tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post9207528252094056147..comments2022-11-05T08:07:16.101-04:00Comments on New England Travels: The Hartford Circus FireJacqueline T. Lynchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-22652604401647971242012-03-16T07:52:47.054-04:002012-03-16T07:52:47.054-04:00Thank you, smcallis, and good luck with your novel...Thank you, smcallis, and good luck with your novel. It is indeed a compelling story and one, as you say, that needs to be approached carefully to avoid trivializing the tragedy. I also mentioned the fire in a novel of mine called "Cadmium Yellow, Blood Red" (which, set in 1949, has nothing to do with the events of that day). I agree that it is a story that needs to be remembered, but perhaps outside of New England is little known.<br /><br />Hartford is a fine city to visit under any circumstances, and I'm sure you'll find resources and inspriation to proceed with your book. I'd love to read it.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-13486945834687291762012-03-16T04:20:16.442-04:002012-03-16T04:20:16.442-04:00I came across this blog while doing research for m...I came across this blog while doing research for my own novel about the Hartford circus fire, HARTFORD 1944. This has proven to be an emotional journey. As I do more research, these people become more real to me. 168 people lost their lives on that terrible July day in 1944. I feel a profound sense of duty to proceed carefully to avoid trivializing their tragic loss by juxtaposition my fictional story against the back-drop of their deaths. This is a story that needs to be told. A uniquely American tragedy equal in scope to the Titanic or Hindenburg—yet it remains largely a forgotten chapter in American history.<br /><br />I plan to visit Hartford this summer, and your blog Ms. Lynch has inspired me to do so.Stvn_McAllisterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03094178089798233949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-26149528537381889832010-02-26T07:38:51.646-05:002010-02-26T07:38:51.646-05:00I'm very sorry your grandmother lost her life ...I'm very sorry your grandmother lost her life in that sad event. Thank you for stopping by and remembering the Circus Fire with us.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-70891403332515892372010-02-25T23:04:09.459-05:002010-02-25T23:04:09.459-05:00Thank you for remembering this tragedy. My grandm...Thank you for remembering this tragedy. My grandmother, whom I never met, died in the Hartford Circus Fire.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-20865056829296657362010-02-15T14:47:28.955-05:002010-02-15T14:47:28.955-05:00You're right that a great deal of credit goes ...You're right that a great deal of credit goes to those who helped as many people as possible escape the fire. There were a lot of unsung heroes that day, and of course in the aftermath through the efforts of the emergency personnel and the medical staff at the hospitals who treated some of these burn victims for several weeks.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-26178034661864924932010-02-15T13:50:08.112-05:002010-02-15T13:50:08.112-05:00I came to your blog when researching the Deerfield...I came to your blog when researching the Deerfield Massacre of 1704. Although none of my immediate family suffered through this fire (I'll ask my mother what she remembers of the news, since she was in her twenties and helping the war effort as a clerk in those days), it does recall the Station Night Club Fire of recent years in Rhode Island, in which a flammable ceiling was implicated.<br /><br />What seems remarkable to me in this story, along with the "code red" music struck up by the circus band, was how many of that crowd actually made it to safety. The small percentage lost was tragic, and in absolute terms a horror, and the inability to identify the little girl was all the more so. But it looks like a lot of credit has to be given to the performers and the wartime crowd, which may have received some civil defense training (I wonder?) in how to behave in an emergency.<br /><br />Of course it stands out too as a terrible irony to have happened just as WWII was coming to an end, causing us to ask how many servicemen abroad were going to receive unexpected bad news. Or the tale of a near miss. The PTSD of one man who was a boy during the event can take its place with that of some of the returning servicemen.<br /><br />It's a story which deserves a retelling every so often, as a portrait of its age.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-7887546245830788022009-09-17T13:04:58.345-04:002009-09-17T13:04:58.345-04:00Stephanie, thank you so much for sharing your own ...Stephanie, thank you so much for sharing your own painful family connection with this tragedy. It must have been truly an uncomfortable surprise seeing a photo in which your aunt's name was prominent. I'm very sorry for the loss of your aunt, who, like so many victims of this incident, was only a small child. It's an important memorial; as you say, the victims deserve to be remembered.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-76913649654422879722009-09-17T11:07:04.281-04:002009-09-17T11:07:04.281-04:00I just came across this blog entry today. Thank yo...I just came across this blog entry today. Thank you for marking the anniversary of the 1944 Circus Fire and for including the pictures of the Memorial. The one you included showing some of the names on the circle just happens to have my aunt's name visible. Her name was Sandra Logan, and she was 4 yrs old when she was killed in the fire. I'm so glad that others feel the way I do in that the fire's victims should always be remembered. Thank you for this blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-73535400818457020412009-07-26T12:01:17.637-04:002009-07-26T12:01:17.637-04:00Mr. Massey, I am not a scholar on the Hartford Cir...Mr. Massey, I am not a scholar on the Hartford Circus Fire, so I will not, and cannot, banter facts with you. My intention was only to mark an anniversary.<br /><br />Your resentment in my mentioning my admiration for Mr. O'Nan's book and not yours seems extreme. I understand your desire to have the readership of this blog know that you also wrote a book that you feel is superior and should be read for a complete understanding of the Hartford Circus Fire. Surely you have achieved your purpose with these comments. <br /><br />There are many other sources of information about the circus fire, in print form and at least a couple of documentaries. I hope readers of this blog who want to know more about the tragedy will investigate any and all sources of information. I expect they will.