Key Highlights of Episode 49:
Music:
Links:
Key Highlights of Episode 49:
Music:
Links:
Hello, I'm Natalie Zett and welcome to Flower in the River. This podcast, inspired by my book of the same name, explores the 1915 Eastland disaster in Chicago and its enduring impact, particularly on my family's history. We'll explore the intertwining narratives of others impacted by this tragedy as well, and we'll dive into writing and genealogy and uncover the surprising supernatural elements that surface in family history research. Come along with me on this journey of discovery. Hello, this is Natalie, and welcome to Flower in the River. Podcast, episode 49.
Speaker 1:In the background of the gate I have some Eastland news. It always makes me happy to hear from someone whose family was also connected to the Eastland, and I heard from none other than a relative of the very colorful coroner Peter Hoffman himself. This person and maybe I can coax them to come on the podcast had a lot of background information as well as some very useful information that indirectly helped me put the pieces together in regards to my step-grandfather's probable involvement in the Northside Gang in Chicago. This is what I love about genealogy, and that's primarily the lens with which I view the entire Eastland experience, because it's been so multi-purpose and so helpful. I think of genealogy in the same way as I think of a Swiss army knife. There's not just one tool that constitutes genealogy, but there's also the research aspect of a family's history itself, the broader history, which is what I'm doing with this podcast now understanding culture and then diving deep into DNA analysis, the more scientific approach. And then there's the details aspect. You have to really pay attention to the most minute detail in a story, because that might be the thing that helps you break down the brick wall. And finally, there's the networking aspect when you start to work with other people in genealogy who are as dedicated as you are, or maybe more so, and no more than you do.
Speaker 1:And speaking of genealogy and networking, the world's largest genealogy conference that would be Roots Tech 2024 is coming up, starting on Leap Day, february 29th, at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. Or you can attend online and honestly, that's what I mostly do and if you attend, you will learn something new, several somethings new. You'll get to hear some great speakers and for me as a tech geek okay, I'll just admit it I'm always excited to hear what new stuff they come up with in terms of technology, and I'm thinking, in fact, I know that artificial intelligence and how it's going to affect genealogy will figure prominently this year as well. I will report back on some of this stuff that I learned because I know it's of interest to many people who are listening to this podcast and, as always, I'll put a link in the show notes for you. But I would also encourage you to go over to my website. I have a website and I keep it pretty much up to date. What I do is I publish the podcast and then update the website after I'm done publishing and I'll add all the links and more detail there. Please subscribe to my newsletter as well, because I put everything in there, and this week I have a lot of links, so please come on over.
Speaker 1:If you listened to the podcast from last week, you'll remember that I shared the poignant story of a young man, leslie Simmons, from a place called Oak Park, illinois, and, as with so many other lives, leslie's was also cut tragically short by the Eastland disaster. This story sparked something inside of me that said, do a deeper dive into Oak Park and its surrounding suburbs, because there were quite a few people from that particular area, and I'm talking an area that is about 10, 12 miles west of the center of Chicago, and this area is of Chicago, but not Chicago, if that makes any sense. And these little suburbs they're now suburbs, but they started off as very small villages and in the beginning of the 20th century they grew like I hate to say wildfire, because you know the Chicago fire I'll say they grew exponentially. Okay, so Oak Park in 1910, for example, had about 19,000 people, but by 1920, 10 years later, it had almost 40,000, which is a slightly over 100% increase. And these little suburbs, villages, they were not immune to the devastation of the Eastland disaster, as many residents either lost their lives or narrowly escaped. And, of course, those who lost people, their families, were forever affected by this.
Speaker 1:This journey has been filled with revelations and a lot of shocks, more shocks than anything else. One thing I've learned thanks to my genealogy work is don't ever think you have the whole story. There's always more. But for many of these stories I don't always gather a lot of information, simply because so many of these people were so young, I mean teenagers. They didn't even have a chance to launch their lives. They were 18, 19 years old, like my great aunt. But their stories are worth telling. Their lives are not just a birth date and a death date. That's what happened between those two dates that I tried to uncover. Each of these stories, however small, is a thread in this vast fabric that comprises our shared past and I'm talking about those of us whose families were affected by the Eastland disaster and it invites us to marvel at the resilience and courage of these people but also grow a compassionate heart for those who lost their footing after they lost so much, on July 24th 1915. And I have several of those stories today, and they all come out of Oak Park and its surrounding areas.
