Personal Accounts

Peter Hines, age 5 I'm a native of Salisbury, Connecticut. This week I finished a book about the circus fire. Tonight I spoke to my mom in Florida, who was a senior at Housatonic Valley Regional HS in Falls Village, Conn at the time of the fire. She informed me that the then Salisbury/Lakeville area veterinarian, Charlie Hines, lost a son in the fire, and my mom knew that the boy had been there with his maternal grandparents (this is verified on your list). Yours is the only victim list I have been able to find on the net. For completeness, if you wish, the hometown of victim Peter Hines, age 5, can be listed as Salisbury, Conn. Dr. Hines remained in Salisbury for many more years, but eventually moved to Florida where he took a professional veterinary position with the federal government. Thanks for your work and remembrance of the fire. May they all R.I.P. -- Doug Griffiths

I still consider my Aunt Thelma my hero. My name was Janet Noren back then and I was almost 6 years old when I attended the fire with my Aunt Thelma Noren and two cousins. We were watching the high wire act and we saw a huge orange flash that we thought was part of the show. We were saying “Oooh.” Then people were yelling “Fire.” Fortunately, we were not seated very high and not far from an exit. My Aunt Thelma kept us calm, told us to hold hands, just walk-not run, and not to look back. We were able to walk out safely. People were screaming in the background. We did look back after we were safe and saw the billowing smoke and the tent collapsing. I live in Florida now and will never forget that terrible event. I still consider my Aunt Thelma my hero. If it weren’t for her calm care, we may not have survived. -- Janet (Noren) Deyette

All I can say is wow. My father was in this fire and has recounted his story to me. Quite an ordeal. He was 11 years old at the time. His name is Richard Lambert. He lived at 41 Spring Street. It has taken this long for him to share his experience with me. All I can say is wow. I am grateful he survived but feel sorrow for those who did not. Thank you. -- Alan Lambert

...but Sandra fell from her arm, and was trampled... My name is Stephanie Trombley. My Aunt, Sandra L. Logan, was killed in the 1944 Circus Fire. I don't know if you would want to include her information in the Victims List, but I thought I would submit what I know about her, and the incidents of that awful day. Sandra attended the circus with her mother, Lillian Tillbrook Logan-age 23 at the time of the fire-and her grandmother, Emma Tillbrook. Lillian and Emma were able to escape the fire, although Lillian's name was among the injured at Municipal Hospital, according to the Hartford Courant. Lillian had Sandra under her arm as she tried to get her out safely, but Sandra fell from her arm, and was trampled and then burned. My grandfather, Harold D. Logan, was driven to the Armory the day after the fire by a neighbor, and he identified Sandra's body. My grandparents and aunt lived in Middletown, at either 136 or 146 William Street. (I'm not entirely sure of the street number, but I believe it to be 146.) I'm very glad to see a website such as this devoted to this tragedy which has affected my family-and so many others. The fire and its victims should never be forgotten, and I, for one, will make sure my aunt is always remembered. Thank you for all the hard work and dedication. -- Stephanie Logan Trombley

...looking up to see the top of the tent on fire. I was at the Ringling Bros. circus in Hartford on July 6, 1944 when I was 4 years old. We lived on Elmer St at the time and my father, who worked the night shift at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft took me, while my mother staid home. We walked to the circus grounds since we lived less than a mile away. We never entered the tent to see the show, but I can still remember feeding the elephants and seeing a sword swallower, fire eater and fat lady in the side show. I remember hearing some yelling and looking up to see the top of the tent on fire. My father and I quickly left the grounds and went across Barber St to a house where my dad called my mother to let her know what was happening and that we were OK. On our way out of the grounds I remember seeing a little girl close to my age who was injured when her mom threw her from the bleachers in order to escape. I'm certain a photo on your website marked "Circus fire Picture #8" was taken from the front porch of the house where my dad made the call because I remember standing on that porch and seeing the same scene shown in the photo. I recently noticed something in that photo that knocked me for a loop. If you look in the picture you can see a man and a small child walking toward the camera with elephants behind them. I would not be surprised if that was my dad and I. I'm wondering if anyone has the original picture or negative that could be enlarged to tell for sure. My dad was moderately bald at the time of the fire and the man looks like he's also bald. The child holding the mans hand looks to be about my age at the time of the fire. I have never been able to put that day from my mind. Later, when I became aware of how many people died that day, I realized how close my dad and I came to that same fate. I also remember two people on the Survivors list on your web site. Mrs. John J. Czertak and her son Jackie was the the wife and son of John Czertak who later worked with my dad at Roger's Sash and Door in Hartford after the war. I think John senior was in the armed forces during the war. I remember my dad telling stories for many years of operations and treatment his friends wife and/or child had to have as a result of the burns they suffered on that day. -- Rich Jakowski

We all got out safely through a slit in the tent... Patrick DeMichele age 3 (age 4 on July 25th) Thomas DeMichele age 6 Victor DeMichele age 7 Attended the circus with our aunt Ruth Morrell. We all got out safely through a slit in the tent side that someone made with his pocket knife. The tent bottom was secured to the ground. My aunt, Ruth Morrell purchased a brick for the Memorial. On the brick is me and my two brothers names Victor, Thomas and Patrick. Our last name is DeMichele and not on the brick. One of the stops on the 2008 Hartford Bike tour was the Hartford Circus Fire Memorial. I finally got to see the brick that my aunt purchased. I did not have my camera on this bike ride. She has never seen the brick. I plan on going to the memorial to take pictures of the memorial and brick for her to see. Hopefully I could find it by car. -- Patrick DeMichele

...trapped in the crush up against the stairs... This is not my story. But it happened to a priest I lived with. Unfortunately, he has Alzheimer's and wouldn't be able to tell it himself. His name is Arthur Joseph Payne and he was at the circus with his younger brother. He just turned ten on 1 June, 1944. He said everybody ran when the fire caught the top canvas. Chairs were all over the place. He was trapped in the crush up against the stairs over the big cats runway. Then somebody, he doesn't know who, lifted him up over the stairs and the next thing he knew he was standing out in the field. He was separated from his brother, who also escaped. The family didn't find him until later that day. When the 50th Anniversary came, a book was published about the fire. Joe bought the book. He was telling me about it, when he admitted that he was there that day. He said he hadn't spoken about it ever, the memories were pretty well suppressed. The book brought a lot back. He showed the book to his brother. He asked him about what happened to him that day, and his brother wouldn't speak about it, even over the distance of 50 years. Art became a priest of the Dominican Order and was a very effective preacher. I know him by his religious name, Joseph. He is in infirmary care in Columbus, Ohio. His brother's name I can't recall. He married and has several children. He still lives in Hartford. That's pretty much it. I thought someone should tell the story. There were a lot of 10-year old and 7-year old kids traumatized that day. This is the story of 2 of them. -- Sean Jordan McConway

