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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: OC Doc On: 3/19/2003 ID: 75
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before San Diego, CA
I'm a physician in Southern California and have no personal connection to Chicago or OLA parish. However, in an odd way, I've known about the tragedy nearly my entire life.

I was only two years old at the time of the fire, and began public school Kindergarten in San Diego in 1961. I attended an elementary school, the original wing of which was founded in 1915. In the late 1930s, as the surrounding area switched from rural/farm to residential, a U-shaped addition was added to make the school into a rectangle, with a courtyard in the middle. The original 1915 wing has since been torn down, in accordance with state law (did not meet earthquake safety codes laid down in 1935), but the rest of the school, built in 1938, still stands. The school was almost all single story, except for one wing where the grade level was higher on one side than the other (due to San Diego's steep hills). One side of this wing was one-story, while on the other side it was two stories (and there were first-floor classrooms below on one side). All stairs were OUTSIDE, partly because of San Diego's mild climate and partly because they didn't want any interior stairwells.

The Kindergarten was housed in two conjoined classrooms with their own large fenced-in playground. The school was built between two hills, so that the street in front of the Kindergarten complex sloped steeply down to meet in a low point about 15 feet below the level of the playground. As a result, there was a 15 foot retaining wall topped by a high fence to keep the kids safe. The only exit was a gate on one end that led out to the street (where the street was level with the playground). I remember our Kindergarten teacher (who was, if I may say, a real witch!) explaining that our school in San Diego was one of the first to be built with fire alarms (that rang in the fire department) and with sprinklers. The walls were concrete, the floors composite, and there was little wood used in construction. [So apparently by the late 1930s, they knew how to build a relatively fire-proof school]

The first time we ever practiced a fire drill, she explained that this was no laughing matter, because nearly 100 children in a Catholic school in Chicago had died only a few years back. We also had a fireman come to the class to talk about fire safety. He brought a poster showing a Chicago fireman carrying the lifeless body of a boy [whom I now know was John Jajkowski] as an example of how important fire safety was. Also, there was a girl in our class named Antoinette whose family had moved to San Diego from Chicago the previous year, and she seemed to know a little about the OLA fire as well (from her older siblings), though I don't think they lived in the OLA parish area.

No one explained to us that the Chicago school was unsafe, and the implication was that they had not adequately rehearsed fire drills at the school [after reading this site and the book "To Sleep With The Angels", I know that this is not true, and the 1915 wing of my school, where I attended 5th and 6th grades, was just as dangerous, though only one story high]. I used to have nightmares about that poster. We lived in a two-story home and my parents bought a chain ladder for each bedroom, and we were taught how to use them in case of fire.

During my Kindergarten year, several modifications were made to the rooms, which must have been a reaction to the OLA fire. The rooms opened to a hallway on one side (rear) and to the exterior in the front (again, because of our mild climate) on the other side. Both doors were refitted with push bars instead of knobs, as was a third door leading to a storage room for play equipment; the storage room's door to the outside was also retrofitted. In addition, a second gate was cut on the other side of the playground fence leading to one of two playing fields for the older kids. Finally, a third gate was cut at the highest point of the retaining wall, a steel ladder was attached to the retaining wall, and each of the Kindergarten teachers had a key to the padlock for this gate. Due to liability issues, we never practiced descending the ladder, but we did practice lining up and walking to the gate and pretending to take our turns going down the ladder. We rehearsed different scenarios, such as a fire in the storage room, a fire in the front of the room (go out via the rear door to the hallway while led to an exit door), or fire in the hallway (go out via the front exterior door). I never understood at the time why fire safety was stressed to this degree, but now I know why: the OLA fire catalyzed a nationwide push toward better school safety.

