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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Posted by:

d g

On:

6/18/2007

ID:

331

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

I attended OLA 1977-1983
I remember that this tragedy was never spoken of; especially at school. I actually have learned more while viewing this website and by reading the books that have been published. I will never know the pain that was suffered by ALL involved. Since it is not always best to ponder on what would or could have been (even though we all do) I just try to believe that this may have changed many more lives to this day and even though I didn't know those involved. "You are my HEROES!"
GOD BLESS EVERYONE

Posted by:

Barbara

On:

6/18/2007

ID:

330

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

I was 10 years old on December 1, 1958. The same age as many of the victims. I heard about the fire on the news in Minneapolis. It has stayed with me my entire life. I remember feeling so horribly sad when I realized how so many children needlessly died right before Christmas. I cried. To this day, on December 1, every year I think about the fire and the victims. They are not forgotten.

Posted by:

Pauletta Giandonato Stepanek

On:

6/17/2007

ID:

329

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	Before	443 N. Harding Ave. Chicago, Ill.

Here is what I remember about day of the Fire.
I was in the 5th grade at Ryerson school which was located at 646 N. Lawndale and and regularly attended church and catechism classes at Our Lady of Angels (OLA). I had made my confirmation about a week or two before the fire along with the kids from OLA and other surronding schools. At some time in the late afternoon our teacher came in to tell us that there was a fire at Our Lady of Angels, we were to be let out early and told to go straight home. Myself and two other schoolmates/neighbors started walking home and like most kids of that age we were just happy to get out early. Home was the oppposite direction from OLA. After we got about two blocks South of Ryerson School we looked up to see great clouds of thick back gray smoke coming from that direction. At this point we started to realize the seriousness of the situation and began to run home. We now were talking anxiously about our family and friends who are attending OLA especially Teresa Whittaker, David Biscan and my cousin Carol Vinceri. When we reached our block the first thing we did was run over to Thersas home and store. The store was locked and after knocking on the door one of my schoolmates mothers answered. We could hear Thereas mother crying and screaming. What a shock for all of us. My friends went in the store and I went home. Home was just the other side of the street and shortly down the block. When I got home I told my mom what was happening. She immediatly tried calling her sisters home (Carols mother) but the phone had no dial tone. We kept trying to reach Carols home without any success. Carol and her famiy lived only one and a half blocks from our home. My Dad was at work (Zenith Radio) and Mom couldn't leave me and my two baby brothers to find out anything about Carol or the school. We spent several long hours waiting for Dad to get home from work. He arrived later than usual due to the heavy traffic caused by the fire. Once Dad arrived home Mom and I headed to my Aunts house. There was so much traffic that we couldn't cross Ferdinand,a two lane side street; for fifteen minites. During this time we heard sirens in a steady non-stop progression. When we finally arrived at my Aunts house we found that Carol was there and fine. She had been on an errand for one of the nuns only to return and find the school on fire. She stayed to help the nuns with the younger children and then returned home.

After leaving my aunts home we went to the school. A picture was published showing the school after dark with the crane and bright lights on the building. This is the same way I saw the aftermath of the fire. Thus, I will always remember this moment with the cold, noises, smells and anxiety of this life changing event.

Posted by:

Kari Morrissey

On:

6/9/2007

ID:

328

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 talking to my aunt today on the phone and she mentioned "the fire she was in". I didn't recall ever hearing about it so I asked, "What fire?" From there she told me about the devastating tragity. The fire at her school in 1958.

She told me about her best friend Joanie and how she had died that day. She told me about the children who had jumped and been pushed from windows. She, like many others, said that she still to this day, wherever she goes, looks for the fire escape. Theatres, churches, etc.

I felt a lot of sadness and disbeleif as she told me about it. I asked questions and she answered them. I could tell it still saddens her. She mentioned that it was on the internet and that I could find it f I searched for it. I didn't know the the degree of publicity and devastation it caused, until I looked it up.

I cried as I looked at the photos, and read the story. Read stories of survivors, and stories of the victim's loved ones.

