I sat up most of the night and the a bit this morning and read the whole thread amazing information, However, I too feel like the boy should have been punished more. I feel that the OLA students should have been allowed to talk about it. I guess at that time they felt if it wasn't talked about it would eventually go away.I am going to have to read To Sleep With The Angels. Alan pks said great find on the little bastards photo, about time it was posted. I'll let her on eventually .
Renowned Death Hag
Thanks! I found the pic at the OLA site.Originally Posted by freespirit
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
I've been fascinated by this thread, and using the hints I've been able to ascertain the name used by the suspect after he changed it, but can't find the mother's maiden name. Can someone PLEASE PM me the name. I live in Chicago and I've been to the school site and I am trying to learn as much about the fire as possible.
I looked up the surving son of the "boy" on facebook. Looks like a real upstanding citizen
Im assuming you found the maiden name now?
If you can, share with me via PM. I assume you he took after dear old dad?
He looks like a pothead loser, based on his the pictures he has posted.
Renowned Death Hag
Attachment 43876
Memories of Joan Ann Although I was not born when my aunt was alive I have heard many stories about her throughout the years. I feel like I know her even though I never met her. I was given her name as my middle name in memory of her. The stories about her outgoing personality and loving ways remind me of myself. I wish that she had not been taken away so soon so that I could have gotten to know her and love her.
-- (Theresa LaMontagne, Niece)
Joan Ann was the last of six children born to my parents, Ernest, and Ida. As she and I were only a year or so apart, we were extremely close. Before we moved to the OLA parish, we lived on the 500 block of North Albany Ave, and attended class at St. Matthew School. When Joanie and I were not getting into mischief, we could be found making mud pies and cakes, and various other concoctions mixed with sugar, stolen from the kitchen table. When mud and sugar supplies ran low, she and I would dance to Dick Clark??s American Bandstand. Next to our house was our beloved empty lot, in the summer it was our ??Sands of Iwo Jima?, and the site of the ??Little Big Horn? massacre. When torrential rains threatened our lot, she and I would build a boat and sail the Caribbean in search of buried treasure.
On hot summer nights, we drowned our thirst with Kool-Aid, and polluted the skies with the fires from our ??late night? weenie roasts. One of our favorite games after sunset was ??Frankenstein.? My brother Arthur, bigger than the others, won the title role. Joanie, it seems, always managed to get caught by the ??monster? and could be heard kicking and screaming into the darkness.
Although the steaming, mosquito-infested jungles of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Saipan had defined us boys as Marines, nothing could have prepared us for Okinawa. As relentless artillery barrages pounded our positions, and countless Banzai attacks created unimaginable carnage, Joanie and her friends were drafted into the nurses corps. Brought to the front and exposed to some of the most bloody and vicious battles on the island they held their own. Running from position to position, the new recruits bravely tended to the wounded and dying: ??No, no, no, no water, you??ve got a very bad belly wound, just lie still?. She was so cute and efficient with her Red Cross armband, fashioned with our older sister??s nail polish. It would just bowl you over in laughter watching her perform her duties.
Once when her position fell to the enemy, Joanie protested being shot: ??Bobby said that you can??t shoot the nurses, so I??m not dead?. So vehement were her protests, they decided instead to just take her prisoner. ??You??re not supposed to shoot girls?, she said as they led her away. One of my fondest memories of her occurred on a Saturday shopping trek to Madison and Crawford. Stopping for refreshments at the corner Walgreen??s lunch counter, Joanie announced to the world ?? Look Mommy, cups with handles on them!? Her sweet, and loving innocence will be forever, missed. The void she left can never be filled.
