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. Hey everyone, this is Natalie and welcome to episode 62 of Flower in the River podcast. Now, before we get into today's episode, just a couple of days ago my cousin texted me and said did you see that piece of Eastland Disaster memorabilia selling on eBay for $500? And I thought he was kidding. Well, he wasn't, and that's about all I can say about that. He wasn't, and that's about all I can say about that. Usually, if I go to eBay, I find Eastland disaster-related postcards for maybe nine or ten bucks, but this is a little steep for my wallet. So what I do? If I haven't seen these postcards before and they seem to be authentic cards before, and they seem to be authentic I buy them, scan them, share them and then bundle them up in a package that I eventually will send to the Newberry in Chicago. I'm not a collector, by the way, and I honestly don't know enough about auctions and how they work in terms of pricing things and selling things, but here's what I think I don't want to begrudge anyone who's trying to make a living I don't but on the other hand, I have to say that anything associated with the Eastland or similar historical events ought to be accessible to anyone who's interested in it. But that's just me. However, I realized that with this eBay find this week, that I have come full circle Back at the end of 2023,. I also found on eBay an overpriced document about an Eastland disaster-related trial that took place in the 1930s, and I later discovered the very same document available for free on Google Docs, and I've shared this story before. But for people who are new to this podcast, they need to know to always do a little more researching with any finds that they have on eBay, and that was how this variation of my podcast began.
Natalie Zett:
The thing that became the Eastland Chronicles was started because of an eBay find. Initially, when I saw this and saw what they were doing, I was as annoyed as can be, but as I studied this document, I started to note all the names of the victims and the survivors, and it didn't take much research to see that these stories were not shared in any single place. If they were shared at all, they were all over the place. And back to these particular victims of the Eastland disaster, their surnames sounded really familiar to me and, sure enough, when I looked at my DNA matches on Ancestry, I saw that surname and these people are from the Chicago area and they do appear to be related to the victims, so this very well may be another way that I'm related to the folks on the Eastland. Again, I like to overcheck these types of discoveries, so I'll get back to you if I ever come up with anything definitive, and I will show you the documentation for that. Well, despite my frustration and my frustration was twofold I was frustrated that somebody was trying to sell a free document on eBay for money, and the other frustration was with this particular family. I could find no single place where the story was told I realized that I had to turn that frustration into some viable action and since that time I've been sharing these untold or undertold stories of the victims, the survivors, the descendants and the rescuers related to the Eastland disaster every week and every week.
Natalie Zett:
I think that this is the week that I'm going to run out of stories and this will be the end of it. But no, there really does seem to be an endless supply of stories of lives that have either not been shared or, if they have been shared, they're all over the place, or perhaps they've not been shared in a long time. And I have to confess that, even though I haven't always cared for many of my corporate jobs, putting it mildly the years that I spent as an IT project manager taught me how to do a gap analysis like nobody's business. This skill has been incredibly helpful in locating these lost stories that I share with you each week. And the other reason for doing this is really simple I want to make sure that these stories don't get lost again.
Natalie Zett:
I credit my aunt that would be Pearl Cerny for documenting and preserving the history of our Chicago family, and I also want to always credit my extended family in the village of Fall Creek, wisconsin, population maybe 1,000 at this point, I'm not sure. Creek, wisconsin, population maybe 1,000 at this point, I'm not sure. These folks not only co-wrote a book about the history of the village, but they also created a dynamic historical society that is still going on. It's very impressive. They all take care of it and they do a splendid job of it. And they do a splendid job. And I was so grateful when, 25 years ago, when I discovered that I was related to all these people just across the border here from Minnesota, that this book and that museum were waiting for me, and I wanted to, I suppose, pay it forward or pay it back or something like that, with what I'm doing now and thank you, ebay, for this strange inspiration and motivation. So onward, I have stories to tell, so we better get to it. Anyway, let's dive right in as we do. This story is from the Bell Telephone News, august 1915. So this is a month after the Eastland disaster that this was published. Here's the article.
