HOW THE EASTLAND IMPACTED CHICAGO
Burton F. Natarus, Alderman (excerpted)
I would like to thank Navy Pier and the Chicago Maritime Society for honoring the Eastland Disaster by hosting this event and display. It is my sincere hope that this becomes yet another great Chicago tradition.
Chicago has been called 'The City with Big Shoulders'. She has seen more than her share of catastrophe, disaster and tragedy through the years. The Great Chicago Fire. The Iroquois Theatre Fire. The Eastland Disaster. Flight 191. But it is through these trials of the human spirit that this city has grown stronger, more viable, providing the foundation of the spirit and strength of this great city.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, immigrants arrived in Chicago bringing their own unique community spirit, all typified by Chicago's motto "I Will," which enabled them to build a new community, a new life and a new future. This spirit is responsible for a city that has never stopped dreaming, building, rebuilding, growing and making major contributions to the world.
But it was these people that suffered the greatest burden of the Eastland disaster 86 years ago. These were the families of naturalized or first-generation working-class Americans of German, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Swedish, Latvian, and Irish origins, and the cornerstone of Western Electric's Hawthorne Works in Cicero. The disaster wiped out 22 entire families and widowed 175 women, killing 32 of their children. Eighty-four men lost their wives along with 35 children. Two hundred and sixty-two couples lost a total of 290 children. There were 19 families in which the children alone survived. It was a tragedy of youth, as seventy percent of the victims were between the ages of 15 and 30.
Immediately the city sprung into action, as rescuers rushed to the scene to help those in peril. And heroes emerged from where there were none. The bridge tender. The iron workers with their cutting torches. A boy from the train. The policemen and firemen. The salvage divers. From wharfsmen to doctors and nurses they came. And all became as one. There were no ethnic boundaries or social divisions. Only one common goal. They were true heroes - rescuing the living, and respecting the dead.
In the wake of this tragic disaster, Chicago pulled together in a fund-raising relief effort of the Mayor's Committee to raise $200,000 in two weeks for the Red Cross Relief Fund. Quite a lofty goal for 1915. But instead, the committee raised $350,000 in that time frame, demonstrating the tremendous emotional outpouring from the citizens of Chicago. This money was distributed by the Red Cross to cover the funeral expenses of the dead, and the living expenses of the survivors. The Eastland Disaster evoked a benevolence, a selflessness, and a cooperation in the face of catastrophe that bared the soul of this city, and its charitable heart.
It is a certain travesty of history that the Eastland is but a forgotten memory for many citizens of Chicago and this nation. But those of you in attendance today -- are here to honor the memory of your ancestors: your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents; aunts, uncles or cousins. Or like Mrs. Libby Klucina Hruby, came here to remember the day itself. Or perhaps you came today with a respectful interest in the heritage and legacy of Chicago's rich history.
But still you came. To remember. To learn. To honor. To make your impact.
And to never forget.
THE POLICE RESPONSE
Lt. Earl Zuelke, Commander Police Marine Unit (excerpted)
Times change. But the core foundation of the Chicago Police Department for public service has not changed.
Back in 1915, the police department consisted of officers on foot and on horseback. Very few automobiles were in the service of the police department. It was the era of the neighborhood police officer, who personally knew each resident in his assigned neighborhood or district beat. There existed no Marine Unit. No computers. No ballistic experts. Just the spirit and strength of the human soul.
In the wake of the Eastland Disaster on July 24, 1915, these words may have rung shallow and deficit in the hearts of the officers who witnessed the drowning of so many young, innocent citizens. But immediately officers on duty at the river ran to their call boxes and hailed for help.
To their aid came officers from miles away.
Policeman Henry Sesher, one of the first to go to the rescue, gave a vivid description of the accident. "I saw scores of men and women, many of them holding children, plunge into the water," he said.
"I jumped into a rowboat and pulled out among the drowning people. I think I got about fifty ashore. A fireboat and tugs hurried to the scene and picked up more than a hundred people. We grabbed those nearest us first. One time I had four women in the boat with me. Others I aided by dragging them from the water to the docks."
As the disaster unfolded, curious onlookers jammed onto the Clark Street bridge, nearly overwhelming the structure to collapse before police could remove the crowd from the bridge.
The police and fire tugs organized river craft into a rescue fleet. Boats were directed to cruise down the river and watch for bodies and the sanitary canal trustees were asked to close the dam at Lockport, shutting off the current of the river in order to aid in this work.
Police officers also performed countless hours of crowd control and security at the temporary morgues, as friends and families of victims searched in heart wrenching anguish for their loved ones.
During that time of public unrest, turmoil and emotional distress, the police department performed at it’s best in the worst of times.
To protect… and to serve.
THE IMPORTANCE OF A NEW MEMORIAL
Karl J. Sup, Eastland Memorial Society - President (excerpted)
I would like to formally introduce myself, and our organization to you. I am the president and co-founder of the Eastland Memorial Society, which was formed in March of 1998 for the sole purpose of memorializing the passengers and rescuers of the Eastland Disaster. Our membership now spans the entire nation and several countries, encompassing a vast array of knowledge and talents.
Our first task was deciding on our name and mission. Were we to be merely a historical organization? Or perhaps an organization for descendents of Eastland passengers and rescuers? After great deliberation, we determined that our common goals and mission lie along a memorial path. And our journey began.
By September 1998, our first members joined and our web site went online. Later in 1999, the Eastland Memorial Society joined in partnership with the Chicago Maritime Society to forge a solid and respected local presence in the Chicago Metropolitan area.
But still, many people ask me why. Why did you start this? Why spend your time and energy doing this?
And the answer is simple… and it’s personal. Just like it may be to many of you in attendance today.
My grandfather, grandmother and great aunt were aboard the Eastland that morning. All three survived, but many did not. During my childhood, and after much coaxing, my grandmother finally told me about her experiences on the Eastland. A rescuer pulled her out from under the water by her long, flowing hair. She was drowning and had lost all hope. Yet hope was there. My grandfather was more fortunate. He was rescued from the river because he was dressed as Uncle Sam for the Western Electric parade that would never come in Michigan City, Indiana. ‘Grab Uncle Sam!' the rescuers shouted. And he was saved. The Eastland Disaster has always fascinated, haunted, and driven me from little on, to research every aspect of this ship and the disaster. And yet something was still missing, and still is. A true memorial.
It was with the greatest disappointment to learn of the disappearance of the original memorial plaque in April 2000. Through the Chicago Public Arts Program, it is our intention to help fund, design, architect, and construct a memorial worthy of acclaim for its artistic and historical contribution to this great city of Chicago, my hometown. The Eastland Memorial Society’s envisioned memorial includes the names of all the victims, survivors and rescuers… to finally honor them with reverence, reflection and respect.
History does repeat itself.
We know this to be true.
So now it is our turn… to turn that page on this dark chapter in Chicago history and finally, Remember the Eastland.
