Chicago's Bohemian National Cemetery-- Part 9: SS Eastland Disaster

On July 24, 1915, the SS Eastland -- loaded with Western Electric employees and their families -- prepared to depart from its dock on the Chicago River in downtown Chicago and head across Lake Michigan for a company picnic in Michigan City, Indiana.

The boat suddenly listed to its side and capsized, trapping hundreds in the vessel as water poured in.  Out of the 844 people drowned, Bohemian Cemetery has 143 Eastland victims buried in its plots, the most of any cemetery in the Chicago area.

Of  the 22 families wiped out by the disaster, four are buried in the cemetery.  Some, including those of Czech ancestry, include a short line -- "obet Eastlandu" or "victim of the Eastland."

Almost 100 years later, a memorial was dedicated to the victims of that ship at the Bohemian cemetery.  A black plaque described the disaster on one side and details of the Eastland gravesites on the other.  A granite slab with a ship's wheel juts out of the slab with carved ripples that represent the sinking of the ship and its raising following the incident.

Sadly, Today, the Tragedy Is Hardly Remembered.  

Missing the Boat May Have Saved George Halas' Life-- Part 4: From U of I, to Decautur to Da Bears

Why was George Halas late?  One report later speculated that  he had overslept.  Patrick McCaskey, his grandson, said it was because Halas was obsessed with gaining enough weight to play football at Illinois, so his brother took extra time to weigh him that morning.

"My grandfather went back to the University of Illinois with a renewed sense of purpose, " McCaskey said.  "He felt very fortunate from that day forward."

Five years later --  after Halas graduated from Illinois, served in the Navy during World War I and played briefly for the New York Yankees --  he moved to Decatur, Illinois, for a job with the A.E. Staley Comapny, for whom he was a player-coach of the company football team.

In 1921, Halas took control of the team, moved it to Chicago and renamed it the Bears.

"If he had been one of the fatalities,"  McCaskey said, "I don'tnavy know that the National Football League or the Chicago Bears would have been in existence."

That's Why We Call Him "Papa Bear."  --Cooter

Mising the Boat May Have Saved George Halas' Life-- Part 3: He's Alive!!

Three days later, the Chicago Tribune ran a list of Western Electric employees who were still missing and possibly dead.  One of those listed read "Halas, G.S., Sept. 4110."  None other than our eventual "Papa Bear."

"Two of his fraternity brothers from the University of Illinois read the newspaper  with his name on the list, and they came to my grandfather's home to express condolences to my grandfather's mother,"  McCaskey said.  "They were delighted and surprised when my grandfather answered the door."

According to the Eastland Disaster Historical Society, Halas played on Western Electric's sports  teams and was going to play in the picnic baseball game.  His plan was to meet his best friend, Ralph Brizzalara, and Ralph's brother, Charles.  Both boarded the Eastland and both survived.

He's Alive.  --Cooter

Missing the Boat May Have Saved George Halas' Life-- Part 2: "Papa Bear"

Roughly 2,500 employees and their families had boarded the ship, and at 7:25 a.m. it began listing and swaying from side to side.

A large crowd of horrified spectators watched as the Eastland -- a few feet from the bank of the Chicago River between LaSalle Drive and Clark Street -- turned on its side.  It was in 20 feet of water, deep enough to drown 844 people trapped or trampled below decks.

It is the deadliest day ever in Chicago and was the greatest peacetime inland waterway disaster in American history.

"His mother told him to say a rosary of gratitude that night," said Patrick McCaskey, Halas' grandson and Chicago Bears vice president.

--Cooter

Missing the Boat May Have Saved George Halas' Life-- Part 1: Was Supposed To Be On the Ill-fated Eastland

From the July 24, 2019, Chicago Tribune "Late arrival for boat ride may have saved Halas' life" by Tim Bannon.

Football's George Halas was supposed to go on the ill-fated SS Eastland on Saturday, July 24, 1915.

But, he was late.

At the time, he was a 20-year-old and had a job with Western Electric and that day was supposed to join his coworkers for a fun day aboard the SS Eastland which would cross the southern end of Lake Michigan for the telephone's picnic in Michigan City, Indiana.

But by the time he reached  the Chicago River dock, the Eastland  was already overturned.

--Cooter

Arthur, Ralph and Luther Roberts Recovering Bodies at the SS Eastland Disaster

From the July 29, 2015, MidWeek (Sycamore, Illinois)  "Looking Back" to 1915

THE EASTLAND DISASTER

Among those who rendered effective services, according to the statement of Chicago papers, after the awful disaster of the steamship Eastland on Saturday morning last were Arthur, Ralph and Luther Roberts, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Roberts, formerly of Sycamore.

These boys in their father's motor launch, 60 feet in length, were early on the scene, and from Saturday afternoon to Sunday noon assisted in picking up bodies, placing them in the launch and conveying them across the river to the temporary morgue, until they had recovered no less than 300 bodies of men, women and children.

I dis a quick search of these people and found no mention of them in connection to the disaster.  If anyone has anything about them, please let meknow.

--DaCoot

Writer Jack Woodford Was At Eastland Tragedy

From Wikipedia.

