Flower in the River: A Family Tale Finally Told

Tickers Tapping, Phones Ringing: Women Racing to Break the Eastland Tragedy

• Natalie Zett • Episode 81

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Eastland Disaster on Chicago Med

  • The TV show Chicago Med referenced the Eastland disaster in its Season 10 premiere.
  • Jenny Jose’s article in Central Recorder discussed this reference.

Genealogy Conference Highlights

  • Attended a conference by the Association of Professional Genealogists, focusing on new technologies in genealogy.

Ticker Tape and Gossip Tickers

  • Explored Frank Blaha’s mention of gossip tickers and provided historical context on ticker tape technology.
  • Shared insights on ticker use during major events like the Titanic and Lusitania disasters.

Chicago Examiner’s Coverage of the Eastland Disaster

  • Detailed how William Randolph Hearst’s Chicago Examiner covered the disaster, with a focus on the vital role of a telephone operator.
  • Highlighted the paper’s system for gathering and distributing news.

The Role of Telephone Operators

  • Provided historical context on early 20th-century telephone operators and their pivotal role in communications.
  • Discussed their challenges, including efforts to organize for better working conditions.

Ongoing Research

  • Shared efforts to uncover the identity of the nameless telephone operator from the Chicago Examiner.
  • Described the genealogical methods being used in this investigation.


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Natalie Zett:

Hello, I'm Natalie Zett and welcome to Flower in the River. This podcast, inspired by my book of the same name, explores the 1915 Eastland disaster in Chicago and its enduring impact, particularly on my family's history. We'll explore the intertwining narratives of others impacted by this tragedy as well, and we'll dive into writing and genealogy and uncover the surprising supernatural elements that surface in family history research. Come along with me on this journey of discovery. Hey, this is Natalie, and I wanted to let you know that, just as I was getting ready to publish this episode of the podcast, I got a Google Alert I consider Google Alerts a genealogist and journalist and historian's best friend and that Google Alert was about the Eastland disaster. And, of course, as you can imagine, that doesn't happen very often, and here's what I learned A US-based TV show called Chicago Med, in its season 10 premiere, the Eastland disaster was referenced. Yes, I did watch the episode and, no, I'm not going to give away any spoilers, but even though it's a small reference, it really was significant. And this Google Alert referenced an article that was done by Jenny Jose over at Central Recorder. It was a very thoughtful article and she talked about this episode and the Eastland disaster, and that's all I'll say, but it might be small to some, but to me it's very significant that people notice that people were referencing the Eastland disaster in a Chicago Med episode Quite extraordinary. Okay, let's get on with this episode.

Natalie Zett:

Hi, this is Natalie and I want to welcome you to episode 81 of Flower in the River podcast.

Natalie Zett:

First thing I want to do out of the gate is to follow up from last week's podcast, which I hope you listen to, because it includes two interviews with people who were actually there during the Eastland disaster, and their insights, their memories, their voices are so extraordinary.

Natalie Zett:

I released that episode a couple of days early because I was planning to attend a genealogy conference that was sponsored by the Association of Professional Genealogists, and I'll talk more about what I learned there, because it's always invigorating and encouraging to be among people who have the same love of genealogy, of history, and, of course, there's this love of learning my favorite part of these conferences, besides meeting new people who are really dedicated to doing a good job, to being ethical, to raising the standards, but they're also very curious and into learning how the latest and greatest technologies can help us decode the past and can help us with family history, and it's interesting to hear their perspectives and watch how they solve problems, and it certainly is helping me with my research for this podcast, but I'll talk about that later. So onward, speaking of technology, in last week's episode there was something that the interviewee, frank Blaha, said. He mentioned something briefly, but I really locked onto it and this is what he said onto it, and this is what he said, because you see those days what they had.

Frank Blaha:

They had these tickers out, if you remember. They used to give out all news reports and stock markets and grain markets and things like that, and then they had what they called a gossip ticker, used to give out all the information to all these brokerage houses. You know the information.

