Fire at Ward's Where Ruth Works

April 28, 1930 - Monday
"Excitement - big fire in Ward's - our bldg. this morning - 7 firemen overcome by smoke - 3 in hospital.  Not much work done. $1,500 damage.  Mama and I had shampoo and set tonight.  Home 9:00."

Ruth also had newspaper clippings about the fire in her diary.  You can see one of them here.  It's from the Chicago Daily News.

One clipping said "150 Flee" and mentioned that "9 city firemen and one private marshal in charge of Montgomery Ward & Co. properties at Chicago Avenue and Larrabee Street were overcome."  Spontaneous combustion was thought to have caused the fire, which broke out in the basement.  The thick black smoke and fire were confined to the store room, which contained wicker baskets and stepladders. Ward's workers, mostly women from the floor above, poured out of the building as the smoke appeared.

Later the workers realized that ten firemen were so affected that they had to be treated. Seven were cared for at the emergency hospital on the fourth floor of the Ward's building. They were:  Dan Cahill, John Fligg, Thomas Hickey, Roy Hoff, Renig Landuyt, Thomas Mayer and Captain George Sweeney.  Landuyt was the Montgomery Ward Fire Marshal.

Three men, the first to enter the smokey area, were taken to Henrotin Hospital for treatment.  They were: Captain Arthur Barcal of 2952 Waveland Avenue (Commander of Company 14 and Acting Chief of the Battalion).  The other two men hospitalized were: Lieutenant Charles Brelie of 2119 N. Halsted Street and Charles Mackin of 2245 N. Rockwell Street.  Both were from Company 4.          

Ruth's Second Baby Arrives Early

On May 17, 1936, Ruth said, "At 4 A.M. we arrived at hospital.  At 6:12 A.M. baby girl was born - 6# 5 oz.  Left Kenny home asleep.  It happened just one week early.  Folks came at 3 P.M."

On the top of that diary page is written in my early cursive handwriting "Birthday of Diane now 8".  I read everything in sight, including Gone With the Wind" at 9 or 10 years old.  Evidentally my mother's diaries were not out of bounds!

Because the Kelloggs were living with Ruth's parents in their two-flat, Ruth could easily ask Lottie and Jim Meredith to keep an eye on sleeping Kenny and give him breakfast when he awakened.  Ruth couldn't have been too surprised at the early birth.   When she saw the doctor on May 15, "He hinted that there might not be another trip down there."

On May 19, "Baby is  getting cuter every day.  Named her Diane Meredith."  I was told that my first name came from the heroine of a movie called "Seventh Heaven," starring Janet Gaynor.

At that time women were hospitalized for about 10 days after a birth and very gradually got back to normal tasks.  Ruth came home on May 25.  "Sure enough I came home tonite.  Doctor Tucker is so nice.  Have to see him in 6 weeks & another Doctor Kartoon is to examine baby in 4 weeks.  In the shot above, I'm 7 weeks old and Ken, only part of him pictured, would be 5 in September.  Ruth might have been celebrating her 30th birthday, which was on July 5.  For more about the Kelloggs and Merediths, see Pieces of a Life.