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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: Tom Margherone On: 11/30/2005 ID: 242
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 5 k Mary Hall don't remember
It's after 3AM here in Phoenix and I am wide awake thinking about the horrific fire, the 47th annniversary of which will be tomorrow.

I was just a kid in kindergarten at the time and I went to school in the AM at OLA. Our class was housed half a block from the school in a three flat called Mary Hall. On Monday December 1, 1958 the day started as did all of the others since the previous September. I loved going to school and that day was no different than any other morning.

My aunt came to pick me up when class ended to take me back to her house. My mother was in a TB sanitarium at the time and had been there for almost two years. She was also away in the sanitarium for the first year of my birth. When my aunt arrived to pick me up she announced that we were going out to lunch at Woolworth's. I thought that was way too cool at the time but while we were eating she announced that my mother would finally be coming home later in the week. I barely remembered my mom at the time and also barely remembered the house we owned and lived in two years prior. My baby brother was born in January 1958 and he would finally be coming home from the foster family as well. We would finally, after so very long, be a complete family again.

Lunch was wonderful and then we wandered over to the toy section of the store so I could make all of my Christmas wishes to Santa. My aunt wrote down everything that I wanted and it was looking to be a great holiday for me. She assured me that she would mail my list directly to Santa and things were really going great. We spent a pretty fair amount of the early afternoon viewing toys and then a bit of Chicago Ave. shopping before heading home.

When we ready to head home I remembered that I forgot a bag at school. The teacher gave each student a bag filled with tape and construction paper to make ornaments for our Christmas trees at home. I pleaded to go back to the school to pick up the bag and my aunt agreed to do so.

We walked up Hamlin Ave to Mary Hall and I ran inisde to collect my bag of goodies. I was very anxious to start making decorations for the holidays. Since we were so close, I thought that perhaps I could con my aunt into some change for the candy store, which was only a block or so away. She handed me a quarter, on the condition that the candy I purchase last at least a couple of days and off we went to Barbara's store. I felt like I won the lotto and was very eager to get to the store. But when we turned the corner from Hamlin to Iowa little did I know that my world would be changed forever.

We could see the smoke and numerous fire trucks began arriving. We made our way to Avers Ave. near the candy store, and the crowd of people grew rapidly. I could see very little from my position so I decided to move in a bit closer. I eventually made my way pretty close to be able to see what was happening and the absolute horror of what was occruuing will be with me for a lifetime. I was standing next to an older Italian lady with a floor length heavy brown winter coat. In an instant she pulled me under the coat to try to block my view of what was happening. She was shouting at me to find my mother and I didn't know enough Italian at the time to explain anything to her. She pulled her rosary beads under her coat and together the two of us prayed. Little did she know but with me inside her coat there became a large gap for me to see exactly what was happening at the school.

I still cannot speak the exact details of what I saw that afternoon. Suffice it to say that no five year old should ever have to see the things I witnessed on that cold but sunny afternoon. Most of what was covered in the books on the fire bear witness to the things I also saw. In spite of how well everything was handled by the teachers and fire department, it seemed like complete and total chaos to me. People were running and screaming everywhere and injured kids were walking around as well.

I think my aunt went into a total state of shock, as did most of the folks at the fire that afternoon. It took her some time to finally realize that I was there too and she began a frantic search for me. My uncle and my father both left work upon hearing of the fire and thankfully my dad had the sense to call the sanitarium and ask one of the nurses to let my mother know that I was OK and already out of school for the day.

In spite of the crowd, my aunt, uncle and father connected and all began searching for me. Little did I realize at the time but I was impossible to locate under this lady's coat, completely hidden from view. And I also recall it being very loud with folks screaming and crying - I probably wouldn't have heard them even if they were close to me. I pulled myself out of the lady's coat to become sick and remained outside her coat where I was finally found just as darkness was setting. My father was quite upset with my aunt for allowing me to be at the school during the fire but he eventually calmed down when he realized what she had witnessed as well. He also picked me up and hugged me so hard I thought he was going to injure me.

I did not attend school the rest of the week. I don't know if classes were held for the Mary and Joseph Hall kids but I did not go to school. My mother arrived home on Thursday December 4th and it was a very welcome family reunion. It was great to be in my own house and with my mother and year old brother but the horror of the fire would not let go of me. I had great difficulty sleeping and could not get the horrible images out of my mind.

All of the neighbors and relatives had, for weeks, been planning a big welcome home and baby shower for my mother. Since she was in the sanitarium long befoer my brother was born they felt the shower was long over due. It was planned to be an Italian feast. The party never happened. A few folks came over with a gift or two and a plate of food but there was no way that any kind of party could be held in the immediate aftermath of the fire.