-- (Robert Chiappetta, Brother)
Joanne and I were brief friends. We lived on the same block on Ridgeway. Her house was on the corner, while mine was about 6 houses south. I attended her 10th birthday party in August of that year and although we attended different schools, I at Ryerson and she at OLA, our paths crossed and we became playmates. I will never forget December 1, 1958. My mother had to work overtime that night at N.Shure, a large catalog house located several blocks away on Pulaski. I had known about the fire since early afternoon and that night my grandmother and I left our house to meet my mother and walk her home. I encountered Joanne's brother, Bob, shortly after leaving my house and asked whether Joanne was home. He told me they had not found her yet. I did not learn until very recently what actually happened to her, but I have never forgotten her. Her death has left an indelible mark upon my heart and I have thought about her so often during these 50 years.
-- (Gayl A. Liebman, Friend
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Renowned Death Hag
Attachment 43877 Aurelius was JoAnne's big brother. Sadly,his memorial page is devoid of postings. He was in one of the most destroyed rooms in the school. One quarter of the eighth grade students died in the fire, Aurelius being one of the eight graders.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Not true, they wer not brother and sister.
Administrator
Then were they cousins?
I don't kow. In TSWTA and on the OLA website they are definitely listed as separate families
Renowned Death Hag
Yes, they were cousins. My apologies, but I somehow had it in my head that they were brother and sister.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Administrator
Oh okay Alan thank you, as they both look alike and with the same last name. I too thought they were brother and sister.
I started at olafire a few days ago and seen some comments about this site. So today I went thru this hole forum. I use to be a volunteer firefighter. I like listening to firecalls. I was at cfd's site listening to some old firecalls and ran into the OLA fire. I like to find info on stuff and searched for more information. I don't really post on forums, I have a hard enough time keeping up with facebook. I am intrested in this mystery of who done it. So I found out a lot of info but no name. I don't understand why it is not public after all these years. If ths happened today it would be plastered all of the news. During my time as a volunteer firefighter another company had some Jr firefighters set a fire to a home and killed a elderly woman. The house burned to the ground and I can still see the image of her burnt body in my mind. Those boys names and pictures made the papers. http://old.post-gazette.com/regionst...10302fire4.asp These boys got out when they turned 21. I guess the same was true for our firebug that set the OLA fire. Even though he wasn't charged with this fire. But he was charged with some other fires. Even today charging a juvenile as a adult is hard. If any one here would like to share what research they have about him I would love to read the information. I have just started to read 'To Sleep With The Angels' downloaded it for kindle.
My mother was acquainted with an oral surgeon who was then working in NJ but had trained in Chicago at the time of the fire. He was one of the dentists who helped identify the children by their dental records. He told her it would haunt him for the rest of his life.
This may have been mentioned, I admit I haven't read all fifteen pages, but Andrew Greeley, the Catholic priest/author, wrote a novel, Angels of September, where the fire (fictionalized) was a major part of the plot. As an aside, while looking for the title of the book I read that Father Greeley suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2008 when his coat caught in a taxi door as it pulled away. He apparently is severely disabled. Very sad.
Renowned Death Hag
In Remembrances of the Angels, JoAnn Chiapetta's cousin was convinced that he saw her spirit when he was at a low point in his life. Since he was born on December 1, 1958, he always felt that perhaps she was his guardian angel.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Renowned Death Hag
Attachment 43917
Memories of Peter Peter was a bright, friendly, goofy, happy-go-lucky boy. He made instant friends with the mega-watt grin that was always on his face. I start smiling just thinking about Peter.
-- (Sally Konley, Friend)
I was in second grade at the time of the fire, Sister Faustina's class I think. Peter's Uncle Joe and my dad, Jack Galgano, were best friends -- they grew up together in the neighborhood. I have a very nice memory of Peter visiting our house on the Thanksgiving before the fire. I was sick and in bed and I remember him coming to see how I was and cheering me up! I also have a very vivid memory of the night of the fire and Peter's parents frantically looking for him -- asking me if I had seen him -- it's not a good memory.
-- (Marie Galgano Flamm, Friend)
I was in kindergarten with Peter when we did the McNamara's band with Sister Mary Remi.
