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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Posted by:

Jim Grosso

On:

2/8/2003

ID:

Enrolled on 12/1/58?	Present on 12/1/58?	Injured?	Age	Grade	Classroom	Teacher
Yes	Yes	No	10	5	206	Ms. Tristano

My name is Jim Grosso and I graduated from OLA in 1962. We were the second class to graduate from the new building. I was in room 206 on the day of the fire, which was on the 2nd floor of that part of the school that connected the 2 wings. It was 45 years ago, and at the time we were discouraged from talking about the fire, so it's certainly possible, if not likely, that all the details may not be exactly correct. In any case, here is what I remember: On the afternoon of the fire, Ms. Tristano sent me and another boy on an errand down to the basement but we never made it. We saw smoke and went back to the room. After what seemed like a long time, but I think was probably a relatively short time, Miss Tristano led us down the stairway and out of the school. On the way out I clearly remember Ms. Tristano pulling the fire alarm, and once we were outside, I remember her sending us home. I remember at the time we left the school building we must have been among the first out of the building, because there were very few other kids around outside the school, and I went home not knowing how bad the fire really was. After reading "To Sleep with the Angels" I learned that at the point we were walking out the front door of the school, the kids in the next class, Room 207, were already trapped and couldn't escape until Fr. Hund and Jim Raymond get them out through the corridor that separated our 2 rooms. Other postings on this site have information somewhat different from what I remember. Specifically, it was said that Ms Tristano took her class to the church, and then went back to pull the fire alarm. I know that I didn't go into the church, and I can clearly remember her pulling the alarm before we left the school. So far I've seen 2 other postings from people who were also in room 206, and I know there must be others out there. Does anyone else from room 206 remember hearing the fire alarm go off as we were leaving the building? Does anyone else remember going directly home vs. going into the church after we left? It seems important to try to get the details as accurate as possible after all these years. The more I read from others who were there, the more I question my own recollections.

Posted by:

Rick Giovacchini

On:

2/8/2003

ID:

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	Before	432 N. Ridgeway

I attended Ryerson school (public) which was located a few blocks south of OLA. Where I lived, the children either went to Ryerson or OLA, walking to school every day. We all got to know each other pretty good because of those shared walks and because after school, we were outside until it was time to go to bed. It didn't matter where you lived in the "neighborhood", you knew the kids around a couple mile radius. You either were part of the Frank Luchesi baseball or football programs at Kells park on Kedzie & Chicago, or you got together for egg throwing on Halloween, or you even watched the man make sausage in the window on Chicago & Hamlin. Perhaps you bowled at G&L or went to the carnival at Chicago & Pulaski, or even shared a hot dog at Jimmy's. And lets not forget those Saturday cartoon specials at The Alamo when all you needed was a can of food. And does anyone out there remember "Thank You George"

I am trying to tell you that we were one tight knit community, a place I wouldn't trade growing up in. My greatest regret is that the community dispersed in many directions and I feel that I lost part of my childhood because of it.

I was in first grade the day of the fire & remember running to OLA when school got out. I could see the black smoke billowing in the sky from Huron & Lawndale. I got only as far as Hamlin & Iowa. There were people everywhere! Students with blankets around them, Parents and community people trying to help. If you were a parent or a youngster, you were crying. If you were an adult trying to help, your face showed the horror of the day.

After spending several minutes at that location, I broke down crying myself. Scared, I ran home. The memories of that day remain a big part of my life & who I am. Although I didn't lose any close friends that day, a girl who lived on my corner did die. I can't remember her name.

Through the power of the internet, I am again starting to rekindel friendships from the past, especially due to "Classmates.com". Anyone wishing to e-mail me, my address is upsnowmo@aol.com

Posted by:

Pat (Paolella) LaMontagna

On:

2/8/2003

ID:

Enrolled on 12/1/58?	Present on 12/1/58?	Injured?	Age	Grade	Classroom	Teacher
Yes	Yes	No	11	6	207	Sr. Geraldita

My name is Pat LaMontagna formerly Paolella. I lived across the street from OLA at 910 N. Avers. I was in the "cheesebox" a room that had 40 kids a mixture of 5th and 6th graders and two windows and one door. The back door to the room was always locked and called the "dummy door"

The door was our way out. Thankfully, all 40 kids made it out. The janitor, Mr. Raymond and Father Charles Hund finally opened the door and we all were able to get out via the fire escape.