The following Monday I started school at Alfred Nobel - which was only a half a block from my house. I have no idea why I left OLA and regret not asking one of my folks for the reason before they passed away.
On my first day of class at Nobel I vividly recall the teacher asking me to speak very loudly and tell everyone my name. Then she asked me to tell everyone what school I came from. When I shouted Our lady of the Angels every student and even the teacher gasped in shock. I ran home - deciding right then and there that I would never return to school. That afternoon the teacher called my mother to apologise and to assure her that she had a long talk with my classmates and they all promised not to talk to me about the fire or do anything that would upset me.

The following day wasn't much better for me. At mid morning we had our milk and cookies and then a 20 minute nap before continuing class. I did fall sound asleep but was awakened by what would be the first of many nightmares about the fire. I woke up screaming and once again ran home where things felt safe and secure. After a couple more of these occurrances I decided to quit school and hide out in our basement while I should have been in class. After a few more parent teacher conferences and a couple of teacher conferences with me, I decided to try school again. We came to an agreement that I would never nap and would help the teacher clean the class while the others napped.

I really felt like I was being treated like an outsider by the entire class. No one ever talked to me and as I look back on things I think that's exactly the way i wanted things to be. It seemed to me that my real friends were back at OLA and I really did not want anyhthing to do with this new school or the kids in it. I hated everything about school all of a sudden and often times even saw Nobel school on fire as I was walking toward it for class.

Things seemed to get easier for me at school with the passing of time. The nightmares finally stopped and I did get all the way through graduate school without much more cutting of classes. Fire drills at school absolutely terrified me and knowing that so many safeguards were in place gave me little in the way of relief.

That seemed to solve the school problem but bed time was a very difficult time in our household. I hated going to bed and quiet often woke up screaming and soaked to the bone. Our family doctor recommended some sleep aids and a psychiatrist - both of which really eased the nightmare occurrances. We also did a lot of talking about the fire. I hear over and over that the fire was not spoken of in households but ours was quite different. I had no idea what death meant and could not understand how something so horriblwe could happen. Mt folks really tried their very best to help me to understand things, but to this day I think it is all way beyond the comprehension of a five year old.

As I grew up, fire drills were a constant in our household. My brother and I would be awakened and put through a drill of what we would do under various circumstances. We also had a rope made fire ladder in our
bedroom and my dad even went as far as to purchase one for the tenants in our two flat.

When my father passed away in 1994 my brother and I had the duty of emptying the house for evenutal sale. Far in the back of a closet I found a box containing every card I ever sent to my mother for every conceivable holiday. I also discovered that bag of stuff given to the kindergarten class just hours before the fire. It remains stapled closed to this day. I also discovered a letter written to Santa. It was written by an older neighbor girl on my behalf. I have saved it and it reads:

Dear Santa,
I know you got my letter of Christmas stuff I need already but please throw it in the garbage.
I do not want any of the toys on the list.
I have a few wishes for you
Please don't ever let another kid die in a fire.
Please let all the burned kids come home before Christmas.
Please don't ever make my mother go away to that place again.
And could you not throw away the toys you got for me and give them to the burned kids in the hospital
Love tomnmy

I did indeed get everying on my original Christmas wish list. I assumed that Santa never got my second letter or maybe he got it mixed up wuith someone else. I opened each gift very caerfully, knowing that I would have to rewrap the gifts for the kids still in the hospital. Once my father explained to me that the kids in the hospital were all too old to want to play with my toys, I accepted them.

My time at Nobel passed, with each day a little bit easier than the last. While I was housed on the second floor of the school, by luck of the draw, my classes were the ones with the new fire escapes. My three years housed on the third floor were also spent in classes with fire escapes - years later I discovered that it was not the luck of the draw - but a very insistant mother wanting to insure the safety of her son.

Part of my time in high school was especially trying for me. I went to Lane Tech and at the time I was in school there were constant bomb threats to the school and false alarm fire drills. I did my best to maintain myself and follow the rules, hoping for the best.

As the years have passed, many of the images and memories have faded, yet others reamin so distinct and vivid - like it was only yestrday.

And to finish - something very unusual was discovered about a year or so after the fire. On December 1, 1957, a year to the day before the fire my mother had lung surger in the TB sanitorium. My mother reveived 92 consecutive stitches during the surgery, followed by a inch or so break and then an additional three stitches where a tube was inserted.
It simply chilled us all to the bone that the stitch numbers were matched a year later with fatalities at the fire - 92 children and three nuns.

