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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: Jim Hastings On: 10/4/2003 ID: 117
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Northbrook, IL
The day of the OLA fire is one of the defining points in my life. These details remain etched in my mind:

- DATE: December 1, 1958
- DAY OF WEEK: Monday
- TIME OF DAY: Mid-afternoon, right after school
- WEATHER: Clear, cold
- ROOM: The den (TV room)
- SONG: "The Drummer and the Cook"

My older sister was a fan of Harry Belafonte, and we had just been playing a copy of his 1956 album with this number on it. It was an RCA Victor LP, and I'm quite sure the song was the last track on Side 1. Regrettably, I still can't, to this day, think of the song without also thinking of the OLA tragedy.

I was in fifth grade at Meadowbrook School in Northbrook, about 20 miles north of Chicago. My younger sister had her friend Janet over to visit that day after school. Big Sis and her twin brother, who were juniors at Glenbrook High School -- later renamed Glenbrook North -- were not home yet. One cousin, newly widowed around this time, had just left that morning to return home with her two small children after spending a few days with our family.

The first hint of something wrong was that the regular after-school television shows weren't airing. As I remember, it was THE THREE STOOGES that we had planned to watch. I believe it ran at 3:30 p.m. on WGN-TV (Channel 9).

Janet's reaction to the breaking OLA story is one of my earliest memories of it. She turned to me and said, "The firemen went in and got the bodies."

I don't remember seeing any images of the disaster on TV that afternoon. All I remember is the audio -- a two-way conversation between the news anchor and a reporter on the telephone. During the audio, the "beep" tone would sound at 15-second intervals. It was on this newscast, I believe, that I heard something about a girl jumping from a second-floor window with her hair on fire.

One radio newscaster I vividly remember from this period is Alex Dreyer with NBC RADIO NEWS ON THE HOUR. As I remember, we could hear him at 5:00 p.m., Central Time. I can still hear the high-pitched bell tones and the drumbeat that would open the newscast.

Tuesday, December 2, the Chicago Tribune carried this front-page headline: SCHOOL FIRE KILLS 90.

Until I read your personal stories -- and I have read each one of them -- I didn't realize that your teachers and parents had told you not to talk about the fire. In our fifth-grade class, we talked long -- and quite animatedly -- about it on December 2. In fact, as we were hanging up our wraps before the morning session began, it was already the topic of conversation.

I'm not sure now whether our teacher, Dominic ("Tom") Del Vecchio, was with us on December 2, but I think he was. "Mr. Del," as we knew him, was one of the best teachers I had. He needed to be away at least once during this period, due to the final illness and death of his mother.

Mr. Del's substitute, Mrs. Kelly, was with us on Friday, December 5, which I recall as a gray, overcast day. During the morning session, she mentioned to us the upcoming funeral services "for the children who died in the fire" (her words).

I asked Mrs. Kelly something about fire deaths in general -- how victims die, etc. She replied: "Usually, it's from a lack of oxygen. In most cases, they're dead a long time before the fire gets to them."

The OLA disaster boosted my interest in fire prevention -- plus my interest in safety in general. Something else I didn't know about, until I found this site, was the absence of fire cutoff doors between the second-floor stairwell landing and the corridor. I feel quite sure that those individuals are correct who have said that no one would have died if such doors had been in place -- and kept closed.

As a child, I was highly impressionable, and I still am. The OLA fire was something I just couldn't get out of my mind. And I wasn't even there. Yet the horror I felt 20 miles away had to be pale, indeed, compared with the mental, emotional, and physical traumas you and your families went through.

My good mother and father died of natural causes in 1991 and 1993, respectively -- about a year and a half apart. Although I bounced back fast enough and recovered fully, that period was a major adjustment. Most of us expect to outlive our parents, and this may be one factor that helps prepare us for the hour of parting. But when a parent loses a child -- especially in a catastrophe, with no time to say goodbye -- it's just so out of the natural order. The grief has to be beyond description.

Some of the quotes I've found here and there on this site -- "God took only the good ones," "It was the will of God," "How could God permit such a tragedy to happen?" etc. -- raise a number of serious theological issues. Since there are other cyber-venues more appropriate for full-fledged theological discussions, I am going limit my remarks on such matters here -- particularly out of respect for the deceased and their families, friends, and classmates.

Just a few heartfelt observations, though: No -- I have to believe, from reading and studying God's Word, that this was NOT His will. If it had been His will, then weren't those who called the Fire Department -- not to mention the firemen who battled the blaze -- in fact, defying Him? If God is going to "take" someone, He doesn't need a catastrophe to help Him out. I'm thinking, for instance, of the way He took Enoch, who was certainly one of "the good ones" (Gen. 5:24) -- as well as the way He took Ananias and Sapphira, who were not so good (Acts. 5:1-10).