You never forget the smell, the sounds, the tears, the tragedy and all the friends. My class was the first graduating class from the new school. We all went through hell and made it back. We were like displaced kids. Before the new school was built, the school was separated into three schools and a lot of us lost contact with each other. But we made it. With no therapy, just our families and friends.

After High School, I took a job downtown and used to ride the "L" with my friend Michelle McBride. After so many years, she still had many more surgeries to go but I used to admire her and everyone else who had visible scars. We were just used to it seeing our friends scarred. But I learned at a very early age just how cruel people could be. More so adults. A woman got on the "L" one morning and kept staring at Michelle. She then approaced her and told her she should be more careful about playing with fire. I wanted to smack the lady, but Michelle stopped me and started to make a joke of it. It always bothered me when someone made a nasty comment. I'm sure it bothered Michelle but she never let on.

My parents always said to me that sometimes you can't answer the "Why did this happen to us?" question right away. But somewhere in your life you'll find the answer. Did our tragedy save other kids throughout the country because other old schools were unsafe and changes were made? I don't know. I guess I'm still looking for the answer.

You always know the smell of a fire. I have the utmost respect for any person who decides to become a firefighter. I have dealt with them so very closely for the last twenty five years and marvel at the job they do. I became a police officer and just retired last November. I've been at fires and thank God never had to go into a burning building to rescue anyone. I'm sure that if I had to go in, I probably wouldn't hesitate, but for days and weeks afterward, I'd have flash backs to Dec. 1st. It never leaves you. I've had to destroy many uniforms because of the smell.

Everyone was changed by the fire. Individuals, families, the neighborhood but we all have that same attitude. As was stated at the end of the program, "Angels Too Soon", all you have to do is see someone from the old neighborhood - no one has to say anything. You know !!

A fellow retired police officer, called me after the program to make sure I was okay and didn't watch it by myself. I was so moved by the phone call. It's the same for the OLA family. We will always share the same bond no matter where life takes us.

Pat (Paolella) LaMontagna

email: patalope@AOL.com

Posted by:

Royal Air

On:

2/7/2003

ID:

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

I have been involved in Drum & Bugle Corps since 1964. My interest in the OLA fire stems from the fact that three of the students who parished in the fire were members of the Chicago Royal-Airs Drum & Bugle Corps. Over the years, the Corps never forgot Roger Alan Ramlow, Frances Guzaldo and Valerie Ann Thoma, the three members who lost their young lives in the fire. The Chicago Royal-Airs went on to win three National Championships but due to financial difficulties, the Corps disbanded in 1968. In 2002 the Royal-Airs reunited and performed several times over the summer of 2002 (average age - 55!). The first official act that the Royal-Airs performed was to gather at Queen of Heaven Cemetery on December 1, 2001 to pay tribute to our three fallen members.

FROM THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES DECEMBER 2, 2002

Corps salutes 3 who died in '58 school fire

December 2, 2002

BY MAUREEN O'DONNELL STAFF REPORTER

The lives of many Chicago kids didn't extend beyond their alleys and L cars until the founding of the Royal Airs Drum & Bugle Corps in Humboldt Park 44 years ago.

Sie Lurye started the corps, and Rich Tarsitano taught the children music. They began competing throughout the country, and for the first time, those city kids saw cornfields and farms.

On Sunday, the Royal Airs gathered at Queen of Heaven Cemetery to salute the corps members who never grew up. Color guard captain Frances Guzaldo, bugler Roger Ramlow and flag-bearer Valerie Thoma died in the heart-crushing fire at Our Lady of the Angels School on Dec. 1, 1958, which killed 92 children and three nuns and changed school fire regulations nationwide.

"I was standing out in the front of the school the day of the fire, waiting for Frances to come out,'' said Jackie Lurye Borelli, 58, whose father founded the corps. "Her and I were going Christmas shopping.''

But the inferno began.

"She came out and went back in to get her cousin,'' Borelli said, adding that Frances never made it out. "They found them both together.''

About a third of the kids in Serge Uccetta's seventh-grade classroom perished.