Speaker 1:I'm guessing most people have heard of Oak Park, illinois, because Frank Lloyd Wright once lived there and evidence of his being there is all over the place in terms of the lovely prairie school architecture. If you haven't been, it's definitely worth visiting. Here's some history about Oak Park. This journey begins in 1835 with Joseph Kettle Strings that's the name, kettle Strings modest purchase of land near the Displains River, laying the foundation for what would evolve from a sparse settlement into a thriving community. Especially after the great Chicago fire of 1871, oak Park emerged as a beacon of innovation and of growth. The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, followed by the extension of the Lake Street L and that would be the train, wove Oak Park more tightly into Chicago's urban fabric. If you remember the story from last week about Leslie Elliott Simmons, his classmates joked that he took the train from Oak Park to Chicago to civilization, as those kids called it and said somehow he was always late.
Speaker 1:Oak Park has been a cradle for legends. As mentioned, frank Lloyd Wright stamped his architectural genius across the landscape, while Ernest Hemingway's early life here sowed the seeds of literary greatness. Another illustrious and important resident, dr Percy LeVon Julian, broke new ground in chemistry with his revolutionary drug synthesis work. And I can't forget that Betty White was born in Oak Park in 1922. So Oak Park stands as a testament to the confluence of art, innovation, culture and history, with landmarks like the Unity Temple and a 1920s-era bustling shopping district. It's a place where the past is always the present, and I attribute much of that to the fact that they have one fantastic historical society. No, I've never been there, but all I needed to do was see its online presence and I was just blown away. Good job, folks.
Speaker 1:The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest. River Forest is also close to Oak Park and I know River Forest because of my Lutheran background from mom's side. I actually attended one of the Concordias in Ann Arbor and at that point it was a two-year college and many of my classmates went on to complete their degrees at Concordia River Forest, as it was called back then. So I have a very intimate relationship with anything called Concordia and at some point I need to talk about that in the podcast, because it's actually kind of amusing now. But, as it turns out, there is quite a Lutheran legacy with the Eastland disaster as well, and I'll save that for a later episode.
Speaker 1:So this particular online presence of the Historical Society for Oak Park and River Forest is extraordinary because once you're there, even if you don't have any background in it, you get instantly a really good feel for what this place was, what this community was all about. From the looks of it, they don't seem to have a big staff, but you really don't need a big staff if you have a great template, are strategic and are continually engaging with your audience, whether it's children, adults, people that are new to the community, people that don't know anything about the community. A good website presence invites you in and you're part of it, and this is what they do. They have lots of stories about their citizens, they have teacher tools and they also have an Ask the Historian and yes, indeed, I have already filled out the Ask the Historian form because I have a lot of questions about that area. The nice thing about growing up in Cleveland is that our parents took us to a lot of these museums and historical societies because for the most part they were free. But what I liked about them is that the people were so engaged and so enthusiastic that they could even pull children into the stories the really good ones. They know their stuff, but they're also so flaming generous with sharing information. So that's Oak Park. Go visit that website or go visit Oak Park. And now I want to talk a bit about Forest Park, illinois, because although it's near Oak Park, it has its own vibe.
Speaker 1:Forest Park Illinois, located in Cook County, extends from Harlem Avenue to the Displains River. The village's earliest inhabitants settled along a high sand ridge in 1839. And in 1856, the Chicago and Galena Union Railroad brought 25 families to settle there. Several large cemeteries were established in the 1870s, including Jewish Voltaim Concordia there's that Concordia word again German Voltaim Forest Home and Woodlawn, which cover most of the town's acreage. For a period of time there were more dead than living people in Forest Park. That sounds like my kind of place. Anyway, forest Park Cemetery itself is the final resting place for a couple of Eastland people to whom I'm distantly related, the Risto Brothers, as well as four men who were hanged in 1887 for their presumed role in Chicago's Haymarket riot, and they were honored as martyrs to the labor movement with a large monument built in 1893. Over the years, many prominent labor leaders, anarchists, socialists and communists were also buried in the cemetery's Radicals Row area. Doesn't that sound intriguing? Again, another stellar historical society. The historical society of Forest Park is also incredible, like Oak Parks, and it also hits all the high notes.
