing,responded by starting a scholarship named after
James Raymond to benefit children of firefighters. Fundraising for the award included a commemorative
license plate that can be purchased withproceeds directly to the fund. Unfortunately,
nowadays, the scholarship is no longeractive because of the lack of donations.
(08:13):
Technology brought survivors closer when a websitededicated to Our Lady of the Angels Fire
was created. Many of the survivorsand families found their way to the message
boards. The message board is stillactive to this day. Many of those
who were not able to talk abouttheir experiences found themselves reconnecting with their schoolmates
and sharing their own or their lovedones experiences. They share photos, exchange
(08:39):
memories, and support. Younger brothersand sisters of the victims found themselves learning
about their siblings through the site.The new home for the church is now
called The Mission of Our Lady ofthe Angels. The neighborhood, West Humboldt
Park is now one of the mostimpoverished areas in Chicago. Mission aims to
(09:00):
serve the community through donated goods,a food pantry, emergency assistance, senior
citizens support, and humanitarian aid.If you're feeling generous, you can donate
to this nonprofit in many ways.You can donate money through their website Www.
Mission Ola dot com, slash donate, where you can send a check,
donate online, or through PayPal.If you're a local in Chicago,
(09:26):
you can drop off nonperishable goods andclothes at three eight h eight West Iowa
Street, Chicago, Illinois. Ifyou are far away, the Mission has
an Amazon wish list. Go totheir website at www dot mission ola dot
com and under donate wish list.It will show you the needs of the
mission. Or you can add themission through smiled at Amazon dot com at
(09:48):
any time when you are browsing throughPrime. On December first, twenty eighteen,
at two thirty in the afternoon,a memorial mass was held at the
Holy Family Only Church on wes Roosevelt. Many survivors, their families, and
the community gathered to remember those whodied on that day sixty years ago.
(10:09):
Attendees included Luciana Mordini, Many broughtframed photos of the loved ones they lost,
while some wore photopins. So manytiers were shed during the service,
and even more when all ninety fivenames were read, it took twenty minutes
to read every single one. Thememorial also honored those who have since passed
(10:30):
away, including survivors, firefighters,rescue workers, and medical staff. Among
the honored survivors was Charlene Jansik,who passed away in two thousand and three.
Jonathan Kane, keyboardist of the rockband Journey and a survivor of the
fire, was also in attendance anddebuted his song the Day They became Angels
(10:50):
in memorium. On the same day, historian Jim Gibbons presented a program about
the fire at the Chicago Fire Academy. The program was free to the public.
Through his own research. In faceto face interviews, Jim went through
the timeline of events and focused onthe death of one particular student to present
historical and interesting facts. Further west, on the other side of the city,
(11:16):
others gathered at the Queen of Heaven'sCemetery, where some of the victims
have been laid to rest. Nearthe shrine of the Holy Innocence. All
ninety five names are engraved on thewhite stone, along with the statue of
Mary and the words Our Lady ofthe Angels pray for us. The alumni
of the Royal Heirs, a ChicagoDrum and Bugle Corps, performed at the
(11:39):
ceremony. Three of the victims weremembers of the corps in nineteen fifty eight.
Francis Guzzaldo was one of them,and also one of the three students
who first saw the fire that afternoon. Even after sixty years, the pain
still lingers for many. But askedthe circle of survivors and families begin to
(12:00):
dwindle, it is up to usto remember and make sure the memories never
fade away. The brick and mortarmay be gone, but the spirit of
community in remembrance will remain. Thankyou for listening to this mini episode Untimely.
(12:26):
I am curious what you think ofthis mini episode. Next week we'll
take on a new full episode andtopic, so make sure that you subscribe
to the podcast. If you're enjoyingthis podcast, tell your friends and family
about us. You can also connectwith us on Twitter at Untimely Podcast.
We'd love to hear from you,
The room started to warm up.Sister Mary Saint Pannis Lying instructed one of
the boys in her classroom to openthe door to the hallway. Try as
he might, the boy was notable to and when other boys tried to
help, the door still did notbudge. But even with the door closed,
(00:32):
smoke started to fill the air andstudents began to pan it. Sister
Mary told her students, calm yourselves, sit down, and pray. One
of these students was Luciana. Shewas originally from Italy and moved to the
United States four years earlier. Whenshe heard Sister Mary's telling her in her
(00:52):
classmates to sit down, she thoughtto herself, I'm not doing that.
Luciana walked towards the window, openedit, and stared down the ground.
Their classroom was on the second floorand the ground was about twenty feet down,
but from where she was it lookedlike she was one hundred floors up.
