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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: Anthony Eppolito (Tony) On: 11/12/2005 ID: 241
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 6 1 joseph hall sister mary serena
Most of what I can recall that day was being rushed out of class. My cousin Nancy used to walk me home and I think I was told to always wait for her on the corner by the main school. Im not sure how I got through all of the trucks and equipment, but I recall standing on the corner waiting for her and being very chilled and paralized by all of the screaming and the commotion. I remember seeing all of the ladders and for some reason I recall a fire truck that had a lot of telephones on it. Im not sure if that memory is real or not. I do remember one big strapping fire fighter grabbing me and slapping me on my bottom as he told me to get out of there and dont look back. Almost 20 years later when I became a paramedic for the Chicago Fire DEprtment I was on my shift and up late at night. I shared this story with an engineer that was at the fire house. He was a big guy about 6 foot something and about 250 pounds. As I shared this story with him he started crying. He told me he wasnt sure if he was the guy who slapped me on the bottom, but said he had done that to so many kids that day. I just began talking about the fire to my older cousin and found out Nancy Courtney, my cousin was in one of the worst rooms hit by the fire. I need to talk more with her about it, but its sad how almost 50 years later Im finally looking at what occured and trying to make some sense out of how this affected me. Although I do have my report cards I have no class pictures and cant remember anyone from the class. All I know is the room and the teachers. When I look at my report card it doesnt show any grades for the second semester and I think I was shipped to another school, but recall nothing of that school. After that year we moved to Berwyn and for years my mother had me believe I didnt like school and was too attached to her and thats why I needed to be dragged to school. Just recently I have come to understand that after being traumatized by the fire I think I had no desire to go into another school for fear that it would catch fire too. I hope some day to talk to more people about these feelings. my email address is radloverofbp@hotmail.com


Posted by: Jennifer Casale Campbell On: 10/31/2005 ID: 240
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 10 5 1st floor ?
Our family moved to St. Louis Avenue in October just prior to the fire on December 1st. My Dad, Joseph Casale, although an apprentice electircian at the time, was working as a salesman in between jobs. As time would allow it, He and my Mom, Jennie, would often pick up my younger brother, John and myself from school. On this day I was very happy they were there for us and many of the victims.

Because we were new to the neighborhood and the school my Father wasn't sure what classrooms my brother and I were in. So, that day when he realized that the school was on fire he ran indoors to look for us and to help the others. In the mean time my Mother continued to look for us elsewhere.

The smoke was so thick that Dad must have tried to break out a window on a door or something while on the second floor. He was looking for us and wanting to save the other children but he couldn't bear it any longer. The smoke was too thick. In the mean time my Mother ran into church where I was and so many of us were lead to pray by the nuns.When she found me we proceded out of the church where we found my brother, who was in second grade, standing outside, across the street from the school with his classroom. He was the last in the single file line. I never was so happy to see him. I thought he was lost forever. Then we all ran towards the front of the school only to find my father coming out of the building bleeding severely from his right hand. He wiped his hand on my Mother's blouse and then tried to save some of the children once he saw that my brother and I were safe. He literally picked up children who had jumped from the burning building and put them in the back seat of our car. They were so hurt but my brother and I tried to comfort them while my Dad drove us to St. Ann's Hospital.

While at the hospital they examined my Father's hand and sent him away afer they stitched and bandaged Him up. There really wasn't time for Him with so many of the children needing care. But later that night Dad returned to the hospital because He couldn't move his thumb. This time He stayed at the hospital and had surgery because he cut the ligaments in his thmb.

That night my brother and I were brought to my aunt and uncle's house on Spaulding. They took care of us while Dad had surgery. He was in the hospital for a while and it was a long time before he was able to move his thumb again.

A few months later we were invited to attend inquiries about the fire and our family's picture made it on the front page with my Father being noted as a hero for trying to save so many children. Although He never set out to be a hero only to rescue His children and other innocent victims of that horrific fire, Dad will always be my hero.

Each December 1st, when my Mom and I speak, she reminds me that it is the Anniversary of Our Lady of Angels Fire and I softly say, "Yes, I know." And then we always pray for those innocent Angels and the Nuns, who were Angels, too.