I noticed that my brother was not with us. On July 6, 1944 my mother (Maxine Lerman) took my brother (Harvey Lerman) and me (Steven Lerman) to the circus for my 5th birthday celebration. My birthday was on July 3rd, so I am 70 year's old today. My brother will be 72 on September 7th. The best birthday present that I ever received occurred that day when the three of us survived the fire. My mother passed away in December 25, 2003 at the age of 87 and my brother and I are still around and kicking. -- Steven Lerman MORE FROM MR. LERMAN: Circus Fire Experience My name is Steven Lerman and I was born on July 3, 1939 in New York City. My parents were Irving and Maxine Lerman and my older brother, Harvey, was born on September 7, 1937, also in New York. My father worked for his father, who was one of the largest monument dealers in New York City, having a large factory on Long Island and a retail store in the city. My father was anxious to be on his own, so he bought (with his father’s help) a monument business in Hartford, Connecticut in 1941 (or 1942). He named the business “Artcraft Memorials” and it was located at 1450 Main Street just across the tracks from Firestone. The rest of our family was left in New York until my father got his business started and acquired a residence for us. My mother told me that prospective landlords were reluctant to rent to a family with two toddlers running around. Consequently my father purchased a triple-decker house at 51 Norfolk Street in Hartford. Norfolk Street is off Blue Hills Avenue not far from Albany Avenue. The family moved in during the summer of 1942. We lived in the apartment on the second floor and the first and third floor apartments were rented out. For my fifth birthday on July 3, 1944, my mother wanted to take my brother and me to see the circus which was coming to Hartford. My father urged my mother to take us to the evening performance so he could come with us, but my mother was concerned that it would be too late for her young boys. So my mother, brother and I went to the matinee performance on July 6, 1944. The three of us were sitting in the bleachers and when someone yelled “fire”. My mother quickly told us to drop down between the seats to the ground. Someone slit the tent and we went through the opening. I remember running through a field and then we entered some woods. We were all afraid that the woods would catch fire, so we ran as quickly so we could to get out of the woods. When we finally stopped out of the woods, I noticed that my brother was not with us. My mother told me many years later that she knew that my brother didn’t jump to the ground with us, but she had to go with the rush of the crowd as she was afraid of being trampled. She saw my brother start to go down the seats toward the main entrance of the tent. We then went toward the circus entrance area looking for my brother. Luckily we found him standing on the curb watching the firefighters. He said that he just went out of the tent the same way that he went in. We were very fortunate that this way was not blocked by the animal entrance cages. My mother then looked for a phone to call my father. She knew that my father was in his shop on Main Street, would have heard all of the fire engines and would have found out about the circus fire. Unfortunately there were long lines for every telephone in the area. Therefore we started to walk to the bus stop to take the bus to my father’s shop. At that time I noticed a twig, may two inches long, sticking out of my mother’s leg just below her knee. She hadn’t felt a thing with all the commotion going on. She removed the twig and stopped the bleeding before getting to the bus to my father’s shop. When we arrived at the shop, no one was there. My mother had a key and we went inside where my mother tried to call her parents in New York, but the long distance telephone lines were busy. My mother then called a local friend of hers, who knew that we were going to the circus, to inform her that we were all fine and then we waited for my father to return. My father had heard the fire engines and was told about the circus fire. He then closed his store and went to the circus to try to find us. When he arrived at the circus, he saw the inferno and started to look for us and even looked at the dead bodies. After a while, he managed to get to a phone and called my mother’s friend, who told him that we were all fine and waiting for him at his shop. He then went back to his store to find us. We took my mother to the hospital to look at her leg wound and she received some stitches. It wasn’t until the next day, that my mother was able to call her parents to tell them that we weren’t hurt. They where very concerned, but they couldn’t get through to us either. The next day my father got very sick as the events of the previous day finally got to him. My mother sent my brother and me to New York to be with my grandparents, while she tended to my father. He fully recovered. To this day when anyone asks me what was my best birthday present, I respond by saying that my best birthday present occurred when my mother took my brother and me to the circus and we all survived when the circus burnt down with over 160 people dying. No one has ever beaten that.

...looking back and seeing huge clouds of black smoke. My name is Michael "Mickey" Bailardo. My father was a fireman and eventually made Deputy Chief of the Hartford Fire Department. He helped to fight the fire that day. I was 6 1/2 years old on July 6, 1944. A good friend of my mother's teen age daughter, Isabel Montana was going to attend the circus that day with another teenage friend of hers. I don't recall her name. My mother's friend asked my mother if I would like to go along. She said OK after a little pestering from me. So, off I went with the two teenage girls. I know we took a bus from the corner of Preston Street (I lived at 166 Preston Street in those days) and Franklin Avenue. My memory is a little fuzzy on some of the details. I do know we were seated in bleachers. Not at the top, but, probably 10 to 12 rows up and on the far right of the row. There was a rather large entrance that I believe the acts were using adjacent to us and then more bleachers. I don't recall seeing the fire until we were outside. I do remember hearing several people yell fire. Isabel and her friend grabbed my hands and we all jumped to the ground and ran from the tent through that large entry way. I remember looking back and seeing huge clouds of black smoke. More smoke than flame. I also remember someone walking elephants out and hundreds of other people running. I'm now 71 and the details are fuzzy. But, somehow got on a bus and headed home. When we stepped off the bus at Franklin and Preston we saw my mother running down Preston Street. (We didn't own a car.) She was going to head out to the circus grounds to try and find us. Timing is everything in life. My mother wasn't aware of the fire until her sister called her on the phone. Her sister (who lived in Wethersfield) had heard about it on the radio and called my mother to tell her. After I got home, I remember hearing pleas on the radio for all available doctors and emergency equipment. The next day, I remember my mother telling me that some of the Berman family had perished in the fire. They owned a clothing and appliance store on Franklin Avenue called Bermen's. I didn't know the Bermen family. But, I do know we used to shop at their store on occasion. It no longer exists. I'm afraid that's the extent of what I can recall. I believe I have newspaper clipping from the Hartford Times (long ago defunct) tucked away somewhere. I believe the clipping have accompanied me over the years. But, it will take some rummaging through drawers and boxes to find them.  -- Mike Bailardo (No Longer Mickey)