Natalie Zett:
Two employees of the Chicago Telephone Company, fred J Lippert and George Spiegelhauer, both connected with the power and light branch of the equipment department, did heroic work in the rescue and recovery of bodies after the Eastland disaster. Lippert was at the main office when he first heard of the accident. Being an expert swimmer and hoping that he might be of some assistance, he immediately started for the Clark Street dock. On his way he met Sergeant Frank of the 1st Illinois Cavalry, of which Lippert is a regimental color sergeant. They both were able to get through the police lines, lippert using his telephone identification card. Reaching the overturned boat about eight o'clock he recognized an old friend, art McDonald, fireman on the tug Kenosha which had the Eastland in tow.
Natalie Zett:
Lippert went into the fire room of the tugboat and took off his outer garments. He had put on his bathing suit before leaving home in the morning, expecting to take a swim in the lake that afternoon. After finishing his work, clad in his bathing suit, lippert walked up the sloping side of the Eastland. He made a dive into the water off the edge of the boat and brought a man's body to the surface With the body over his shoulder, head downward. Water was taken from the lungs by methods used in resuscitating. Persons apparently drowned. Dr Springer, who was also working on the body, said that a spark of life still remained. The body was then handed over to those who were using the pull motors.
Natalie Zett:
Lippert made his second dive but did not succeed in bringing up a body. The third dive resulted in the recovery of a woman's body which still seemed to have life in it. This body was handled in the same manner as the one previously recovered. The city firemen would not permit Lippert to do any more diving on account of the danger from floating wreckage and the numerous pike poles that were then being used to bring up bodies. Lippert went back into the tugboat and put on his outer garments as he was beginning to feel the chill of the air. Returning to the Eastland, he crawled through a hole in the side of the boat in company with a fireman of truck number nine landing on the side of an inner cabin. From this point, lippert and the fireman recovered numerous bodies, mostly women and children bodies mostly women and children by the use of pike poles. Lippert says that the horror of this work cannot be described. No life remained in any of the bodies recovered in this manner. Lippert continued to recover bodies until 1.30 pm and from then until 3 pm he helped carry bodies from the ship Theodore Roosevelt to the Reed Murdoch building. Unable to be of any more assistance in rescuing, he then went home.
Natalie Zett:
On the morning of July 24th, a few minutes after the Eastland had overturned, george Spiegelhauer was walking across the Fifth Avenue Bridge, which was a short distance from the scene of the accident. Seeing many people struggling in the water. He rushed over to the north shore of the river, going directly to the LaSalle Street dock, and helped take the rescued people out of the small boats. From the north shore of the river he could see rescuers taking nearly drowned people from the river and laying them out on the side of the overturned ship, with not enough men to give them the proper attention. Having had some training in reviving near-drowned persons and thinking he could be of some assistance on the side of the ship, he penetrated the police lines by explaining his mission. He went to work at once, assisting a Red Cross surgeon to get the water out of the lungs of a young girl who had just been taken from the river by artificial respiration and the use of the pull motor. In about 15 minutes the girl began to show signs of life. She was then taken away to a hospital by order of the physician. By the time Spiegelhauer was there, he worked on six bodies with the assistance of others. They never gave up a case as hopeless until advised by the surgeon that there was no life left in the body. Mr Spiegelhauer says that several pull motors were useless on account of lack of knowledge on the part of those who were attempting to operate them. So let me explain some of the backstory to this story.
Natalie Zett:
Pull motors I don't think too many people are familiar with that term any longer, but pull motors, that's P-U-L-M-O-T-O-R-S, were resuscitation devices used in the early 20th century to revive people who had stopped breathing. They were invented by Heinrich Dreger in 1907, and they worked by mechanically forcing air or a mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide into the patient's lungs. In the aftermath of the Eastland disaster, pull motors were brought in to try to revive some of the victims who had drowned. Although pull motors were among the best resuscitation technology available at that time, their effectiveness was limited and many victims could not be saved. The use of pull motors at the Eastland disaster site highlights the early attempts at mechanical resuscitation before the development of more advanced life-saving techniques and equipment. And we've talked a lot on the show and of course the Eastland story about Western Electric. But let's talk a little bit about the Bell Telephone Company, and much of this is from the Encyclopedia of Chicago.