Natalie Zett:

So they wanted me so they could get some of that news. And Frank said that he wanted to make sure that he could somehow telephone his mother because he knew that she would be seeing the gossip tickers and it would be announcing that Eastland had capsized. He knew that his mother would be worried about him and he wanted to reassure her that he was alive. And I wanted to follow up on these gossip tickers. I mean, I certainly knew what ticker tapes were, but I really didn't know their history very well. So here we go. So ticker tape was one of the earliest financial communication tools used from around 1870 until the 1960s. It transmitted stock price information via telegraph lines and printed the data on a thin strip of paper that continuously ran through a machine called a stock ticker. This system revolutionized financial markets by making real-time stock prices accessible across long distances. For the first time Before ticker tape, stock prices were hand-delivered or announced, which delayed trading significantly. The sound of the machine as it printed gave rise to the name ticker. The data included company symbols, stock prices and transaction volumes, and it was a game changer for trading floors. While the use of paper ticker tape declined as computers and TV screens took over, the concept still lives on today through the scrolling stock tickers that we see on financial news channels. Interestingly, this technology laid the groundwork for modern digital communication and computing, making it one of the key developments in the evolution of financial technology. And, as we learned from Frank's story, it wasn't just used to communicate stock prices.

Natalie Zett:

One of the first mentions of the tickers came out of a report, and this report was entitled Titanic Disaster Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce, united States Senate, and the subtext is Directing the Committee on Commerce to Investigate the Causes Leading to the Wreck of the White Star Liner Titanic. The date is 1912. At 9.30 o'clock on Monday morning there appeared on what is known as the Dow Jones Company's ticker, which is an automatic machine for reporting news and stock quotations, the following announcement I quote from the original, which I will give to you A dispatch from Halifax reports that all passengers had left the Titanic in boats shortly after 3.30 o'clock this morning. That's the first mention of the ticker. That's the first mention of the ticker. It describes how important the tickers were in the dissemination of news and of course the newspapers were the primary sources of distribution. But there's another article that came out a little bit before the Eastland disaster. It's from May 8th 1915, from the Chicago Tribune. So again we're only a couple months before the Eastland disaster and the headline is Actors Worry About Frohman. Miss Maud Adams, among Stars, inquiring About Theater manager. This is from New York and it was dispatched through the AP.

Natalie Zett:

Not since the actual declaration of war last summer has Broadway shown so great an interest in the European turmoil, as was displayed early this afternoon when ticker tapes in the cafes and restaurants announced that the Lusitania had been torpedoed. This actress, maud Adams, was concerned about the well-being of their theater manager, and the way this news was distributed was via ticker tape in cafes and restaurants. But until Frank Blaha mentioned the tickers, the gossip tickers, I didn't know that this factored into the Eastland disaster story, into the Eastland disaster story. I've been unable to locate any mention of these tickers as playing a role in the communication during that time. So Frank Blaha really did us a solid by sharing that information with us. And as I was looking for photographs or images of these ticker tape machines, most of the images that I found were those of women either operating the machines or distributing the ticker tape. So this seems to be another way that women back in the early 20th century could enter into the latest and greatest fields of technology. Fields of technology. So the piece I'm going to read to you appeared in the Scoop, which was a trade journal for journalists, and this article described how each newspaper in Chicago covered the Eastland disaster. And this time I will read the section about how the Examiner, or Chicago Examiner newspaper, covered the Eastland.

Natalie Zett:

Here's a little history about the Chicago Examiner. It operated from 1902 until 1918. And at that point it merged with the Chicago Herald. So the Chicago Examiner was launched in 1902 by none other than William Randolph Hearst yes, I bet you've heard of William Randolph Hearst. Right, this was Hearst's way of doubling down on the Chicago newspaper scene. Already established with the evening paper Chicago American, hearst wanted to expand his reach with a morning edition, so the Examiner quickly gained traction, sold at the unbeatable price of just one cent per copy. That was half the cost of other morning newspapers at the time. This aggressive pricing, combined with Hearst's flair for sensationalism, helped the examiner carve out a significant readership.