...identify my sister by the red Wizard of Oz shoes she was wearing. My sister Carolyn Derby was killed in the fire. My mother Ethel Derby was burned as well as my brother William F Derby Jr. They lived at 19 Boswell Road West Hartford, CT. My father always said they went with some people down the street (Loretta Dillus) and her mother Maby. I was only one year old and was with my grandmother that day. My mother was in the hospital one of the longest. I think she got hepatitis from blood transfusions. She died of liver cancer years later. My father went to the fire. He was able to identify my sister by the red Dorothy of Wizard of Oz shoes she was wearing. We still have them. -- Donald Derby

Edwin Snelgrove, Martha Moore Edwin Snelgrove was survived by four brothers and two sisters as well as his daughter Shirley. Martha Moore lived in Hartford and was survived by two daughters, a son and her husband Walter. -- Susan Snelgrove Moore

...her water broke and a few hours later my uncle was born! When I was a kid in the 1970s, I remember begging my grandparents (who raised my brother and I) to take us to the circus. As much as we begged they never would. I found out later, as a young adult, that my grandparents (Eleanor and Edwin J. Heck) had taken my dad (Edwin A. Heck) to the circus that fateful day. Thankfully they survived (or I wouldn't be here today!) and in fact, my uncle (Robert Heck) was born that night! My grandparents were sitting in the bleachers. My grandfather jumped down first and took my dad from my grandmother. When my grandmother jumped down from the bleachers, her water broke and a few hours later my uncle was born! Sadly, the only one still alive is my uncle, who of course has no memory of that afternoon. All of my family was born and raised in Rockville (now Vernon-Rockville) Connecticut. My grandmother would tell us bits and pieces of that day, but you could tell it was difficult for her to remember without becoming very emotional about it. I wish I had taped an interview about it with her before she passed away. I recall her telling us about the lions, and the fact that they had just finished performing. I'm not sure my dad recalled much from that day - he was 4 years old in 1944. He never talked about it to my brother or I. I always wanted to ask him about it, but never did, as I was afraid he didn't want to remember that day. Now I wish I had at least tried to get him to talk about it. Thank you for your site. -- Robin Heck MORE FROM ROBIN HECK: After I sent this note I asked my uncle (Robert) if he recalled my grandparents ever talking about this day. Interestingly, he told me "did you know your grandfather was a hero that day?" Apparently my grandfather, worked at a woolen mill at the time, and always carried a knife with him to cut the yarn from the bobbins. My Grandparents, my father and my soon-to-be-born uncle escaped because my grandfather had his knife with him that day, and cut a slit in the canvas of the tent. I've seen several comments on various sites about people escaping because someone had cut a slit in the tent - I wonder now if that was him. It would be great to think he was a hero that day.

...while they were deciding if they should go they turned on the radio. My aunt and father were to take me to the circus on that day in 1944. We had driven to my aunts home and were to car pool to the circus, however, my aunt had a headache, and while they were deciding if they should go they turned on the radio. I can still see that radio on top of the refrigerator. The fire was reported on the radio. While at school I learned that a classmate had lost his mother and sister. -- Charles Johnson

...was severely burned and was hospitalized. My wife Roslyn (Berkowitz) Stein attended the Ringling Brothers Circus on that fateful day. She was 8 years old and was accompanied by her mother Fannie Nirenstein Berkowitz and her cousin Kenneth Nirenstein who was 7 years old. Fannie was severely burned and was hospitalized in Hartford Hospital for reconstructive surgery and remained there for about 6 months. Roz and her cousin were uninjured but traumatized by the separation from one another until they were found by Roz's father who rushed to the scene. He had been home recovering from hernia surgery. Roz wrote an award winning college essay on the fire entitled "Terror Terror." The sounds of the frightened and rampaging animals haunt her to this day. I was supposed to have gone with my brother to the circus, but for one reason or another it never happened. I guess I was just lucky..... -- (Rabbi) Israel C. Stein UPDATE FROM RABBI STEIN: After many years of searching for my wife's award winning essay, we found it a few days ago. I want to mail it to your offices and for your archives. I'll never get the image of that little 6 year old child running frantically about searching for her mother. And what a remarkable woman she turned out to be..... -- Israel C. Stein And here is a link to the essay "Terror Terror", written by Rosyln Berkowitz Stein in 1959, fifteen years after her experience at the fire.

...flames burning up the sides of the tent... I found your website and appreciate all you’ve done. I too was at the circus like the other survivors. My dad and mom took me, along with a doctor’s friend wife Dolly and her son. We had reserved seating and were sitting in the folding chairs in towards the end where the fire started. I was 4 ½ years old and remember looking back and seeing the flames burning up the sides of the tent and my dad very calmly leading us to the opposite end of the tent because the exits next to us were blocked. I remember a large man with red or blonde hair with a large pail of popcorn and large drink under his arm come falling out of his folding seat with the popcorn flying everywhere. My dad knew we needed to go to the opposite end of the area of the fire due to the chaos. He saved our lives with his quick thinking. I remember that the babysitter who was at home with my little brother, told my brother that we all had died after she heard about the fire. My brother does not remember that. (thank goodness). It is funny how I can remember the man falling and the popcorn flying, walking out of the tent, but not remembering seeing it all burn after getting outside. My dad however was not the type to hang around and watch things like that. We were from New Britain, CT, at the time. My dad was a radiologist there in New Britain. He was covering the practices for two doctor friends of his who were serving in the Navy at the time. Dolly was one of their wives. I believe her last name was Bradley and they were from Bridgeport. I was young but heard about them all my life. I am not 100% certain on their names. -- Larry Mucci

