Walking home from church today, an uncommon mental thunderbolt reminded me that today was March 25th, the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire. I veered a block off course and visited the site of this disaster where 101 years ago 146 workers (129 women, 17 men) died in a fire on the ninth floor of this building. Their employers kept them locked in their sweatshop without a key during the day so when the fire broke out, there wasn't any hope. The disaster was a leading incident in the rise of the American labor movement. I learned all about it in 5th and 6th grade.
It is easier to find the historic building you're looking for when there's a wreath out front.
Along with the wreath, a flower for each victim of the fire.
The oldest person I saw was Annie Starr, aged 30.
The youngest, Kate Leone, 14, with a lot of other teens and young twenties in between them. I found a blog with a little more information on each of the casualties.
The little Italian American museum up the street from me always has a display about the Triangle fire.
The Wikipedia article on the fire is a pretty riveting read. According to it, six of the dead from the fire remained unidentified until 2011. Also, this year was the first year I realized there were any male casualties in the fire.
1 comment:
you did it
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