Speaker 1:They're very distinctive. They're not the same and they do some different things, but both websites are just compelling. What I like about what they did. They also have transcripts and audio recordings of residents, many of whom probably have passed on by now, but their stories remain. So again, story, story, stories.
Speaker 1:I have a friend who's a professional storyteller. She does stories for a living. Not entirely, but that's a lot of what she does, and there is nothing more compelling than a story. And when you have a story such as the Eastland disaster, but don't tell the stories of the lives affected, it's hard to stay engaged. So both these websites are reminders to me to keep the stories going right. So I want to go on to some lives that were changed by the Eastland disaster, and many of these stories come from their local publications, like the Oak Park Leaves or Forest Leaves not exclusively, but many of them do.
Speaker 1:Here's a very short story of one of the lives that was lost on the Eastland. This is from the Oak Leaves, july 31st 1915. Headline young man dies in disaster. Earl Dawson, 18-year-old son of William Dawson of 1113 South Taylor, a very well-known young man on the South Side, was one of those to meet his death in the Eastland disaster. Last Saturday the funeral services were held at the Fourth Congregational Church conducted by Reverend Henry J Lee of Princeton Illinois. The burial was at Oak Ridge. Mr Dawson was a good swimmer but had no chance to escape from the sinking boat. His body was recovered on Sunday afternoon. He had been employed by the Western Electric Company for two years. And here's his obit from the Chicago Tribune Earl Dawson on July 24th, suddenly Son of Mr and Mrs William Dawson, aged 19 years, funeral Tuesday, july 27th at 2.30 pm at the Fourth Congregational Church, taylor and Harrison Street's Oak Park to Oak Ridge Cemetery. So the cemetery today is called Oak Ridge-Glen Oak Cemetery and it's in Hillside, illinois, as you can see right out the gate.
Speaker 1:There's a conflict in the details. Earl Dawson was born in 1897, so he was in fact 18 years old when he died on the Eastland. So that's Earl Dawson. At this point I don't have much information about what became of his family after the Eastland. Here's another person from this area who passed away on the Eastland. His name is Matthew Bunga, b-o-n-g-a, and this is also from the Oak Park Leaves publication Headline. Matthew Bunga dies on Eastland.
Speaker 1:Matthew J Bunga of 829 Wisconsin Avenue was a victim of the Eastland disaster last Saturday, but two other members of his family escaped with their lives. With his brother, james, and brother-in-law Alfred J Moore of Forest Park, mr Bunga set out to spend the day at the Western Electric Outing when the ship sank. Matthew was not able to leave the deck, as were his brothers, who got into the river and swam about until pulled into safety by rescuers with ropes. The body of their brother was discovered Sunday evening. The services were held on Wednesday at St Bernardine's Church, where high mass was said. The interment was at Mount Carmel. Mr Bunga is survived by his father and mother, mr and Mrs Jacob M Bunga, and his sister, mrs Alfred J Moore of Forest Park, in addition to the members of his family who passed through the awful catastrophe with him and were saved only by Providence. Mr Bunga was 33 years old and had been employed by the Western Electric Company for seven years.
Speaker 1:A little bit about Matthew. His father was from the Netherlands, from Holland, and I think this is one of the few people that I've seen connected to the Eastland who were from the Netherlands. And also, in 1913, I found a record where Matthew had married a woman. Her name was Elsie Louise Garby, but by 1915, she does not seem to be in the picture. I later located her obituary. Her name was Elsie L Tonkin and she died in 1974. I don't know too much else about her at this point. But that's Matthew Bunga.