Natalie Zett:

And by this point Hearst had already made a name for himself with what became known as quote-unquote yellow journalism. And this is a style that is heavy on scandal, bold headlines, crime and drama designed to grip readers and drive sales. The Chicago Examiner was no exception. It followed the same formula that made the American newspapers so popular Snappy headlines, shocking stories and a focus on issues that affected the everyday person. Hearst knew how to tap into the concerns of the common public and wasn't afraid to ruffle feathers with his editorial stances. His papers often championed the idea of quote-unquote democratic equality and advocated for policies that would benefit the working class. So what set the examiner apart wasn't just its low-cost or sensationalist tone its low-cost or sensationalist tone. Hearst had an eye for innovation and efficiency. His paper could reach outlying communities as fast as local papers thanks to strategic distribution methods. So this allowed the examiner to expand its influence beyond Chicago's city limits, giving readers early access to fresh news that otherwise would take longer to arrive. Absolutely brilliant, by the way.

Natalie Zett:

But let's learn how the Examiner handled the Eastland disaster, or how the Examiner responded to the Eastland disaster, starting with a telephone operator. This is part of that larger article about the Eastland disaster, starting with a telephone operator. This is part of that larger article about the Eastland, and the heading for this article is simply the Examiner Telephone operators employed around newspaper shops soon acquire a nose for news. They learn to sense a big story and to go after it as hard, within their limits as any reporter. So this was due to the fact that half an hour after the steamship Eastland, groaning under its human freight, rolled over in the Chicago River, the mechanism of the Chicago Examiner's editorial department was spreading out to cover the story.

Natalie Zett:

The local room of the Examiner was empty when the big boat listed. The last man on duty had departed nearly three hours earlier. But the examiner telephone operator was at her switchboard. She got the tip over the wire. 10 minutes later Her nose for news was on the job. She saw the big story and she did what any other newspaper operator the one with the nose for news would have done. She routed the Day City editor out of his slumber at his home and notified him of the disaster. He got busy. In 20 minutes he had called a dozen reporters out of their beds. All went scurrying down to the river. Some of the boys finished their toilets in taxi cabs. Editorial comment from me. That phrase some of the boys finished their toilets in taxi cabs. It means they were grooming themselves and trying to get ready for the day in the taxi cab okay, continuing. This was just the beginning. For the next three hours the telephone wires were kept red hot.

Natalie Zett:

By 11 o'clock every reporter on the paper was out on the story and as many freelance men as could be dug up. Reporters who could not be gotten on the phone shot into the office of their own inclination. As soon as they heard of the big wreck they realized that their own beats sank into oblivion. So they came off them and turned in for wreck assignments. Meantime the editors had gathered at the office and already were laying out the paper for the following morning.

Natalie Zett:

There were two big points to be played up. First, the actual occurrence, including the number, dead, number, missing, eyewitness stories of how the thing happened and the stories of the survivors. Also the picture layouts. Second, and as important as the first one, why did it happen and who was to blame? The afternoon papers covered the first blush of the story amazingly well considering the bigness of it and the confusion that followed. But the morning papers had to detail a small army of men to follow the leads of the afternoon papers along these lines. There were a dozen morgues and temporary morgues to be covered for additional lists of bodies brought in. There was also the wreck itself to be covered, as well as more interviews from those who saw the big boat go over and those on board her who were fortunate enough to escape. They all had thrilling stories to tell and as many as possible must be printed.

