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Our Lady of the Angels (OLA) School Fire, 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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Posted by: Joe D. On: 10/1/2005 ID: 239
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 900 block of Hamlin ave.
Who knows how these things happen. I happened to come across the OLA fire website by accident, while looking for, of all things, firefighting equipment. As I began to go through the site, I was transported back to that December day. I was only 4 years old, but I can still clearly remember that afternoon as though it were yesterday. My family lived on the same block as the school, on the 900 block of N Hamlin. In fact, I can pick out our building from the aerial shot of the school fire. The school was clearly visible from our back porch window. My first inclination that something was horribly wrong was when I heard my mother and grandmother yelling about something. Seizing this as an opportunity to not have to take a nap I ran to the back porch to see what all the fuss was. At 4, I was too short to see out the window, but I can remember pulling myself up over the window sill to see the horrifying sight that had yet to be fully played out. I saw the flames, the smoke, the sound of the fire trucks going through the alley to get to the back of the school. I remember one of my uncles along with any other able-bodied males who happened to be home, running down the alley carrying ladders in an effort to help with the rescue efforts.I can remember being mesmerized by the sight of the flames and the smoke, the fire trucks, the smokey smell that seemingly permeated the neighborhood for the next few weeks. But at 4 years old, I could not even begin to understand the enormity of the event that was unfolding before me. Later that evening, I can remember most of my family congregating downstairs at my grandmother’s house, trying to take in the events that had just transpired, and trying to understand how it could be possible that something so horrific could happen to so many innocent people. I attended the new OLA from 1961, graduating in 1968. I can still remember the television news camera crews that seemed to show up every December to shoot footage for the evening news when they commemorated the anniversary of that day’s tragic events. Many of the kids I went to school with were the younger brothers and sisters of those who were in the fire. I honestly can’t remember any one of those kids talking about the fire, or the fact that they had lost a loved one. Back then, I think everyone internalized everything, and when something bad happened, you put it behind you and tried to live your life as best as you can.As for me, I graduated OLA, went to high school, college, married and had a family, and life took hold of me as it does to most of us. It wasn’t until I read “To Sleep with the Angels” that all the dots connected, so to speak. The one thing that stood out in my mind the most was a particular story in the book about a family who lost a child. I don’t want to get too specific, but there was a friend of mine who lost an older family member in the fire. While we didn’t actually become friends until about 6-7 years after the fire, I couldn’t help but noticing that his parents always seemed to be on edge. I can remember his dad always seemed mad about one thing or another. As an 11 year old, I just chalked it up to his personality.Many years later, as I read the book, and went through all the different heart wrenching scenarios the writer had pieced together to tell the story, one particular story hit me square between the eyes. I immediately recognized the name and I read the horrible circumstances under which they lost their child, which up until that point, I had never known. Today, as a parent looking back on that day, I’m not sure I could have got through what they and all the other families had to go through on that terrible December day, let alone the days and years that followed. I still can’t go past the section in the cemetery where all the fire victims are buried without stopping and gazing at all the grave sites. I look at all the decorations, and part of me is comforted by the fact that someone still thinks of all of them. At the same time, I can’t help but wonder how each of them would have grown up and how different the world would have been for them and their families if December 1, 1958 would have been just another day.


Posted by: Barb Wray On: 9/22/2005 ID: 238
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Drexel Hill, PA
I remember Mrs. Goetz, our 2nd grade teacher telling us that other kids died because they didn't know what to do in case of a fire. This stuck with me through out my life.I never knew the details of the tragedy until I found this website today.Now I am a teacher in Philadelphia. Most schools here are at least fifty years old. some were built in the 1890's or early 1900's. These schools were never meant to handle the electrical loads of computers and other devices. Veteran's stadium was torn down because it was too old for the sports teams (it was built in 1971). It was replaced by two new stadiums. I hope there is never a fire in one of these old buildings. Aren't children's lives worth the money to replace ancient schools?


