Now that I have your attention...Today I was doing some research for the fire department, when I came across this article that I had saved. It has nothing to do with fires, but it is a good example of how things were reported in the papers in the late 1800's. It is from the Tuesday March 14, 1893 edition of the Streator Daily Monitor, one of three papers in the city at the time. I will put it here exactly how it was printed in the paper.
Murder or Suicide ?
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The Police Department Has A Mystery To Solve.
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Fritz Belocks is an aged German who resides in a little black shanty along side of the Alton track, some two hundred yards south of the depot. Last night he got home from Parker's tile factory about 6:30 and upon entering his home he found that his housekeeper, Mrs. Etta Defoid, aged 58 years, had been shot some time during the day.
The neighbors were alarmed and the police were notified. The woman was taken to St. Mary's Hospital where Dr. W. I. Smithot tended to her injuries. One bullet had entered her head squarely between the eyes, ranging downward. A probe was inserted to the depth of three inches without finding the bullet. The other wound was in the right temple, the revolver having been held so close that the hair was singed.
The woman's stories are somewhat conflicting. To the police she said that a tramp called at the house yesterday morning and that in attempting to drive him out, she got the revolver. The tramp secured the revolver and shot her twice. To one of the neighbor women she said the revolver had been discharged accidently.
She gave a circumstantial and minute description of the tramp, but afterward, said that she would not be able to recognize him if she saw him.
She had been about the house all day with the two bullets in her head and had made no attempt to alarm the neighbors. She had even begun to prepare the evening meal. Pools of blood all over the house indicated that she had moved around freely. There were no signs of any struggle. The neighbors saw no suspicious characters about.
The woman's vitality is remarkable as she still lives with the two great wounds in her head. Belocks was locked up, although it is not thought that he knows anything about it. He says that the woman told him Sunday that she was tired of life. The police are inclined to give creedence to the theory of suicide.
Belocks was discharged from custody this afternoon.
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Interesting story, isn't it ? There were a lot of things discussed in it that you would NEVER see in a newspaper today. But back then, this was the only way that people got their news, and with three newspapers in a small town, the more details in the story, the more papers were sold.This story was published at the top of page 4. Where would it be today? If it even made the paper, that is...
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
I Heard That Lonesome Whistle
It was a warm October night when I heard that whistle blow. I had my window open to enjoy the cool night air, and I was sleeping soundly when I was awoken by the sound of a passing train. I normally sleep soundly through such noise because having lived near the railroad nearly my entire life, I am used to it. But on this dark, moonless night something had shaken me from my usual sound slumber. My father and I share the love of the railroads and we go down to the depot quite often to watch the freight trains pass by. On one of these occasions my dad told me a story that his father had told him when he was a child. It was the story of an engineer named 'Big ' John Johnson. At the time that Big John worked on the Santa Fe, Streator (my hometown) was the end of the SantaFe Railroad. In fact in the early 1900's Streator played host to seven railroads which hauled a lot of coal from the twelve working coal mines and glass from its three glass factories. Because of its importance to the SantaFe, Streator had a roundhouse and turntable, which turned the steam locomotives for the return trip to Chicago. It also featured a repair shop and service facilities for both cars and locomotives. Big John was well known in Streator for his engineering prowess as he had risen through the ranks of the railroad men, starting out as a fireman (shoveling coal) to a yard hostler( driving a switch engine) to eventually becoming a freight and passenger engineer. At that time as an engineer accrued senority, he got to choose and run his own engine. Those engines were driven and taken care of by one engineer/ fireman combination.One way that the engineersseperated themselves from each other was by the sounds of their whistles. Each one had a distinct sound, so everyone knew when a particular engineer was in town.Big John got his knickname because he volunteered to run the newest and biggest engine on the line, a 4-8-4. It was also the fastest engine of the time, and Big John was always on time. Just outside of town the track cruved to the East and then was straight as an arrow for over 60 miles, the longest straight stretch on the railroad at then time
On one moonless, foggy night, the road foreman asked Big John if he would take the extra up to Chicago. The extra was composed of perishable freight which came into Streator on other railroads then taken on the SantaFe up to Chicago. Big John was not scheduled to work until the following night, but he agreed and his engine was readied for the trip. As was his custom, Big John gave three long blasts on his whistle as he started . He told the foreman that he would see him the next day as he climbed up the ladder into the cab. It was 2:30 am on the morning of October 20th, Big John's birthday. He was looking forward to spending the day in Chicago after the trip. After checking his gauges and reading his train orders, he blew his whistle and started off to Chicago. All of the trains on the line between Streator and Chicago had been ordered into sidings to clear the way for Big John and the extra. After taking on water and coal in