Fast forwarding to the present, I have a patient (whom we'll call Gena--last name left out for privacy) who is a Chicago native and who moved to California in the 1960s. Recently, during an office visit, we discussed the recent (a day or two before the visit) tragic nightclub fire in Rhode Island. She knew I'd attended college there (Brown Univ.) and asked if I knew where the club was, etc. I said I'd never been there, but did know some of the physicians treating the survivors at Rhode Island Hospital. At that point, she mentioned that she had witnessed a similar tragedy: the Our Lady of the Angels fire in 1958. Her husband's nephew George Canella died in the fire, and she could recite the exact date (12/1/58) from memory, without pausing to think. She was returning from work and saw the smoke and hurried to the school, since she had relatives who were students. She recalls seeing a nun lead a group of students out of the building and then go back inside to bring out a second group; since I have now read the book, perhaps this was Sr. Andrienne Carolan.

The weird thing was that I had very vague memories of a terrible school fire in Chicago (which is why they were so strict about fire safety drills in my Kindergarten) and now, forty years later, one of my patients fills in all the details on a personal level. What a small world. I then did an internet search and discovered this site, and also learned about the book (which I have now bought and read). Today we have grief counselling and professionals to help children through tragedies, but back then it must have been awful for people to have lost loved ones and have no one with whom to discuss their feelings. I have to salute the people who survived and who carried on in the face of their losses, it's really remarkable.

passatdoc@cox.net


Posted by: Richard M. Robinson On: 3/16/2003 ID: 74
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Central & Augusta, Chicago Il.
First things first, my heart and all of my sympathy goes out to all of the children,their families,and friends,and the three nuns who were lost in this tragic fire. I did not attend OLA, I was playing in my school playground, and was watching the smoke from the fire not knowing at the time what was on fire. My attachment to this fire is that my father was with Eng.Co.85 of the C.F.D,and was the first firemen on the scene.I was told that my father was trying to get as many children out of the window he was at on his ladder. Inow that he was dropping kids to the ground trying to save them. My father and the rest of the firemen were forever changed from that day on until he passed away in 1972. I am still trying to forgive my father for what he had done to our family, but now I have some understanding to some of his emotional problems that in turn affected my growing up. If anybody out there has any information, or worked with him please e-mail me at RRobi98963@aol.com. If you have a chance I suggest that you go to the Chicago Fire Museum at St. Gabreil School at 45thand Wallace, Chicago Ill., the museum is open every third Saturday of the month,and has some interesting things about the fire.

Again my heart goes out to all of you.

Thank you,

Richard M. Robinson


Posted by: JoAnn Pellettiere Luke On: 3/4/2003 ID: 73
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 12 7 208 Sister St. Canice
At the time of the fire, I was 12 years old and a 7th grade student ... A student in Room 208. The fire claimed 13 victims from 208 ... Sister St. Canice and 12 of my classmates. As fate had it (or I guess I should say it was the will of God) even though I was in school that day, I was not in Room 208 at the time of the fire. As one of the upper-classmen of the school, I was sometimes called on to assist the nuns in the lower grades. Such was my fate on December 1st. I was one of two students who were asked to help a first grade nun with a birthday party.

It was the end of the day ... Around 2:30 ... When Margie Marzullo and I packed up our books and coats, left room 208 and went down those back stairs to a classroom that was located directly beneath 208. It was 2:30 and we went down those same stairs that would carry that horrendous fire a short time later. We helped serve cupcakes and then began to get the first-graders ready to go home. But the fire bell rang instead of the dismissal bell. We thought it was a mistake ... But knew the drill and started filing out of the building. I had my coat but didn't bring books as I thought for sure I would be returning for the 'real' dismissal. We exited on to Avers Avenue through a door that was directly across the street from my Aunt's house. I also lived on Avers ... Just north of the school at 936.

