Personal Accounts ~ page 9
(email your story to circusfire1944@sbcglobal.net)
...trying to get over an animal chute my foot got caught....
My grandmother, Clara Russett, was planning again that year on taking me to the circus. But because she wasn’t feeling well my dad, John Philip Earley, brought me instead - which I feel turned out to be a huge blessing. I remember we were sitting in the tent on bleachers after we had seen the first part of the planned program, when I saw fire at the furthest end of the tent. It seemed like everyone saw it at the same time and began to evacuate, but the flames already covered a big section of the tent when I saw it. (It apparently was close to the top and wide before the people at our end were aware of it.) At least that is my recollection. It was very scary. Dad and I were not sitting very far from an exit but two incidents occurred as we tried to leave that slowed down our departure. The first as we were going down the bleachers I lost my glasses. They fell off my face because of the pushing crowd. Dad was able to retrieve them for me. But then trying to get over an animal chute my foot got caught. Dad had to release my foot from the chute.
Once outside we moved a distance from the entrance and stood there as people exited. I remember distinctly a woman who had sat by us coming up and asking if we had seen her daughter who was sitting with her. They had become separated when leaving and she was frantically searching for her. Very sad. Shortly after that I believe (but am not as certain of this recollection) a young man leaving the tent with a portion of his shirt in the back in flames. I believe it was at that time that Dad said we had to leave and get home. So I’m sure we avoided seeing the worst …..thankfully!
On the way home we may have stopped at a phone booth for Dad to call my mother – who was at home with my twin sisters, age 3 (and possibly my grandmother). The phone booth memory is vague and I’m not positive of it. But when we arrived back on Main St. the family did not appear too frantic - as I recall?? So they may have known we were okay. Some of our close neighbors were not as fortunate. From a diagram I saw of the tent I believe we were close to -not the main entrance- but the opposite one.
— Sandra Earley
Once outside we moved a distance from the entrance and stood there as people exited. I remember distinctly a woman who had sat by us coming up and asking if we had seen her daughter who was sitting with her. They had become separated when leaving and she was frantically searching for her. Very sad. Shortly after that I believe (but am not as certain of this recollection) a young man leaving the tent with a portion of his shirt in the back in flames. I believe it was at that time that Dad said we had to leave and get home. So I’m sure we avoided seeing the worst …..thankfully!
On the way home we may have stopped at a phone booth for Dad to call my mother – who was at home with my twin sisters, age 3 (and possibly my grandmother). The phone booth memory is vague and I’m not positive of it. But when we arrived back on Main St. the family did not appear too frantic - as I recall?? So they may have known we were okay. Some of our close neighbors were not as fortunate. From a diagram I saw of the tent I believe we were close to -not the main entrance- but the opposite one.
— Sandra Earley
...looked up toward the northwest and shouted that she saw fire....
I was three years, two months old when I attended the circus that day along with my mom and a number of other neighbors. We almost didn’t go because it was so muggy and hot and very uncomfortable, especially if we were inside the tent but finally we all agreed to go and we took the bus to Barbour street. I remember the bus because when we escaped the fire we returned home on the bus and I can remember waiting for it on the west side of the circus grounds. When we went to our seats on the southeast side of the tent, pretty close to an exit, I sat down on the ground at the first row of bleachers because my mom didn’t want to go up higher with our friends because she was afraid of walking on the open bleachers. Early in the performance my mom left me with our neighbors while she took someone to the bathroom. Upon returning to the area where we were sitting she looked up toward the northwest and shouted that she saw fire. I really don’t remember running out of the tent or any of the horror that erupted after we got out of the area where we were seated but we ended up on Barbour street and took the bus home. My mom didn’t talk very much about the fire and I don’t have many facts about the tragedy except the ones I’ve recounted.
— John Niemczyk
— John Niemczyk
...her dad was in shock and tears trying to find our bodies...
I am a survivor of the Hartford Circus Fire, along with my parents Paul Arthur St. Onge and Emma Couture St. Onge. I was 1 1/2 years old and my parents had taken me to the circus on July 6, 1944. I don't remember that day but my parents have told me their account of the events. My mother said she saw the fire start on the hay on the floor on the opposite side of the tent. The fire then went up the tent wall and up to the roof very fast. People were panicking and trying to get out of the same entrance from which they entered. We were sitting on the upper tiers of the bleachers and my parents decided to drop down between the seats to the ground and get out back under the tent. Mom handed me to dad on the ground and she dropped down on her own and scraped her arms on the way down. She was 21 at the time. We went out under the tent and made our way to the car in the parking lot where they watched the fire progress. They remained in the car for hours since no traffic flow was allowed due to police, fire, and medical traffic and panic traffic jams.
Phones were scarce, unavailable, or tied up, so family at home did not know our status. On the radio they heard about the fire and the devastatingly tragic death toll. Since my mother's family knew we went to the circus, my grandfather, Donat Couture, called authorities to check our status. But the authorities didn't know since we were waiting in the car. So my grandfather later was summoned to search for and identify our bodies. Mom said later that her dad was in shock and tears trying to find our bodies but couldn't; and assumed we were burned beyond recognition. We lived in Granby, Connecticut, so we must have passed on the road as he was going to Hartford and we were coming home. It was euphoric with rejoice and thanks when he came back and found us alive. My mother is still alive in a nursing home in Winter Garden FL and is now 97 yrs old.
--Leo Paul St. Onge
Phones were scarce, unavailable, or tied up, so family at home did not know our status. On the radio they heard about the fire and the devastatingly tragic death toll. Since my mother's family knew we went to the circus, my grandfather, Donat Couture, called authorities to check our status. But the authorities didn't know since we were waiting in the car. So my grandfather later was summoned to search for and identify our bodies. Mom said later that her dad was in shock and tears trying to find our bodies but couldn't; and assumed we were burned beyond recognition. We lived in Granby, Connecticut, so we must have passed on the road as he was going to Hartford and we were coming home. It was euphoric with rejoice and thanks when he came back and found us alive. My mother is still alive in a nursing home in Winter Garden FL and is now 97 yrs old.
--Leo Paul St. Onge
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