Writer Jack Woodford witnessed the Eastland capsizing from across the Chicago River and wrote:

"And then something caught my eye.  I looked across the river.  As I watched in disoriented stupefaction a steamer large as an ocean liner slowly turning over on its side as though it was a whale going to take a nap.

"I didn't believe a huge steamer had done this before my eyes, lashed to a dock, in perfectly calm water, in excellent weather, with no explosion, no fire, no nothing.  I thought I had gone crazy."

--DaCoot

"Papa Bear" George Halas Almost on Eastland That Day-- Part 2

From Wikipedia.

George Halas was born Feb. 2, 1895 and in 1915 was temporarily working for Western Electric, the company whose employees boarded the SS Eastland that fateful day.  he was running late because of an attempt ro gain weight in order to play Big ten football.  (So, evidently eating.)

he graduated from Chicago's Crane High School and attended the University of Illinois where he played football for Coach Bob Zuppke.  he also played basketball and baseball.

He helped U of I win the 1918 Big Ten Conference football title after serving in the U.S. Navy, during World War II.  he also played for a team at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station so probably saw theSS Eastlant, now the USS Wilmette, while it was there.

Halas was named the MVP of the 1919 Rose Bowl.

Da Bears, Da Papa.  --Cooter

"Papa Bear" George Halas Almost On the Eastland That Day-- Part 1

A 20-year-old George Halas, one of the founders of the NFl and "Papa Bear" to the Chicago Bears, was scheduled to be aboard the SS Eastland that day, but was delayed in leaving his house for the cruise and arrived after it turned over.

Would he have been one of those who perished that day and what effect would that have had on the NFL and the Chicago Bears?

--Cooter

Marking the Centennial of the SS Eastland Tragedy-- Part 4

The Eastland Disaster Historical Society also plans a public ceremony along Chicago's Riverwalk where it took place on July 24; then a family day on the 25th starting where the passengers boarded 100 years ago, and author's panel and a  sunset ceremony where attendees will light 844 candles at the river.

The week will conclude with a gathering at the Museum of Broadcast Communications for people whose families were involved in the tragedy

The organization has also redesigned its website.

Keeping the Memory Alive.

Marking the Centennial of the SS Eastland Tragedy-- Part 3: A Mock Trial

Earlier this year, a University of Illinois at Chicago graduate student unearthed film footage of the ship sinking inthe Netherlands showing rescue workers walking on the side of the ship.

Soon after that, a Northern Illinois University student located another clip that shows people being pulled from the water.

These two events brought a lot of name recognition to the disaster.

In June the organization is hosting a criminal trial in regards to it.  There was to be one after the incident as prosecutors indicted the ship's captain and four company officials on manslaughter and criminal carelessness charges.  But a U.S. District Court judge in Michigan refused to extradite the men to Illinois.

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke will preside over the mock trial using modern legal statutes.  Audience members will decide on a verdict.

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.

Marking the Centennial of the 1915 SS Eastland Disaster-- Part 1: Many Don't Know About It

From the June 5, 2015, Chicago Tribune "Society to mark centennial of 1915 Eastland disaster" by Dawn Rhodes.

On July 25, 1915, the SS Eastland listed to its side in the Chicago River and sent hundreds  of passengers into the water, killing 844 people, including nearly two dozen whole families.

What started out as a day of fun including a boat trip to a picnic in Michigan City, Indiana, ended in Chicago's worse tragedy, much worse than the Great Chicago Fire and with deaths approaching those on the much-better known Titanic.

These days, descendants of an Eastland survivor are battling to preserve the doomed ship's memory.

Ted Wachholz, executive director of the Eastland Historical Society based in Arlington Heights said: "There are countless instances when we're talking to someone who has lived in Chicago their whole lives and they have never heard of it."

100th Anniversary of Chicago's SS Eastland Tragedy Today

On July 24, 1915, the SS Eastland, a passenger ship carrying more than 2,500 people, rolled over onto its side while docked at the Clark Street Bridge on the Chicago River.

An estimated 844 died in the disaster.

Sadly, this is a largely forgotten event, but not in this blog.

Historians to Stage Trial for Eastland Disaster-- Part 3: What Happened in Aftermath

Whatever comes out of the mock trial will likely be more conclusive than what happened in the aftermath 100 years ago.

The ship's captain, engineer and four company executives were charged with manslaughter and criminal carelessness in August 1915.  All in the group were accused of loading the ship "greatly in excess of the number of persons the boat could carry with safety."  They were also accused of operating the ship despite knowing it was in substandard condition and of hiring an incompetent engineer.

Captain Harry Pederson additionally was accused of not following the proper procedures and failing "to warn passengers to leave the Eastland when it became apparent to him that she was about to overturn."  Engineer Joseph Erickson faced similar charges.

But U.S. District Judge Clarence Sessions cleared the men, reasoning that there was not enough evidence to prove the group knew of or ignored problems with the ship.

In the end, no one was found criminally liable.  Law at the time limited damages to the value of the ship which came to about $46,000 which went to pay claims of companies that provided coal to the ship and that towed the Eastland out of the river.  Families received next to nothing.