Natalie Zett:
Chicago has long been a hub for telephone equipment manufacturing. In the late 19th century, leading firms like our, western Electric, dominated the scene as the exclusive supplier of Bell system telephones, switchboards and related devices. Western Electric's Hawthorne Works in Cicero was one of the largest and most technologically advanced suppliers of telephone equipment throughout much of the 20th century. By the late 20th century, chicago was home to telephone manufacturers like Motorola, a major supplier of cellular equipment, and US Robotics. They were known for producing modems. The Chicago Telephone Company and Western Electric were closely related, yet distinct entities. The Chicago Telephone Company provided local telephone services and was part of the larger Bell system under AT&T's control. Meanwhile, western Electric was the manufacturing arm of the Bell system under AT&T's control. Meanwhile, western Electric was the manufacturing arm of the Bell system, producing the necessary equipment for companies like the Chicago Telephone Company.
Natalie Zett:
I hope that brief history suffices. We will continue with our biographies of two of the people who figured prominently in this article. Okay, we're going to start with Fred Lippert, because I think I need to read this stuff out loud so it sinks in. I have never heard anything quite like this in terms of a biography of one person, but you'll see what I mean when we get into this, anyway. So Fred was the first person profiled. He did a lot of rescuing and you might be wondering is this just one of those one-off things? Was this the result of the adrenaline or the energy of the people around him? No, this was who Fred Lippert was. So let's get to know him. Fred Lippert, born either in Germany or Chicago in 1889, he had quite the life before he passed away in 1948 at the age of 58. He did work as an electrical engineer for Illinois Bell Telephone.
Natalie Zett:
But his gravestone in St Bede Cemetery gives us more info. It says Illinois, 122nd Field Artillery, world War I. So this inscription indicates that Fred served in the 122nd Field Artillery Regiment, which was part of the Illinois National Guard. This unit has a long history, including involvements in World War I and World War II, and of course the mention of Illinois signifies the state affiliation, while field artillery specifies the branch of service, which is artillery, and they are responsible for operating large guns and cannons. Fred was married to Louise in 1913, and he was also dad to three children Fred Jr, robert and Lois. And I was looking at Fred Jr's baptismal record from St Alphonsus Church in Chicago in 1914. And what was interesting about that is that Fred Sr this is the Fred we're talking about was listed as being born in Mecklenburg, germany, in this record, but in his other records he has himself born in Chicago. That's not unusual, but it is interesting. So here is additional biographical information provided for Fred on Find a Grave a grave.
Natalie Zett:
World War I US National Guard veteran State Service, private Service Sergeant Cavalry June 27, 1916 to November 17, 1916. Second Lieutenant Cavalry May 14, 1917 to August 9, 1917. Second Lieutenant Field Artillery August 10, 1917. First Lieutenant December 19, 1917 to October 29, 1919. Captain Field Artillery November 11th 1921. So I'm not a military person, so I want to talk a little bit about what some of this means.
Natalie Zett:
And as a regimental color sergeant in the Illinois National Guard, fred J Lippert held an esteemed position. The role continued to carry the unit's flag during the official ceremonies and parades symbolizing the honor and traditions of the unit. And this position that Fred held was one of responsibility and trust, often given to a soldier with proven leadership and bravery. Lippert's action during the Eastland disaster further highlights these traits. But that's not all Fred did. So Fred J Lippert's role was both ceremonial and functional, involving leadership, bravery and a strong sense of civic duty. His quick action and involvement in the rescue efforts following the Eastland disaster exemplify the importance and honor associated with his position.
Natalie Zett:
I'm going to share with you various news articles that I found all over the place about Fred J Lippert. This article is from the San Bernardino News, tuesday, january 9th 1917. So again, it's a couple years after the Eastland. Here's the headline Bone from foot on jaw. I'll repeat that because, yeah, 9th Sergeant Fred Lippert of the 1st Illinois Cavalry may soon have the unique experience of masticating. That means chewing folks masticating his food with the assistance of a bone from his foot. Lippert some weeks ago sustained a shattered jaw when he was accidentally shot while on military police service in protecting a Mexican man from being beaten. Doctors at the Army Hospital announced that they are considering removing a small bone from his foot and grafting it where a bone was destroyed in his jaw. I have no follow-up, but we're just getting started with Fred's bio here. The next article is later that year. He's back in Chicago, apparently from the July 20th 1917 Chicago Examiner headline Two soldiers capture auto theft suspects.