My earthly sorrows and sufferings -- and, indeed, I've had some -- have been quite different from yours. I know firsthand what a vale of tears this earthly life can sometimes be. Especially when we’re growing up, it can either drive us over the edge or drive us to seek God and draw nearer to Him. When it seems that I can't deal with anything more, I find that it helps to pause, count my blessings -- even the smallest ones -- give God thanks for them, and then remember to use them for His good purposes.

In closing, I never would have guessed, back in 1958, that I'd ever cross paths with you, the OLA survivors. Although I probably will not meet you in this life, being able to get together in the same cyber-room and hear from you this way, thanks to the Internet, is the next-best thing. Thank you so much for all that you have shared with us. From what I know of you, you seem to me to be brave men and women, indeed. May God continue to give you His strength for your ongoing work.


Posted by: DEBBIE On: 9/16/2003 ID: 116
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes Yes 12 7 208 Sister Mary St. Canince
Every year of December i cry terribly to remember what happened to me i hopr that you all understand the terrible tragedy.


Posted by: Kathy (Galante) Guisinger On: 9/6/2003 ID: 115
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 10 5t 207 Sister Mary Geraldita
My sister and I both attended Our Lady of the Angels from kindergarten
until we graduated from there. MaryAlice was in 8th grade and I was in
5th grade. I was in the room they called the "cheesebox" basically because it was so small. It was a split room having both 5th and 6th
grade. After being promoted from 4th to 5th grade I dreaded the upcoming school year because my best friend was going to another classroom. We had been together since kindergarten and I kept telling
my mom "how come they split us up"? On December 1st, 1958, I discovered
why. I went home to my mom, he went home to heaven.

I remember trying to get to the window to get a breath of air and it
was too hard to because the windows were filled with other classmates.
I thought to myself, "is this how I am going to die"? BUT, thanks
to our precious priest and our heroic janitor, we were all saved.
To this day, people cannot believe that the fire escape door was
locked and no one knew where the keys were. As we were coming down
the fire escape I remember Sister telling us to run straight home and
not stop to look around. I remember running home crying and screaming
that our school was on fire. When I got home, my mom asked me where
my sister was and I said I didn't know. She ran to school looking for
my sister and could not find her. I think it was about three hours
later she found her on the front porch of a neighbor near school, she
was wrapped in a blanket and crying because she couldn't find me.
When my dad came home that night he said to my mom that there must be
a reason God saved his girls. Later that night we learned that my
best friend and my two cousins, (brother and sister) were killed.
My sister still has a hard time talking about the fire. When the
fireman got to my sister she was holding hands with her girlfriend
and wanted the fireman to take them both down together and he told her
that as soon as he brought my sister down that he was going right back
up and would save her friend. By the time he got back up (what could
it have taken but a minute or two) her friend was already dead. We
went to wake after wake and funeral after funeral. My cousin Joann
was in the 4th grade and I was one of her pallbearers. Joann's brother
Billy was in the 8th grade with my sister and he didn't make it either.

A few weeks after the fire, the priests called and said that they had
a check for my parents to help buy new coats and books and stuff.
We went to the rectory to pick up the check on December 19th. My
sister and my mom went to the convent to pick up a Christmas present
my sister ordered for my mom and I went to the rectory with my dad.
While we were in the rectory, my dad was talking about the fire and
how greatful he was that God saved his girls and how devastated that
we lost our cousins and so many other friends. By the time we left
my dad was really worked up and by the time we got to the car he
couldn't breathe. We ran back inside to get a priest and to have
them call an ambulance. By the time we got to Franklin Boulevard Hospital my dad was gone. He had a massive heart attack. I truly
believe that God save us because he knew shortly he would be needing
an adult angel to help watch over all those little angels.

To this day, I cannot handle being in total darkness. I know I drive
people nuts because I have lights on in my home 24/7.

I have often wondered what ever happened to Sister G. While we were
at Our Lady Help of Christians sharing their school, one day sister
put her head down on the desk and just started to mumble and then
started to talk irrationally. I didn't realize it then but I assume
that she must have had a nervous breakdown. She was a neat nun.

I thank you for letting me ramble on. Even 45 years later, it is
helpful to talk about this.