They were going to bring their children the next day. Thanks for this site, I just found out my sister-in-law's grandmother died in the fire, Anna Dimartino. Anna Dimartino went to the circus that day with her sister-in-law, Carmella Pistorio - she died too. They were going to bring their children the next day. This is a story about my Uncle Tony (Piacenta). He went to the circus that day with friends, but his parents didn't know he was there and so he left early to get home in time so he wouldn't get in trouble. He lives in Glastonbury. He found out about the fire the next day. I'm not sure if his parents ever found out about it. -- Debra Surdyka Barney

I'm needed and I'm going. My mother and grandfather are connected to the circus fire. Mom had gone to the circus on July 5. The next day, she had a date with a sailor from Springfield MA. When he left, he told his mother that Mom and he were going to the circus. When she heard of the fire, she (understandably) panicked and called my grandmother who told her they'd gone to New York City instead. Grandpa worked for Pratt and Whitney in East Hartford. He'd been a security guard but poor health forced him to give it up. The company liked him and so created a clerical position in their fire department. When word reached P&W, he called my grandmother and said he was going over. She asked if he thought he should and he answered, "I'm needed and I'm going." (No doubt some of my Scottish stuborness comes from Grandpa - something of which I'm proud.) He came home late the evening of the 6th and this man, whose system could not tolerate alcohol, went to kitchen cupboard and took down a bottle of whiskey they kept for medicinal purposes. He poured a very stiff drink and downed it straight away, then poured another and similarly downed it. The rest of the evening he spent washing his hands to get rid of the smell of burned flesh. -- Robert Paine

They got permission to set up equipment on the front porch... There's a second story about the fire, one that is never told let alone even known. It is about those who covered the fire for the four radio stations then in Hartford. Much of the following is from the article in an issue of Broadcasting Magazine that came out after the fire. At 2:41 p.m., Travelers Insurance vice-president H.P. Van Beynum saw from his office in the Travelers Tower, smoke in the North End of the city. He called WTIC news director Tom Eaton, in the adjacent 26 Grove Street studios. Eaton then made calls and learned from official sources that there was a fire at the circus grounds. Chief announcer Bernard "Bunny" Mullins and announcer George Bowe went to the scene in a WTIC remote truck. Once on the scene, they realized that a live broadcast would only add to the tension and perhaps create panic. Mullins and Bowe gathered information, then went to the temporary morgue at the State Armory. They returned to the station, which already was broadcasting emergency messages for police and fire officials, the Red Cross and other agencies. On the 6 p.m. newscast, sponsored by Shinola wax, they gave a very calm but factual account of what they had witnessed. Afterward, Bunny Mullins stated that he had not prepared the night's newscast because he truthfully did not feel like it. He then turned the rest of the program over to announcer Russ Dollar. WDRC, located in the penthouse of 750 Main Street, next to WTIC's building, sent its news director. He, too, refrained from broadcasting live and instead chose to give his impressions on the News Digest of the Air. WHTD, now WPOP, was located at 54 Pratt Street. It sent the news director, announcer Richard Bronson and another man to the fire scene. WTHT, in the Industrial Building at 983 Main Street, across from the G.Fox store, saw smoke from its top floor studios. According to "Fire", by Stewart O'Nan, they were carrying the Mutual radio Game of the Day between Detroit and Boston. Fenway Park was an advantage for the Sox, who were "tarring" the Tigers, as Mr. O'Nan wrote. The station's staff was debating whether to break into the game when Mutual aired a bulletin about the fire. The WTHT mobile unit was near the Connecticut River, close to the Hartford-Wethersfield line. As the late WTHT engineer, Roland LaLanne, related the story, he and the others with him had just crossed some train tracks on the way back to the truck, when they heard on the two-way radio one of the secretaries calling them. "WTHT truck, WTHT truck, come in!" She directed them to go to the scene, that the circus was on fire. I seem to recall that he alluded to the truck racing up Main Street, past the two buildings. Once at the scene, they decided to broadcast across the street from the circus grounds. They got permission to set up equipment on the front porch of a house directly opposite the scene. The lady allowed them to connect the remote equipment to her telephone junction box and the station went live not from the scene but across the street. Hartford's four stations dropped their regular program schedules and the normal competition, to cooperate completely with one another in order to bring all pertinent information of the tragedy to the public. Governor Baldwin broadcast live over WTIC and, I believe, WHTD, his statement(s) being read over the other two outlets. Mayor William Mortensen broadcast twice over WDRC and WTHT, at about 8 p.m. and again around 9:15. A WTHT engineer handled the technical details and the text of his messages were later read over WHTD and WTIC. There were no attempts at "firsts"; no "scoops", no attempts to beat out the other guy. Just pure and plain professionalism with the only goal being public service. I wish I had more information and more names. There is very little audio of that story; only a few minutes of WTIC's coverage exists. I would very much like to hear from anyone who may have been at a station that day and can provide more information. The story deserves to be preserved, and I am most curious to know more about "how it was." -- Robert Paine (ka3zci@yahoo.com)

...people pushed along and trampled by others... My mother, Theresa Viering Franz, 35 years old, and my brother, Richard Franz, 6, went to the Circus on July 6. They took the bus to get there. My father, Richard Franz, 41, joined them after he got out of work. Before my father showed up, my mother sat with her sister-in-law and nephew, Millie and Paul Viering. They were in a reserved seat area. At some point a Circus employee asked to see my mother's tickets. He told her she was in the wrong section. He directed her and my brother to move to an area of general seating, and they complied. According to my mother, the fire broke out right above that reserved area where my aunt and cousin were seated. Millie and Paul Viering are on the list of the deceased. My mother, brother, and father made it out alive. My mother and father described the scene as a stampede, with people pushed along and trampled by others trying to make it out of the burning tent. Later on, my mother and father returned to identify the dead bodies for my Uncle, Joe Viering. My father told me that there were verbal warnings before you went into the area where the bodies were held. It was gruesome, and some people who went to identify beloved family members broke down and were not able to do it. My brother Richard, now 72, lives with me. He has mental retardation, but he does remember some things about the Circus Fire. He says that the family lived in Wethersfield at the time. I was born 9 years later, and the family had moved to the South End of Hartford by then. I wish my parents were alive so that I could get more information from them, but they've been gone for over 25 years already. In my family we often sat around, talked and told stories. I had heard about the Circus Fire many times. I heard about the young cousin and aunt I would never get to know. -- Rosemary Franz Geer