And since my Dad passed away about 10 years ago, I always think about Him on Dec. 1st and how He so wanted to help and how He risked His life for my brother and I and the others. In my eyes he will always be my hero and my Angel Too!

I miss my Dad and all those who died in the fire, including my friend, Maria, and I will continue to pray for you and your families and of course, My Dad, Joseph, who we miss very much. God Bless All of You, especially this eve of All Saints Day. You are all truly Saints and God's special Angels.


Posted by: Joe D. On: 10/1/2005 ID: 239
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 900 block of Hamlin ave.
Who knows how these things happen. I happened to come across the OLA fire website by accident, while looking for, of all things, firefighting equipment. As I began to go through the site, I was transported back to that December day. I was only 4 years old, but I can still clearly remember that afternoon as though it were yesterday. My family lived on the same block as the school, on the 900 block of N Hamlin. In fact, I can pick out our building from the aerial shot of the school fire. The school was clearly visible from our back porch window. My first inclination that something was horribly wrong was when I heard my mother and grandmother yelling about something. Seizing this as an opportunity to not have to take a nap I ran to the back porch to see what all the fuss was. At 4, I was too short to see out the window, but I can remember pulling myself up over the window sill to see the horrifying sight that had yet to be fully played out. I saw the flames, the smoke, the sound of the fire trucks going through the alley to get to the back of the school. I remember one of my uncles along with any other able-bodied males who happened to be home, running down the alley carrying ladders in an effort to help with the rescue efforts.I can remember being mesmerized by the sight of the flames and the smoke, the fire trucks, the smokey smell that seemingly permeated the neighborhood for the next few weeks. But at 4 years old, I could not even begin to understand the enormity of the event that was unfolding before me. Later that evening, I can remember most of my family congregating downstairs at my grandmother’s house, trying to take in the events that had just transpired, and trying to understand how it could be possible that something so horrific could happen to so many innocent people. I attended the new OLA from 1961, graduating in 1968. I can still remember the television news camera crews that seemed to show up every December to shoot footage for the evening news when they commemorated the anniversary of that day’s tragic events. Many of the kids I went to school with were the younger brothers and sisters of those who were in the fire. I honestly can’t remember any one of those kids talking about the fire, or the fact that they had lost a loved one. Back then, I think everyone internalized everything, and when something bad happened, you put it behind you and tried to live your life as best as you can.As for me, I graduated OLA, went to high school, college, married and had a family, and life took hold of me as it does to most of us. It wasn’t until I read “To Sleep with the Angels” that all the dots connected, so to speak. The one thing that stood out in my mind the most was a particular story in the book about a family who lost a child. I don’t want to get too specific, but there was a friend of mine who lost an older family member in the fire. While we didn’t actually become friends until about 6-7 years after the fire, I couldn’t help but noticing that his parents always seemed to be on edge. I can remember his dad always seemed mad about one thing or another. As an 11 year old, I just chalked it up to his personality.Many years later, as I read the book, and went through all the different heart wrenching scenarios the writer had pieced together to tell the story, one particular story hit me square between the eyes. I immediately recognized the name and I read the horrible circumstances under which they lost their child, which up until that point, I had never known. Today, as a parent looking back on that day, I’m not sure I could have got through what they and all the other families had to go through on that terrible December day, let alone the days and years that followed. I still can’t go past the section in the cemetery where all the fire victims are buried without stopping and gazing at all the grave sites. I look at all the decorations, and part of me is comforted by the fact that someone still thinks of all of them. At the same time, I can’t help but wonder how each of them would have grown up and how different the world would have been for them and their families if December 1, 1958 would have been just another day.


Posted by: Barb Wray On: 9/22/2005 ID: 238
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Drexel Hill, PA
I remember Mrs. Goetz, our 2nd grade teacher telling us that other kids died because they didn't know what to do in case of a fire. This stuck with me through out my life.I never knew the details of the tragedy until I found this website today.Now I am a teacher in Philadelphia. Most schools here are at least fifty years old. some were built in the 1890's or early 1900's. These schools were never meant to handle the electrical loads of computers and other devices. Veteran's stadium was torn down because it was too old for the sports teams (it was built in 1971). It was replaced by two new stadiums. I hope there is never a fire in one of these old buildings. Aren't children's lives worth the money to replace ancient schools?