I think it is wonderful that this site has been created for those touched by this horrible occurance. I have been on this website for 4 hours now, and cannot fathom how awful it must have been to experience. God Bless you.

With Love,
Kari Morrissey

Posted by:

fran hayman froelich

On:

5/15/2007

ID:

327

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	Before	1531 cleveland evanston, ill.

I was in 6th grade at Oakton School. We had the day off due to an all-city teacher's meeting. A couple of friends of mine and I were watching "Queen For A Day" at my house when the first bulletins broke. At that point, we thought it was hilarious. A real-life fulfillment of all the songs we always made up and sang about the school burning down and giving us what we thought was a permanent vacation. Mostly, tho, we were annoyed at missing our shows.
Of course, the laughter soon stopped, esp. after our parents and teachers corrected us VERY strongly, esp. about the deaths of kids our own age. Somehow, all those songs never seemed funny again to those our age after that.
When we returned to school, we had winter fire drills for the first time. My classroom was on the third floor. The only way out was thru folding metal stairs just outside the windows. I'll never forget the fire drills we had that winter. In the ice and snow of a typical Chicago winter, we had to leave coats behind and go down three flights of those rickety stairs. I still remember how my knees shook even more than I do being cold. (I was too scared).
My family moved from the Chicago area in 1961. In 2005, I returned to Evanston for the first time in nearly 40 years. I headed to Oakton, saw the enclosed fire corridors and said a prayer of thanks and gratitude that no more children had to hope that those outdoor fire stairs would hold up in a fire.

Posted by:

RoseMary

On:

5/13/2007

ID:

326

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

At the time of the fire I attended a public school on the far southwest side of Chicago. There were many new homes built in this area and many young families with children born between 1944 and maybe 1949. These student were called "Baby Boomers" and there were so many children in my age group new to the school that by the fourth or fifth grade we had to be split into four hour shifts for school. I recall going to school either in the morning or the afternoon shift for most of my grammer school years.
The afternoon of the Our Lady of the Angles Fire I was home alone, after school - a neighbor checking on me regularly (as my Mother worked). The news report broke in to the TV station I was watching with live coverage from OLA. I remember the news man outside locked gates talking about and showing fire equipment locked outside the gates. He was very upset and said they had to wait for someone to bring the key. The cameras focused on fire equipment and some people crying and pushing or pulling on the gate and children in the school yard running and other children jumping out of windows, some of them already on fire.
I remember shouting at the TV for them to "DRIVE THE TRUCK THROUGH THE GATE" to break it down and help those kids. "CLIMB THE GATE!, "BREAK IT DOWN!", "DO SOMETHING!", "HELP THEM!" (This might have been the first day I swore.) I must have been in about 6th or 7th grade myself and could not believe what I saw as the incredible stupidity of the adults I was watching. I must have been totally traumatized by what I was seeing because when the neighbor came to check on me, the fire fighters had gotten into the school yard and the cameras stopped showing children on fire and jumping out of windows and falling to the ground.
She had not had her TV on so she did not see what I had seen and she tried to tell me that it would be alright because the firemen would help them, but I knew it wasn't alright and the firemen didn't help them soon enough.
I don't remember much of the rest of the time until my Mom got home about 4:00. But I felt like I could not tell her what I saw or make her understand what was happening. But it turned out the my Aunt lived near the school and knew several of the families that suffer loss on that day.
I will be 63 years old this year and the memories of that fire have been and will be with me forever. It was many,many years after the fire that my Mother and I had a long conversation about that day. I finally got that she understood and could listen to what I saw (she herself had been badly burned in a fire as a child). And we both cried.
In reading some of the rememberances of other people on this web site I will conclude with this thought:
Contrary to opinion and experiences of some, that no children were told to remain in their seats and pray for help to arrive - according to first hand reports from some of the children involved, and news reports in the papers and on TV (that I have heard and seen) I believe, sadly, that it did happen in some classrooms and to deny it is a further injury to those who survived.
It became very obvious to me that day that adults with "authority" may not always have the best ideas.
I am very greatful that I found this site and greatful that so many remember. Thanks for allowing me to contribute.