After the fire started, I was mesmerized by it... I was at the fire as a ten year old with a group of nine consisting of two mothers with their children. I fainted as we waited in the sweltering heat to buy our tickets. My mother took me outside where I recuperated. When we went into the tent, our group was sitting high in the bleachers. They moved further down for my benefit. After the fire started, I was mesmerized by it, until I felt the heel of my shoes being tugged from below. I looked around and saw my group was gone. It looked down and there was my Mother, who motioned for me to jump down to where she and the rest of our group were standing. We exited the tent where a man was slitting a hole in the tent. I wrote a story about our experience that was published in the,"Hartford Courant," at the time of the 50th Anniversary of the Fire. They paid me $250! Two of the boys were missing after the fire. One was found at the Brown School seven hours later. He was five years old. His father went through the morgue looking for him. The other boy had been taken in by a family in the area, and there he was standing on their front porch where his mother reunited with him. The older son saw a body placed in the trunk of a car. We all escaped, but the memories are never erased from the mind. Had my mother not been able to reach my heel, I probably would have been killed. It was indeed a gruesome day. My husband and I were at the Ground Breaking Ceremony for the Memorial, but could not be there for its dedication. We have since visited, found our donated bricks and walked the entire site. What amazed me was the size of the tent. It is a very well done Memorial. The large bronze disc my husband photographed. In viewing the photographs later, we found that the name of an Aunt of one of our Councilmen in Solana Beach was that of his kin, Elizabeth Roberts, who had perished in the fire. Other names of people we knew who attended the circus that day were: Elizabeth Wallace, Cora Wallace, Charles Wallace, Nellie Wallace, Elizabeth Bushnell, Ralph W. Bushnell, Frank Bushnell, and James Bushnell who 17 years later became my husband. Barbara Cook, John Cook, Wendell Cook and Mrs. Cook were friends at the circus, though not sitting with us. The oldest son, Wendell, wore glasses. The fire started directly behind them and raced over the top of the tent as they raced to get out with ash falling on them. Wendell fell and his glasses came off. With luck he retrieved them and was not trampled by the crowd. Many of these people have since died. Family friends from Storrs died in the fire. They were Elizabeth Putnam the mother and her daughter 5 year old Mary Putnam. They are buried in the Storrs Cemetery. The funeral was delayed for hours when the identity of Mary was not certain. In those war years women took on men's jobs. The Motto was, "Lucky Strike Goes to War." The daughter, Elizabeth Putnam was working in the tobacco fields in Bolton along with other 15 year old girls including my sister Dorothy. Elizabeth had a premonition that something bad had happened to her mother and tried repeatedly to call home. Later that evening she heard the terrible news from her father. -- Mary Wallace Bushnell

...saw the smoke and went there with his camera. Here are the first few photos that my father-in-law (Henry J. Hallock Sr.) took at the 1944 Hartford Circus fire. The story I have heard from my wife was that both her parents were suppose to go to the circus that day, but something came up and they couldn't go. My father-in-law not being to far from the circus saw the smoke and went there with his camera. My wife has always been told that because of the graphic photos they were never allowed to look at them as children. -- Peter Alessi Thanks to Henry J. Hallock Sr. for these photos.

They went as a birthday present... My father was Albert W. Toth, my grandmother at the time was Louise Toth (later became Louise Connor).. My dad was four at the time of the fire, his date of birth was 4-6-40, he later died 12/17/1987... My grandmother was born in 1913, August I believe, and died in 1988. Joan and Regina Toth were my aunts, I obviously never met them, so I dont know much about them except their birthdays were both around the time of the circus fire (and my birthday is July 6th ironically) I think Joanie was July 2nd and Regina July 7th. They went as a birthday present..My father had a 10% chance of survival and beat the odds, thankfully or I would not be writing this..My grandmother was in the hospital in a coma, and there for a couple of months with severe burns to her body. She didnt even know her daughters died until a couple months after the incident. -- Steve Toth

...my father handed down her boy to her... We were talking about the fire yesterday with my father who is now in a nursing home in Port Charlotte Florida with end stage Parkinson's. He was at the Circus that horrible day. He was 15 and went with a neighbor and her son. When the fire broke out the women jumped down from the bleachers and my father handed down her boy to her and they both turned and ran leaving my father. He grabbed a pole that was holding the tent up thinking he would shimmy down and the pole fell, thank God landing outside the tent and not inside where he surely would have perished. He is 81 now and won't talk about it. His name is Norman T. Smith and he lived in Hartford. Your website if very informative, but unfortunately I wont be sharing this with him because it still upsets him.  -- Maggie Smith Furstein

My dad was 2 years old at the time... Does anyone have the pics from the Hartford or East Hartford papers from the fire. I was told that there is a picture of my dad sitting on the shoulders of a fireman [might have been a clown] in the newspaper? My dad was 2 years old at the time and had blond curly hair and my grandmother and he were in the fire. My Grandmother's name was Elena Nicoletta Rock (9/13/23 to 9/13/03) and my dad's name is Charles Michael Rock (4/25/42) - both survived the fire. They used to live at 118 Central Avenue, East Hartford, CT. My grandmother is buried in East Hartford. My dad lives in Santa Clara County, California. -- Donna McLean (Rock)

After helping hundreds over that barrier, he died in the fire... I survived the circus fire, thanks to (probably) the same good Samaritan that lifted Father Payne over the animal cage tunnel -- He lifted me over also and I was able to escape. I was told later that he was a reporter from The Hartford Times, and that, after helping literally hundreds to safety over that barrier, he died in the fire. I was 12 at the time, and I had gone to the circus with our neighbors, photographer Ruby Schaller, and his family. The neighbor family I went to the circus with: father was Ruby (Ruben?) Schaller and the older son was Earl Schaller. I don't remember the younger son's name, and I don't think Mrs. Schaller (Helen) went to the circus with us. Another kid, my age and also a survivor, that I later learned was there, was Paul Padua, who now lives south of Boston, I believe. He is an engineer. -- David M. Elovitz, PE