Natalie Zett:
Lieutenant Fred J Lippert and William Rossier of the 2nd Illinois Field Artillery yesterday captured Ira D Perry Jr, 18 years old, and Andrew Bailey, 20, while they were attempting to escape from the loop in an automobile owned by Joseph H Tuvaris. Perry was said by the police to be the son of LD Perry, president of the Perry Auto Lock Company. They are being held so by August, so the following month Fred is back in Houston. Houston, post August 20th 1917. Two more units of the Illinois National Guardsmen, battery A of the 2nd Field Artillery and Company E of the 1st Illinois Engineers, arrived at Camp Logan in Houston, adding 358 men to the camp's total of 1,074 men and 28 officers. These units, sent in advance of their regiments, will help set up the regimental camp.
Natalie Zett:
Battery A was formed from the 1st Illinois Cavalry, a prestigious outfit initially made up of socially elite men who joined by invitation. Due to the need for artillery over cavalry, the regiment was converted into artillery and will be equipped in Houston. Many men of Battery A previously served on the border at Brownsville. A clever set of newspaper men, reporters, copy readers and composing room men who worked on the Chicago dailies, were enlisted or serving as officers in the 1st Cavalry. They published a weekly newspaper, the 1st Illinois Cavalrymen, which has been judged by the press fraternity of the country to have been the keenest camp newspaper of the dozens that were put out by the organizations on the border in the long trick last year. Of the editorial staff of the cavalrymen. At least two, gerald Kelly and Bugs MacArthur, are fighting in France now. Kiley is said by Battery A men to be with the aviation corps over there.
Natalie Zett:
Second Lieutenant Fred J Lippard is still remembered in Brownsville as the nervy chief of military police who walked into the muzzle of a gun held by a drunken man and took the charge full in his face rather than retreat or let the man escape. Lieutenant Lippard has the honorable scar of that pistol ball furrowed across his face now. Now, just to keep this in perspective, this is after the other incident with the jaw, so I don't have any photos of fred, but boy, he must have really been through it. And fred was fearless, he absolutely was. There's more. This is something that I didn't realize that they had done during world war one.
Natalie Zett:
But this is from the Houston Chronicle, november 11th 1917. The headline is Wives of Camp Logan Officers, and Fred's wife and children were part of this. Here's the article. The list of ladies, wives, mothers, sisters or other members of the families of officers and enlisted men at Camp Logan who have come to Houston to spend the winter, or at least to remain until the division is ordered to France, is constantly growing. An effort to compile a complete list of these women has proven an extremely difficult task, owing to the fact that they have taken up their temporary abode in hotels, apartment houses and private homes. The following is a partial list of them, and the roster will be added to as it may be obtained. Will be added to as it may be obtained. That concludes the introduction, and then the rest of the article is actually a list of all the families who were part of this. I don't know the history of this, but this is worth pursuing as well. I don't know the history of this, but this is worth pursuing as well.
Natalie Zett:
Now we will fast forward to January 24th 1921. This is from the Chicago Tribune and the headline is Old Pals. And there is a photo, and these are veterans of the Illinois artillery. They are posed with a cannon that they used in France. As of now, I can't find any record that says that Fred served in France, but I'm guessing that he might have One of these people in the photograph. Very well may be Fred. They're not identified, however, but I'm going to post the photo on my website.
Natalie Zett:
Here's a snippet from that article, and it mentions Fred. The article is called Atta Boy, battery B of the 1st Illinois Field Artillery was a busy outfit yesterday and all day long the armory at 234 East Chicago Avenue rang with their songs and cheers. The four French 75s and the caissons which the veterans of the outfit used in the Musée Argonne offensive and the tool sector were unloaded from a freight train Saturday. The members of the battery spent yesterday cleaning them up. Twenty more field pieces for the remaining batteries of the regiment are on the way. Frank O Wood is captain of Battery B and Fred J Lippert is first lieutenant.