Speaker 1:Now on to the next person. This is going to be another one of those tough ones to listen to, and I want to lead off by saying I included in my book the story of a fictional meeting between my character and my fictional character and a woman who was involved in one of the first Eastland social events in the year 2000. But I actually did meet a woman who was much older and if she is still alive she's probably over 100 years, but I hope someone has recorded her story. She shared with me the story of her two uncles who survived the Eastland disaster and I think she lost a great aunt as well. She told me that her uncles survived the Eastland but neither of them were the same afterward and she said, I think that they both died of acute alcoholism. But what she also said and what I included in my book because it was so profound, she said they didn't die on the Eastland but they did die of the Eastland and I have never forgotten that. And now I'm going to share a story about a girl who died on the Eastland but the rest of her family, well, I think they might have died of the Eastland. This obituary is from the Decatur Review, that's Decatur, illinois, july 25, 1915. So this family, according to the 1910 census, lived in an area called I think it's a township called Proviso, illinois, and it's near all the other areas that I've just spoken about, like Forest Park, oak Park, et cetera. So that's why she's part of this story.
Speaker 1:Headline Gertrude Stork, eastland victim. Rudolph Stork of 1027 Circle Avenue. His daughter Gertrude and son Rudolph were in the ill-fated Eastland on Saturday. Gertrude expressed to her father, a few minutes before the accident, a feeling of fear that something wrong was going to happen. Almost as soon as she had given expression to her thought, the boat capsized and she sank into the water, never to come up alive. Mr Stork and his son also went down. Mr Stork felt others clinging to him while under the water but did not know who it was. He finally managed to spring upward and got his head above the water and found something to hold onto no-transcript. When he succeeded in pulling himself above the water, he found it was his son and two women holding to his clothing. He drew them up above the water, but by that time the boy was unconscious. But with considerable difficulty he was restored and was taken to shore. Gertrude, aged fifteen years, had just graduated from the public school. She is survived by her father, mother and brother. The funeral service was on Wednesday, with burial at Waldheim.
Speaker 1:Here's the next article, also from the same paper, headline Bereaved boy sat in a daze, chicago, july 24th. In the saloon at North Clark and Southwater streets sat a boy eleven years old, in dry-eyed but with the shadow of the terror he had passed through in his eyes. He was waiting for his father and sister, gertrude. His father he knew was alive, but of his sister's fate he could not tell. The boy was Rudolph Stork, 1627 Circle Avenue. The sister is Gertrude, fifteen years, and the father is RS Stork.
Speaker 1:Quote I was thrown into the water suddenly without any warning. To speak of it all, said the boy. When I rose to the surface after going down once I heard a voice calling Is that you, rudy? It seemed miles away but it was really close at hand. It was my father. He swam to me and held me up, but then we got a plank. We were pulled ashore, I don't know how or where. Then I lost him. I know he is safe, but where, I can't say. My sister, I guess, is drowned.
Speaker 1:And just ten years later Gertrude's and Rudy's mother, paulina, died in 1925. I could not locate Anno Bitt, at least not yet, so I don't know the details behind her death. Only the son and father remained. What happened to them afterward? This is going to be tough to hear, so I want you to know that. Here's the story of the dad. So this article is about Rudolph Stork Sr, the father and the article is from the Liberty ville, independence, and Libertyville is in Illinois and the date is May 5, 1927. So we're talking 12 years after the Eastland.
Speaker 1:Rudolph Stork of 1245, north Oakley Boulevard, chicago, was arrested by Officer Garland Sunday afternoon and charged with reckless driving in the village. He was given a hearing in Justice Morris Court and pleaded guilty to the charge. He was assessed a fine of five dollars and costs. He had but three dollars on him and is to pay the balance Saturday, on November 2, 1931,. Here's the headline from the paper Found Dead in Rocking Chair, pensioned telephone employee discovered by friend on call at Fox Lake. Rudolph Stork, 61, a pensioned telephone lineman of Fox Lake, was found dead sitting in his rocking chair. Last night when Fred Olson, a friend, came to visit him, stork had been dead for several hours. Olson, horrified to find the lifeless body of his friend, rushed to a nearby filling station where he told the attendant Holder Peterson, called Marshall JA Riggs, a coroner's jury under Dr John Taylor, found this morning that Stork came to his death through acute alcoholism. The body was taken to Strang's funeral home in Graes Lake. Stork, who lived alone, is survived by one son now in New Jersey. Puneral. Arrangements have not been announced pending the arrival of the son.
