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The Eastland Disaster | |
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| The Eastland, July 1915. (A.A. Appleyard photograph, Gordon Potter collection) |
| On July 24, 1915, 844 people died when the steamship Eastland went down in the Chicago River, between LaSalle and Clark Streets. The Eastland was scheduled to take Western Electric Company employees to a picnic being held in Michigan City, Indiana. Most of the 844 people that drowned on that fateful day were factory workers from Berwyn and Cicero. Twenty-two families were entirely wiped out. Mostly, death was random, killing one family member while another family member escaped with only a bruise. Such was what happened to Thomas Wielgos and Paul Kalka. Nephew and uncle, so close in age as to be the best of friends; Tom, age 17 years, lost his life on the Eastland while Paul survived. Tom and Paul were in the game/billard room when the Eastland went over. Tom was entertaining a group of people by doing Charlie Chaplin immitations. He was, therefore, off balance to start. When the ship tipped, he went down. Paul went after him. Paul tried to grab hold of Tom, but someone else had grabbed hold of Paul. This kept him from reaching Tom. Paul then tried to help the person that had grabbed hold of him. In the process, Paul was hit in the head by the billiard table. Ultimately, that injury caused permanent damage to Paul's optic nerve, causing him to become almost blind. Paul escaped through the only means of escape available to him, a porthole. Tom Wielgos is buried at St. Adalbert's Cemetery in Niles as is Paul who died in May 1971. (Sources: Dorothy Johnson, daughter of Vera Kalka, 12/2000; Barbara Bayr Anderson, 11/2001) |
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| Newspaper article courtesy of Ted Wachholz, Eastland Disaster Historical Society |
| Translation: During the catastrophe of the Eastland, some survived by jumping onto a smaller boat. The people with no chance for survival were those that were trapped inside the tunnels of the craft. The thing was that they did not die from drowning, but from the explosion. They choked from all the smoke which was caused by the explosion of machines on the ship. By the time help came to rescue, it was already too late. Families and relatives waiting for the arrival of their closest, never saw them alive again. |
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| The wreck almost immediately after the disaster. (Chicago Historical Society) |
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| Western Felt Plant where both Paul and Tom were employed |
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| Western Felt cutting line (Hornby & Freiberg Photo, date unknown) |
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| Paul KALKA (1898 - 1971). Eastland survivor. | . | Tom WIELGOS (1897 - 1915). Eastland victim. Woman unknown. |
| Additional Information |
| Hilton, George W. Eastland- Legacy of the Titanic. California: Stanford University Press, 1995. |
| The Eastland Disaster of 1915 |
| The Eastland Disaster Video Documentary |
| Eastland Disaster Historical Society |