Flower in the River: A Family Tale Finally Told

Community, Compassion, and Jewish Values: Lessons from the Eastland’s Waters

• Natalie Zett • Season 2 • Episode 83

Share episode

Send us a text

Welcome back to Flower in the River podcast! In this episode, we dive into the coverage of the 1915 Eastland disaster through The Sentinel, a historic Jewish newspaper in Chicago.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

  • The role The Sentinel played as a bridge between Chicago’s Jewish community and their evolving American identity.
  • The 1997 article from the Chicago Tribune that reflects on The Sentinel’s legacy and closure after 85 years.
  • A reading of The Sentinel’s powerful 1915 article, The Voice from the Eastland, offering a poignant reflection on the disaster, worker safety, and social justice.
  • Stories of Jewish victims of the Eastland disaster, including the heroism of Sam Widran, who saved 40 lives before tragically losing his own.

Key Themes Explored:

  • How The Sentinel framed the Eastland disaster as not just a tragedy but a call for change in the working conditions of immigrants and the working class.
  • The emotional and spiritual reflections captured in The Sentinel’s coverage, emphasizing the human toll and the need for systemic reforms.
  • The interconnectedness of personal loss and broader social justice issues highlighted by the disaster.

Special Guests from Notebook LM:

To add a bit of fun, this episode features a special segment with "Max" and "Eva" from Notebook LM, who share their insights into the historical significance of The Sentinel’s coverage and what we can learn from it today.

Links:




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 welcome to Episode 83 of Flower in the River podcast. For the past few weeks I've been diving into articles from an issue of the Scoop. The Scoop was a trade journal that covered how various Chicago newspapers reported on the Eastland disaster in its 1915 issue. However, not all of Chicago's newspapers were included, and this week I'm shifting focus to explore how another newspaper, a newspaper called the Sentinel, a Jewish community newspaper, covered the tragedy. As always, I'll read several articles to you so you can hear the voices of the people of that time, and I actually have a recent article from the Chicago Tribune from 1997, as well as articles from a 1915 issue of the Sentinel. Let's backtrack before I get into all this. So the Sentinel it's. The Sentinel became a voice for Chicago's Jewish community. It became a bridge between their immigrant heritage and their evolving American identity. So a lot was happening at that point in terms of change. But looking at this newspaper, it's like a time capsule, capturing a community's journey in a new world. And I have to say that the Sentinel did not hold back. They covered not just local news but they covered global Jewish affairs, cultural critiques, and everything is filtered through the lens of the Jewish community of Chicago. At that point that community in and of itself was very diverse, so you'll hear the different viewpoints and the different stories and the different takes on what happened. Actually, I'm going to start off by reading a newer article new by the standards of this podcast, that is. This article was written in the Chicago Tribune in 1997, so let's just get into it and then we'll stop and talk about it a little bit. The headline is 85-Year-Old Jewish Newspaper Barely Outlives Its Editor. It is by Ron Grossman and it was published in the Chicago Tribune originally on January 6, 1997.

Natalie Zett:

Born in an age when immigrants were flocking to Chicago, the Sentinel for 85 years, the newspaper watchdog of Chicago's Jewish community has published its last issue. It was preceded in death by its longtime editor and publisher, jack Fishbein, who died last July. Quote the Sentinel was Jack and Jack was the Sentinel, said Joel Schatz, managing editor of the Jewish News, a much younger weekly competitor. Quote most people didn't see how there could be a Sentinel without Jack. Ruth Marcus, the last managing editor, said that the Sentinel's end came without warning. The staff had been told the paper would go on. The lawyers walked in the day after Christmas and said that's it close down, said Marcus, who had worked for the Weekly for 25 years. We all stood there and were shocked. I had to turn in my keys. The Sentinel's December 26 issue was its last. Fishbein, long known as the conscience of Chicago's Jewish community, became the newspaper publisher in 1943. Jewish community became the newspaper publisher in 1943. He was 83 at the time of his death.

