1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:05,760 Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Today is the seventy five anniversary of the 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,440 Speaker 1: Hartford Circus Fire, so today we are revisiting our March 3 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: eleven episode on that tragedy. And this fire has been 4 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:16,240 Speaker 1: in the news lately, both because of the anniversary and 5 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: because of efforts to potentially use DNA evidence to try 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 1: to figure out the identities of some of the unidentified 7 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:26,440 Speaker 1: victims of the tragedy. There are currently five unknown victims 8 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 1: buried at Northwood Cemetery, and court proceedings regarding the potential 9 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 1: exhimations of those bodies are ongoing. Welcome to Stuff You 10 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,640 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class, a production of I Heart Radios 11 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome to the podcast Act 12 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: And I'm Polly Frying. And today we have another frequent 13 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 1: listener request, which is the Hertford Circus Fire. We've gotten 14 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: a lot of request for it before, and then every 15 00:00:57,600 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: time we talk about a fire, it seems like people 16 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:04,080 Speaker 1: have for more fires. So we've gotten lots of requests 17 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 1: for this one. And there are actually lots of books 18 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: about the Hartford Circus Fire, and they don't agree with 19 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: each other in some pretty fundamental ways. They draw really 20 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: vastly different conclusions about everything from who started the fire, 21 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: if anyone deliberately started it, and the identity of the 22 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,839 Speaker 1: most famous unidentified victim. There's just a lot of discrepancy 23 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: between them all. And I really didn't relish the idea 24 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: of reading through multiple books that were effectively quarreling with 25 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: each other about what happened. So I took a little 26 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: bit of a different tech when researching this article, and 27 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 1: that was that instead of reading lots of books, I 28 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: read historical newspapers that were published at the time of 29 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: this tragedy, and I followed the story as it happened. 30 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: So most of the information in today's episode comes from 31 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: the New York Times and the Boston Globe, which was 32 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: then the daily Boston Globe as it was reported and 33 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: on the day uh and I didn't have access to 34 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: the archive fives of the Hartford Current, which would be 35 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: the logical paper to read because it was the local 36 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: paper to where this tragedy happened. Um, but I did 37 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:09,799 Speaker 1: read some of their more recent coverage of retrospectives and 38 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: updates and things like that. So we're going to talk 39 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: about the Hartford Circus fire. So the Ringling Brothers and 40 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:19,359 Speaker 1: Barnamin Bailey Circus, which we are just going to kind 41 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: of shorten to Ringling Brothers or Ringling for the sake 42 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: of simplicity as needed, so we're not whipping out a 43 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: huge phrase every time we have to reference. It was 44 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: filled with about eight thousand people in Hartford, Connecticut on 45 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: July six nine, and the big top at the circus 46 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: was big, really big. I mean the name the name 47 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: was suitable for this one. It was six hundred feet 48 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: long and two ft wide, so that's about twenty by 49 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: sixty and it weighed twenty tons. While it had about 50 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:52,919 Speaker 1: eight thousand people in it on this particular day, it 51 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: could hold up to twelve thousand. Because this was World 52 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 1: War Two, most of the men of Hartford were either 53 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 1: away fighting or they were working multiple shifts at nearby factories, 54 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: so overwhelmingly the people in the audience were children, mothers, 55 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: and grandparents. The show started at two in the afternoon, 56 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:14,360 Speaker 1: added about two forty a big cat show in the 57 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 1: center ring had just wrapped up. The famous Flying Wallenda's 58 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: were starting their high wire act up above, and people 59 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: started to notice a flame working its way up the 60 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,240 Speaker 1: side of the tent near the men's restroom by the 61 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:30,679 Speaker 1: main entrance. The fire spread extremely quickly. By the time 62 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: a trio of ushers got