Posted by: Rosemarie Cutrone Taylor On: 9/5/2003 ID: 114
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before New Haven, Connecticut
I will never forget that day. Even tho I lived in the state of Conn.
I was 12 and in the seventh grade. A Catholic school in an Italian
neighborhood. The day after the fire, our nuns made us all put our heads
down on our desks and pray for all the children. I had nightmares for
years, thinking of all the children who could have been my friends.
Our school was also brick and wood, 3 stories high, built in the late
1800's. The inside stairs were varnished every year, and the fire
escapes were so steep and scary, the nuns never let us use them for a
fire drill, they were locked. So we used the big wide staircases to get
out for our fire drills on the inside of the building.
We also had class rooms in the basements, which actually made the
school 3 1/2 stories high. Of course in a building this old, there were
also no fire doors, sprinklers, outside fire alarm, etc. there were 6
classrooms on each floor, railroad style.
A few days after the OLA fire, there were 3 firefighters assigned
to our school everyday.
5 months after the OLA fire, our school also caught on fire. Two 15
year old boys were seen at the north entrance, dragging a large blanket.
Fortunately, our school burned at night. The wood and varnish
fed the fire which could be seen in the sky in the next town. The
authorities said most of us would have died if it was in the daytime.
There was no way out, except the large staircases, and they
fed the fire. My class was on the 3rd floor. I watched the fire with my
mom and dad, clutching their hands, and thinking of OLA.
The day after the fire I sat in the school yard and cried all day.
I deceided I wanted to be a "fireman" that day. Of course women in the
1950's were not allowed to be firefighters. At age 12, it bothered me
so much to think that other children could die or be in pain from burns
that could occur from old schools and buildings that were the normal
on the East Coast.
Not being able to become a firefighter when I was younger, now,
as a grandmother, and still haunted by the OLA fire, I am a fire
investigator, trainee. Studying courses from the state fire marshall's
office, and an EMT.
I could have just been a mom and granmother, but I believe, the
OLA fire also affected us pre-teens all around the country, who
attended 4th through 8th grade back in 1958. this is my contribution
to all the little angels, whom I will always have in my heart.
Rosemarie Cutrone Taylor


Posted by: Whispers On: 9/2/2003 ID: 113
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Community of Bridgeport
(Removed by author)


Posted by: George Lexington On: 9/1/2003 ID: 112
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Homan and Lexington
Mid afternoon on December1,1958, I was returnig home from Austin High School, where I was a senoir.I was on the Harrison streetcar going east to Kedzie Ave, when I heard the sirens,it seemed like they never stopped.. I soon heard what was happening,there was a fire at a Catholic grammer school.Living in a italian neighborhood,many of my friends were concerned,because many had friends and relatives who lived in the OLA area, which was a Italian neighborhood also...I can still hear the hysteria as as my neighbors were trying to find out the names of those in the fire. I can still see my mother ,watching TV that night, and crying,feeling sorry for all the mothers who lost thier children. No, I was not in the fire nor did I know anybody that was, but I will always remember that day for the rest of my life, I will remember it with grief and sorrow... Thanks for letting me share this with you. God Bless us all.. George


Posted by: Tina On: 8/27/2003 ID: 111
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Addison & Austin
To this day, I remember the fire that engulfed the school & often think of a little girl who was admitted to Garfield Park Hospital as a result of that tragic event.
On that day, my mother and I listened to the radio along with my 1 year son and 3 year old daughter and cried as the tragedy unfolded. Shortly afterward, my mother was admitted to Garfield Park Hospital as a result of her struggle with cancer. When I visited my mom daily, I would never find her in her room. She would always be across the hall visiting with a little girl that attended OLA and her mother. The little girl's mother was there day and night and would tell my mother and I, that they were planning to move to New York to seek specialized treatment for their daughter. My mother lost her life shortly after that but I knew she brought comfort in visting with this little girl and her mother. I will never forget that tragic day and pray that all the survivors were able to recover and live as normal a life as possible.