Luciana does not remember jumping, butthinks that someone or something pushed her
(01:18):
over and she tumbled to the ground, with the roof of a shed softening
her fall. Luciana did not suffertoo much, but her right arm blistered
from third degree burns from the fire. You were listening to Untimelyingly, a
podcast about events in earlier or recenthistory that resulted in untimely fatalities and damages
(01:42):
in its wake. I am yourhost, Lynne. The historical event that
launched this podcast was the untimely fireat the Our Lady of the Angels School
in Chicago. If you have notlistened to this episode, I encourage you
to stop now, go back todownload and play the episode, then come
back to this one. In today'smany episode of Untimely, we will revisit
(02:05):
the events of that cold December afternoonand the aftermath many years later. Twelve
hundred students and teachers were in OurLady of the Angel's School in Chicago on
(02:27):
a December afternoon in nineteen fifty eight. Fire broke out in rubbish in the
basement and burned twenty minutes before itwas reported. A thousand evacuated the building
before firefighters arrived, but despite rescueefforts, ninety five perished. Thousands of
schools were soon inspected and in manyautomatic sprinklers and alarm systems were installed as
(02:51):
a result of this fire. Evenafter six decades, public interest about what
happened at Our Lady of the AngelsFire Never Faded. Books have been written
about this tragedy, as well asan Emmy Award winning documentary from PBS called
(03:12):
Angels Too Soon. The Fire Museumof Greater Chicago has an exhibit dedicated to
the Our Lady of the Angels andanyone is welcome. From November twenty ninth
to December second of twenty eighteen,various mass services and ceremonies were held over
the West Side of Chicago. Decemberfirst, twenty eighteen, marks the sixtieth
(03:34):
anniversary of one of the devastating firesthat continue to haunt the city to this
day. While the city and countryfocused on sweeping changes to fire safety and
precautions in nineteen fifty eight, survivorsthose who lost their loved ones and rest
get on with your lives. Butexperiencing and surviving a trauma of this scale
will leave scars physically, emotionally,and mentally throughout the years. Many students
(04:00):
who lived through the tragedy suffered insilence. Their parents too. The nineteen
fifties and sixties did not offer anytime to talk freely about internal struggles,
and there was very little help availableto heal from the distress caused by the
fire. It broke the spirit ofthe neighborhood. One account of a survivor
(04:21):
said that when someone passes him onthe street, elders would make the sign
of the Cross, knowing that hewas alive, while many were not.
Obviously, this added to the guiltof living through the tragedy. This led
to broken families, bouts of depression, and unresolved guilt. A few families
decided to move away from the areathe memory was too overwhelming. A few
(04:45):
who survived admitted many years later howit negatively impacted their lives. One checked
in a mental institution for what isnow known as post traumatic stress disorder,
but at that time it was asign of weakness and lack of spirit ritual
guidance. Another kept having recurring nightmareseeing the faces of burned classmates every night,
and most had a silent aversion toChristmas since it happened so close to
(05:11):
the holiday season. Finally, intwo thousand and three, the Archdiocese of
Chicago made a conscious effort to offercounseling to the survivors. Although the cause
of the fire was traced to thebasement how the fire started is still unclear.
Speculations random plenty, including placing blameon boys who were smoking in the
(05:31):
stairwell to arson. If you remember, there was a boy who was questioned
in nineteen sixty two and was saidto have confessed to the authorities. He
also mentioned to a classmate that hewas going to set fire to the school
that day so they do not haveto go back at all. From the
interview, it was found that thisboy had a troubled background. The parents
(05:55):
were fully aware of the boy's problemsand he was going through counseling through a
psychiatry from the Catholic Church. Thefamily court judge was hesitant to convict the
boy, given there wasn't enough evidence. Instead, the judge sent the boy
to an institution in Michigan. Itwas believed that the judge, being Catholic
himself, felt the need to protectthe boy in his family from potential harm.
(06:17):
The boy eventually graduated from the institutionand joined the military, where he
was deployed to Vietnam. After thewar, he became a truck driver,
had a family, and settled somewhereon the West coast. It was said
that he passed away in two thousandand four. At that time, since
the families were mostly from the Catholicreligion, many were hesitant to speak up
(06:41):
and questioned the church. But ayear after the fire, a handful brought
lawsuits against the church, breaking therules of silence. The Archdiocese of Chicago
became the defendant against multiple lawsuits fromsurvivors and their families. The church paid
out seven thousand, five hundred dollarsto each victim's family, while the injured
(07:02):
received settlements that ranged from two hundredfifty dollars to three hundred fifty thousand dollars.