there with buckets of water, 63 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: it was already too big for them to put out. 64 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: Almost simultaneously, people started yelling fire and the band switched 65 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: to playing Stars and Stripes, forever known in the business 66 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 1: as the disaster March and used to signal that there 67 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: is an emergency. People in the top rows of the 68 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,640 Speaker 1: bleachers jumped down into the straw that was below them 69 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: and made for the exits, or went out under the 70 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: tent sidewalls. The people who were up in the top 71 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: of the bleachers were all fared better than the people 72 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: who were lowered down for that reason, because the people 73 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: who were closer to the floor got caught in the 74 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: resulting stampede. Parents and entertainers literally threw children over animal 75 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: cages that were blocking the exits. Some of them cut 76 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,400 Speaker 1: their way out of the tent with pocket knives. The walenda's, 77 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: at risk of being trapped above the fire, slid down 78 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: ropes to the ground. The performers exit was blocked by 79 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: the crowd, so they headed for one of the exits 80 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: blocked by animal cages. Some climbed over, while others tried 81 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:33,719 Speaker 1: to feed some of the crowd through the animal shoots 82 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:38,159 Speaker 1: that would lead out of the tent. Famous clown Emmett Kelly, 83 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: who was in his sad tramp clown roll of Weary Willie, 84 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: was actually part of the Wilenda's act. While they did 85 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: their work up in the top of the tent, he 86 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,279 Speaker 1: would run around below them with a little butterfly net. 87 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: When he heard people screaming, he thought that one of 88 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 1: them Wilenda's had fallen, and so he looked out and 89 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: saw that the tent was on fire. He ran back 90 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: to his dressing room to grab the buck it's that 91 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:02,599 Speaker 1: he would use to clean himself up after the show 92 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: was over, and he filled them with water at a 93 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: horse trough. Then he ran back in to try to 94 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,599 Speaker 1: put the fire out. He threw the water onto the 95 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: burning tent, but it was far too late. The fire 96 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: was much too big to be put out by a 97 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:17,840 Speaker 1: couple of buckets, so instead he tried he started trying 98 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: to evacuate children from the tent. The blaze was very 99 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:23,320 Speaker 1: close to the main entrance, so he started trying to 100 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:26,479 Speaker 1: guide people to a side exit that was not on fire. 101 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: Some of the kids were actually scared of him. They 102 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: were scared anyway, but then they were scared because this 103 00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:35,080 Speaker 1: clown was talking to him. But he did get as 104 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: many of the kids around him as he could to safety, 105 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: and then he saw that the fire was getting close 106 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 1: to a set of gas engines that operated some of 107 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,040 Speaker 1: the circus equipment, so he refilled his buckets and tried 108 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:49,919 Speaker 1: to soak the canvas near the engines as much as possible, 109 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:53,919 Speaker 1: hopefully making them less likely to catch fire. Then he 110 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: escaped from the tent himself. There are actually pictures of 111 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: him at Kelly still in his makeup, carrying buck it's 112 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: that were taking the day of the fire uh and 113 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: that led to this event being nicknamed the Day the 114 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:09,839 Speaker 1: Clowns Cried. Another heroic act by one of the entertainers 115 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 1: came from big cat trainer make Covar. She was at 116 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,440 Speaker 1: the center of the tent where her animal act had 117 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: just concluded. There was still a panther in the metal 118 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:24,240 Speaker 1: cage that was part of the big Cat show, and 119 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 1: she knew that if she didn't get both herself and 120 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:29,479 Speaker 1: the panther out and then secure all the cages of 121 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: the other big cats who were part of the show, 122 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:33,920 Speaker 1: that they had the potential to break loose in all 123 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,839 Speaker 1: of the chaos and cause more injuries and deaths, not 124 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: surprisingly if you have ever spent time around animals that 125 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: are panicked. Uh, This terrified