Sure Wouldn't Have Happened Today.

Historians to Stage Trial for Eastland Disaster-- Part 2

There is no definitive cause for the capsizing of the SS Eastland which claimed 844 lives.  The dominant belief is that the ship had many structural flaws.  It was overloaded with life boats as a result of the Titanic's sinking three years earlier.  It had no keel and its ballast system was faulty.  That morning it was overloaded with at least 2,500 people on board.  The story also is around that most of the people rushed to one side.

Lawyers from Marshall Law School have teamed up to analyze the information from a modern legal perspective.  One challenge is to determine what kind of a trial it should be.  To use modern civil law would be extremely complicated.  Today, you would have gone after Western Electric, but they didn't sponsor the boat ride; it was an employee who organized it.

They decided the case was best suited for involuntary manslaughter against the Eastland owners.  That is when somebody unintentionally kills someone likely to cause death or great bodily harm..  Attorney Bob Clifford said that the owners knew the ship was ill-prepared for its voyage but didn't do anything about it.  The Eastland was actually certified for service but had quite a history of being unstable.

Six jurors will decide the case and audience members will be able to vote on the outcome.

Wonder What The Verdict Was?

Historians to Stage Trial for Eastland Disaster-- Part 1

From the June 18, 2015, Chicago Tribune by Dawn Rhodes.

"Early on Saturday morning in 1915, thousands of workers and family members from Western Electric Co. gathered on the Chicago River for a lake excursion and an employee picnic.

"But what was supposed to be a celebration swiftly turned catastrophic as the SS Eastland--the first of five vessels scheduled to shuttle passengers to the Michigan City, Ind., outing -- rocked alarmingly and capsized in the 20-foot-deep waterway between Clark and LaSalle streets, killing 844 people and wiping out nearly two dozen families.

"The horrific scenes July 14 marked the worst disaster in Chicago's history (much worse than the much-better-known Great Chicago Fire), but nobody was held responsible.  As the Eastland tragedy marks its centennial, historians and legal experts are staging a trial to keep relevant the memory of the disaster and illuminate the issues that never saw the inside of a Chicago courtroom."

And Most Chicagoans Don't Even Know About It.

New, Chilling Video Clip of the Eastland Tragedy Found-- Part 2

Continued from June 19th.

Ot took days for professional divers to recover the bodies (844 of them).  Searching a sunked ship that is pitch-black, almost the size of a football field, four stories tall and on its side in the Chicago River is no easy task.  The first-known clips of footage was found this month by a University of Illinois graduate student.

Television reports of the find prompted Northern Illinois University (my old school) master's degree candidate Alex Revzan to search through a British online newsreel archive.    The videos were not indexed so it took Revzan 90 minutes to go through hundreds of clips before he found one among several clips about shipwrecks.

Ted Wachholz, executive director of the Eastland Disaster Historical Society  he believed that even more footage might be found.  He said that hundreds of photos have been donated to them, but nothing mad ethe disaster more real than this recently discovered videos.

And, next month Will mark the 100th Anniversary of the Eastland Tragedy.

New, Chilling Video Clip of Eastland Tragedy Found-- Part 1

From the Feb. 26, 2015, Chicago Tribune "New, more chilling video clip emerges of Eastland tragedy" by Meredith Rodriguez.

A new film clip of the 1915 SS Eastland disaster on the Chicago River in downtown Chicago has surfaced just weeks after the first-known footage emerged.  This one shows the grim fate of the 844 people who died in the capsizing.

The Eastland Historical Society on Wednesday announced the discovery of the footage, which shows victims' bodies being pulled out of the hull and from the river.  The Eastland had been ferrying thousands of Western Electric Co. employees to a company picnic in Michigan City, Indiana when it rolled over at its wharf.  This footage is much different from the first two clips released

This clip shows a young woman in a white dress being pulled from the hull.  Then it shows people being pulled out of the river.

The 65-second clip which can be seen at the Eastland Disaster Historical Society's site www.eastlanddisaster.org/mews shows how rescue efforts were performed.  Rescuers had to search through the dark interior of the ship underwater amid the debris, furniture, deck chairs and boxes.

This July Will mark the 100th Anniversary of the Tragedy.  --Cooter

Last-Known Eastland Disaster Survivor Dies-- Part 4

Marion Eichholz's oldest niece, Kathleen Kremholz, said her aunt often talked about was that she had new shoes on when the Eastland turned over.  Marion Eichholz was very low key about the incident and never sought the spotlight, even when she became the last known survivor.

She never married or had children and taught Sunday School for more than 50 years at Cicero Bible Church and spent a lot of time with her family.

Kathleen Kremholz says she remembers her grandmother, Anna Eichholz, Marion's mother talking about that day and especially seeing all the babies who had drowned below the water in their baby buggies.  Anna died at age 91 in the 1970s.

Today, there is a memorial marker at LaSalle and West Wacker Drive overlooking where the ship sank  The historical group hosts annual ceremonies and this year will be a big one as it is the centennial anniversary of the sinking.

More information can be found at www.eastlanddisaster.org.