Personal experiences with Our Lady of the Angels School Fire on December 1, 1958

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Personal Experiences with Our Lady of the Angels School Fire

If you have a personal experience, recollection or opinion about the December 1, 1958 Our Lady of the Angels school fire, whether you were present at the fire or not, you can relate it here. Any story or information is welcome as long as it relates to Our Lady of the Angels school fire.

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Stories 239 to 230 Stories 219 to 210

Posted by:

Francisco Fuentes

On:

6/19/2005

ID:

229

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	Before	San Juan, Puerto Rico

Woke up today, fathers' day, remembering a song I used to hear when I was a boy which related to a fire in a catholic school in Chicago. Been just a boy of school age, I was deeply impressed by the song's lyrics that talk about one hundred angels and nuns dying in this incident. I still can remember the song even though it's been years. I decided to search the web for any information and to my surprise, ran into this page. Now I can put real faces into the lyrics of a tragic song that touched me at a tender age,a world apart.

Posted by:

judy

On:

6/19/2005

ID:

228

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	Before	Indiana

I found this site by accident. I have heard only a few stories about this tragedy, mostly from a friend who constantly derides the catholic nuns for their alleged directions to the students to pray. Even before reading these accounts here, I felt that IF those directions were given it was only because the sisters felt there was no other way out. Is there anything wrong with being prayerful at the hour of one's death? It is encouraging to see that many children did escape, especially with the assistance of these nuns. Thank you for providing this web site and the information within. Now I know where to direct my friend the next time she is getting her anger out on the catholic church.

Posted by:

Jaybird

On:

5/27/2005

ID:

227

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	Before	5020 Washington Blvd Chicago, IL

I was anxiously waiting my tenth birthdate, which is December 16th. I can remember coming home from Herbert Spencer Elementary School, and watching the fire progress on television. At age 11, we moved to California, and I had not been back since, until five years ago, to a wedding in Lincolnshire, IL.
Living in a rural area around Yosemite National Park, there are not "many ethnic deli's" in our area, and this was one of the first things we sought out on arrival.
We found an "old country deli", and told the owner how I grew up In Chicago, and we talked about the "Old Mohawk Carpet Indian Display and Waterfall", Riverview and others.
The owner asked me if I remembered the OLA fire. It was like a "key that opened the flood gates of memory". I have thought about this tragedy in the back of my mind constantly, and have now perused the entire internet for research.

I say a prayer for the souls lost in this terrible tragedy!

Posted by:

Jessica

On:

5/22/2005

ID:

226

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	After	n/a

though i was born almost 30 years after the fire accured, my mother was only 3 years old. she lived in edison park and her father was a chicago fireman who helped with the school fire. he told my grandmother, who told my mother, who told me, that he cried and cired for weeks after the fire. "all i saw when i would look up were hands out side the smoking windows". terrible thing that happened, but look at all of the lives it could have saved.

Posted by:

Mary

On:

5/12/2005

ID:

225

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	After	n/a

Thank you for your webpage. I am glad to finally know that the children were encouraged to save their lives. I attended Catholic grade school during the 60's where the students were told that they would go to hell for misbehaving unlike the children who minded the nuns and quietly prayed at their desks as they were consumed by the flames and taken into heaven.

This attitude of the value of tolerating suffering set me up to suffer silently in a physically abusive mariage for seven years. I am glad to learn that not all nuns have a twisted beleif in the value of suffering.

Thank you.

Posted by:

Bill Walsh

On:

5/12/2005

ID:

224

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	Before	Chicago. Visitation Parish

I was a 5th grade student at Visitation Grade School 54th and Peoria on Chicago's south side when this fire occured. A new annax was being built to our school and I can remember all to extras that were included along with a chute that let you slide out of the building from the second floor. We had Masses and special prayers for the injured and dead students. I am a retired police officer. I have always felt that this fire was set. I have read many accounts of this fire and have just finished reading: "TO SLEEP WITH THE ANGLES The story of a fire." Written by David Cowan and John Kuenster. In this book a onnamed boy student seems to have been the person who set it. God Bless all those kids and may he hold them in the palm of his hand

Posted by:

Mary Harrison

On:

5/9/2005

ID:

223

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	Before	Arlington, Massachusetts

I was in the 4th grade at St. Agnes School in Arlington, Mass. in 1958. I was 10 years old and I remember we were told to pray for the fire victims. St. Agnes School was a three story red brick building with transoms and highly waxed floors. It's a real shame back then they didn't know these buildings were fire traps.I have read the books on the story of the fire at Our Lady of the Angels and often think what a shame so many died because a few common sense fire safety laws weren't in effect. Something as simple as a fire door could of probably saved lives, or fire ladders that you throw out over the inside of windows could of prevented serious injuries. I'll never to this day understand why a Principal had to approve a fire alarm being pulled, so much time was wasted trying to located the Principal who wasn't in her office, she was substitute teaching a class. I read the book "To Sleep With the Angels", but when you see the kids pictures on the internet and the pictures of the burned out classrooms, it really hits home what a horrible event this was.

Posted by:

Jamie Furlong

On:

4/26/2005

ID:

222

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	After	n/a

After coming across this web site a few months ago I cannot get this horrific story out of my mind. My mom was eleven years old at the time of the fire. She had attended a parochial school in Aurora at the time & she vividly remembers hearing the news. I know it affected her because so many of the children that died were around her age. I was wondering if Angels Too Soon would be broadcast again?

Posted by:

Patti

On:

3/29/2005

ID:

221

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	Before

I know the webmaster frowns upon this (and I can understand why) but I feel compelled to respond to the post by Jo. She said that she was told children were instructed to stay at their desks and pray. Although that may have been the case when smoke was first noticed, there was no evidence that the children were told to stay at their desks beyond that. There were no classrooms with children still at their desks, hands folded. In fact, survivors have posted that the nuns told them to go to the windows, helping them up to the sills and in some cases pushing children to save them. I don't mean to cause any problems by this post, but I feel that by not doing so, others may think the worst of the nuns. It's not the poster's fault, this was the story she was told, a rumor that was spread and seems to keep coming back every now and then. And although it may seem strange, that story may have helped one person deal with her child's death. I do know of one case where a mother was actually comforted by the story, not fully realizing what horror her child went through, but believing her child died peacefully at that desk, and only being burned after dying. Perhaps knowing the truth will help Jo in some way.

Posted by:

Bob

On:

3/28/2005

ID:

220

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	Before	Philadelphia, PA

I was attending Catholic School and was in the 8th grade. I remember that we prayed for those who perished. Now, fast forward to December1967. I served in the Seabees in Vietnam and was near the DMZ building bunkers.It was Christmas and we were given packages from people in the States. The box I received was from the 3rd grade students from Our lady of Angeles school. I will never forget it and it has stayed with me all this time.
I've always wanted to thank those kids so here it is. THANKS!

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