panther balked at going down 126 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: the chute that led back to its cages outside. It 127 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: was just terrified. So Covar used a whip, which was 128 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: really part of her costume and not part of how 129 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: she handled animals, to try to hurt it into the shoot, 130 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 1: and once it was on its way, she realized that 131 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: she was trapped. The escaping crowd had packed against the 132 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,040 Speaker 1: door leading out of the cage, so she escaped by 133 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 1: following the panther down the exit shoot, and then she 134 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: got the big cat's cage is secure so that they 135 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 1: could not escape into the crowd. The big top collapsed 136 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: behind her, and this had only been about ten minutes 137 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 1: since the fire started, and it burned so hot that 138 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: it literally melted the tent poles and the animal cage 139 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 1: that was at the middle of the center ring. As 140 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 1: the tent fell on fire, it trapped a lot of 141 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: people who were still inside trying to escape, although none 142 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: of the circus employees were killed, possibly because they knew 143 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: they could get out of just about any part of 144 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: the tent by going under the sidewalls. Many were badly 145 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: burned as they tried to get others to safety and 146 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 1: as they formed bucket brigades to try to extinguish the fire. 147 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: Since no animals were in the tent and the fire 148 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: didn't spread to the side show or the menagerie, no 149 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:57,080 Speaker 1: animals were hurt or killed in the blaze. A hundred 150 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:00,360 Speaker 1: and sixty eight people died, Half of them were chilled aldren, 151 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: and a third of them were ages nine and younger. 152 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 1: Only a handful of those lost were adult men. Four 153 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: entire families died, and the children of five other families 154 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: were orphaned. There were also six hundred and eighty two injuries. 155 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: And we're going to talk about sort of the aftermath 156 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 1: and how Hartford responded to this tragedy. After we take 157 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: a little break, uh and have a word from a sponsor, 158 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:37,440 Speaker 1: so to return to the city of Hartford. Army and 159 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,199 Speaker 1: Navy forces were deployed to the scene of the fire, 160 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: along with three hundred ambulances and fifteen hundred Red Cross volunteers. 161 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,400 Speaker 1: Red Cross involvement with the victims of this disaster actually 162 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 1: went on for almost a year. State guardsmen were deployed 163 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 1: as well. A shipment of six blood plasma converters was 164 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:00,120 Speaker 1: flown in from Boston, and the doctors who worked with 165 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:04,080 Speaker 1: the burn patients credited this increased availability of plasma with 166 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: saving many lives. Morgue was set up at the Hartford 167 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: Armory and bodies were laid out in the hopes that 168 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:13,119 Speaker 1: next of kim would be able to identify their families. 169 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: But the fire burned so hot that some of the 170 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:19,560 Speaker 1: bodies inside were essentially cremated already, and it melted some 171 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:23,600 Speaker 1: of the steel girders that held up the tent. There 172 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:28,680 Speaker 1: was a series of investigations. State Policy Commissioner Edward J. Hickey, 173 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:32,600 Speaker 1: acting as State Fire Marshal, issued a report that blamed 174 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,760 Speaker 1: not only the Ringling Brothers staff responsible for the tent, 175 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:38,960 Speaker 1: but also the city of Hartford for not having inspected 176 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 1: the circus or the tent beforehand. Part of the report read, 177 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 1: no arrangements were made or requested by any representative of 178 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 1: the circus for firemen or for firefighting equipment to be 179 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 1: in attendance upon the circus grounds during any performance. The 180 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 1: Hartford Fire Department did not detail any fireman or assign 181 00:09:56,679 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: any firefight firefighting apparatus to be an attent at the 182 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:03,599 Speaker 1: circus grounds during any of the performances. That's where the 183 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:06,560 Speaker 1: quote ends. The only inspection of the circus that the 184 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: city had conducted was on the part of the Building 185 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 1: Supervisor's office, which had judged that the erection of the tent, 186 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: the