Natalie Zett:

The Sentinel published its inaugural issue on February 4, 1911, making it possibly the longest continuously published American Jewish weekly. It was founded by Louis Berlin, who had learned his journalist trade at the University of Chicago, where he had managed the Daily Maroon, a student newspaper. He and a partner scraped together $1,000 to found the Jewish paper, choosing its name because they liked the idea of a guardian of Chicago's Jewry. Besides reporting news of the local community. The Sentinel took notice of Jewish affairs around the world as Allied armies liberated Europe in 1945, it published some of the earliest eyewitness accounts of Nazi concentration camps. It printed short stories as well as news accounts serving as a training ground for young and subsequently celebrated writers. Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Edna Ferber contributed stories with titles like Cheerful by Request. The Sentinel also took notice of Chicago's general cultural life, but always from a Jewish perspective. Reviewing a play on the life of Disraeli, the great British leader whose parents had converted to Christianity, the Sentinel headlined its piece, the Story of the Jewish Boy who Became Prime Minister.

Natalie Zett:

At a time when the general press was barely taking notice of psychoanalysis, the Sentinel was informing readers in Lawndale, humboldt Park and other Jewish neighborhoods of Freud's new science of the human mind. There is something Judaistic and human to psychoanalysis, said the Sentinel's writer with more than a hint of ethnic pride. The Sentinel also served as a kind of bulletin board for generations of Jewish families who had lost contact with each other during the migrations from Eastern Europe to Chicago's West Side. In 1964, the newspaper received and published a letter from Ukraine, written in Yiddish by Etta Krepper, pleading with the Sentinel's editor to help her find an uncle thought to be living in Chicago In the 1960s, publisher Fishbein was among the first to document the plight of the Falashas, ethiopian Jews who were being persecuted in their homeland. At the time, american Jewry was only dimly aware of co-religionists in Africa and some were unconvinced that the Falashas were really Jewish. Fishbein's stories and editorials have been widely credited with prompting Israeli authorities to offer the Falashas refuge.

Natalie Zett:

Jack was quite courageous, said Irving Cutler, a historian and author of the Jews of Chicago. He was like a conscience of the Jewish community. He was never afraid to take on the establishment. Cutler noted that ethnic newspapers are born, grow and die in predictable cycles as the sociology of a community changes. Before the Sentinel, earlier papers were published in languages that the immigrants brought over from Europe German for Jews from that country and Yiddish for Jews from Eastern Europe.

Natalie Zett:

The Sentinel appeared just as immigrants and their children were taking their first steps into the American mainstream. It was one of the first Jewish newspapers to publish in English. Its inaugural issue editorial was titled For the American Jew. The fact that the Sentinel was an English-speaking paper clearly set it apart said shots. It was written for an immigrant audience that had decided it wanted to be part of American culture. In fact, the columns of the Sentinel provided an 85-year witness to the process of settlement, assimilation, growth and change.

Natalie Zett:

In its early years, its reporters visited inner-city slums where new arrivals were stranded. One cannot properly understand life in all its complexities unless he visits the tenements of a great city, wrote Bertha A Loeb, an early columnist. As the Jewish community prospered, the Sentinel reported growing pains like intermarriage and upwardly mobile Jews anxious to shed their heritage. One of Fishbein's favorite targets were the affluent Jews, uninvolved except for charitable contributions, whom he accused of practicing checkbook Judaism. In recent years it has been apparent that the Sentinel itself was falling victim to the same process of change it had long documented. Schatz noted that today's Jewish community, primarily suburban-based, is far different from the one the Sentinel greeted in 1911. Younger readers shifted to other publications, having found much of the Sentinel's coverage like news from a foreign country.

Natalie Zett:

The Sentinel itself had frequently noted all things have a life and a death. An editorial it printed in the 1920s might well serve as its own obituary. A Jewish generation is on its deathbed and on its way to the grave, and no one sheds a tear, the Sentinel said. This generation of immigrants came here 30 or 40 years ago, lived here its old naive life and is now dying out. Well, how's that for an introduction to this newspaper? But now we're going way back to an earlier issue of the Sentinel. The date is July 30th 1915, and the title of the article is the Voice from the Eastland. The author is identified by the initials AAF.