Speaker 1:So I think this story speaks for itself, and it is so similar to the story that this woman shared with me years ago about her uncles that I think that Rudolph too died of the Eastland. And now what happened to Rudy Jr, the son? Rudy Jr, as I found from the census records, was in New Jersey because that's where he was working for Western Electric. Western Electric had an office there and I can theorize that perhaps he was transferred there. Rudy Jr eventually married and as far as I can tell, they did not have children. He also died fairly young and this was from the Daily News in New York December 14, 1943. He was 40 years old. Rudolph Stork, suddenly at home, 66 Orian Road, west Caldwell, new Jersey, on Sunday December 12, 1943. Rudolph C, husband of Grace Klimbach Stork Services will be held at the home for services Arthur K Brown Incorporated, 77 Roseland Avenue, caldwell, tuesday evening at 8.15. Unfortunately I don't know what the circumstances were around Rudy Jr's death.
Speaker 1:I wanted to find out what happened to Rudy Jr's wife and I found her obituary. Her birth name was Grace Klimbach and she was quite a bit younger than Rudy and she went on to marry at least a couple of more times. She died March 26, 2003, living in Tucson, arizona. And here's the thing from the photo she looks quite elegant and there's no mention of her first husband, but by the same token she seemed to get her footing and she was part of, I would say, high society, as we used to call it growing up. She was involved in all kinds of activities social activities, community activities, outreaches and things like that.
Speaker 1:If there's any good news, it's in this obituary. Here's what they wrote. It is requested that any contributions be given to someone you know who is in need and you is uppercase. So what they're saying is please give to somebody who needs it. No worries about the flowers, and I think that's a class act, but I don't want to close or conclude on such a sad story. So I found something that was also published in Forest Leaves on May 27, 1943. And because of the writing style, you're going to have to follow closely. But there is some humor in all of this. The Truth Headline Two veterans of Eastland disaster meet once again.
Speaker 1:This is stranger than fiction and coincidence cannot be carried too far was again demonstrated on Sunday when coincidence wrapped its long arm about Joseph R Darby of 1010 North Boulevard, subject of a recent feature in this journal. Mr Darby attended the memorial services in memory of departed members of Columbia Post number 706 of the Department of Illinois Grand Army of the Republic at Forest Home Cemetery, which was participated in by Columbia Woman's Relief Corps, number 175, forest Park Lake Post number 414 of the American Legion, st John's Lutheran Band and Boy and Girl Scouts of the Forest Park area. Dr Preston Bradley of the People's Church of Chicago was the speaker, as he has been for the last 20 years, fulfilling a promise to one of the postmen all gone now. At the morning service over the air, Mr Darby had heard Dr Bradley speak ofa Mr Buchan, 93 years old, the oldest member of his congregation, and Mr Buchan was to be at the afternoon program. Arriving early, mr Darby asked a man next to him in the crowd about Mr Buchan, saying he'd like to offer his birthday congratulations to one so old. The man pointed out the old gentleman and took him over, remarking casually that he was his son, dr Edward Buchan.
Speaker 1:In his pocket Mr Darby carried a copy of the Oak Leaf Story April 29 issue which told how the very Dr Buchan had worked over survivors and directed resuscitation at the time of the Great Eastland Disaster. He would not have known Dr Buchan after all these years as he had never seen him since, but at once told him how they had worked alongside of each other in the life-saving effort, mr Darby wielding an oxygen torch to cut through the hull. And Dr Buchan at once told him he knew he had seen him before. Dr Bradley came up at that moment and glanced over the story with Dr Buchan and asked to have it, but the doctor said no, you don't I want it, but agreed to let him have it later. Dr Bradley came back See that you do now, before going off to make the address. Since that June day of disaster back in 1915, mr Darby had met Mrs Buchan several times at the home of a young friend. She was formerly a Ziegfeld girl and one of the famous Floridora sextet and still retains her handsome figure, he said. Seeing that she was about to be the chairman of the program, he took along a copy to send to Dr Buchan, never expecting to meet him in person and have a chance to reminisce about that long ago day. Oh my, there's so much to unpack in this, but I hope you got the gist of it.