"I'm here to take my grandsons to the circus..." My grandfather was a circus performer in his early days and was retired by the time 7/6/44 rolled around. He was also a domineering, abusive alcoholic who terrorized my mother throughout her childhood. On the morning of the fire my grandfather showed up on my mother's doorstep and said I'm here to take my grandsons to the circus. My mother stepped out onto the porch and said, "What about your granddaughter?" (my sister) He repeated louder this time..."I'm here to take my grandsons to the circus." My mother who knew better than to oppose this man looked him dead in the eye and said, "Sorry Dad it's all or nothing. If Phyllis can't go, the boy's can't go either." She then turned on her heel and walked back into the house closing the door in his face. I am so grateful for my Mother's independence day. I was born 12 years later and would possibly be an only child had she caved into his demand. And...in some odd way I am also grateful that he was a jerk because had he been a nicer fellow...again...I may have been an only child. -- Barbara Emerson

...he shook his head, and said "no, that isn't her" In 1944 my Dad was in the Connecticut State Police Academy, class of '44'. After the academy, his first assignment was to help clean up after the circus fire. During those days at the fire scene and armory, he would come home at night, and burn his clothes behind the garage every day. For obvious reasons. I remember him telling me about a little girl who they had in the armory for identification. She was badly burned. A man came in looking for his daughter who was of the same general age and description. He said when the man saw the little girl, he shook his head, and said "no, that isn't her". He said that from observing the man's reaction, he thought it was just that the man could not admit that it might have been his daughter. I have always wondered if this might have been the unidentified little girl who became know as Little Miss 1565. Dad passed away in 1986, I'm sure he would have been glad to tell what he remembered. The memory of the man that viewed the little girl, and denied her, was very clear in his mind. He too was of the opinion that it was his little girl, and he could not bring himself to say so. Ironically he was a lifelong circus fanatic, and would always get up early, go down to the rail head in Waterbury to watch the Greatest Show on Earth unload from the trains. He told me of the time that he traded his father's Stetson walking shoes for a ticket to the circus. Being a Circus fan and a Carney before joining the Department, he was aware of the practice of waterproofing the tents with gasoline and paraffin, I don't think this is a new revelation, however it should be noted. At that time everyone smoked cigarettes and flicked them on the ground, still burning, when done. A possible source of information would be anyone in the class of '44' at the State Police Academy. They did much of the grunt work between the fire scene and the armory. The CSP Museum in Meriden might have that info. And if any of them are still with us. Please feel free to use any of this info on your website. It would be a fitting tribute to Trooper Alden Thompson. -- Warren Thompson

... five out of six of us had planned on going to the circus that day. In 1958, I sat at a table with a group of young women, all of whom had entered the Sisters of Mercy from all different parts of the state. For some reason or other, we got talking about the circus fire. I recounted that my brother and I had come down with chicken pox, so were unable to go. Another told of having been prevented from attending by a flat tire on the way to the circus. Yet another said that her family had been walking to the circus, and it was so blistering hot, 	that when they went past an air-conditioned theater, they went there instead. I don't recall what what had happened in the other two instances, but we soon discovered that five out of six of us had planned on going to the circus that day. I still remember the feeling of electricity that went through the air as we all realized that. And the feeling of gratitude continues to this day. I was only six years old at the time, but I do recall that our neighbors, the Kuhnly's (mother and daughter) from Rockville were killed and the other two children were able to escape. From what I understand, either Mrs. Kuhnly or her daughter had fallen trying to escape, the other tried to help her up, and they were both trampled upon. -- Mary Fahy RSM

Haunting Memories... My father William M. Clark Jr. of Windsor survived the circus fire, he was fifteen years old at the time and decided to go to the circus rather than the movies. This was to be an adventure, and one of the first times he would be allowed to go into Hartford alone. He has since passed away but the circus fire always seemed to haunted him. As a child I can recall going only once to the circus, it was the Shrine Circus at the Hartford Armory. As we arrived I could tell that my father was not looking very well and at the last moment he decided to wait in the car. We stayed at the circus for about half an hour and my mother decided that it would be best for us to leave. My father rarely spoke of the fire, but recalled jumping from the back of the riser down to the back of the tent, he could feel the heat of the fire over his head. He became tangled in some loose chairs, an older gentleman helped him get loose and he ran out of the tent as fast as he could and went straight home. He was reluctant to tell his other Mother that he did not go to the movies when she arrived home from work that evening. I am in the Windsor Kiwanis Club and the circus fire comes up every once in a while. One of our club members is Nellie Homes-Mason, she was featured on the front page of the newspaper July 7, 1944 as a young nurse helping with the injured and identifying the deceased. She has some very interesting stories about peeling back watches to determine if the deceased persons skin color was white or black and the horrific smell. She has a scrap book with many proposals of marriage that followed from the newspaper coverage. -- William M. Clark III

...got my leg caught and someone fell on me... I went to the circus with my mother (Mary Hindle) and my grandmother (Ada Hall Hindle). Ada was supposed to go home to Norwich Connecticut but stayed an extra day to take me to the circus. She turned out to be a victim. I was 6 years old and will never forget that day or the days that followed. We were watching the trapeze act and the lion and tigers who were in center ring when the fire broke out. The wild animals were rushed out so the array of cages could be removed. The trapeze group were down on the ground very quickly. People started going down the bleachers throwing chairs left and right as they went when I got my leg caught and someone fell on me. My mother had turned around and grabbed and pulled me to safety. We had lost track of Ada who was taken to the hospital. My mother and I made it to the street and tried to get on a bus. A police officer directed us to a ambulance which took us to a hospital. The heat inside the tent was so severe that although we were not exposed to flames we were burnt over our body. -- Edmund Hall Hindle

...I saw the tent collapse. I was at the fire with my wife, mother and dad. I was home while waiting to go on duty in the Navy. We had reserved seats high at the end by the bandstand. Clyde Beatty's animal act was on in front of us. The fire started of to the left. As people panicked, Dad and I made the women sit still. When the aisle cleared, we walked down it and out the nearest exit. The band was still playing. When I turned to make sure Mother and Dad were with us, I saw the tent collapse. In 1949 I took my six-year old daughter to the circus in Wilmington, DE. When I requested two seats in the top row, the ticket seller asked why I wanted such less desirable seats. I told him "I was at Hartford". This created quite a stir. My older stepson was a clown with the circus when it no longer played in tents. I am 89 now and live in Wilmington, NC. -- Dave Carnell