-- (Mike Michalski, Friend)
I remember that his Mom and mine were friends and used to have coffee together on Chicago Avenue. We were both only children and sort of indulged. My Mom said Peter's Mother was never the same after the fire. Peter had a great smile. I still remember it.
-- (Joanne Treppiedi Marraccini, Classmate)
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Just curious Don- Did you know these two jr. firemen?
I am new to this forum, but have been on the other website many times. We lived about 100 miles from Chicago when the fire happened, and I was the age of the youngest victims. Guess that's why it has stayed with me all these years. I have all the books and have both videos on the fire, but it still haunts me. I now live in Arizona, but went back to Chicago for the memorial service on the 50th anniversary of the fire, hoping to get some "closure." I know now, however, that closure will never come. Regarding the third grade class photo in 1956, from reading these posts, the "boy" is in room 110, correct? Just by process of elimination, I think I know where he is sitting, but I would appreciate someone pointing that out for sure. Also, I would like to know the boy's name at the time of the fire, at the time of his confession, and at his death, along with his address in California where he was living when he died. If someone would please PM me, I absolutely promise not to divulge the information to anyone on this site or elsewhere. None of my friends or family has any interest in this subject, so there's no one to tell. Thanks!
Is it possible that our alleged perp is in Photo# 304 in the "Outside the Burning School" section of the OLA site's photo gallery?
Renowned Death Hag
No, the picture of the boy watching the school burn isn't the same person who is thought to be the arsonist.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Thanks for answering that question, alan. Photo# 304 subject looks just like a creepy fat kid in Room 110 in the 1956 third grade photo (Ms. Tristano). Another kid in that same room with a sad rather than creepy face is a possibility. None of them are wearing glasses though.
I just finished reading To Sleep with the Angels. It was a great book. I was very disappointed in how there was a complete breakdown in the system. I've also looked at the website and looked up the children when a name was mentioned in the book. So sad all around.
Renowned Death Hag
Just want to say WELCOME! to all the new members.
Guest
Guest
Hi all.. I am new to this site but have been following the OLA site for five years. I, too, would like to know the names of "the boy". In an indirect way, I think I know for I had family members move into the neighborhood in the late 1960's. Since they were, let us just say, not very appreciated for moving there, they moved back East after three years. Please PM me with any information. I have been digging around for years but I guess I am not that great of a detective..lol. Thanks so much!
Death Hag
Tomorrow will be the 54th anniversary of this tragedy. Hold all those impacted close to your hearts.
"When you help someone up a hill, you get that much closer to the top yourself."
-Anonymous
Renowned Death Hag
Amen.
Just started reading the book today.
Renowned Death Hag
It is a great book. Heartbreaking, but very good. God Bless all of the people today.
The reason a dog has so many friends is because he wags his tail instead of his tongue.
I'm sure there are other Catholic school fires. The Catholic school I went to for CCD also had a horrible fire. I always remember hearing stories about it as a child. I thought it might be a rumor but googled it one day. 21 kids died in 1915 .It was in Peabody Mass
http://www.gendisasters.com/data1/ma...re-oct1915.htm
God bless all the people who lost their lives as well as those whose lives were forever changed by this horrible day back in 1958. I'll never forget.
Hi all; I'm new to the Forum although I've been to the website many times. What drew me to register was the OLA thread. I've been obsessed with this story for a couple of years now; read all the books, etc. I am one that feels that the arsonist's name should be made public. After all, he's dead. I know that some here have deduced who it is; I would like to know--if someone has it, please PM me, I won't reveal the name to anyone.
Death Hag
Here is a great link that was posted on the olafire board, the picture of the nun praying at the grave of her sister nun is moving:
http://blog.chicagohistory.org/index...-chicago-wept/
"When you help someone up a hill, you get that much closer to the top yourself."
-Anonymous
Renowned Death Hag
That is an extremely moving picture of Sister Geraldita Ennis. She taught classes in the back of the school (second floor) called "The Cheesebox." None of Sister Ennis' charges perished and former students recalled the look of shock and horror when she reached for the key to the back door/fire escape and realized that she had left it in her room at the convent.