I will never forget what I saw and heard when I reached the street. The blackest smoke I ever saw was pouring from the windows of the second floor ... My classroom being one of the burning rooms. I saw kids jumping and hitting the concrete. I heard those screams for help. People on the ground were frantic, yet helpless. I heard fire engines but they were nowhere to be seen. Students leaving the building were being brought into neighbors' homes. People were bringing out coats and blankets. Parents were arriving to pick up their children as they normally did and frantically began searching for their family. There were attempts at putting ladders together so they could reach the trapped on the second floor. There was a small grocery store on Avers, right by the alley by the school ... The owner Barbara was out in the alley trying to calm the trapped students. I ran down the street to my home and saw my mother leaning out the second-floor window. I remember telling her to call the fire department. I thought about my brother in third grade, my cousins in sixth and eighth, my neighborhood friends, and, of course, my classmates in 208. My family was one of the lucky ones ... It wasn't long before we knew that my brother and cousins had all escaped unharmed.

But it was a chaotic time ... A body at one of the neighboring hospitals had been tentatively identified as mine. My cousin was a nurse there and corrected the error. But not before my mother received the phone call and a newspaper person came to the door to talk about the bad news. My name was on one of the first published victim lists and we actually received telegrams and condolence cards from relatives in California.

The day blurred into the next and the days to follow. While my second-floor window provided some viewing, the papers and television provided the horrific details. I learned of my classmates and Sister St. Canice who had died; my injured neighbors: Jim Krajewski, Mary Brock and Bob Trybalski; my neighbor who died: Raymond Makowski; and what seemed to be an endless list of victims and injured people. Being down the street from the school, I could not escape the constant sight of that destroyed building and could not help reliving the day over and over.

Over the next year I watched the building of the new school and, though I never attended classes there, celebrated its opening. There was no such thing as grief counseling those days. People coped as best they could. But we were a strong neighborhood and a strong parish and we helped one another. I don't remember being stopped from talking about it; at the same time, never really encouraged to do so.

My mother kept a book with news clippings and those condolence cards. I just looked at it for the first time in a long time; and, must admit, even though I never forgot, I have not thought so much about that day for a very long time. I had lived in California for awhile and there was even less there to remind me. As the years passed and I had left the neighborhood, I found fewer and fewer people I felt could really understand what I had experienced that day. Life does go on; but I can never forget ... I still struggle to light a match and still pause at 3 p.m. on December 1st. Can't help but wonder what happened to that first-grade girl who's birthday party brought me out of 208 that day. I look at my fireman brother-in-law Ron and other firemen I know and marveled at what they chose to do for a living long before 9/11. I don't think I ever experienced 'survivor's guilt' but sometimes can't help but wonder why things worked out for me the way they did.

It is nice to have this opportunity to share these experiences and feelings with others. I read my sister-in-law's note (#63)and learned things about her I had never known before.

I guess that just as we won't forget; we also continue to heal.

joann2speak@ameritech.net


Posted by: Reggie Zavon On: 3/4/2003 ID: 72
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 4200 West Division Street
I had attended OLA for catachism classes while I was at Orr Public School. I would have been enrolled at OLA the year of the fire but had been moved to Our Lady of Bethlehem Academy. My best friend Jeannie was at OLA the day of the fire. She was in one of the second floor classrooms and did manage to escape by climbing out of the window and crossing a drain pipe of some sort to safety. I was never allowed to talk to her about that horrible day, so I can't confirm if that is what actually happened to her. A few months later, my family took her with us to the circus. The crowd and noise proved to be too much for her and we left. The next day the toaster in the kitchen was smoking and my poor friend burst into tears and was terrified. I have often wondered what happened to her and if the emotional scars of the fire ever left her.


Posted by: Matt Plovanich On: 2/28/2003 ID: 71
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 10 5 207 Sr. Geraldita
To whoever posted the question about "clergy" abuse by any of the priests assigned to OLA. I served as an altar boy at OLA more times than I care to remember. Many of these times I was alone in the rooms behind the altar of the church with every priest on staff. Never once was there any HINT of improper behavior by any one of them. The were middle class, "down to earth" normal guys. We as a community enjoyed them very much. My answer to you is NEVER!


