Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Marking the Centennial of the SS Eastland Disaster-- Part 2: Capsized in a Matter of Minutes

To commemorate the centennial, the organization is planning a series of events this summer in hopes of educating people.  In addition they will unite those with family connections to it.

There were signs of trouble early on that fateful July 24, 1915, day.  The Eastland rocked back and forth several times after passengers began boarding, but apparently no one, even the crew, thought much about it.

When it began lurching more violently to its left side (port) a few minutes before scheduled 7:30 a.m. departure, the catastrophe between Clark and LaSalle streets on the Chicago River came so swiftly that passengers and crew barely had time to react.

Lifeboats never were deployed and the captain did not evacuate the ship.  The ship capsized within minutes.  Some 844 people died.

Many victims died in the 20-feet-deep water while others died from blows to the head.  More than a third of those killed were children and teenagers.

Among the fortunate survivors was 13-year-old Borghild Aanstad, nicknamed Bobbie, who was a strong swimmer.  Susan Decker and Barbara Decker Wachholz, Aanstad's granddaughters  grew up listening to the stories of the Eastland and, along with Ted Washholz, started the historical society in 1998.


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