Sister Ennis had a nervous breakdown in front of a class after the new school was constructed. She kept repeating that she wanted to see God and that she was terribly grief stricken over the deaths of the children and her fellow sisters.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Renowned Death Hag
Attachment 44575 Lorraine Nieri has previously been mentioned in a posting by her childhood friend. The friend told her aunt that she and Lorraine used to have contests to see who could bite their fingernails down the most. Lorraine's aunt replied, "When we buried her, Lorraine didn't have any fingers."
In the following picture, The American Legion Alamo Post Ranger Drum and Bugle Corps stand honor guard for Lawrence Grasso. Grasso hadn't been a member of the Corps very long before the tragic fire.
Last edited by Alanwench; 12-07-2012 at 03:12 AM.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Renowned Death Hag
Normally I post on the anniversary of the fire, but on the anniversary, I was recovering from gingival graft surgery. Thanks to everyone who posted something in memory of the children and the nuns.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Renowned Death Hag
Attachment 44576 Dello plays with toys as he recovers in St. Anne's Hospital.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Renowned Death Hag
Attachment 44577 The mass funeral was held at the Armory in Chicago.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Renowned Death Hag
Attachment 44578 A clock marks the time the fire surged into this classroom on December 1, 1958.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Renowned Death Hag
Attachment 44579 Mrs. Julia Lechniuck mourns the death of her 14 year-old daughter, Angela Kalinowski, who was in Room 211.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Renowned Death Hag
Attachment 44580 Reverend Charles McAleese, the Cook County Hospital Chaplain.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Renowned Death Hag
Attachment 44581 Rose Ann La Placa's grief-stricken mother, sister and father, en route to the mass funeral at the Armory.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Interesting to see the pictures of the Nieri and Grasso funerals; I had never seen these before.
Renowned Death Hag
Clocks in traditional funeral flower arrangements can indicate the age of the deceased or the time of death. This one was set pretty close to the time shown on the burned clock--- the approximate time of the deaths of Angela and all the other victims.
I wonder how many of these awful ceremonies our pasty li'l firebug perp attended.
Renowned Death Hag
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Renowned Death Hag
Attachment 44593 Emily Ruscyk and Robert Earley.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Renowned Death Hag
* This is from the OLA Website*
"It was almost time to go home. Sister Mary St. Canice was in the midst of giving us a lot of homework in preparation for a big test. Then, a curious thing began to happen -- the doors began to rattle. Some of us joked about ghosts. But, then I smelled smoke -- then streams of black smoke began to snake through the spaces around the front door of the classroom, and then, so suddenly it seemed, to snake through the back door of the classroom. Two doors faced into the corridor. Sister pleaded for us to stay calm, that perhaps the furnace had backed up. (I remember so well that comment of hers.) One of the boys jumped up and tried to open the back door into the corridor, but the black and furious smoke was too heavy. He slammed the door shut, trying to choke in some air. He ran to the window.
At this point, we realized that something dreadful was happening, but we did not know what to do -- where to go. I recall thinking that I had just been in church the other day, I had received communion, and I was ready to meet God.
Then we saw the flames licking over the tops of the doors and towards the ceiling -- then flames under the doors -- and the dense black choking smoke. Sister yelled to get to the windows.
We were on the top floor. There were, I think, windows along the outside wall of our room. I remember seeing my friend Irene trying to climb onto the radiator to reach the window, but the radiator was so hot that it began to burn through her tights. Her legs were in flames. She could not step back into the room, so she flung herself out the window. (She did ultimately survive, but not without serious injuries).