Posted by: jessica On: 9/22/2005 ID: 237
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
i was not around during the fire. but i did a report on it and i found lots of very emotional stories and i feel so bad. there are many people affected bi this and it horrible. i am currently reading a book from a student that was in the fire. her name is michelle mcbride. she sadly passed away July 4, 2001. the book describes how she delt who she was and what really happened to her. i had to do a multigenre project last year and i did it on OUR LADYS OF ANGELS SCHOOL FIRE. many were crying at the end of my presentation.


Posted by: wayne anderson On: 8/31/2005 ID: 236
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before chicago illinois
i remember it clearly. I was in the 3rd grade at Saint Genevieve grammar school in the Fullerton & Cicero area.I heard about the fire when I got home from school from my mother.It just happens to be the school that I went to just the year before. My family use to live on 920 n. Homan ave and we moved in july 1958. I had one friend of mine that died in the fire. To this day I still think about it.


Posted by: K. B. On: 8/19/2005 ID: 235
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No
My mother was in labor with me at Chicago's Lying-in Hospital on the afternoon of the fire. She was in the hospital for a week thereafter and all news of the fire was kept from her and the other new mothers. It would be nice to believe that the spirit of one of the slain children was re-born in me. Bless you all.


Posted by: Barbara Z. On: 8/14/2005 ID: 234
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 2200 block of Thomas Street
I was 11 years old and a student at St. Mark's School on Campbell and Cortez. It was a chilly day and I remember the sound of fire trucks and probably other emergency vehicles on that late afternoon. We thought we could smell the smoke but it was over 2 miles away. We knew what was happening as soon as we got out of school. My mother met us and walked us home. My grandmother called from Salt Lake City. She was frantic because she didn't know the name of our school but had heard about the tragedy. My dad often helped his best friend (an undertaker) with removals and helped him that night with some of the children. He was devastated. I can't tell you how sad we were that December. My brother and I lost a friend in that fire. Roger Ramlow, who had lived next door, had moved to OLA just the year before. I still remember him and his little brother and it is 50 years later! God bless all the victims, survivors and all the OLA family.


Posted by: Steven N. Witt On: 8/9/2005 ID: 233
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
I am a Fireman for The City of Elmhurst Fire Dept. One of our retired fireman,s father was a Chicago fireman at the time, and had a Kelly Day on the day of the fire. I also met 2 ex Chicago firemen, that were on scene at the time of the fire. One fireman was supposed to have been on the Box Alarm Trk Co.26, but was detailed to Eng.Co.95, the second Eng. due in. He told Me They were trying to make the second floor with a 2 and one half inch handline, when then ceiling fell in and blew everyone out! He is also the fireman who is shown carrying out a deceased nun out of the ruins.The other fireman was on Squad Co.6. He is the Gentleman who currently has a working model of the Our Lady of the Angels building at the Chicago Fire Museum. When I was taking to these men, chills ran up My back! I know Myself,it must have been a tough job preforming rescues and firefighting under horiffic situasions! Also, My wife worked with a teacher here in Elmhurst, who lived in the neighborhood, at the time of the fire, and knew alot of the victims. He told Me that the area always celibrated Christmas, with lights on the shops and houses, etc. After the fire, hardly anyone put out anything!( could not blame them!) He also told Me that the woman they showed running on the Channel 11 program about the fire, had a lot of health problems, and couldn,t do much, but when she heard about the fire, she ended up running as fast as she could! Also, I worked with a Paramedic, who ended up making Chicago Fire Dept's Paramedic's, who's father's cousins was killed in the fire.


Posted by: kathy On: 8/4/2005 ID: 232
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
came upon article by accident while researching fire in ciero ill trying to find out information about my father who died in a bowling alley fire so far all i have gotten is his obitutary his name was john jacob benedict his funeral was at the begining of jan 1962 i dont know if it is a coinsidence or not hoping for more information


Posted by: Janet On: 7/25/2005 ID: 231
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before South Dakota
I was ten years old in 1958, and attended a Catholic grade school in Emery, South Dakota. Our school, also, was an accident waiting to happen. Fortunately, one of the good things that came out of the fire in Chicago was that our teachers and parents became more aware of the danger of fire in old wooden and brick school houses. Before the fire the first and second grade students were taught on the third floor, with just an old battered round-tubed fire escape, but after this tragic fire, these students were moved to the first floor into the chapel. The nuns were willing to give up their beautiful chapel in order to keep the children safe.