"The door started rattling like there was wind in the hallway,'' Uccetta recalled. "Our nun said to open the door, and smoke was pouring in.'' The door was slammed shut, but "within just seconds, people could see flames licking over the doors.''

"My personal hero would be the school janitor, Mr. Raymond,'' said Uccetta, now 56. James Raymond had placed a ladder up to the second-floor window of Uccetta's classroom. "I remember having to hang down from the windowsill to reach the ladder. There were kids behind me in pain, pushing to get out. It was awful. I got out and was not injured.

"For years, I got the adrenaline rush when I smelled smoke,'' he said. "I ended up being pallbearer for four or five kids that died.''

The corps survived the fire, even though many of its members attended or were former students of Our Lady of the Angels, which was in the 3800 block of West Iowa until it shut down in 1999. Tarsitano "held together the band and consoled them during a tough time and told them they were safe,'' said his granddaughter Christie Tarsitano, 25, of Elmhurst.

Their rehearsal hall was the Illinois National Guard Northwest Armory, where many of the fire victims had laid in state. In 1965--eight years after their founding--they won every major title in the country for a drum corps.

"We went from 25 kids who never touched a bugle to three-time national champions,'' Uccetta said.

Financial troubles broke up the Royal Airs in 1968, but members gathered last year to perform at Lurye's induction into the Drum Corps Hall of Fame in Madison, Wis. They reunited, 227 members in the United States and Canada. They're performing again, and "we've knocked the socks off people,'' said corps director Borelli.

The corps played "Taps'' Sunday at the shrine to Our Lady of the Angels at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, where many victims are buried, and repeated the tune at the grave of Tarsitano, their original music instructor.

Patricia Neri was only 1 when her sister Beverly Ann died in the fire.

"We haven't forgotten her,'' said Neri, who visited the cemetery with her sister Pam Pantaleo. "She was a part of our lives, and we bring our children here now.''

The corps' average age is now 55. Many are gray-haired. Some have waistlines that strain against their blue jackets. Yet their voices gained power at the cemetery as they spontaneously began to sing their old theme:

"On the field we march so proudly,

With our heads held high,

Royal Airs we are beside you;

And for you we vie.''

Posted by:

Marianne

On:

2/7/2003

ID:

Enrolled on 12/1/58?	Present on 12/1/58?	Injured?	Age	Grade	Classroom	Teacher
Yes	No	No	6	1	Mary Hall	Sister Re Me

I was in first grade down the block on Hamlin in "Mary Hall" the buildings that were used for kindergarden & first grade. I remember

the nuns leading us out of the building and into the yard to the south of the school, they told us not to turn around but of course everyone looked up and saw huge clouds of smoke. I don't remember how I got home

but do remember sitting in front of the radio with my sister listening to what had happened. My Dad left work and went to help the parents look for their children. I remember being bussed to John Hay and Help of Christians. These memories are etched in my brain as if they were yesterday. Reading To Sleep with the Angels and watching these programs has answered many questions I grew up wondering about. I wish I knew WHY our parents would not talk about what had happened, to comfort us and help us understand.I am very thankful that things have changed through the years and now parents will talk to their children and comfort them. Maybe my generation has become more open with our children because of what we missed.

When I came to this web site today I found a message that my daughter

wrote. I thank God everyday for the wonderful relationship I have with my children. All parents should learn from the past and have an open

relationship with their children.

Through the years I have met several people who have had relatives who were students at OLA. I pary that the "Angels" are watching over all of us, and that the survivers have found peace.

Posted by:

John Paolella

On:

2/7/2003

ID:

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	Before	910 N. Avers Ave.