Posted by:

Bob Spidale

On:

5/7/2007

ID:

325

Enrolled on 12/1/58?	Present on 12/1/58?	Injured?	Age	Grade	Classroom	Teacher
Yes	Yes	No	5	K	am Kinder.	don't know

My name is Bob Spidale. I just discovered this terrific web site after overhearing by accident two strangers discuss the OLA fire and joining their conversation. I found that we had mutual acquaintances. I did a Google search on 'Our Lady of the Angels' and found it.

I was 5 years old and in kindergarten at the time of the fire. The fire was in the afternoon, but I was in the morning class. I also remember that kindergarten and first grade were in a separate building from the main school. I was already home from school when the fire started. I do remember my mother getting frantic phone calls from friends and relatives to find out if I was OK.

I remember going to Cameron public school for first grade where the nuns taught us until the new school could be built. I went to the new school for second grade only. Our family moved to the northwest side after second grade.

I lived at 846 N. Trumbull.

To Janice (Pomilia) Pellettiere:

I read your message board post.I was a neighbor of yours. I remember that you lived on the corner of Trumbull and Iowa. I lived about 4 doors south of you on the same side of the street on Trumbull Avenue.

I'm sorry that I don't remember you but I do remember your brother George. We called him 'Big George' to distinguish him from 'Little George' (I think Little George's last name was Michals) who lived next door to me (south).

I have fond memories of playing 'fast pitching' on the side of your house with 'Big George' and his 'cool' friends. They were 'cool' because I was a little guy and they were older than me. I remember soft ball games in the street on the corner in front of your house, too.

I remember Valerie Thoma, too. I was a friend of her younger brother, Mike, and my brother, Jerry, was a friend of her older brother, Billy. Funny what you remember, but I remember that Mrs. Thoma made the best pancakes that I ever tasted.

I'm not sure if George remembers me, but please say hi for me.

Posted by:

DaddyMcFunk

On:

5/5/2007

ID:

324

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

My grandma, 92, was telling me today about how her father, my deceased great grandfather, witnessed children in body bags at the scene of the fire. He used to pass the school walking to and from work. He came home and cried, and that made a lasting impression on my grandma. In the days and weeks subsequent to the tragedy, he passed by the school and saw children with scars from burns on their faces and took them to buy candy because he wanted to give them something pleasant to remember. He took kids to the local candy store, and told them to get whatever they wanted up to ten cents each. I understand that was a lot of money in those days, and my great grandfather, a metalsmith, did not have a lot of money. But he was so moved by the tragedy, that I think he wanted to do something.

God Bless.

Posted by:

Sarah Israel

On:

4/21/2007

ID:

323

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

I remember my parents hugging me tighter than they ever had before. My mother worked with a Catholic woman who could not understand why everyone was so upset by the deaths of all the children. She said these children died before they could sin and therefore went to heaven. I did not understand that way of thinking, and now, that I am a Catholic, I still don't understand it. I have two children and I do not know how I could get through it if either if them died, no matter how. I can remember the Chicago Sun-Times and all the stories they pirinted. I could not understand why the gate to the school was locked. I will always remember the fire and all the dead children. This comes back to haunt me every now and then. i would like to thank the webmasters for creating this site.

Posted by:

Trish

On:

4/2/2007

ID:

322

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

This terrible tragedy happened before I was born; but my Father
Richard Ryan Sr.( a Chicago Fireman) fought that devestating fire!
My father lived through many dangerous situations in his life, including
WWII; but the recollections he had of that day stayed with him the rest
of his life. He was a wonderful father and loved all children dearly and
never recovered from what he had to bring himself to do that day. I am the youngest of eight children in our family...and every single one of us knows the story of the loss that was suffered. I pray that we will never
have to experience anything like that again! My prayers and love go out
to all who were touched by this tragedy and to all the brave fire fighters
who continue to face danger every day to save lives. Thank You for having
this forum to share with others.

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