Posted by: clergy abuse On: 2/28/2003 ID: 70
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Chicago
(This item has been removed because it is not a personal story, recollection or opinion about the Our Lady of the Angels school fire, and is therefore inappropriate for this area - webmaster)


Posted by: Nichalus Rizzo On: 2/20/2003 ID: 69
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 5541 S. Carpenter, Chicago
At the beginning of the school year in 1958 we still lived at 1047 N. Christiana and I was enrolled in Sister Mary Seraphica's room 210 as a forth grader. Two weeks before the fire, we moved to the south side because my parents bought a three flat from my grandparents who retired and moved to Cicero. I had many friends that died in the fire and many that were hurt. My girlfriend? Aurelia Abbatello was burned vary badly in the fire. I remember seeing an article in the newspaper almost a year and a half after the fire in which she was with actor Pat O’Brien on the occasion of her being the last victim leaving the hospital after the fire. Years later my sister met her downtown where she was working for an employment agency. Recognizing her name, my sister found out she has since married a fireman. Chuck, the boy that lived next door to me jumped out of the window and broke his leg and hip. Nancy the 8th grader who lived down the block was able to hang jump out of the window, she was fine. Steve, my friend from across the street, did not make it home that day, neither did Victor. The fire had more of an effect on my parents than it did on my sister and me at the time, probably because they better understood how close we came not to mention that my father had been a fireman. Over the years, I have slowly realized just how fortunate I have been in so many ways. Now that I am able, I plan on starting a foundation in memory of the victims at OLA and I hope to raise enough money to build an appropriate monument to be placed at the Childs burn unit in Loyola Medical center in Maywood.

Zyzzynr@netzero.net


Posted by: SandyD On: 2/19/2003 ID: 68
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 510 N. Monticello
I was 7 years old at that time of the fire...I went to Ryerson,I had friends that lived by me on monticello, I lived at 510 N. Monticello at the time...I forward the rest to friends I still keep in touch with from back in the 60's about this site...& reports, now 40 something years later we are talking about it....

after reading the stories I too realize I had good friends that went to this school, OLA, they NEVER talked about it !!! I have a friend her name was DeeDee Della, her brother Frank, was burned over a good part of his body,I do remember hearing he jumped from the second floor. I saw a few scars that couldn't be covered up by his shirt or pants, but they NEVER talked about it !!!

We came from of time I guess we were told to be seen and not heard, what is a child that couldn't speak all these years have to endure, with prayer and talk sometimes heals but if we are forced to act as if nothing happened how much suffering you had....now I realize what you had to be going through....I will never be able to know...only you do...but I will say, we are here for you...maybe with the chats, we will never erase your hurt but we can help the healing process....please email me anytime....if anyone knows where DeeDee or her brother Frank Della is please let then know I would love to hear from them....Bless you all...Love Sandy


Posted by: Joanne Pettenon Peele On: 2/17/2003 ID: 67
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 12 7 201? ?
My name is Joanne Pettenon Peele now and on December 1, 1958 I was in seventh grade. My classroom was in the south wing of the school on the second floor. We were having a singing class and realized that the children across the court were hanging out of their windows waiving and screeming that the school was on fire. We immediately lined up in single file and headed for the smoke filled corridor and made our way down the staircase to the front entrance. Once we were out, I remember frantically looking for my sister, my brother, and my cousins Janice and George Pomilia. I did not see any of my family members at that time and I will never forget how I felt at that moment. On my way home after stopping at my godmother’s house on Lawndale & Iowa I ran into my mother and my aunt who were Christmas shopping that day. My mother was nine months pregnant. They went to the school looking for the other children and came home with no one. My brother, John Pettenon and cousin Janice Pomilia were at a relative who lived on Trumbull Ave. where we all lived, who also had children in the school, The Bertucci’s. Mary Ellen and George were still missing. Later on that evening our house was filled with relatives from all over Chicago and my mother started having labor pains. I will never forget my father, who in those days did not have a radio in his car, came home from his construction job to hear that his Mary Ellen was missing. My cousin George was found in Walter Memorial Hospital with a broken leg from his jump from his classroom window. He was in fifth grade. My father then had to take my mother to the hospital knowing that we had not found my sister. Later on that evening Mr. Pawlik from across the street who was the father of my best friend Eileen Pawlik came over to tell us that she was gone…he found her at the morgue. The next day my uncle Joe went to the morgue and found my sister, Mary Ellen Pettenon. He was the only one that saw her after the fire.

