Eastland tragedy remembered in river ceremony

24-Jul-13 – (Left) As vessels of today pass Reid Murdoch Center, two crewmembers of a small U.S. Coast Guard boat stand at attention on Wednesday after placing in the Chicago River a bouquet of flowers in memory of the S.S. Eastland. (Click on image to view larger version.)

About 25 people attended this year’s ceremony on the Riverwalk between Clark and LaSalle Streets, including Nancy Brizzolara Lorentz, whose father, Ralph Brizzolara, survived the accident.

“He was pulled through a porthole along with his uncle and never knew who saved him,” recalled Lorentz, “but he got safely on land…called his mother, and then he promised God he’d never get on a boat again. A year later he joined the Navy.”

On July 24, 1915, the S.S. Eastland, with more than 2,500 passengers on board, rolled over, killing 844 people, including 22 entire families.

Said Lorentz, “You stand here and look out there and you think, if he wasn’t saved, I wouldn’t be here. My five children wouldn’t be here.”

The Eastland Disaster Historical Society organizes the annual event.