bleachers, and the exits was satisfied satisfactory, which was 187 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:21,160 Speaker 1: the same as in previous years. So aside from that, 188 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: the big Top itself was highly flammable. It had been 189 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:28,320 Speaker 1: waterproofed using paraffin that was dissolved in gasoline, and that 190 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:31,319 Speaker 1: was actually a pretty common method of waterproofing materials at 191 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: the time. When testifying in the investigation, then Ringling President 192 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 1: Robert Ringling claimed that he hadn't been able to find 193 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 1: a material that was both waterproof and fireproof because the 194 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 1: nation was at war, so resources were in high demand 195 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 1: and low availability. He also claimed that the war had 196 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 1: left the circus shorthanded, which is why there were fewer 197 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:57,199 Speaker 1: firefighters on staff. Another report filed by Frankie Healy named 198 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:01,480 Speaker 1: seven employees of the circus responsible for the fire. James A. Hailey, 199 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: vice president, George W. Smith, general manager, Leonard S. Aylesworth, 200 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:11,959 Speaker 1: Chief tentman, David W. Blanchefield, chief truckman, Edward W. Vierstig 201 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 1: chief electrician, William Kyley, chief seatman, and Samuel Clark seatman. 202 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: The two seatmen were supposed to remain under the bleachers 203 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 1: during the show, and if they had been there, chances 204 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:24,400 Speaker 1: are one of them would have seen the fire when 205 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:27,560 Speaker 1: it was much smaller and stomped it out, which would 206 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:31,079 Speaker 1: have prevented the whole disaster. The Ringling Brothers Circus as 207 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:34,920 Speaker 1: a corporation was also charged with involuntary manslaughter along with 208 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:38,800 Speaker 1: all seven men, Although the charges against Clark were eventually dropped. 209 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:43,319 Speaker 1: All seven of the men and the circus pleaded no contest. 210 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,480 Speaker 1: Their defense counsel maintained that they were innocent, but we're 211 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 1: pleading no contest to avoid a lengthy trial. He also 212 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:52,559 Speaker 1: claimed that they were all essential to the circus resuming 213 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 1: operations in order to try to get a lighter sentence. 214 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 1: It probably sounds callous that they were also justed in 215 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,240 Speaker 1: returning to work, but one of the reasons that they 216 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:06,840 Speaker 1: were so eager to resume circus operations is that stopping 217 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: the show was costing the circus about ten thousand dollars 218 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: a day, and possibly believing that doing so would get 219 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: them more leniency. The circus had agreed to take full 220 00:12:17,559 --> 00:12:20,040 Speaker 1: responsibility for the fire and to pay all of the 221 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: claims that were brought against it. Although the circus was ensured, 222 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 1: this insurance wasn't enough to pay off all of the claims, 223 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:30,040 Speaker 1: which early estimates put out a million dollars, it turned 224 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:32,319 Speaker 1: out to actually be a lot more. So they weren't 225 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: just saying we have to return to work as a 226 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:36,360 Speaker 1: way to get out of it, like they genuinely needed 227 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:38,120 Speaker 1: to return to work to make enough money to be 228 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: able to pay off these lawsuits. A superior court judge 229 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:44,680 Speaker 1: permitted the circus to collect its property and leave town 230 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: on July fourteenth of ninety four, and it returned to 231 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: its winter quarters in Sarasota, Florida, to regroup and return 232 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:53,559 Speaker 1: to work so it could pay off its remaining debts 233 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: to the victims. Arbitration took six years. The Arbitration Board 234 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 1: A had nearly four million dollars to five fifty one claimants. 235 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,400 Speaker 1: The average award was around seven thousand dollars, although they 236 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:10,679 Speaker 1: ranged from a thousand dollars to a hundred thousand. A 237 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 1: professional dancer named Catherine R. Martin was burned over fifty 238 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 1: of her body and was hospitalized for six months, and 239 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: she received the largest settlement. Patricia Murray, who was five 240 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 1: at the time of fire, lost both of her parents 241 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:26,680 Speaker 1: and her three year old brother, and she was awarded 242 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:29,640 Speaker 1: ninety thousand dollars. And as we talked about in our 243 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 1: episode on Katie Sandwina, this is often cited as the 244 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:36,599 Speaker 1: first Chapter eleven bankruptcy case, but the official classification of 245 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:40,120 Speaker 1: Chapter eleven didn't really come around until later. However, the 246 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,319 Speaker 1: structure was quite similar. In what became known as the 247 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:47,960 Speaker 1: Hartford Arbitration Agreement, the circus went into receivership, promising to 248 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:50,880 Speaker 1: put all of its profits towards paying the claims and 249 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 1: not incur any unusual expenses until all of that was 250 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:57,520 Speaker 1: paid off. And we didn't say in the Katie Sanduina 251 00:13:57,559 --> 00:14:00,560 Speaker 1: episode that it specifically was the Hartford Circus fire that 252 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 1: we were referencing, but it was, you were curious. Hartford 253 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,000 Speaker 1: lawyer Edward Rogan was named as the receiver and he 254 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 1: took over financial operations for the circus while the circus 255 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:15,080 Speaker 1: continued to operate during the proceedings of the arbitration. At 256 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:18,200 Speaker 1: this time, this was a completely new strategy for a 257 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 1: business that was dealing with extreme financial dress happens a 258 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:24,800 Speaker 1: lot more often nowadays. This really set the president for it. 259 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 1: The circus finally left receivership in July of nineteen fifty four, 260 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 1: when the court authorized payments to Rogan and Julius B. Shots, 261 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 1: who had served this as the circus's council. Shots received 262 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,640 Speaker 1: a hundred thousand dollars and Rogan received sixty thousand dollars, 263 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: a fraction of his original two hundred and twenty five 264 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 1: thousand dollar request. A sort of a side note, while 265 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 1: overseeing the circus's financial affairs, Rogan also reported that, in 266 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:55,360 Speaker 1: spite of the Hartford tragedy, the nineteen forty four season 267 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 1: was at that point the best season in the Ringling 268 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:03,600 Speaker 1: Brothers circus history. Along with many other governments, in the 269 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 1: wake of this fire, the Connecticut General Assembly later passed 270 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 1: extremely strict fire safety measures for tent circuses. Ringling Brothers 271 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:14,920 Speaker 1: and Barnamin Bailey didn't return to the state for years, 272 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:18,160 Speaker 1: and they didn't return to Hartford for decades. When the 273 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:20,800 Speaker 1: circus tried to arrange an appearance in East Hartford in 274 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:24,800 Speaker 1: ninety four, the city refused. They flatly said no, and 275 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:26,800 Speaker 1: so the circus did not return to Hartford until the 276 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:31,440 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies. It's still not completely clear what caused the fire. 277 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:37,080 Speaker 1: Initial results blamed a carelessly tossed cigarette. Later theory was 278 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:39,600 Speaker 1: a short circuit in the wiring in the men's room, 279 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:42,920 Speaker 1: and another theory is that it was deliberately set. The 280 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,280 Speaker 1: city has at various points reopened the case to re 281 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:48,680 Speaker 1: examine the evidence, and there have also been people that 282 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 1: have more re examined all the evidence as a personal hobby. UH. 283 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty in Ohio, man named Robert D. Siege 284 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 1: Uh we're guessing on that pronunciation because we could not 285 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:04,720 Speaker 1: find one online that was definitive, claimed that he had 286 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: set the fire deliberately, saying that he was aroused about 287 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:10,640 Speaker 1: at the circus at the time. He claimed that he 288 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: had been told to do this by a hallucination of 289 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: quote a red Indian. And while he had pleaded guilty 290 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,880 Speaker 1: to other arson charges in Circleville in the Circleville, Ohio 291 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,240 Speaker 1: area and served time for those offenses, he was never 292 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:26,640 Speaker 1: actually charged in the Hartford Circus fire. And in the end, 293 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 1: investigators were generally doubtful that he had actually been involved. 