Natalie Zett:

Like Frank, I stood on the old Clark Street Bridge, the haunt of so many carefree dreamers. Now, only sadness and sickening despair issued from the darkening depths. As I looked heavily and heard the lapping of the waters, busily engaged in acts of human service were the police, the physicians, the divers, the boatmen, the women with their coffee for the exhausted workers, with their coffee for the exhausted workers. Suddenly, my spirits lifted as I prayed the vessel might rise and restore to life those whom it had so heartlessly smothered to death, as heavily laden, like a refractory beast of burden, it had lain down at its birth. When I saw, issuing from the stream a radiant figure with arms raised in benediction of those who were rendering such noble service, and in the inner corridors of my heart I heard her say thanks, thanks for the sympathy for us and our bereaved, and the relief given from all so generously to our dependent ones. Would that we in life could have experienced but a small part of it. Now, let our fellow workers at the plant, at every plant, know you care for them. We are now beyond mishap and pain. It is well with us, the living toilers who get so little out of life. Think of them, help them. Make ships safe, yes, but make shops human. And I have not been able to forget the vision or the appeal, since this passage from the Sentinel offers a deeply emotional reflection on the aftermath of the Eastland disaster, and it's framed in poetic and spiritual language.

Natalie Zett:

The author's position on the Clark Street Bridge, a spot that had previously been filled with carefree dreamers, now contrasts with the overwhelming sadness and sickening despair brought by the tragedy. Human efforts, the police, doctors, divers and the women providing coffee to the workers, all contributing to the rescue and recovery mission, which suggests a collective spirit of service and empathy in the wake of such a disaster. The writer's prayer for the ship to rise and restore life to the victims emphasizes the helplessness and hope mixed into the chaotic scene, followed by a symbolic vision of a radiant figure with arms raised in benediction. This figure seems to represent the collective voice of the Eastland victims, offering thanks to those who helped in their final moments. The sentiment expressed in the vision the victims acknowledging the relief and sympathy they received posthumously but lamenting that such kindness was not extended to them in life carries a powerful critique of the era's working conditions.

Natalie Zett:

The message shifts into a broader call for change. Make ships safe, yes, but make shops human. This suggests that the author sees the Eastland disaster as a symptom of a much larger issue the exploitation and dehumanization of the working class. The writer advocates for safer working conditions and better treatment for laborers, drawing attention to the fact that, while disaster prevention is essential, the daily lives of workers also need reform and care. The daily lives of workers also need reform and care. Overall, the piece connects the personal grief of the tragedy with broader social justice issues, particularly the need for workplace reform, and serves as a reflection on the humanity often neglected by industrial society at the time. It's an impassioned plea for empathy and change, mourning the loss of the lives that could have been saved, both in the disaster and through better working conditions. That is quite a unique commentary about the Eastland disaster. I have not seen anything quite like that and I'm really happy to have located it because it offers a very interesting lens through which to view not just the Eastland disaster but view what was going on during that time in regard to the working classes, in regard to the immigrants who had just come to the United States to make a new life for themselves.

Natalie Zett:

And now I'm going to read the first article. It is called Heavy Jewish Toll in Eastland, which last Saturday morning suddenly turned over and deposited its thousands in the Chicago River, carried down to their watery grave many Jewish victims. The list shows the following to have lost their lives, whose bodies were recovered and for whom funeral services were held last week Samuel Widron, philip Ginsberg, loris Morantz, carl Friedman, eleanor Orbst, mrs Cecilia Collender. The Story of Two Pals. Sam Widron was a true hero of the disaster. He was an excellent swimmer. When he found himself in the river, his first thought was of those who were helpless. He at once struck out and started to save women and children. He rescued 40 in all, after which, in making a dive, he fractured his skull and thus lost his life At the undertaker's. The injury was plain, silent and eternal testimony of his sterling character and sacrifice.

Natalie Zett:

Widron and Ginsberg were pals, known as such by all their friends and in the shop store of the Western Electric Company where both were employed. Widron was 29 years old and lived at 3808 Grenshaw Street. Ginsberg was 25, and his home was at 3623 Grenshaw Street, just a block away 2623 Grenshaw Street, just a block away. They remained pals up to the very last. Both went down to the landing early Saturday morning, boarded the vessel together and were thrown into the water together. Later their bodies lay side by side at the 2nd Regiment Armory where they were identified. Side by side at the 2nd Regiment Armory where they were identified. They still lay side by side in the funeral chapel of Weinstein and Niermann where the funeral services for them were held last Tuesday afternoon. They were separated only in burial. Widron was buried in Waldheim Forest Park in the Free Sun Cemetery. Ginsberg was interred in the Marium Pole plot of Oakwood's Cemetery.