Streator, the extra didn't need to stop during its trip. As the whistle faded into the night, the extra picked up speed and disappeared into the fog. Around 3 am, the sound of three long blasts of a whistle echoed through the depot. The dispatcher ran out of the depot to see what was wrong. Why was Big John back already? He waited and waited but no train came.Perplexed he returned to his desk just as the telegraph began to tick. Listening closely he deciphered the bad news. The extra had met an untimely end. On a lonely stretch of the line, a freight had stopped on a siding, but the fog was so thick the engineer couldn't see that the caboose and three cars were stillcars were still out on the main track.Thinking the line was clear Big John had his engine going full speed . When the red lanterns on the back of the caboose appeared in the fog, it was too late. The extra hit the stopped freight and derailedthe engine flipped onto its side and skidded down the track. Then it dug into the roadbed and broke the rails.As the following 15 cars, carried by momentum crushed the tender into the cab, one of the broken rails pierced the boiler filling the wreckage with live steam. As the crew of the stopped train approached the wreckage, the whistle began to blow.Three long shrill blasts, then silence. All that could be heard then was the fading roar of escaping steam as the boiler eventually emptied. It was 3am. The following morning they found the bodies of Big John and his fireman in the crushed cab. They had been killed instantly in the wreck. Big John was found with one hand scalded to the throttle and the other to the whistle cord. And so the legend of Big John was born. The dispatcher quit the following year after hearing three long blasts of a very unique whistle at 3am on a crystal clear October night. October20 to be exact. The SantaFe continued to expand westward and eventually Streator became just another stop along the main line of a very large railroad. It now sees around 30 freight trains a day come through town.I live three blocks from the Main Street crossing, so I hear them all, along with the sound of the wheels booming across the diamond where the 2 railroads left in Streator cross. All of the trains blow their whistles for the crossing 3 shorts, 2 longs, and 3 shorts as they pass. But they all sound the same anymore. Except one. The one that woke me up tonight. At 3 am.Three shrill blast of a steam whistle. If you hear it you will know the difference. It is after all, October 20th. Wish Big John a happy birthday.
On one moonless, foggy night, the road foreman asked Big John if he would take the extra up to Chicago. The extra was composed of perishable freight which came into Streator on other railroads then taken on the SantaFe up to Chicago. Big John was not scheduled to work until the following night, but he agreed and his engine was readied for the trip. As was his custom, Big John gave three long blasts on his whistle as he started . He told the foreman that he would see him the next day as he climbed up the ladder into the cab. It was 2:30 am on the morning of October 20th, Big John's birthday. He was looking forward to spending the day in Chicago after the trip. After checking his gauges and reading his train orders, he blew his whistle and started off to Chicago. All of the trains on the line between Streator and Chicago had been ordered into sidings to clear the way for Big John and the extra. After taking on water and coal in Streator, the extra didn't need to stop during its trip. As the whistle faded into the night, the extra picked up speed and disappeared into the fog. Around 3 am, the sound of three long blasts of a whistle echoed through the depot. The dispatcher ran out of the depot to see what was wrong. Why was Big John back already? He waited and waited but no train came.Perplexed he returned to his desk just as the telegraph began to tick. Listening closely he deciphered the bad news. The extra had met an untimely end. On a lonely stretch of the line, a freight had stopped on a siding, but the fog was so thick the engineer couldn't see that the caboose and three cars were stillcars were still out on the main track.Thinking the line was clear Big John had his engine going full speed . When the red lanterns on the back of the caboose appeared in the fog, it was too late. The extra hit the stopped freight and derailedthe engine flipped onto its side and skidded down the track. Then it dug into the roadbed and broke the rails.As the following 15 cars, carried by momentum crushed the tender into the cab, one of the broken rails pierced the boiler filling the wreckage with live steam. As the crew of the stopped train approached the wreckage, the whistle began to blow.Three long shrill blasts, then silence. All that could be heard then was the fading roar of escaping steam as the boiler eventually emptied. It was 3am. The following morning they found the bodies of Big John and his fireman in the crushed cab. They had been killed instantly in the wreck. Big John was found with one hand scalded to the throttle and the other to the whistle cord. And so the legend of Big John was born. The dispatcher quit the following year after hearing three long blasts of a very unique whistle at 3am on a crystal clear October night. October20 to be exact. The SantaFe continued to expand westward and eventually Streator became just another stop along the main line of a very large railroad. It now sees around 30 freight trains a day come through town.I live three blocks from the Main Street crossing, so I hear them all, along with the sound of the wheels booming across the diamond where the 2 railroads left in Streator cross. All of the trains blow their whistles for the crossing 3 shorts, 2 longs, and 3 shorts as they pass. But they all sound the same anymore. Except one. The one that woke me up tonight. At 3 am.Three shrill blast of a steam whistle. If you hear it you will know the difference. It is after all, October 20th. Wish Big John a happy birthday.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Don't Blame Me ! It Was The Cow !