Posted by: Peggy Caputo On: 8/23/2003 ID: 110
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes No No 9 4 ? ?
It's funny that now, so many years later, I'm seeing all this happen to help survivors. Back then, back in the late 50's, our neighborhood seemed so alone in its grief. It was the era of repression...the gift of the older generation to us. Repress your anger, repress your grief, repress your sorrow - don't let it show. Offer it up as a sacrifice, as sacrifices, in the end, will save you and gain you a higher level in heaven. Afterall, the good Lord took these children as his new angels, handpicked for their goodness. This is how it was back then. I was in 4th grade. I am a survivor. I lost a cousin who was in 5th grade - 10 years old. I grew up with her. She lived down the street from me on St. Louis and Iowa. She was my best friend. I remember that day and will carry the scent of it to my grave with me. I had been home sick with a sore throat for several days. I remember getting up that morning and my mom saying that I could stay home again because she had heard that the furnace at the school was not working right and she was worried that it would be cold at school and that I would get even sicker. I remember that around 1, my mom said that when my cousin got home from school, we could make some cookies. So, I waited. Then next thing I remember is my grampa coming down from his upstairs apartment yelling that the school was on fire - then neighborhood mother's running down the alley with coats yelling to everyone that the school was on fire and to hurry and bring coats for the children! My mom rushed out and I wanted to follow but she ordered me to stay home with my grandpa. I cried and stood at the back window and watched the smoke from the fire rise above the buildings. We lived directly east of the school about six blocks. I remember not sleeping and waiting for my mom and dad to come home. I waited and waited. I don't remember who was with me waiting. When they finally came home, they were with my Uncle and Aunt and everyone was crying and crying and saying that my cousin Nancy was dead. I didn't understand. My Dad grabbed me and held me and cried. What happened after that I don't remember. In fact, try as I may, I don't remember anything for about the next year and 1/2. The next memory I have is going to the new school when I was in 6th grade. I don't remember taking the bus to Cameron or to Our Lady Help of Christians. From what my mom used to tell me, I didn't sleep well and would not even go to bed without the light on. I thought I saw Nancy everywhere, especially at church on Sunday. I would feel her watching me and I would turn around and would swear that I saw her standing next to one of the huge pillars in our church. But we didn't talk about things like that back then. We were told not to. So, we held it in and it brewed and stirred inside of us and affected each and every one of us in different and strange ways. Things are so very different now and as they should be. In times of crisis, people, especially children, are encouraged and coaxed into talking about their ordeal. This is good. This is progress that has come from knowledge and education. Looking back, many lessons were learned from this horrible tragedy. Hard lessons. My Aunt is still alive today and still missing her daughter. I love her and admire her for her courage and will stay close to her forever. I have three children of my own and my greatest fear has always been outliving them. I believe that God is pure good and He did not do this. This was part of life...part of the world...the good and the bad that happens...and we are sometimes left to watch and listen and learn and hopefully grow into better human beings. God love you all!


Posted by: Angie Passarelli On: 8/12/2003 ID: 109
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 only 5 yrs old at the time, but I remember the fire. We came home from school that day & my ma & grandmother were crying. We watche dthe news all night. Very tragic. A dear friend of mine Dr. Dominck Candolero is planning on writing a documentary on this tragic fire. It is something no one can forget. I am glad I found this web site. Makes you think how lucky you are every day.


Posted by: Ed R. On: 8/10/2003 ID: 108
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 122nd and South Halsted
I want to preface my remarks with a few words of gratitude.

Thanks to David Cowan and John Kuenster for writing a memorable account of the OLA fire. You have performed a service of greater value than you might know.

Thanks to the webmaster for putting this site up. May it continue to foster healing, provide information and unite those whose lives bear the scars of the OLA fire.

And heartfelt thanks to those who have written here, especially the survivors as well as the family and friends of those who perished. It is living testament to the victims of the OLA fire.

On the day of the fire, I was a 2nd grader at S. S. Peter and Paul school at 123rd and Emerald on Chicago’s far south side. Though I remember nothing of that particular day, I have been haunted by its events to this day. I don’t remember being anything of a collector, but for some reason, I began to put together a scrapbook of articles and pictures from the OLA fire. My family thought it was a morbid activity. Being just 7, I guess I couldn’t explain why it affected me so deeply.

I think that there are two explanations. I have lived in Minnesota for over thirty years, but I can’t seem to get across to folks here what it was like to attend Catholic schools in Chicago and be a part of that Catholic community. Though it may sound simplistic, all of us were truly one big family. We had the common experiences of the teaching nuns, the New World newspaper, the Cardinal and all the other things that made us an insular unit, albeit a very large one. In some ways, that insular community fostered a bit of an “us and them” perspective. I have never experienced that oneness with any other organization since. Maybe it was because so many of us were immigrants or immigrants’ children and the Catholic Church was our beacon in the hardscrabble lives many led. On December 1, 1958, that community was grievously wounded. Word of the fire spread to all neighborhoods and parishes with electric speed. All of us, young and old, devout or not, wept with horror at the tragedy and at the loss to our family.

I am on my second reading of "To Sleep With the Angels," having recently picked up another copy in a local bookstore. After all these years, I think I understand why the OLA fire haunted me so. As some other writers have written, their school buildings had some commonalities with OLA. My school, S. S. Peter and Paul, may not have been identical to OLA, but it was darned close.

Before a new church was built in 1959, the church was in the bottom half of a building that looked like a twin to the OLA north wing. A brick and concrete addition had been added on to the side of the original building. Classrooms were upstairs. These were the same classrooms that my father attended school in. Brick on the outside, but all wood on the inside. Dark and narrow hallways hung with winter coats. One staircase at the front of the building. Transoms over the doors. Huge classroom windows, more than twenty feet above the ground. High windowsills with radiators in front. Flat, tarred roof. I have gooseflesh as I write this. I was in one of those rooms. My young mind knew that if a fire happened in my second floor classroom, the outcome would be strikingly similar to the tragedy at OLA.

I didn’t put this together until now. Perhaps I can now lay the OLA tragedy to rest too.