My name is John Paolella. I am a proud graduate of OLA, the class of 1956. My family lived directly accross from the school. Our home was used by the media on that horrible day in an attempt to organize and trasmit the news. My mother, Rose Paolella, was instrumental in assisting fire victims as they lay on our front lawn waiting for help. She covered them with blankets from our home and reassured them. She also took the kindergarteners into our basement to await their parents as they frantically searched for children. My sister Patricia, cousins JoAnn and John Pellettiere, and Kenneth Ferra were OLA students at the time of the fire. They all miraculously escaped. Our family was fortunate, unlike numerous others whose children died that day or sustained physical injuries that have lasted over time. The emotional trauma continues for all who were involved in the OLA experience. This event was a tragedy not only for those who attended the school and the parish, but also for our entire neighborhood. It forever changed our lives! My e-mail address is: DrJMP1@sbcglobal.net

Posted by:

daughter of OLA member

On:

2/7/2003

ID:

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

My mother was at OLA on December 1, 1958 although she was among the younger students in the building that was spared from the terrible fire. Growing up, she often told stories of kids she knew and how my grandfather was one of the neighborhood men who went to help that day. We always drove by Holy Innocence at Queen of Heaven to pay our respects. My grandmother also remembered that day often, always telling the same story of a boy who escaped the building but went back in to get his jacket. Each time she spoke of it, that memory seemed to pull at her heart. I've read "To sleep with the Angels" and saw the recent special on Channell 11. What strikes me most is the fact that the students were not allowed to talk about what happenned. I realize that things were different back then, but what pain they must have felt and still must feel today. I just hope and pray the survivors and families have found some sense of peace.

Posted by:

Wayne Kellner

On:

2/7/2003

ID:

Enrolled on 12/1/58?	Present on 12/1/58?	Injured?	Age	Grade	Classroom	Teacher
Yes	Yes	No	10	5	206	Ms. Tristano

My name is Wayne Kellner. My brother Jim and I attended OLA and were survivors of the fire. We lived with our parents at 629 N. Lawndale. A cousin of mine, Cheryl McLean, was also a student and escaped the fire. I was 10 years old and in fifth grade in 1958. I was a student in Room 206 and Ms. Tristano was the teacher. On the day of the fire, I was sent down to the basement along with another student from Room 206, a prime candidate for having started the fire, to empty garbage pails. I knew this student pretty well and had seen him light matches in apartment buildings prior to the date of the fire. In fact, after the fire, I presented an account of what I knew about this person to the people taking statements from the students. I'll never forget the student's name. Whether or not he was guilty, I'm not the one to judge him, but I do know that he did not return to the classroom when I did that day, that there was no fire in the basement of the school during the time I was in the basement of the school and that the fire was noticed shortly after this student returned to the classroom. In the OLA fire website, I read that this student was exonerated from wrongdoing by the courts. I lost many dear friends in the fire and I pray the judge did his job properly. If he didn't, his actions have probably already been judged by the highest authority.

Posted by:

Paul S

On:

2/7/2003

ID:

At OLA on 12/1/58?	Born before or after 12/1/58?	Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No	Before	Evergreen and California (Humboldt Park)

I was a 3rd grader at St Fidelis at the time of this fire. St Fidelis is a parish a couple miles east of OLA. While my recollections of that time are somewhat vague, I do recall the somber mood of my parents, and the sudden emphasis on fire drills. I also graduated from St John Berchmans (on Logan Blvd) in 1965.

Some years later I became very good friends (we still talk, though infrequently) with a man who lost his sister in the OLA tragedy. I want to tell him of this website, but am of two minds regarding this. After reading the stories left by others, the most poignant comment was "I wish I had never heard of this site".

I hardly want to dredge up past pain for a very good friend, but also feel that he may experience some catharsis by visiting this site. I do know that the ONLY conversation about OLA we ever had was quite short lived.

Any input on this matter would be appreciated. Please email me at PAVEL9991@msn.com

I found myself close to tears often, as I know very well the sense of community that existed in Chicago parishes at that time. I have many fond (and some not so fond) memories of going to Catholic grammar schools. For any community to experience a cataclysmic loss such as this is beyond comprehension to me. I can have empathy, but in no way can I imagine the terrible sense of loss and disruption of family life that must have occurred.

All my best to the families and survivors of the OLA fire, I will keep you in my prayers.

Paul

Posted by:

jflynn

On:

2/7/2003

ID:

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 in search of some kind of an understanding into how the OLA parish neighborhood could have deteriorated into what it has become.Perhaps some ex-residents of the neighborhood would be willing to explain what they experienced and remember. After reading the book years ago, more sorrow was encountered after driving down to the old neighborhood from my suburban home. The description of the community painted it back then as a wonderful area with hard-working blue collar people that enjoyed a common strenghth: the family. Thank you. nhlcbh1@aol.com

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