...ran away from the bottleneck of people and towards the fire... My dad was at that circus and under the bigtop at the time the fire started. His name was Jack E. Mahar and he was 6 years old at the time. His brother David was only 3 years old at the time so he stayed home. My dad, Jack, actually spotted the fire and alerted his dad, Edmond J. Mahar. Edmond picked Jack up, put him on his shoulders and ran away from the bottleneck of people and towards the fire. My dad had a small burn on his left knee but that was the worst of it. They escaped virtually unharmed. Jack passed away in 2002. My dad and his family lived at 89 Bentwood Rd in West Hartford. My granddad was born in 1903, my dad was born June 25th, 1938. -- Douglas Mahar

...told me to run and jump off the bleachers... It is still pretty clear in my mind - my aunt told me to run and jump off the bleachers and I did. Someone caught me and kept me until we found some other people that I was with. Eventually we came to the car and the other woman and her son were waiting there for all of us. In the meantime, my aunt (Mae Avery), cousin (Sandra Avery) and grandmother (Martha Moore) were trying to get out. Martha was sent to the hospital and my aunt continued to look for me, and eventually got back to the car and saw all of us. That's all that happened to me. I was a lot luckier than the other survivors. I do remember everyone running toward the entrance they came in, even my aunt. Where we were sitting we weren't too far from an exit. I have heard it said people to tend to go toward the same way they came in in an emergency. -- Janet (Moore) Sapolis

...left a mark on their lives forever. My parents, Walter and Mary Ann Luszczewski, were married in Cleveland on February 9, 1944. They were stationed in New London, CT where my Dad was the Chief of the boat on the USS Caiman, newly constructed in Groton and about to begin her war patrols. On a lovely summer day, my father took my mother, who was pregnant at that time with my sister who was born November 11, to the circus. It was a day they would never forget and that would affect the childhoods of my sister and me forever. We never saw a circus and the circus coming to town was a cause of great distress to my parents. The sound of elephants braying brought out a strong reaction in both of them for the rest of their lives. They were both very afraid of fire and sensitive to the smell of smoke. Although they were not injured, the experience left a mark on their lives forever.   -- Beth Crossan

The Incredible Hartford Circus Fire On July 6, 1944, my mother and I were driven by my uncle (I think) to Hartford, CT to see the great Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus. We were accompanied by Siri Montagna and her daughter Karen. At the time, I was 13 years old and Karen was about 8 or 9. The atmosphere was electric with excitement, what with the appearance of live tigers, elephants, lions, and other creatures as we (and they) entered the area where the circus tent was located. I don’t know which direction we were facing, but I will assume it was in the South stands of the tent in order to establish context. We were closer to the top level of seats, which consisted of wooden planks, than the bottom ones. It was very hot inside. We were in a tent, hence no air conditioning. Because of the heat, Siri took off Karen’s dress to make her more comfortable, and I held the dress for her. Karen wore a slip underneath. The show began with great fanfare. I remember the barkers, the clowns, and of course, the wonderful animals. Soon afterward, perhaps ½ hour or so, I noticed a ring of fire in the ceiling of the tent in the northeast corner. It was a surreal experience and I was awestruck at first and did not even know if it was real, perhaps because of the flamboyant, majestic nature of the proceedings below, but it spread rapidly. Soon most of the spectators were stampeding down the stands, trying to escape the horror. Many of them simply rushed to their deaths and probably smothered because of the massive congestion. I recall that the band bravely remained and played “As the Band Played On” to attempt to encourage the crowd. The animals were evacuated by sending them through tunnel-like, metal fencing, which I will call “runways”. I recall remaining very calm, a tribute to the various fire drills and mock air raid practices that we experienced at school. And since I recognized the folly of going down, I took my mother’s hand and traveled upward in the stands. What’s the point of going up in the stands? I simply did not want to go down, and otherwise moved with no specific purpose in mind except to avoid the mob scene below (I can now recognize it as the possible urging of the Holy Spirit). I lost track of Siri and Karen at that point. When we reached the top level of seats, lo and behold, below us was the runway by which the animals were leaving. It was outside the tent, hence it represented safety to us. We then simply jumped down perhaps 3 or 4 feet to the top of the runway and then to the ground. As we walked on the grounds, we saw the emergency personnel removing dead bodies by means of stretchers. I was still holding onto Karen’s dress, but we did not find Siri and Karen. However, I then detected Siri on the top level of the stands, getting ready to jump. She jumped (probably a distance of 12 to 15 feet) to the ground, but landed inside the tent. I suppose by then the runway had been removed or else she was in an area away from the runway. I did not tell Mom what I saw since I didn’t know if Siri was safe or not. Later, Mom said to me, “I think Siri must have been burned”. I still did not tell her what I saw. We finally reached a place where we could make a phone call (no cell phones) and called home. Eventually another uncle came and drove us back home. Subsequently, we finally learned that Siri and Karen were also safe. We all walked away from the incredible Hartford circus fire, but 168 others did not.   -- Nicholas J. Pagano, formerly from Torrington, CT

I looked up and saw pieces of the tent falling in...  While I was only 4 years old at the time I remember sitting the bleachers in the big top and my mom saying "My God, we must get out of here." I looked up and saw pieces of the tent falling in. With my hand in my mom's she pulled me through crowds and outside. I remember being pulled over ditches, animals being herded in all directions, people screaming, and witnessing total panic all around me. My Mom, Mary Clinton Spencer Brooke, was about 32 years of age, but she always lied about her age. I know we had a neighbor's child with us also, but I do not remember their names. We lived in Middle Haddam, CT -- Denny Brooke

...huge rush of people crushing everyone else...  My grandmother and her brother were survivors of the fire. My grandmother, Irene Frances Sigal, was a young teenager who had taken her little brother Stanley to the circus that day. When the fire started, she told me of the smoke and the huge rush of people crushing everyone else on their way toward the exit. She grabbed her brother Stanley and tried to find another way out. Someone had lifted a side of the tent, and she and Stanley got out uninjured. My grandmother was a survivor twice - in 1979 she was seriously injured by a bomb planted by a terrorist near a hotel in Tiberias, Israel. She fought to survive, and not only did she recover, but she proved her doctors wrong having been told she would never walk again. -- Tova Cern, Israel

