Sad Memory

[RedAngie]

63 years ago today close to 100 students and nuns died in a fast moving fire at Our Lady of Angels school in Chicago.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_the_Angels_School_fire

 

[Dan Murphy]

I remember it well, Red. I was a freshman in high school then, old enough to realize the enormity of the disaster. A very sad day here in Chicago, a sad day everywhere. It was December, a holiday month. It was really somber here that year.

 

[FQLover]

I grew up hearing about this awful tragedy because my dad taught at a boy's Catholic high school near our Our Lady of Angels. He and my mom went to a dozen or more funerals of younger siblings of his students at St. Mel. I was a 1 year old at that time so obviously have no memory of this, but it was devastating for so many families my dad knew.

 

[RedAngie]

I remember it well, Red. I was a freshman in high school then, old enough to realize the enormity of the disaster. A very sad day here in Chicago, a sad day everywhere. It was December, a holiday month. It was really somber here that year.

I figured you’d remember, Dan.

I wasn’t aware until the 30th anniversary of the disaster in 1988 when I happened to be in Chicago and saw it on the news. I have a Chicago FB friend and she posts a remembrance every year.

It wasn’t at all unusual for Catholic grammar schools of the era to have 50 or more students per classroom. The nuns were experts at maintaining order.



And that order of nuns certainly wore unusual veils. The three teacher victims.

 

[easyas123]

63 years ago today close to 100 students and nuns died in a fast moving fire at Our Lady of Angels school in Chicago.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_the_Angels_School_fire

Thank you for posting this. I was unaware of this tragedy, and just read that entire article you posted. Tragic.

 

[Dan Murphy]

It wasn’t at all unusual for Catholic grammar schools of the era to have 50 or more students per classroom. The nuns were experts at maintaining order.

If you count the kids in that picture, about 66. 6 rows of 11. A few empty seats in the front corner. Those kis are tripled up in the back rows. We always had 60 or more, K-8. Then in HS, maybe 40, all boys.

that order of nuns certainly wore unusual veils.

Yes, those were some veils for sure. Like the flying nun. We had Franciscans, not nearly that elaborate. But they all had Kleenex up their sleeves and swung their braided side cords around.


ETA---Actually, I think they were Sisters of St. Francis, not Franciscans. And our 8th grade trip was a trip to their motherhouse in Dubuque, Iowa.

 

[Kitty 34]

Wow. Had not heard of this story. Thank you for the article and pics. How very very tragic.

 

[RedAngie]

My Catholic school kindergarten had over 60 kids. When I moved at the end of 6th grade it was down to about 45. I heard it went to 32 at 8th grade graduation.

Eventually the Archdiocese closed two other grammar schools in the area and combined them into mine. One wing of the school was knocked down to provide about 20 parking spaces for the church. The name also changed from St. Adalbert to Our Lady of Port Richmond.

Up to about 1970 our nuns wore severe habits, with only their faces and hands visible. The weren’t weird like the photos above, however. Then some nuns modernized and starting wearing mid-calf length habits and veils that exposed their ears and hair too. In warm weather they could wear short sleeves.