294 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,720 Speaker 1: There were a lot of inconsistencies and holes in his statements, 295 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,520 Speaker 1: and some of his claims regarding other crimes were kind 296 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:41,120 Speaker 1: of outlandish, and he did later recant his confession. If 297 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 1: you go poking around on the internet, or if you 298 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:46,520 Speaker 1: have previously poked around on the internet, you will find claims, 299 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,080 Speaker 1: some of them on pretty reputable websites, that he served 300 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:54,120 Speaker 1: time in Ohio for the Hartford Circus fire. The time 301 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 1: he served in Ohio was actually for other crimes that 302 00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:00,120 Speaker 1: were committed in Ohio and not for the Hartford Circus fire. 303 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:02,600 Speaker 1: And all of this seems to come from a misunderstanding 304 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 1: in a high school students paper, which perhaps the more 305 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:08,119 Speaker 1: recent writers who have used it as a resource didn't 306 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 1: realize it's by a high school student. I'm not missing 307 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:15,480 Speaker 1: high school students. This paper, overall I've read, is extremely good. 308 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,480 Speaker 1: Um and the news coverage at the time of this 309 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 1: guy in his confession, a lot of it is worded 310 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:26,880 Speaker 1: very confusingly because he is framed as the man who 311 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,880 Speaker 1: confessed to the Hartford Circus fire, so it's sort of 312 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:34,280 Speaker 1: the man who claim who who confessed to the Harvard 313 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:39,880 Speaker 1: Circus fire serves time. He was serving time for something else, right, Uh. 314 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:43,840 Speaker 1: And there is also around this case a sort of 315 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:48,639 Speaker 1: famous unidentified victim. There several actually, and we're gonna delve 316 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,040 Speaker 1: into their stories after we take a little break and 317 00:17:51,080 --> 00:18:01,560 Speaker 1: have a word from a sponsor. So today, there is 318 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 1: a memorial in Hartford, Connecticut, and the middle of it 319 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 1: is where the center pole of the big Top stood. 320 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:10,920 Speaker 1: Around the perimeter there are several dogwood trees that note 321 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:13,640 Speaker 1: where the perimeter of the tent would have been. There's 322 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:15,679 Speaker 1: also a monument listing the names of the people who 323 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,520 Speaker 1: died and several plaques that give a timeline of what 324 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 1: happened during the fire. There's also a memorial at Northwood 325 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:25,200 Speaker 1: Cemetery for the victims of the fire who were not identifying. 326 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:29,040 Speaker 1: Three unidentified children and three adults were buried there on 327 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:32,640 Speaker 1: July tenth of nineteen forty four, and an unidentified baby 328 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:36,240 Speaker 1: was cremated. And I didn't put it in here, but 329 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:39,600 Speaker 1: the Northwood Cemetery is not actually in Hartford proper. It's 330 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 1: in like a neighboring community. Only one of these six 331 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:46,880 Speaker 1: bodies that were buried at Northwood cemetery has ever been identified, 332 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:48,840 Speaker 1: and this was an eight year old girl who died 333 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:50,680 Speaker 1: in the fire and came to be known as little 334 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,080 Speaker 1: Miss fifteen sixty five, after the number that she was 335 00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:56,640 Speaker 1: assigned at the morgue. She wasn't identified for years after 336 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:01,239 Speaker 1: the fire. She had been trampled darrying the stampede as 337 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,679 Speaker 1: people tried to escape. She died of her injuries about 338 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:08,200 Speaker 1: three hours after being found, but since her face wasn't 339 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:11,359 Speaker 1: very badly burned, they were hopeful that her family would 340 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 1: find her. Her features were really recognizable, and her picture 341 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:19,280 Speaker 1: was published in the newspapers. Her story really caught the 342 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:21,679 Speaker 1: hearts of a lot of people who were following the 343 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:27,120 Speaker 1: tragedy as it unfolded, especially as the attention kept returning 344 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: to her case to try to identify who she was, 345 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,120 Speaker 1: and police theorized that her family must have been new 346 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:35,320 Speaker 1: to the area and that her parents must have been 347 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 1: killed in the fire, or perhaps some other family had 348 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:42,960 Speaker 1: mistaken a different badly burned body as their own child, 349 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:48,720 Speaker 1: leaving little Miss fifteen behind. The search for little Miss 350 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:52,159 Speaker 1: fifteen sixty five family went on for months. Her picture 351 00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:55,000 Speaker 1: was in papers in Hartford, Boston, New York, and other 352 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:58,400 Speaker 1: Northeastern cities. There were calls that came in from all 353 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:00,480 Speaker 1: over New England from people who claim aimed that she 354 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 1: was their relative, but they didn't pan out that various 355 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:06,240 Speaker 1: things didn't match up. I think they were using dental records, 356 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:10,200 Speaker 1: and dental records didn't match. For decades, Hartford police brought 357 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:13,199 Speaker 1: flowers to the grave at Christmas and