I found this site yesterday, I was chatting on an internet forum about school in the 50s and remembered the fire and went looking for information on the internet.
I was 8 at the time of the fire, and lived in a very similiar working class neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, 111th and Kedzie, and attended St. Christina, a parish and school very similiar to OLA. I remember the horror of learning of the fire, of seeing the pictures, especially because the victims were roughly the same age as me and also because it was a Catholic school in Chicago.
St. Christina had a school at Central Park and 111th that looked shockingly similiar to OLA, I attended there 4th, 5th and 6th grades, 1959-1961. I think it has since been torn down.
I vividly remember the picture of the fireman on Life magazine, and the pictures of all of the white coffins. I also remember renewed fire drills and safety impovements at St. Christina's after the fire.
This site has really haunted me the past 2 days, the neighborhood is so similiar to 111th and Kedzie, and the pictures of the kids from OLA could very well be us at St. Christina at the same time. The parents look just like my folks and the residents of our neighborhood.
To all of the survivors-may God bless and keep you, and may your memories comfort you.
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