My poor parents were at the hospital waiting for a baby when our family doctor went to tell them about Mary Ellen. My mother’s labor had stopped and she was able to return home for the funeral arrangements and services. The day after the funeral she gave birth to a new baby girl and named her Marilyn. Needless to say, having a new baby in the house was a blessing. There is nothing like the comfort you get from a new born baby. It really helped all of us especially my mother. Marilyn has three children and just became a grandmother for the first time to a beautiful baby boy.

Going through all of this at the age of twelve, I thought that our life was over and that we would never have happy times again, but we all know that life goes on and you learn to endure. I admire my parents more than they know and I will never forget how they continued to be the wonderful parents that they are during the most difficult time of their life. To this day, my mom and dad are always there for us and our children.

I have been blessed with three wonderful children, Laura, Lisa, and Jimmy and five grandchildren. I know the love that a parent has for their children , but no one knows what it is like to lose a child unless you actually go through it. Some families lost more than one child in the fire.

In closing, I would like to say that I have read so much about what happened that day, other experiences that were shared, and the days that followed, I am surprised to hear the number of people that did not discuss the fire. My family did talk about the fire and I have through my entire life at least once a month, it comes up. It has been very frustrating for me since I have read part of the book “To Sleep With The Angels”. I read up to the chapter that was focused on my sister’s room 210 and couldn’t go on. I believe that all of the children could have been led out of the building if the adults that first became aware of the smoke acted immediately in the proper manner. I don’t understand why so much time had to pass before help was on it’s way. It was plain supidity as far as I am concerned. I was aware that the church and the city politians wanted this kept quiet for their own selfish reasons. I remember that not even a month had gone by and no one was talking about the fire. Again, I was only twelve years old, and I questioned why.

When someone would ask me where I grew up, or where did I go to school, or how many brothers and sisters do I have, I include my sister Mary Ellen. We I miss her very much and wish that she could have lived to experience being a mother and a grandmother like I have. She will never be forgotten. I have shared everything about Mary Ellen and the fire with my children and they will with theirs.


Posted by: taco On: 2/15/2003 ID: 66
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 4936wcortez
i was a first grader at our lady help of christians home sick with chicken pox. the phone rang about 2:50 pm it was my dad a pbx installer with il bell he had a large phone strapped to his tool belt he would climb poles and tap into phone lines during his repairs and often to our house,we had a party line and frequently he would call home to check on mom and thhe 5 of us. but on this day he tapped into a telephone line that went to a fire box in the area of ola. the phone call to my mother was different that day i was suppose to be napping but heard the phone ring,, thhe look on my mothers face is one i will never forget,then the tears flowed.. she ran to the tv and saw it unfold. thhe day seems like last week. we lived behiind st annes hospital,frequently we would attend mass there if the weather was bad.

i diid not see my father for 5 days,he would come home to clean up and have something too eat. i would hear my parents talking about the fire and the rising toll. my father was instrumenntal in adding new phone lines and service for the police fiiremen reporters and city editors. in those days there was only 1 phone on each floor of the hospital. my dad was a medic in ww2 and helped with the triaging of victims families and those in need. he attended many wakes and funerals for the victims. my uncle owned burke-sullivan funeral home on chicago ave. many of thhese families were assised with the costs by my dear uncle john sullivan. many of the children came to hoc after thhe fire, they were my classmates. i ppray dailly for these victims. may good bless you all. one day we will meet in heaven,till then terry o'connor janisch

taco71152@yahoo.com