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-3072551537577159112009-07-26T10:26:49.700-04:002009-07-26T10:26:49.700-04:00This has nothing to do with my ego or a mention of...This has nothing to do with my ego or a mention of my name. I have always sought to have readers make a determination of facts as they are found in the books that have been written on this subject. For readers to obtain the necessary information so as to review and judge the facts as presented, they have to be made aware that other information exists in more than just the one book your site references--that's objectivity. To that end, and to that end only, I expressed a desire to have our book's contents assessed by readers. It must be said that there is ONLY ONE BOOK that contains the indexed data, including copies of actual documents from the time of the tragedy, and that is our book. Perhaps when readers analyze that data, they will see that many of the assertions made in the book you referenced are actually false, thus misleading readers about the underlying facts and truth of the 1944 tragedy. For example, there is no existing file of two sets of dental records for 1565, hence no comparison of such records could be made. That means there is no basis to assert that the "records don't match." But readers can't know such facts when they are pointed to only one published book. I assure you, our quest to provide truth is not about selling books. Plenty of libraries own the book, and a review of the data can be done without cost of any kind. A site on this subject should provide the means for objective assessment to be done. Thanks dmDonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16131078796870233159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-73602703271779409902009-07-25T12:15:21.907-04:002009-07-25T12:15:21.907-04:00I understand and sympathize with your irritation t...I understand and sympathize with your irritation that I did not mention your book, "A Matter of Degree" along with Mr. O'Nan's book in the discussion about the complicated circumstances of the Hartford Circus Fire. However, the only opinion I expressed in this blog was not about the summation facts on which you differ with Mr. O'Nan, but simply that I felt Stewart O'Nan's book was, as stated "an excellent and dramatic narrative of the events, I believe the best book written on this tragedy." <br /><br />I have also read your fine book, Mr. Massey, and this is my opinion based upon reading both books, simply that I enjoyed his book enough to casually mention it. I did not make disparaging comparisons to yours; as you pointedly note, I did not even mention yours. <br /><br />I am baffled that you infer that I am guilty of misleading readers of facts by not mentioning your name.<br /><br />This does nothing to diminish your own contributions to the recording of the tragedy, both in your book and your work on the memorial. I commend your work as one of the founders of this very special memorial.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-52474060466313716132009-07-25T11:00:10.938-04:002009-07-25T11:00:10.938-04:00As one of the founders of the Memorial, and as the...As one of the founders of the Memorial, and as the person who wrote the memorial plaques that line the walkway to the Memorial, I only wish you had referenced our nonfiction book, A Matter of Degree, which shows the facts of the fire and its subsequent investigation, and includes photos and a complete list of documents supporting the facts in the book. That would be fair to those who view your site, and to those who come to the Memorial. An objective review of those facts, to include the confession of Robert Dale Segee, which we include in our book, would allow people to come to their own conclusion about the tragedy of the fire, rather than being led to the opinion you express in this blog. Truth is what we've always been after, and that's what we hope visitors will find in our work. Don MasseyDonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16131078796870233159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-35857519322979124692009-07-10T07:27:25.067-04:002009-07-10T07:27:25.067-04:00Hi, Tony, thanks for stopping by. Yes, those are ...Hi, Tony, thanks for stopping by. Yes, those are the ages, and most of the deceased were young children. Gruesome, and as John noted above, surreal. Another agonizing aspect (as if we needed another one) is that some servicemen fighting in war zones overseas had to be notified by the Red Cross of their family members among the dead and injured.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-85594817840816018582009-07-10T02:23:30.518-04:002009-07-10T02:23:30.518-04:00Unimaginable horror. I assume the numbers next to ...Unimaginable horror. I assume the numbers next to the names on that wheel are the ages of the victims, and so many of them were toddlers or very young children. That this happened to families out for a happy afternoon makes it seem even more sorrowful...Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16265475275476389339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-16737405225574257502009-07-07T19:13:25.497-04:002009-07-07T19:13:25.497-04:00Hello, John, thanks. Yes, no happy story today, I...Hello, John, thanks. Yes, no happy story today, I'm afraid. But a remarkable event, not just for the gruesome tragedy, but in the heroic way many tried to help, and how Hartford pulled together for this ironic homefront tragedy during wartime. It should also be noted that Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey made good on all claims against the circus without ever needing to go to court. All their profits for the next several years, I understand, went to the survivors and surviving families of the victims until restitution was made. Many companies, especially these days, would not have accepted responsibility so honorably. Not without a long court battle forcing them to take responsibility.<br /><br />The reason for the song, as I understand it, was due to many factors. Partly, it was one song that most pick-up circus bands knew without needing much practice. Secondly, in an age before public address systems or walkie-talkies, the staff needed to be alerted to emergencies immediately, and this was the most efficient way. Now, I suppose, it's simply tradition.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616587206886324650.post-54296376714209675052009-07-07T18:28:16.275-04:002009-07-07T18:28:16.275-04:00What a sad story, but well-told; the detail about ...What a sad story, but well-told; the detail about "The Stars & Stripes Forever" turns the whole scene surreal; I had no idea that circuses used this (or any other) piece of music in this way. Fascinating stuff.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15687192784861682991noreply@blogger.com