Edward “Ed” Muska, a Western Electric employee born to Czech immigrants, boarded the S.S. Eastland early on the morning of July 24, 1915. He, along with more than 2,500 other passengers and crew members, were headed to Michigan City, Indiana for the company’s annual picnic.
However, at 7:10 a.m., while the Eastland was still docked in the Chicago River, the boat began to list, and just after 7:28 it rolled onto its side. Muska and hundreds of other passengers were thrown into the water as the ship capsized. Muska was luckier than hundreds of others: he survived.
Two residents of Forest Park, Gertrude Stork and William Ristow, were among the victims of the disaster, which took the lives of 844 people, of whom 133 are buried in Forest Park. The western Chicago and suburban region were greatly impacted by the disaster, as many in the area worked at Western Electric’s Hawthorn Works factory in Cicero.
The Historical Society of Forest Park hosted “Remembering the Eastland Disaster: 110 Years Later” at Casa Humilde on Saturday, Aug. 2. The event included an hour-long program from the Eastland Disaster Historical Society (EDHS). Attendees also received a booklet guide to the victims of the disaster buried in Forest Park, which was originally created in 2015 by the Historical Society of Forest Park and updated this year.
The Eastland Disaster caused more passenger deaths than the sinking of the Titanic and is the greatest tragedy in terms of loss of life in the Great Lakes region. However, the crisis is often overlooked in Chicago history, and many locals remain unaware of it. The EDHS has worked since 1998 to bring the story of those involved to the public.
Sisters Susan Decker and Barbara Decker Wachholz, co-founders of the EDHS, led the presentation, which covered the history, causes, impact and aftermath of the tragedy. Decker and Wachholz are the granddaughters of Eastland survivor Borghild “Bobbie” Aanstad, and the personal stories of many victims, survivors and first responders were at the core of their presentation.
The EDHS always begins and ends its presentations with the stories of George “Papa Bear” Halas and Charles “Reggie” Bowles. Halas, who was supposed to board the Eastland the morning of the disaster but showed up late, would go on to be the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears. Bowles was a 17-year-old volunteer diver who recovered 40 bodies from the ship wreckage and earned the name “The Human Frog” from veteran divers. While Halas found a life of fame, Bowles’s story has been largely forgotten.
“There’s no reason to forget people whether they become rich or famous or not,” said Ted Wachholz, co-founder and executive director of EDHS. “Somebody once said that you’re not forgotten until the last time that your name is said, so if we can keep saying the people’s names and telling their stories then their memories will live on.”
Craig Scott, who lives in Brookfield and grew up hearing stories of the disaster from his great uncle Ed Muska, attended the presentation. Scott, a retired firefighter paramedic, was especially struck by a photo of a first responder holding the body of a dead child. “He’s holding this lifeless girl, she looked maybe five to six years old,” he said. “And just the look in his eyes is so telling.”
Scott said that he had also carried lifeless children during his career. “It’s one thing if you’re dealing with one person like that or one child like that, but look at the volume of victims they had,” he said. “That’s just unbelievable.”
After the presentation, a small group of attendees traveled down Madison Street to Concordia Cemetery, where victims of the Eastland Disaster are buried. The Historical Society of Forest Park has identified these graves and geotagged their locations.
Muska, a strong swimmer, survived the Eastland Disaster. Later he would tell stories to his family about having clumps of hair torn out of his head as panicked victims attempted to climb out of the water. He also recalled pulling others to safety. Scott remembers Muska as somebody who could play four different instruments and who built a family cabin in Wisconsin. Muska’s best friend died in the disaster after going below deck to listen to music. While Scott cannot recall this friend’s name, the EDHS exists to keep these names and stories alive.
To learn more about the local history and to view a map of Eastland victims buried in Forest Park, visit the Eastland Ship Disaster page of the Historical Society of Forest Park website. Visit EastlandDisaster.Org or contact 224-764-1284 if you have family connections to the disaster or are interested in learning more.