on the anniversary 358 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:15,720 Speaker 1: of the fire, and the coverage of that tradition would 359 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:18,320 Speaker 1: start this cycle of letters and calls about little Miss 360 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:24,920 Speaker 1: fifteen sixty five all over again. In so almost fifty 361 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:29,440 Speaker 1: years after the fire, Hartford Fire Lieutenant Rick Davey identified 362 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:33,560 Speaker 1: little Miss fifteen sixty five as Eleanor Cook. He interviewed 363 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,679 Speaker 1: surviving family members of various filmies and the hope of 364 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:39,880 Speaker 1: finding out who this little girl was. He also did 365 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 1: a lengthy reinvestigation of the fire itself. Eleanor's surviving brother, Donald, 366 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 1: who was nine at the time of the fire and 367 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:53,000 Speaker 1: was there but escaped, confirmed her identification and the reason 368 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 1: that she hadn't been identified at the time of the 369 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,199 Speaker 1: event was that her mother, Mildred Cook, had been so 370 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 1: badly burned in the fire that she was conscious for 371 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:05,760 Speaker 1: weeks and she ended up hospitalized for six months. Her son, Edward, 372 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 1: was six and he had also died in the fire, 373 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:10,720 Speaker 1: and once Mildred was well enough to leave, she was 374 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:15,000 Speaker 1: too traumatized to look for her daughter's body. An amended 375 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:19,800 Speaker 1: death certificate was issued for Eleanor on March eight, and 376 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:23,800 Speaker 1: her remains were reinterred next to her deceased brother, where 377 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 1: the gravestone had previously marked an empty grave. However, there 378 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:32,280 Speaker 1: are still people who actually question this identification, in part 379 00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:35,119 Speaker 1: because other members of the family had said little misfifteen 380 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 1: sixty five was not Eleanor at the time of the fire. 381 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:41,639 Speaker 1: In fact, this had made Donald reluctant to ask about it. 382 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: He worried that he would upset his mother or his 383 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:48,879 Speaker 1: aunt who had made the initial identification. In a weird 384 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:54,159 Speaker 1: recent twist, upon his retirement, Hartford fire Captain William Pond 385 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:56,639 Speaker 1: destroyed the photos of her that had hung in the 386 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 1: firehouse of Engine Company fourteen for more than twenty five years, 387 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 1: saying he was afraid that her soul would never find 388 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:08,720 Speaker 1: rest otherwise. Uh. Following letters to the editor after this 389 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,160 Speaker 1: are kind of divided about whether that was the right 390 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: thing to do or not. Yeah, I mean I I 391 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:19,879 Speaker 1: would have questions of like, was this something that a 392 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 1: decision that he made solely on his own or were 393 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: other people involved. He seems to have been trying to 394 00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:31,919 Speaker 1: get other uh fire department leadership to to take it 395 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:35,600 Speaker 1: down for a long time and and was shut down 396 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,160 Speaker 1: every time he asked about it, and so he did 397 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 1: it himself as he was retiring, figuring he was untouchable 398 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:45,159 Speaker 1: at that point. Bye, that that seems to be. That 399 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,360 Speaker 1: is what I would read into it. Yes, huh so, Yeah, 400 00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 1: it's sort of an odd coda to that whole story. 401 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:54,880 Speaker 1: There are definitely, yeah, there are definitely some unanswered questions 402 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 1: that will probably remain forever about the fire and exactly 403 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:02,200 Speaker 1: what happened. But it was definitely a tragedy. It definitely 404 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:06,640 Speaker 1: led to some much more stringent rules, especially about ten 405 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:16,120 Speaker 1: circuses in particular. Thank you so much for joining us 406 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:19,520 Speaker 1: on this Saturday. If you have heard an email address 407 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:21,840 Speaker 1: or a Facebook you are l or something similar over 408 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:24,240 Speaker 1: the course of today's episode, since it is from the 409 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:26,960 Speaker 1: archive that might be out of date now, you can 410 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:30,400 Speaker 1: email us at History Podcast at how stuff Works dot com, 411 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:32,640 Speaker 1: and you can find us all over social media at 412 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:35,760 Speaker 1: missed in History and you can subscribe to our show 413 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 1: on Apple podcasts, Google podcast, the I heart Radio app, 414 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:46,280 Speaker 1: and wherever else you listen to podcasts. 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