Mr. David Nelson, Director and Curator of the Eastland Disaster Collection, CMS
The Importance of Remembering the Eastland
Alderman Burton F. Natarus
Lt. Eric Christensen of the US Coast Guard, Port of Chicago
How the Coast Guard Helped
Lt. Earl Zuelke, Commander Police Marine Unit
Mrs. Libby Klucina Hruby, Eastland Survivor
Sharing Her Memories of That Day
Mr. Karl Sup, President of the Eastland Memorial Society
Mr. Bill Rossberger, CMS Director, Maritime Historian and Collector
Closing Remarks and Opening of Public Display of Eastland Artifacts
The opening ceremonies also included a floatilla of
Coast Guard and Chicago Police Marine boats, the Navy Color Guard from Great Lakes Naval Station, the Navy Band and
two Coast Guard heliocopter fly-overs to honor the Eastland. At the completion of the ceremony, Mrs. Libby Klucina Hruby, a 97-year-old survivor, threw a floral wreath into Lake Michigan in remembrance of the Eastland, while the Navy Band played Taps.
Following the ceremony, the display
of artifacts from the Eastland Disaster was open through midnight Saturday and all day
Sunday, until a severe thunderstorm lashed Navy Pier and unexpectedly closed the exhibit. Our thanks go out to those who braved the storm and helped us in our time of need!
Artifacts at the exhibit included a
complete 1912 Morse hard hat dive suit worn during the rescue
and salvage of the Eastland, as well as a life preserver,
deck chair, Uncle Sam costume to be worn in the parade that day, and hundreds of photographs of the Eastland. All of the artifacts can be seen on display at the Center for History, A Facility of the Wheaton Historic Preservation Council in Wheaton, IL. For more information call (630) 665-8366.
If you were unfamiliar with the story of the Eastland, on Saturday, July 24, 1915, the passenger ship Eastland
was docked in downtown Chicago on the Chicago River preparing
to depart for a Lake Michigan cruise. Soon after 2,500 passengers
boarded the ship it began to list to starboard, then to
port. The Eastland rolled onto its side, spilling passengers
into the river and trapping others underwater in the interior
cabins, mostly women and children. The disaster claimed
over 800 lives.
The Eastland Disaster occurred on the south side of the
Chicago River between Clark and LaSalle Streets. Since the
reconstruction on Wacker Drive is underway, the disaster
site had very limited or restricted access.
Hope you were there
to 'Remember the Eastland'!
Thank you all for joining us at Navy Pier as we celebrated 'Remember
the Eastland Day' on July 21st and 22nd, 2001. The event was
open to the public and was free! We estimated that 6,200 people, young and old alike, visited the Eastland exhibits during the weekend to learn and remember.