The month of September 1871, was a warm and dry one in Chicago Illinois. The city had not seen a drop of rain in weeks, and by the time October rolled around, the area was ripe for a disaster.Most of the city's buildings and homes were made of wood, the most widely used and cheapest construction material of the times. The city was also full of factories of all types and houses bunched together in crowded neighborhoods.
In those days the Chicago Fire Department consisted on just over 200 full time firefighters who manned 17 steam driven engines, and hose carts along with 4 hook and ladder wagons, all driven by horses. These engines were scattered throughout the city and were dispatched by alarm bells from the city courthouse. A watchman on the roof approximated the position of the fire and sent the appropriate engines to the scene or box number. The men often lived at the firehouse, getting few days off to return to their homes. On the night of October 7, a fire broke out in a planing mill and spread quickly, eventually destroying 4 square blocks of the city. The fire quickly rose to three alarms bring all available men and equipment to the scene. The men fought desperately to contain the blaze which eventually brought under control around 3:30 am. The entire depaertment was exhausted and battered by the huge blaze. Firefighting at the time was basically hand-to-hand combat for the men who had to get in close proximity to the fires in order to get water on them. They were often burned and exhausted by the time big blazes were extinguished.
The very next night, October 8, disaster visited Chicago. A fire started in the barn behind the O'Leary residence on De Koven Street. A man sitting across the street noticed flames coming fron the O'Leary's barn and went across to try and save the animals inside. The man, Daniel Sullivan, had a wooden leg and fell several times in the barn in his attempts to save the animals. Finally he escapeds the fire and woke up the O'Leary's who were asleep in bed.By then the fiure had spread to buildings on either side, and across the narrow alley and was spreading quickly, urged on by a stiffining wind. By the time the first steamer arriveds at the scene,5 or 6 houses and barns were already burning. Box alarms, were starting to pour into the courthouse, most of them wrong. But companies in the area had noticed the fire on their own and were heading for it. Soon there were 5 steamers, 3 hose carts and a hook and ladder company in a thin perimeter around the blazing block of homes. But the hose carts had little or no pressure, and steamers soon began having problems, one ran out of coal, and another was plagued by burst hoses and a third just quit, until the engineer hit it with a hammer, and it started again and served without problems afterward. But the fire soon jumped to the next block and the firemen had to retreat to try and get ahead of it to make a stand. The fire was now large enough to make its own wind, drawing oxygen into itself and creating a fire tornado.The dry wooden buildings were no match for the inferno and embers and flaming debris were carried for blocks on the wind which started numerous small fires which were sucked back into the main fire. In less than three hours 8 to 10 square blocks were burning and the rout was on. Several engine companies tried desperately to stop the advance but were swept aside as the fire pounded them with intense heat and smoke then jumped over their heads. One company fought in a field between two blocks one man ran the hose while two others held up doors ripped from houses up in front of him to block the heat. One door burst into flames and its man ran back to the engine. The second door held, for a little but it too burst into flames and both of the men then retreated and dragged the engine away just before the entire field ignited. The fire was now driving everything towards the Chicago River. The firemen retreated across the river, but were met by even more fire.The fire jumped the river right into heart of the business district. Block by block the city was systematically destroyed. Most of the fleeing citizens went to the lake and stood in the water. The following day just before the blaze had reached the outskirts of the city and the new watertower, it began to rain.