Other kids and I struggled to get to the windows. I felt almost crushed by the weight of some other kids piled up on top of me. But, as the flames and heat increased, most of them ran to the back windows. I thought I was going to die; but, like I said, I felt ready. That's when Sister Mary St. Canice came up behind me and told me to sit on the window ledge. She helped me struggle out onto the ledge, and as I finally got my legs outside, she gave me a solid push and out into the air I flew. I landed on an overhang covering over the stairs which led into the basement of the building before I bounced on the ground. I could not breath, but I was miraculously alive. Some men, perhaps people from the neighborhood, picked me up and carried me into the candy store which was next door to the school. You see, at this point, the firemen had not yet arrived. I don't remember much after that, just that I lay on the floor until finally being removed by ambulance to the hospital. But, I do vividly remember that as I was being taken away, snow began to fall ... as if God's and the angels' icy tears were being shed.
However fortunate, I was not seriously injured and received only minor burns. My hair had burned away a few inches and I received serious contusions. But, no bones were broken. The only thing that broke was my heart. I learned later that Sister never made it, along with twelve of my classmates. My very good friend Christine Vitacco never made it. But, I always knew she would earn her angel wings. If not for Sister Mary St. Canice, I would not have survived that fire. I pray to her sometimes -- I know she is in heaven as are all the other little angels that were made that day."
Last edited by Alanwench; 12-08-2012 at 10:22 AM.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
Renowned Death Hag
Attachment 44594 *Angeline's mother is in the picture "A Mother Mourns"*
*Information is from the OLA Fire Website.*
Room Age Birthdate Grade B/G/T 211 14 7/23/44 8 Girl Teacher Sister Mary Helaine O'Neill, BVM Address 1127 N Harding Family Father: Walter Kalinowski
Mother: Julia Lechniuk (Kleszcz) Kalinowski
Stepfather: Walter Lechniuk
Grandparents: Joseph and Angeline Kleszcz
Uncles: Stanley and Joseph KleszczAbout Angeline Angeline was an only child. Her body was found under a windowsill in room 211. She had not been burned but died of smoke, heat and the crush of other children pushing to get to the windows. Angeline's mother, Julia, never recovered from this disaster - she continued to dress in black even years later. There was no counseling for the families, and life was expected to just continue on. Both of Angeline's uncles were in WWII, her Uncle Stanley was hospitalized at North Chicago Veteran's hospital with shell shock and her Uncle Joseph, a Lieutenant in the Air Force, died around 1995. Neither had been married. All of Angeline's immediate family members are now deceased; only her Godmother and cousins are still living. Interred: St. Adalbert (Niles, IL)
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
A five year old knows right and wrong to a point. That is the reason they do not like them to testify in court . If he was being raped or molested by a priest it would not surpirse me in any way, I went to RC schools until 9th grade and I saw plenty but if I had been allowed any kind of sex education I would have known for sure what was going on and it was not all boys. You help a child that age when they do something like he did you dont punish them by prison . When he grew up I am sure he felt remorse and hatred for himself..They kid was abused at home and was raised by morons and then taken advantage at school. wow can't imagine why he acted out.
Senior Death Hag
This is still so sad to me.
How could a child murder his classmates in such a vicious way. (If indeed the boy really did set the fire...Which, is what I believe)
You robbed an international house of pancakes. How waffle-Harry T. Stone
Twitter: @rchamberlain87 Follow me if you want. Just play nice.
Only the good die young....
Renowned Death Hag
The arsonist's first explaination was that he "wanted a few days off from school" and that he "didn't want no one to die." Then, he got a hateful expression on his face and said that he set the fire to "get back at his teachers." He hated the teachers because he felt they "picked" on him and hated him.
This has haunted me the most, if the kid was skilled at setting fires and knew how to put together a blaze that would cause some damage, I can't believe that he would then calmly walk upstairs as if nothing happened. Some people theorize that the kid was so mentally ill that he didn't realize that his actions could kill others and himself. Part of me believes that he knew exactly what he was doing and set the fire to eliminate the school, the teachers and any kid that he felt might have slighted him.
Given the fact that when he set fire to the rooming house in Cicero (where he and his family lived) because he hated some of the boarders and also set the bowling alley on fire, this was premeditated murder.
"What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's really all about?" Jimmy Buffett
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