...heavy cloud of smoke in the distance. July 6, 1944 is a date many residents of Hartford, CT will not forget. I still remember sitting on the stoop outside of our building at 166 Barbour St., several blocks South of what was known popularly as the circus grounds. The heat that day was incredibly intense. The type of heat that totally saps your energy. It was also incredibly quiet. I don't recall seeing anyone or any traffic on the street (Barbour St. was a very long and wide street and a main bus route in North Hartford) probably because so many people were attending the afternoon session of the Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey circus. Also, World War II was still underway and for those who had cars, gas was still a scarce commodity. Because of his work schedule, my father had taken me and my sisters to the circus the prior evening. I had completed first grade at St. Michael's school that June. The silence was suddenly broken by the sound of sirens. I saw a lone car speeding down Barbour St. in the direction of the circus grounds. Soon there was more and more traffic. I recall suddenly seeing a man standing in the middle of the intersection of Barbour and Westland Streets frantically directing traffic. He did not appear to be a policeman. One of the early cars speeding down Barbour Street was driven by Father Looney, assistant pastor of St. Michael's Church. He was one of the first priests on the scene, administering last rites to many of the victims. It was commonly believed that this experience led to his poor health and an early death a few years later. I recall running up to our second floor apartment and learning from my parents that the circus was on fire. They gave us strict orders not to leave the house so we would not be tempted to head down to the fire scene. I recall seeing from one of the windows the heavy cloud of smoke in the distance. Later in the afternoon, friend of my parents, the Lynchs, came to our house to see if their daughter, a friend of one of my sisters, who had gone to the circus might possibly be at our house. She was not, but was later reunited with her parents. I learned the next day that one of my friends from first grade, Billy Dineen, had been killed in the fire. Billy's funeral was one of many that were held in the remaining weeks. -- John Sullivan

...seeing a big flaming tent pole come crashing down... My parents Frank and Rose Sullivan were 37 and 40 respectively at the time of the fire. Dad worked at the Hartford Times as a linotype operator and it was his day off. My father took my sister and I to watch them set up the tents the day before. I was 5, my sister Eileen 3. You can't understand how exciting that was today in an age of TV and internet. The show itself couldn't come fast enough. On July 6th, my immediate family plus aunts and cousins arrived on the circus grounds and split into two parties as the tickets were for two different locations. My dad took me with him. The others, my mom; my aunt Ella Russo, 38, the one who purchased our tickets; aunt Amy Montano, about 35 and pregnant, carrying twins, which she would lose because of the trauma of the fire; my cousin Jerome Montano, 3; my cousin Vincent Testa, 10; and my sister took the other seats nearer the front entrance. When the fire broke out, dad put me on his back and leapfrogged chairs. At the stairs over the animal chutes in a crazed crowd, Dad slipped and fell with me. A man assisting folks in trouble picked us both up and threw us over the chute to safety. As I hit the ground, I remember looking back and seeing a big flaming tent pole come crashing down not far from where we had just left. Over the years, I've always wondered whether that man survived because I probably owe him my life. We got up and continued out the rear entrance, then making our way around to the front looking for family. My sister and cousin Jerome were thrown down from the top of the stands and successfully caught. Vincent was allowed to forge ahead of everyone because my mom and aunts thought he was grown up enough to get out on his own. No one could guess how vicious the fight for survival would be. My cousin Jerome once told me he had his arm get caught somehow in the animal chute and how he pried it loose just in time and of course we know now how dangerous a location that was to have a problem in. As we fled the tent, in all my boyhood naivette I remember begging my father to let me get to a fire box and sound the alarm, this with fire engines already pulling up outside. In front, a gruesome scene of blackened, smoking bodies on the grass was already unfolding. After a few minutes, police forced us out of the area. We soon encountered a little boy like me and his mom who was distraught. My dad examined a small burn on the boy's hand and coldly dismissed it as slight, telling her to get him to a doctor's office. After what we had just seen moments before, who could blame him. In a short while, we found my mother lying in an overgrown lot near where we left our car, crying hysterically. "Everyone's o.k., but we can't find Vincent," she wailed. Later that evening we would find out that my first cousin Vincent, the boy who took me to Vine Street School everyday, had been trampled to death. He was such a lovely boy. Sometimes, he’d bend over so I could climb onto his back for the walk to school. Other times he’d sing duets with my mother “Would/Do you wanna wish on a star, carry moonbeams homes in a jar,” a popular Bing Crosby song of the times. The entire family, led by my Italian grandmother Lillian, immediately went into mourning. There was no consoling my aunt and uncle, Vincent's parents. In the weeks and months to follow, Laura, his mom, almost had a nervous breakdown, still looking out her front window and expecting her only child to come running in from school. Perhaps only the intervention of Beatrice Auerbach, my uncle's employer at G. Fox & Co., saved the day. She sent her private nurse to be with my aunt for a couple of weeks to get her through her anguish. But, I can say with certainty having known and loved them their whole lives, the pain from this loss never left them until the day they died. That their next born, daughter Claudia, two years later, became Claudia Weicker, First Lady of Connecticut, is an interesting sidebar to this story. The wake was my first and very intense. I can’t remember details but I do know from future experiences my Noni Lillian, 68, would almost go into a keen (O, dia/dio) and collapse at family suffering. Even though I was barely six years old, the events of that day and afterward are seared forever in my memory. How could it not be, it was absolutely horrifying. A year later I transferred to St.Joseph Cathedral School on Asylum Hill and over my time there I encountered lots of others who had been there, some who had cut their way thru the circus tent with Boy Scout knives. 15 years later while serving in the USAF I experienced the only other large scale fire of my life. I never want to see a third. I was in a WWII hanger on work detail when it caught fire and burned to the ground in 10 minutes flat. An airman was swabbing the floor down with high octane airplane gas and it ignited when he went to hose it down. Just the friction from trying to screw a hose to a faucet supplied the spark. Suddenly I heard a huge sucking sound (oxygen being sucked)and 75 ft away the airman racing ahead of a wall of flames, his brogans afire. We shot out the back door. Thank God everyone got out alive. The reason I bring this up is this: I have a memory of a terrible sucking sound like that at the Circus Fire as the fire advanced across the bigtop. Has any other survivor ever mentioned it? I’ve never heard of anyone else who has. Maybe I imagined it. My mother, Rose Sullivan, always said, "Everytime I see a sunset, it reminds me of the circus fire." Though my mom expressed herself through that quote, my dad never said a word about it. Unfortunately he died five years later and I never had a chance to talk to him about that day.  -- Dennis Sullivan

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