Natalie Zett:

Meanwhile, another army of reporters attacked the naughty problems of ascertaining why those hundreds of lives were sacrificed. Federal, state, county and city authorities were interviewed to ascertain what plans they were making to begin an investigation of the wreck. Also, officers of the boat and the company chartering and owning the boat were questioned for their viewpoints on what caused the Eastland to roll over. Some of these men were found only after combing the city. Every word they said was carefully sifted in the search for a clue to the cause of the disaster.

Natalie Zett:

In the examiner editorial room a staff of rewrite men worked on the telephone with the reporters out on the story. Each man had his allotment of the tragedy to write. The reporters covering the morgues telephoned their stuff to the rewrite men, checking up on the number of dead and missing. Other men on the street interviewing eyewitnesses and survivors telephoned their stories of narrow escapes and brave rescues to another rewrite man handling this phase of the wreck and still other men covered the investigation end of the story exclusively, and so on. From the studio. An augmented staff of photographers was assigned to get pictures. One batch of cameramen went after pictures of the wreck solely. Another batch photographed survivors and the heartbreaking scenes around the morgues, while other men went after pictures of the officers of the boat and other prominent men connected with the disaster.

Natalie Zett:

By four o'clock in the afternoon the system was beginning to show results. The editors had designated the general layout of the paper half for the actual occurrence and its attending scenes and the remainder for the investigation of its cause. The examiner originated its catch line for this latter phase of the story, the four words who is to blame? As fast as the various divisions of the staff came in with stuff, it was sent up to be put in type A matter under a divisional slug. Then, when the edition was ready for press, the writers of each divisional topped his A matter with a lead, taking in all the up-to-the-minute stuff, and the first paper was sent away. Later hours brought further developments in every side of the story, but they involved only alterations in the superstructure of each division, for the foundation had been laid permanently. It was the system that made the Eastland story easy for the examiner to handle, system devised by the editors and carried out by the reporters, system set in motion by the telephone operator.

Natalie Zett:

And here, indeed, before me and I will share this with you is the headline from the July 25, 1915 issue of the Examiner. Hopefully you can appreciate now what went into creating this. So the big, bold headline is 782 Dead Recovered, and the subhead is is to blame. And in addition there is also an interesting call-out box on the first page Examiner starts relief fund with $1,000 from WR Hearst. So that's interesting as well. But we will continue.

Natalie Zett:

The next portion of this podcast I'm going to entitle the case of the nameless telephone operator. First of all, I can't assume that everyone even knows what a telephone operator is. So, briefly, a telephone operator was a person, usually a woman, during the early 20th century, who manually connected phone calls by plugging wires into a switchboard. This job, as you just learned it, was vital before the invention of automated dialing systems. Operators were the link between a caller and the person they were trying to reach, helping to connect local and long-distance calls. What did operators do? Well, when someone wanted to make a call, they would pick up the receiver and this would signal an operator at the switchboard. The operator would ask for the number the caller wanted to reach, then physically connect the two phone lines by plugging wires into corresponding jacks on a switchboard. They didn't just connect people. Operators often helped with directory assistance, finding telephone numbers, relaying messengers, and in this case they even acted as emergency responders or reporters when needed, for example, if someone needed to contact a doctor in a hurry, operators would prioritize those calls.

Natalie Zett:

Why were most operators women? In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the job first became widespread, it was believed that women had a more polite and patient manner, which was thought to be important in handling the public. As a result, telephone companies like Bell hired women almost exclusively for the role. Companies like Bell hired women almost exclusively for the role, and 1900s to 1940s this was considered the golden age of telephone operators. At this time, all calls, including local and long distance, had to be connected manually by operators. And though I realize that World War I and beyond is past the Eastland disaster, but it's interesting to note that during World Wars I and II, women operators also served on the front lines during both of these wars, helping with vital military communications military communications and by the 1950s and 60s, as automated dialing technology improved, the role of telephone operators began to diminish and I think by the 1980s most telephone calls were automated and operators were no longer needed for routine calls. Although it's a job of the past, as we've just seen, telephone operators played a key role in the development of global communication networks. Their work was essential to connecting businesses, families and even nations.