Speaker 1:The Columbia Post number 706 of the Department of Illinois Grand Army of the Republic G-A-R refers to a local chapter of the G-A-R in Illinois. What was the G-A-R? It was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, union Navy, marines and the US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Yes, this is a Civil War organization. Founded in 1866, the G-A-R was primarily active as a support and advocacy group for veterans, promoting veterans' rights, assistance and camaraderie among members. The organization played a significant role in the establishment of Memorial Day as a national holiday and it was influential in various political and social arenas until its decline as the Civil War generation passed away. The Columbia Women's Relief Corps number 175, associated with the Forest Park Post number 414 of the American Legion, represents a specific unit within the Women's Relief Corps, wrc that is linked to a particular American Legion post. I need to draw a diagram for this one, folks. Needless to say, the Women's Relief Corps was established as the official women's auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic that we just learned about, and it was founded in 1883. And the American Legion is another veteran's organization Founded in 1919 to support veterans of the United States armed forces and they are still active and I'm sure that about half of the people know what the Ziegfeld Follies or the Ziegfeld Girls were, but maybe others don't.
Speaker 1:It was part of a review, a show, a live show that was begun probably in the early 1900s and actually very successful, very influential, and it always featured these over-the-top sets and musical numbers and dances with women that were dressed sometimes outrageously, think Ru Paul's Drag Race times about 10. That's how over-the-top they were, but they left an impression. Now the Floridora sex-tet really wasn't connected with the Ziegfeld Follies. I mean, as a unit they were their own thing. Here's some background about the original group.
Speaker 1:The Floridora sex-tet refers to a famous group of six female singers from the musical comedy Flora Dora, which first premiered in London in 1899 before becoming a hit on Broadway in 1900. It was a big deal and this sex-tet primarily became known for this song, tell Me, pretty Maiden, in which they performed a captivating routine which helped make the show a sensation. The success of Floridora and its sex-tet played a significant role in early 20th century theater scene, influencing the format of musicals and portrayal of female performers on stage. I'll share a link to a 1930s film that I believe is called Tell Me Pretty Maiden and it features not the original Floridora girls but basically actors playing them.
Speaker 1:Here's the thing we can look at something like this and it seems comical. It actually is probably unintentionally comical, but for the people of that time, this group and this song meant a lot to them and it's kind of like some things hold up past their time and some things are of their time and even though it's kind of to our ears, woe, it was important and it meant a lot to the people of that time and it's safe to say that it gave birth to other types of shows and musical expressions that we do today relate to or hold in high esteem. So I know that we have, as always, shared some pretty heavy stories here about the Eastland disaster and I want to say thank you to the Floridora girls and Marion Davis for this audio that I'm about to play, because, if nothing else, it helps us podcast episode and on a real high note. Take care, and I will talk to you next week Presenting the Floridora Girls from the 1930 movie, the Floridora Girl. Take care, and I'll talk to you next week.
Speaker 3:Thank you and thank you for watching. I am a monster, but you keep your eyes on me. I'm very lonely.
Speaker 2:You see, madam my little man, you see. I don't know, if I'm the man, no, I'm the man, you see. You see, I'm the man, I'm the man. You see, if I can't have you, madam, I am the man, I'm the man. I'm the man, I'm the man.
Speaker 1:I hope you'll consider buying my book available as audiobook, ebook, paperback and hardcover, because I still owe people money and that's my running joke. But the one thing I'm serious about is that this podcast and my book are dedicated to the memory of all who experienced the Eastland disaster of 1915. Goodbye for now.