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 496 to 487 Stories 476 to 467

Posted by:

Kathy

On:

7/5/2009

ID:

486

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 born and raised in Chicago, and during the eighties attended a Catholic grade school on the Northwest Side. I was also acquainted with Victor Jacobellis' parents and sister (my mother still talks with Grace Ann to this day), as well as many police officers and firefighters.

Once, during a visit to the Jacobellis family's home (I was probably about eight at the time), I saw a baseball glove and a framed photo of Victor on their dining-room table. I asked my mom why these items were there. She said the child had died a long time ago and not to mention it to either Grace Ann or her parents.

I completely forgot about this until one day, I noticed my mom had bought "To Sleep With The Angels." Being the bookworm I am, I decided it looked interesting. I grabbed it and got comfy.

I couldn't put it down. To put it mildly, I was horrified that so many people died, in such an awful way -- and that it took a tragedy of that magnitude to strengthen fire-safety codes. And my heart broke at how many others that fire affected, too: the firefighters who put out the fire and brought out the children, the police officers, the priests and nuns, families in the neighborhood and throughout the city. The book really brings that side of the tragedy to life.

In addition, I was floored to learn Victor Jacobellis was a victim. Now I know why my mom cautioned me not to ask the Jacobellis family about him. I shudder to think what would have happened had I done so.

My prayers go out to the OLA fire survivors and their families, the OLA religious community, and the Jacobellis family (including Grace Ann and her late mother, Emma). May the good Lord bring you peace and strength.

Posted by:

KaylaR

On:

6/23/2009

ID:

485

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

What a service this forum is! I cried more than once reading entry after entry of those who survived or were affected by loss of a loved one or loss of security because of OLA. And more than once I stunned -- especially by those who hadn't spoken of that day and by the entry by the woman who obviously has serious concerns about her estranged father and the fire.

I learned the horrible details of the OLA Fire as a teenager in 1979, when I attended a school built in 1921. One of my history teachers was telling us about public safety and fire codes and walked us through the details of our school's retrofit to meet code-- and why. Until that day, it hadn't occurred to me that 92 *children* and 3 nuns died so that I could be safer in my school. I've always been afraid of fire; and learning about OLA was devastating. (From the time I was 5 until my family moved when I was 8, one of my best friends was a "Burn." Her name, not mine. Her nightgown had caught fire when she was 4 and burned her face and neck.) After class, I asked my teacher about Our Lady of the Angels School. He told me that he was from Chicago and was deeply changed by the fire. Since that day, I've tried to be very aware of exits and exit routes. When I taught, I always kept at least three exit strategies in my mind. I still do.

I have both books on the OLA Fire. McBride's book touched me so very deeply and taught me so much. There are so few books about the pain of *surviving.* There are even fewer books that admit that Pain Is. I was sickened to read that many children felt guilt for living, questioned their own "goodness." As a Catholic, I've heard the same sort of things said...

I want to thank all of you survivor/victims for posting your experiences here. You, too, have taught me. As I survivor of another kind of devastating event, I can say that surviving isn't for wimps. I send my love and prayers out to you all.

Kayla

Posted by:

Diane

On:

5/25/2009

ID:

484

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

This story touches me deeply because of this website's humanizing it, turning it from merely a historical footnote into a massive event that affected countless individual lives. It also affects me because my parents were both still enrolled in local (San Antonio, TX) Catholic schools during this time, my father in 8th grade, my mother in 7th. Realizing that some of the victims and survivors of this horrific event were my parents' ages and living similar lives to my parents as devout ethnic Catholics -- it really, really hits close to home there.

I too attended Catholic schools my whole grade and high school life, and what Ann from Washington, D.C., said is just as true now as it was back when she and my parents were attending Catholic school. There is that whole attitude of "us vs. them" regarding Catholic vs. public schools, and a sort of kinship is evident amongst all Catholic school veterans. The OLA children were on our side, and it's almost overwhelming knowing something like this happened to "our" side. I am glad the children didn't die in vain, as it appears the fire affected real change in safety codes and fire safety awareness throughout the land. I did not have to worry about the risks of fire because of what happened with OLA, and that is one huge legacy these children (and nuns!) have left us.

It is unfortunate this event isn't as well known as it should be, but I am pleased this website and the outspoken survivors are helping keep this event alive in people's memories, either real or forged by others' accounts. This is an event that should never be forgotten.

Posted by:

mike l

On:

5/25/2009

ID:

483

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

I was in first grade at St. Helena's parish, about 20 miles outside of Philadelphia, when the fire struck Our Lady of the Angels. I remember hearing about it on the TV news that night and, on Sunday, I read about it in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Being a Catholic school kid made me more interested in the story. I remember reading in part about how some of the children were still seated in their old wooden desks, like the ones I knew, stuck there when the heat melted the lacquer. I tried to imagine a school so different than mine, which was all one-story. Each classroom, except for the two under the convent, had two doors to the main corridor and an exit door out to the school property. It would have been very safe compared to OLA. About the only thing we had in common was the large numbers of students in each classroom. My kids think I'm fooling when I tell them that we had about 60 or more kids in each class, two rooms for each grade. Back in the early 80's, I worked for a newspaper in town and one of the writers was a new college grad from Chicago. One day, out of curiosity, I asked her if she knew about the OLA fire, which probably occured around the time she was born. She knew nothing about it,surprisingly. I guess I thought everyone from Chi knew about it, right there with Mrs. O'Leary's cow. I went into our archives and came up with some stories about the fire. It was the first I had read anything about it since that time. Over two decades from the tragedy and as an adult, I still wondered why it happened and how the children felt, how the nuns tried to keep them calm. 50 years later, I still do.