All in all, the total wasabout three million dollars. Despite the
odds stacked against them, many wholived are amazingly resilient. Survivors never let
the memory of their classmates fade awayand put their strength to good use.
(07:26):
A group of survivors banded together andcalled themselves the Friends of Our Lady of
the Angels. Charlene Jansik was asurvivor of the tragedy and became one of
the presidents of Friends of Our Ladyof the Angels. If you remember James
Raymond, one of the janitors atthe school, He was later questioned and
partially blamed that it was poor housekeepingthat caused the fire. Sensing the injustice,
(07:49):
Charlene, with the group's backing,responded by starting a scholarship named after
James Raymond to benefit children of firefighters. Fundraising for the award included a commemorative
license plate that can be purchased withproceeds directly to the fund. Unfortunately,
nowadays, the scholarship is no longeractive because of the lack of donations.
(08:13):
Technology brought survivors closer when a websitededicated to Our Lady of the Angels Fire
was created. Many of the survivorsand families found their way to the message
boards. The message board is stillactive to this day. Many of those
who were not able to talk abouttheir experiences found themselves reconnecting with their schoolmates
and sharing their own or their lovedones experiences. They share photos, exchange
(08:39):
memories, and support. Younger brothersand sisters of the victims found themselves learning
about their siblings through the site.The new home for the church is now
called The Mission of Our Lady ofthe Angels. The neighborhood, West Humboldt
Park is now one of the mostimpoverished areas in Chicago. Mission aims to
(09:00):
serve the community through donated goods,a food pantry, emergency assistance, senior
citizens support, and humanitarian aid.If you're feeling generous, you can donate
to this nonprofit in many ways.You can donate money through their website Www.
Mission Ola dot com, slash donate, where you can send a check,
donate online, or through PayPal.If you're a local in Chicago,
(09:26):
you can drop off nonperishable goods andclothes at three eight h eight West Iowa
Street, Chicago, Illinois. Ifyou are far away, the Mission has
an Amazon wish list. Go totheir website at www dot mission ola dot
com and under donate wish list.It will show you the needs of the
mission. Or you can add themission through smiled at Amazon dot com at
(09:48):
any time when you are browsing throughPrime. On December first, twenty eighteen,
at two thirty in the afternoon,a memorial mass was held at the
Holy Family Only Church on wes Roosevelt. Many survivors, their families, and
the community gathered to remember those whodied on that day sixty years ago.
(10:09):
Attendees included Luciana Mordini, Many broughtframed photos of the loved ones they lost,
while some wore photopins. So manytiers were shed during the service,
and even more when all ninety fivenames were read, it took twenty minutes
to read every single one. Thememorial also honored those who have since passed
(10:30):
away, including survivors, firefighters,rescue workers, and medical staff. Among
the honored survivors was Charlene Jansik,who passed away in two thousand and three.
Jonathan Kane, keyboardist of the rockband Journey and a survivor of the
fire, was also in attendance anddebuted his song the Day They became Angels
(10:50):
in memorium. On the same day, historian Jim Gibbons presented a program about
the fire at the Chicago Fire Academy. The program was free to the public.
Through his own research. In faceto face interviews, Jim went through
the timeline of events and focused onthe death of one particular student to present
historical and interesting facts. Further west, on the other side of the city,
(11:16):
others gathered at the Queen of Heaven'sCemetery, where some of the victims
have been laid to rest. Nearthe shrine of the Holy Innocence. All
ninety five names are engraved on thewhite stone, along with the statue of
Mary and the words Our Lady ofthe Angels pray for us. The alumni
of the Royal Heirs, a ChicagoDrum and Bugle Corps, performed at the
(11:39):
ceremony. Three of the victims weremembers of the corps in nineteen fifty eight.
Francis Guzzaldo was one of them,and also one of the three students
who first saw the fire that afternoon. Even after sixty years, the pain
still lingers for many. But askedthe circle of survivors and families begin to
(12:00):
dwindle, it is up to usto remember and make sure the memories never
fade away. The brick and mortarmay be gone, but the spirit of
community in remembrance will remain. Thankyou for listening to this mini episode Untimely.
(12:26):
I am curious what you think ofthis mini episode. Next week we'll
take on a new full episode andtopic, so make sure that you subscribe
to the podcast. If you're enjoyingthis podcast, tell your friends and family
about us. You can also connectwith us on Twitter at Untimely Podcast.
We'd love to hear from you,
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