The fire started around 9pm on Sunday night and lasted until the rain started on Tuesday morning. The official death toll was estimated to be around 300 people, but some were never found so that number was probably higher. Over 18,000 buildings were destroyed leaving over 100,000 people homeless. The damage was estimated to be $200,000,000 at the time.
The O'Leary's house, although it caught fire several times survived the fire, but 4 square miles of the city had burned to the ground beyond it's small back yard. The site of the house is now occupied by the Chicage Fire Department Training Academy. Even though it was proven shortly after the fire by eyewitness testimony, Mrs. O'Leary was still blamed for the ignition of the fire. The official cause was 'undetermined' except for the fact that it did start in the O'Leary's barn.
In those days the Chicago Fire Department consisted on just over 200 full time firefighters who manned 17 steam driven engines, and hose carts along with 4 hook and ladder wagons, all driven by horses. These engines were scattered throughout the city and were dispatched by alarm bells from the city courthouse. A watchman on the roof approximated the position of the fire and sent the appropriate engines to the scene or box number. The men often lived at the firehouse, getting few days off to return to their homes. On the night of October 7, a fire broke out in a planing mill and spread quickly, eventually destroying 4 square blocks of the city. The fire quickly rose to three alarms bring all available men and equipment to the scene. The men fought desperately to contain the blaze which eventually brought under control around 3:30 am. The entire depaertment was exhausted and battered by the huge blaze. Firefighting at the time was basically hand-to-hand combat for the men who had to get in close proximity to the fires in order to get water on them. They were often burned and exhausted by the time big blazes were extinguished.
The very next night, October 8, disaster visited Chicago. A fire started in the barn behind the O'Leary residence on De Koven Street. A man sitting across the street noticed flames coming fron the O'Leary's barn and went across to try and save the animals inside. The man, Daniel Sullivan, had a wooden leg and fell several times in the barn in his attempts to save the animals. Finally he escapeds the fire and woke up the O'Leary's who were asleep in bed.By then the fiure had spread to buildings on either side, and across the narrow alley and was spreading quickly, urged on by a stiffining wind. By the time the first steamer arriveds at the scene,5 or 6 houses and barns were already burning. Box alarms, were starting to pour into the courthouse, most of them wrong. But companies in the area had noticed the fire on their own and were heading for it. Soon there were 5 steamers, 3 hose carts and a hook and ladder company in a thin perimeter around the blazing block of homes. But the hose carts had little or no pressure, and steamers soon began having problems, one ran out of coal, and another was plagued by burst hoses and a third just quit, until the engineer hit it with a hammer, and it started again and served without problems afterward. But the fire soon jumped to the next block and the firemen had to retreat to try and get ahead of it to make a stand. The fire was now large enough to make its own wind, drawing oxygen into itself and creating a fire tornado.The dry wooden buildings were no match for the inferno and embers and flaming debris were carried for blocks on the wind which started numerous small fires which were sucked back into the main fire. In less than three hours 8 to 10 square blocks were burning and the rout was on. Several engine companies tried desperately to stop the advance but were swept aside as the fire pounded them with intense heat and smoke then jumped over their heads. One company fought in a field between two blocks one man ran the hose while two others held up doors ripped from houses up in front of him to block the heat. One door burst into flames and its man ran back to the engine. The second door held, for a little but it too burst into flames and both of the men then retreated and dragged the engine away just before the entire field ignited. The fire was now driving everything towards the Chicago River. The firemen retreated across the river, but were met by even more fire.The fire jumped the river right into heart of the business district. Block by block the city was systematically destroyed. Most of the fleeing citizens went to the lake and stood in the water. The following day just before the blaze had reached the outskirts of the city and the new watertower, it began to rain.
The fire started around 9pm on Sunday night and lasted until the rain started on Tuesday morning. The official death toll was estimated to be around 300 people, but some were never found so that number was probably higher. Over 18,000 buildings were destroyed leaving over 100,000 people homeless. The damage was estimated to be $200,000,000 at the time.
The O'Leary's house, although it caught fire several times survived the fire, but 4 square miles of the city had burned to the ground beyond it's small back yard. The site of the house is now occupied by the Chicage Fire Department Training Academy. Even though it was proven shortly after the fire by eyewitness testimony, Mrs. O'Leary was still blamed for the ignition of the fire. The official cause was 'undetermined' except for the fact that it did start in the O'Leary's barn.
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