Posted by: jessica On: 9/22/2005 ID: 237
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 not around during the fire. but i did a report on it and i found lots of very emotional stories and i feel so bad. there are many people affected bi this and it horrible. i am currently reading a book from a student that was in the fire. her name is michelle mcbride. she sadly passed away July 4, 2001. the book describes how she delt who she was and what really happened to her. i had to do a multigenre project last year and i did it on OUR LADYS OF ANGELS SCHOOL FIRE. many were crying at the end of my presentation.


Posted by: wayne anderson On: 8/31/2005 ID: 236
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before chicago illinois
i remember it clearly. I was in the 3rd grade at Saint Genevieve grammar school in the Fullerton & Cicero area.I heard about the fire when I got home from school from my mother.It just happens to be the school that I went to just the year before. My family use to live on 920 n. Homan ave and we moved in july 1958. I had one friend of mine that died in the fire. To this day I still think about it.


Posted by: K. B. On: 8/19/2005 ID: 235
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No
My mother was in labor with me at Chicago's Lying-in Hospital on the afternoon of the fire. She was in the hospital for a week thereafter and all news of the fire was kept from her and the other new mothers. It would be nice to believe that the spirit of one of the slain children was re-born in me. Bless you all.


Posted by: Barbara Z. On: 8/14/2005 ID: 234
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 2200 block of Thomas Street
I was 11 years old and a student at St. Mark's School on Campbell and Cortez. It was a chilly day and I remember the sound of fire trucks and probably other emergency vehicles on that late afternoon. We thought we could smell the smoke but it was over 2 miles away. We knew what was happening as soon as we got out of school. My mother met us and walked us home. My grandmother called from Salt Lake City. She was frantic because she didn't know the name of our school but had heard about the tragedy. My dad often helped his best friend (an undertaker) with removals and helped him that night with some of the children. He was devastated. I can't tell you how sad we were that December. My brother and I lost a friend in that fire. Roger Ramlow, who had lived next door, had moved to OLA just the year before. I still remember him and his little brother and it is 50 years later! God bless all the victims, survivors and all the OLA family.


Posted by: Steven N. Witt On: 8/9/2005 ID: 233
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
I am a Fireman for The City of Elmhurst Fire Dept. One of our retired fireman,s father was a Chicago fireman at the time, and had a Kelly Day on the day of the fire. I also met 2 ex Chicago firemen, that were on scene at the time of the fire. One fireman was supposed to have been on the Box Alarm Trk Co.26, but was detailed to Eng.Co.95, the second Eng. due in. He told Me They were trying to make the second floor with a 2 and one half inch handline, when then ceiling fell in and blew everyone out! He is also the fireman who is shown carrying out a deceased nun out of the ruins.The other fireman was on Squad Co.6. He is the Gentleman who currently has a working model of the Our Lady of the Angels building at the Chicago Fire Museum. When I was taking to these men, chills ran up My back! I know Myself,it must have been a tough job preforming rescues and firefighting under horiffic situasions! Also, My wife worked with a teacher here in Elmhurst, who lived in the neighborhood, at the time of the fire, and knew alot of the victims. He told Me that the area always celibrated Christmas, with lights on the shops and houses, etc. After the fire, hardly anyone put out anything!( could not blame them!) He also told Me that the woman they showed running on the Channel 11 program about the fire, had a lot of health problems, and couldn,t do much, but when she heard about the fire, she ended up running as fast as she could! Also, I worked with a Paramedic, who ended up making Chicago Fire Dept's Paramedic's, who's father's cousins was killed in the fire.


Posted by: kathy On: 8/4/2005 ID: 232
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
came upon article by accident while researching fire in ciero ill trying to find out information about my father who died in a bowling alley fire so far all i have gotten is his obitutary his name was john jacob benedict his funeral was at the begining of jan 1962 i dont know if it is a coinsidence or not hoping for more information