Natalie Zett:
Fred's Obituary Lippert Major Frederick J Lippert of Fox Lake, illinois, march 1st 1948. Beloved husband of Louise Lippert, fond father of Fred Robert Lippert and Lois Collian, brother of Gertrude Perry Collian, brother of Gertrude Perry, florence Rasmussen and Edward Lippert. Funeral from Chapel 5501 North Ashland Avenue, chicago. Thursday, March 4th at 9.15 am to St Bede's Church, fox Lake, illinois, for Mass at 11 am. Interment St Bede's Cemetery. And I should probably tell you that Bede is spelled B like boy, e like Edward, d like David and E like Edward. I want to share the obituary of Fred's son. He's also named Fred. The obituary appeared in the Star Ledger, newark, new Jersey, on Friday December 28, 2001.
Natalie Zett:
A memorial service for Fred H Lippert, 86, of Thanwood will be at 2 pm tomorrow in the Memorial Funeral Home, 155 South Avenue, thanwood. Mr Lippert died Wednesday in Mullenburg Regional Medical Center, plainfield. He was a manufacturer's representative with Ronan Consul, based in Marshall, michigan. Before retiring in A Navy veteran of World War II, he served aboard the USS Santee and received four bronze stars. Mr Lippert was a deacon, usher and member of the session at the Fanwood Presbyterian Church. Born in Chicago, he lived in Mariemont, ohio and Chicago again before moving to Fanwood 40 years ago. Surviving are his wife Lucille Dee, a son, navy Vice Admiral Keith Lippert, a daughter, sandra Myers, and six grandchildren and six grandchildren.
Natalie Zett:
I don't know about you, but to me this is just fascinating to see how certain characteristics or interests sometimes seem to be transmitted through the DNA Not all the times, but sometimes it is really interesting when it does. But I can't forget the other person who was involved in the rescue and his career is not as colorful, but he seems just like a very interesting person as well, and that would be George Spiegelhauer. He's mentioned in that article. George was born in 1882 to German immigrants in Wisconsin. By the 1900 census George's parents and three siblings were living in Chicago where George's dad was working as a salesperson. George married Grace and continued working for the Illinois Bell Telephone Company which curiously was located at 2511 West 23rd Street in Chicago, and this is just a couple blocks away from my great-grandparents' home, also on West 23rd Street. So I looked at the map and it's kind of a mixed-use area. Even back then I guess it was. Then I guess it was, and George and Grace and son lived in Wilmette, illinois. Wilmette is actually north of the city center and is about 23 miles away from where George was working.
Natalie Zett:
Here are a few articles about George and his family to give you a feel for who he was. You a feel for who he was From the Wilmette Life newspaper, october 13th 1938. His son, bob, was a freshman at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, iowa. This is a small paper that reports a lot of details on the community. So this is interesting and fast forward. Wilmette Life, july 17th 1957. This is an overall article about telephone employees. It mentions George and his very unique hobby. George Spiegelhauer, 1327, central Wilmette, raises bees. His swarms supply the neighbors with honey and, kept in glass-sided hives, offer an interesting and instructive lesson in natural histories for nearby schools. And so George became a beekeeper and he died at age 90 in Wilmette on February 3rd 1972.
Natalie Zett:
George Spiegelhauer of Wilmette, may 27th, husband of Grace, father of Robert, memorial services 2 pm Tuesday at the Trinity Church of the North Shore, interment private. What is interesting and we've seen this many times before that in each obituary the Eastland is not mentioned. So we are most fortunate that the Bell Telephone News from August 1915 recorded what happened. So there's our primary source and I'm super grateful to have it and super grateful to share it with you. So for next week, keep doing what you're doing.
Natalie Zett:
I see that people are adding to the various Eastland Memorial profiles on find a grave and I'm astonished and I'm grateful. People have been adding obituaries that they located and little stories about these people. So keep it up. I really appreciate you and I'm sure the families of these people appreciate you as well. I will talk to you next week and, yes, I have a few more undertold, untold stories, so take care. Hey, that's it for this episode and thanks for coming along for the ride. Please subscribe or follow so you can keep up with all the episodes, and for more information please go to my website, that's wwwflowerintherivercom. 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.