My sincere and heartfelt wishes for a wonderful holiday season to all.

tom margherone
tmtommytom@aol.com


Posted by: Anthony Eppolito (Tony) On: 11/12/2005 ID: 241
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 6 1 joseph hall sister mary serena
Most of what I can recall that day was being rushed out of class. My cousin Nancy used to walk me home and I think I was told to always wait for her on the corner by the main school. Im not sure how I got through all of the trucks and equipment, but I recall standing on the corner waiting for her and being very chilled and paralized by all of the screaming and the commotion. I remember seeing all of the ladders and for some reason I recall a fire truck that had a lot of telephones on it. Im not sure if that memory is real or not. I do remember one big strapping fire fighter grabbing me and slapping me on my bottom as he told me to get out of there and dont look back. Almost 20 years later when I became a paramedic for the Chicago Fire DEprtment I was on my shift and up late at night. I shared this story with an engineer that was at the fire house. He was a big guy about 6 foot something and about 250 pounds. As I shared this story with him he started crying. He told me he wasnt sure if he was the guy who slapped me on the bottom, but said he had done that to so many kids that day. I just began talking about the fire to my older cousin and found out Nancy Courtney, my cousin was in one of the worst rooms hit by the fire. I need to talk more with her about it, but its sad how almost 50 years later Im finally looking at what occured and trying to make some sense out of how this affected me. Although I do have my report cards I have no class pictures and cant remember anyone from the class. All I know is the room and the teachers. When I look at my report card it doesnt show any grades for the second semester and I think I was shipped to another school, but recall nothing of that school. After that year we moved to Berwyn and for years my mother had me believe I didnt like school and was too attached to her and thats why I needed to be dragged to school. Just recently I have come to understand that after being traumatized by the fire I think I had no desire to go into another school for fear that it would catch fire too. I hope some day to talk to more people about these feelings. my email address is radloverofbp@hotmail.com


Posted by: Jennifer Casale Campbell On: 10/31/2005 ID: 240
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 10 5 1st floor ?
Our family moved to St. Louis Avenue in October just prior to the fire on December 1st. My Dad, Joseph Casale, although an apprentice electircian at the time, was working as a salesman in between jobs. As time would allow it, He and my Mom, Jennie, would often pick up my younger brother, John and myself from school. On this day I was very happy they were there for us and many of the victims.

Because we were new to the neighborhood and the school my Father wasn't sure what classrooms my brother and I were in. So, that day when he realized that the school was on fire he ran indoors to look for us and to help the others. In the mean time my Mother continued to look for us elsewhere.

The smoke was so thick that Dad must have tried to break out a window on a door or something while on the second floor. He was looking for us and wanting to save the other children but he couldn't bear it any longer. The smoke was too thick. In the mean time my Mother ran into church where I was and so many of us were lead to pray by the nuns.When she found me we proceded out of the church where we found my brother, who was in second grade, standing outside, across the street from the school with his classroom. He was the last in the single file line. I never was so happy to see him. I thought he was lost forever. Then we all ran towards the front of the school only to find my father coming out of the building bleeding severely from his right hand. He wiped his hand on my Mother's blouse and then tried to save some of the children once he saw that my brother and I were safe. He literally picked up children who had jumped from the burning building and put them in the back seat of our car. They were so hurt but my brother and I tried to comfort them while my Dad drove us to St. Ann's Hospital.

While at the hospital they examined my Father's hand and sent him away afer they stitched and bandaged Him up. There really wasn't time for Him with so many of the children needing care. But later that night Dad returned to the hospital because He couldn't move his thumb. This time He stayed at the hospital and had surgery because he cut the ligaments in his thmb.

That night my brother and I were brought to my aunt and uncle's house on Spaulding. They took care of us while Dad had surgery. He was in the hospital for a while and it was a long time before he was able to move his thumb again.

A few months later we were invited to attend inquiries about the fire and our family's picture made it on the front page with my Father being noted as a hero for trying to save so many children. Although He never set out to be a hero only to rescue His children and other innocent victims of that horrific fire, Dad will always be my hero.

Each December 1st, when my Mom and I speak, she reminds me that it is the Anniversary of Our Lady of Angels Fire and I softly say, "Yes, I know." And then we always pray for those innocent Angels and the Nuns, who were Angels, too.

And since my Dad passed away about 10 years ago, I always think about Him on Dec. 1st and how He so wanted to help and how He risked His life for my brother and I and the others. In my eyes he will always be my hero and my Angel Too!

I miss my Dad and all those who died in the fire, including my friend, Maria, and I will continue to pray for you and your families and of course, My Dad, Joseph, who we miss very much. God Bless All of You, especially this eve of All Saints Day. You are all truly Saints and God's special Angels.


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.