I also remember that we had many fire drills after that time, and we prayed for those who lost their lives. Personally, this fire scared me tremendously as we lived in an old farm house that I was SURE was going to burn up at any time. (It still survives today, however.) I remember sitting next to my mother in an evening with my favorite doll and a few other favorite things in my hands, waiting for someone to yell "fire." I know I would have been out the door in 2 seconds flat if that would have happened. My mother did her best to reassure me that there would be no fire. However, to this day, fire is my greatest fear.

Janet Wendt


Posted by: wendy On: 7/22/2005 ID: 230
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before pittsburgh, PA
I have always been fascinated with disaster stories: tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, explosions, fires, etc. I was a 3-month-old baby in Pittsburgh when this fire occured but as I grew older I enjoyed reading about human tragedy for some morbid reason. I loved to browse through old LIFE magazines and as I got older I purchased books on subjects that I had read about in a magazine. So I've heard about the OLA fire for a long time but it wasn't until I discovered this website that I really got into reading about it and when I heard of the book "To Sleep With the Angels," (mentioned on this website) I immediately sent away for a copy (another good book about a fire is "The Circus Fire" by Stuart O'Nan, about the circus big top burning to the ground in Hartford in 1944. Why some tragedies are turned into a book and/or movie and others are not is a mystery to me). I loved the book and was horrified and dismayed to learn that David Cowan, one of the authors, was arrested for arson not too long ago. What a sad irony. I was in Chicago for 3 days just recently. I had always wanted to see the city and had a wonderful time. Even though my husband and I had access to a rent-a-car we were very hesitant about driving it around such a huge city (we live in a small Alaskan town and just driving in Anchorage is traumatic for us). I really wanted to go to the old OLA neighborhood but wasn't sure if I could reach it by the CTA and if a cab driver knew where to find the place. Plus I had read that the neighborhood had really deteriorated and that stopped me. But if I'm ever in Chicago again I'll take the chance. I also need to get hold of Michelle McBride's book about the fire. I tried finding a copy in Chicago but was not successful. I also sent away for a copy of A&E's Hellfire video that does a segement on the OLA fire. A local Chicago station did a documentary and I'm hoping they have it on video so I can order a copy. I've been meaning to call the station but keep forgetting. Anyway, my heart goes out to all those people who lost loved ones. The worst tragedy for a parent to experience is to outlive a child and some parents lost 2 children in the fire. In my opinion the whole thing was an waiting to happen. Some kind of tragedy was bound to happen sooner or later to a public building that was also an overcrowded firetrap. It could have happened anywhere but it occured on December 1, 1958 at OLA school. Those kids did not die in vain--new safety laws came into effect afterwards. It's a shame that sometimes it takes a horrible tragedy to change outdated rules & regulations that no one was really paying attention to. There are all kinds of examples throughout history, I won't go into them all but those of you who enjoy reading about this kind of stuff know what I'm talking about. What's really sad, though, is that a kid apparently started this fire. I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt anyone--maybe he thought the fire would be discovered and extinguished before it spread. He has to live with his own guilty conscience. I also feel that the Catholic Church and Mayor Daley wereinadvertently put in a difficult situation that they did not know how to handle. Their reaction to this disaster brought a lot of criticism but I believe that no one really know what to do. I don't believe that it was God's will that these children died such a horrible ; but I do believe He gave us freedom of choice between doing good and doing bad and does not interfere with our choices. Unfortunately some people--even kids--choose to do terrible things. That boy that started the fire had the freedom to do it and the results of his actions were just the laws of nature taking their course. Fire (and nature in general) doesn't distinguish between children who have not been on this earth very long and older people who have been here for decades. In any case I agree with Mike Guzaldo (one of the first people to add a story to this website) that this event needs to be made into a movie, not to capitalize on tragedy but to show everyone that good things can come out of bad (or horrendous) events (i.e., the changing of fire laws and constructing safer buildings) and the triumph of the human spirit in surviving such things. To those relatives who lost loved ones--you have my sympathy, prayers, respect and admiration for having the strength to survive such a tragic time in your lives.