Posted by:

Chicago Policeman's Daughter

On:

5/8/2009

ID:

482

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

I was not born until 1958, but that is also the year my father became a Chicago policeman. I had known about the fire since I was young, but it is something my father never talked about in any detail whatsoever other than that he was there. He died some time ago, and I wish he were here today after reading all this to ask him.

Reading everyone's stories and recollections almost feels like I am eavesdropping on something that is so personal I shouldn't hear it. Along with the sheer horror of the fire and what very young children saw and heard, they were told not to discuss it. Of course, I realize things were very different back then and there was no such thing as grief counselors, etc., but it just seems to me to be common sense that anyone, especially kids, would want and NEED to talk about it. And to tell you that "God only takes the good ones" both disgusts me, but is also not surprising of the church.

It took 50 years, but finally those who are willing can finally tell their stories.

Posted by:

Anonymous

On:

4/24/2009

ID:

481

Enrolled on 12/1/58?	Present on 12/1/58?	Injured?	Age	Grade	Classroom	Teacher
Yes	Yes	No	8	3

We were told that "God took the good ones." Imagine how we, as survivors, felt. Over the years I have taken that statement and turned it into a positive statement. God took the "good ones" because their work was finished on earth. Later the positive statement became God took the "good ones" because their work on earth was finished and left us, "good ones" to finish our work on earth.

Posted by:

Elmer J Prochaska Jr

On:

4/22/2009

ID:

480

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

I was eleven years old then. I was home, Brookfield Illinois, watching the news of the fire on television. I was so scared and felt hurt to see all the children and nuns taken out of the school. I looked outside and could see my grammar school S.E. GROSS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. It was a big three story school. I visualize it being on fire and what would happen to all the kids and myself. The school was kindergarten through eigth grade.

Years later I lived in Westchester Illinois. Lived across the street from Queen of Heaven cemetary (Hillside Illinois) where many of the children are buried. Just walking distance to see the marker and graves of so many of the children buried together. It brings sadness and hurt to me to see them. So many of them were my age at the time----may GOD look after them.

Today I live in Mesa Arizona, but will never forget this school fire.

Posted by:

Michael Kiefer

On:

4/15/2009

ID:

479

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

I attended a Catholic grade school in Indianapolis and was in the sixth grade in Decemebr 1958. My sister, a Sister of Providence had taught grade school in Chicago a few years before and my parents and I had visited with her often. My third grade teacher's father was a Chicago firefighter and she taught my classmates and I to pray to St. Florian for the safe return "of the men" every time we heard a fire siren. (A practice I continue to this day). My parents and I felt a strong connection to story of the fire. I was home from school with my mother when the story began to be reported. My father came home from work and the three of us knelt in the living room to pray the rosary. I will never forget my father crying so bitterly that he could not lead. My mother couldn't continue either, so I led the recitation, barely above a whisper. The photos in the newspaper the next day broke my father's heart as did accusations made at the time against the nuns. Even though we did not know any of the victims or their families personally, we felt as though we did. The anniversary brought all this back to mind. God Bless you all.

Posted by:

kathie k.

On:

4/13/2009

ID:

478

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	Before	St. Joseph, Michigan

I was 11 yrs. old on 12/1/58, attending St. Joseph's Catholic School in St. Joseph, MI. St. Joseph is 90 miles from Chicago. I remember coming into school on 12/2, and our nuns(Dominicans)asking us to pray for all the children killed in a school fire in Chicago. We knelt by our desks, and prayed for the kids. When I got home from school, my Mom had bought a copy of the Tribune on that day, and on the front page I saw a fireman carrying the body of a dead nun down a flight of stairs. I was horrified. Then I remember seeing the other pictures of the fire. It really hit home with me, as I had never considered a fire at a school. My Mom was obviously upset by the whole thing, and we said a prayer for the families before I went to sleep that night. The next day in school, our teacher told us that we needed to take the fire drills very seriously, and pay close attention to directions. We had at least 65 kids to a classroom, and that boggles my mind now. When I saw the Trib pictures of all the children who died, many of the girls wore the same First Communion veils that our school wore. Wow, that scared me so badly. I remember that so clearly. I read the book by Michelle McBride, and "To sleep with the Angels". It remains etched in my mind from long ago, and it gets no easier to accept. God bless all who lived through it, and all who didn't.

Posted by:

Joseph Giamarese

On:

4/8/2009

ID:

477

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

Firefighter Richard Scheidt passed away this week. My prayers go out to his family and all those who knew him. My parents lived on Avers Ave. and frequently tell stories about "the old neighborhood." I was born at St. Anne's Hospital and my family moved west in 1965. I am a bookseller by trade and ran across a copy of To Sleep With The Angels. I took it home and began to read it. I found myself unable to read too much of it at once because it was so overwhelming. I have a son and a daughter enrolled in Our Lady Immaculate Academy. Their uniforms still consist of neckties and jumpers and was immediately struck by the similarities of the OLA class pictures. I felt like I knew those kids. This morning I drove back to my parents "old neighborhood", parked my car, and walked around what use to be the OLA school and Church. I said a prayer at the little memorial,this being Holt Week, and took a few pictures. When I got home is when I heard Mr. Scheidt passed away this week and his funeral was today.
My prayers go out to all the victims and survivors of the Our Lady of the Angels fire. I would very much like to see a Tridentine Mass said in honor of this horrible tragedy. The kind of Mass the victims and survivors would remember from that time. God Bless you all.

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