Natalie Zett:

And one thing I want to tell you about, when it seems like an easy job of sitting there all day and connecting people, I want to read an article from the May 13th 1914 Day Book, and the Day Book was out of Chicago. The headline was Local Phone Girls Trying to Organize. Was local phone girls trying to organize? Telephone operators in three Northside exchanges are trying to organize and fight for better wages. The work has been going on in one exchange for several months but has been somewhat hindered by the girls' fear of spotters.

Natalie Zett:

A meeting was held in the home of the leaders of the movement last night. Held in the home of the leaders of the movement last night, plans were discussed, but some of the wiser girls cautioned the others against moving too hastily. They pointed out what happened to the proposed union of department store girls, a proposition that bid fair to be a success, if it had not been for the over-enthusiasm of the girls. The telephone operators want the chance of earning decent wages by working shorter hours. Switchboard work is excessively hard on the nerves. Frequently girls have to be taken to their homes in taxi cabs in a condition bordering on nervous prostration. The girls have chosen a former telephone operator as leader. She is in a position where the company cannot coerce her. They hope to be in position in the future to come out publicly.

Natalie Zett:

Not sure what happened in terms of the follow-up for that, but that gives you an idea of how difficult this work was. And if you're the sole telephone operator at the examiner and you have the weight of this tragedy bearing down on you, what do you do? And I have to say this telephone operator. She may be nameless, but I want to acknowledge her and want to say that she did a fantastic job of getting the gears in motion. Still, I have to give the scoop credit for mentioning our nameless telephone operator. The story starts off with her and it ends with her. So for the time period that was pretty phenomenal, although this particular telephone operator at the examiner is nameless.

Natalie Zett:

A few episodes ago I did cover the story of another telephone operator who worked for Western Electric and assisted mightily when the Eastland disaster happened. Her name was Margaret Condon and her story was covered in the episode A Switchboard Operator and a Nurse Walk into a shipwreck unraveling the Eastland disaster, which was released on January 24th 2024. So me being me, and me just coming off of a genealogy conference, I had to try to find the identity of this nameless telephone operator. And what do you think? Do you think I was able to find her? Well, not yet, but my attitude is never say never. So I did search in the Chicago city directory of 1915, and under the category of telephone operators there were hundreds listed. And what I also did was look at old issues of the Chicago Examiner, and I couldn't find any names there.

Natalie Zett:

What we've learned, what I've learned in doing this podcast for all these weeks, is that when somebody says oh no, there's no information or the information is somewhat not presented in its entirety, there's always more to be found. So what I will do here's my methodology I will look in every old newspaper that I can get my hands on and I also look for related articles. I search for more articles from the examiner and unfortunately there's not a lot of them available online. But they do have a number of them available. And I also started looking at the census records. I had to look at the 1910 census and 1920 census because there's no 1915 census at the city directories and I'll probably go and bother the people at the Chicago Public Library again they know me by now and there's other historical societies too that might have the information. So my attitude is never say never and never give up with this stuff, because you never know when you'll catch a break, right? So the other thing to say about telephone operators is just like the ticker tape folks, this was a way that women could enter fields where the latest and greatest technologies were being used.

Natalie Zett:

That's it for now and I am going to close, but next week there's still a few more stories from the Scoop, so stay tuned. We'll learn more about the newspaper business and how they handled the Eastland disaster. Have a good week. Talk to you next week. Hey, that's it for this episode and thanks for coming along for the ride. Please subscribe or follow so you can keep up with all the episodes and for more information, please go to my website, that's wwwflowerintherivercom. I hope you'll consider buying my book available as audiobook, ebook, paperback and hardcover, because I still owe people money and that's my running joke. But the one thing I'm serious about is that this podcast and my book are dedicated to the memory of all who experienced the Eastland disaster of 1915. Goodbye for now.

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