Natalie Zett:

Cm Marshall, chief of the shop store of the Western Electric Company under whom Ginsburg worked, paid a splendid tribute to his qualities. He was highly thought of, said Mr Marshall. He worked in my department for the last ten years. Only a few days ago he received a merit button showing the ten years of faithful service. Ginsberg always asked for leave on Jewish holidays. His request was always honored with pay. He was a special salesman whose duty it was to dispose of overstock. He did his work intelligently, faithfully. We all miss him. Carl Friedman was an assistant foreman in the Western Electric Company with a salary of $50 a week. He lived on Division Street near Levitt. He was the only son of the family and its main support. He was to have been married soon. Eleanor Orbst was only 16 years old. She was buried last Tuesday. Louis Marantz was 25 years of age. His home was at 1529 South Hamlin Avenue. He was buried last Tuesday at Forest Park in the Brith Abraham plot.

Natalie Zett:

Some who had Narrow Escapes. Several of our people had narrow escapes. Morris Metcalf, a brother, a son-in-law of Dr Julius Rapoport of Bethel Temple, was engaged as an usher in helping the people board the boat. Was engaged as an usher in helping the people board the boat. When the boat turned over he was completely stunned and remained in a collapsed condition all day Saturday, so great was the shock. David Shulkin, 17 years old, of 1334 Taylor Street and Morris Horwich, son of Harris Horwich of Douglas Boulevard, are now recommending oversleeping. Both owe their lives to the fact that they came too late to board the Eastland. Shulkin was employed at the Soda Fountain of the Eastland. A Horwich, a musician in the Orchestra of the Eastland, was rescued after he had fallen into the river.

Natalie Zett:

Policeman Jacobson sounds first alarm. Policeman Leo Jacobson of Central Station assigned to the bridge bridge was one of the first to realize the situation as the Eastland began careening. I saw the boat turning over and ran to a patrol box and notified the station and the fire alarm office said Policeman Jacobson. Then I ran down the steps at the end of the bridge to a small gasoline boat and pushed out. I dragged out four persons who were floating in the water. I did not attempt to get their names. Headline Turns store into Relief Station. Max Hyman threw open his clothing store at 215 North Clark Street to the rescued and friends of the surviving and missing. He sent his son Leo, out for sandwiches and coffee for them. About 50 persons who had escaped from the boat or friends of persons on the boat congregated in the store.

Natalie Zett:

If you've been with me during the last two or three podcasts, you've been listening to stories from various Chicago newspapers and I located most of those inside a trade journal called the Scoop. Well, I was looking on a completely different website. It's called the Illinois Digital Archives website and it's sponsored by, or maybe hosted by, the Office of the Secretary of State in Illinois. That's where I found the Sentinel and there's a lot more information on that page as well, so I'll need to do some more research. These aren't the only articles in the Sentinel that pertain to the Eastland disaster, but because there's so much and I needed to put an end point to it, I cut it off here. But, believe me, there's more information and I will share that in future episodes because it is fascinating Now.

Natalie Zett:

Previously I've devoted several episodes to discussing members of the Jewish community who were either victims of the Eastland disaster or who really exciting to see all of them in the context of the greater Jewish community of Chicago during that time. And that's the gift of these old newspapers and I think it's the intimate details that these smaller newspapers point out about a person's life that drive home a tragedy such as the Eastland disaster, and it really lays before us the human cost of a tragedy like this. It's so much more palpable and powerful than just reading a name and the date of birth and the date of death. The Sentinel understood that and they went way beyond just listing names. They wanted to capture the human toll, the sense of loss that permeated this community. It's not just about mourning the dead. The Sentinel also highlighted those glimmers of hope, those incredible acts of courage and compassion that emerged from the chaos. What's fascinating about the Sentinel is how it framed the Eastland disaster within the broader context of Jewish life and values. Yet it didn't focus exclusively on Jewish perspectives. It spoke to the entire community. It addressed workers' rights and safety for all people, reminding us that these were issues that transcend one group. I hope you enjoyed learning some more of the intimate details about how the Jewish community responded to the Eastland disaster. I know I did, and also the discovery of this newspaper gives me hope that there's even more to discover about other individuals and other communities in Chicago during the Eastland disaster.

Natalie Zett:

Before we wrap up today, I want to introduce two special guests. Well, kind of I've been experimenting with Notebook LM and I thought it would really be fun to hear some additional insights and a few cool thoughts about this podcast episode. So allow me to introduce to you Max and Ava, courtesy of Notebook LM. You, max and Ava, courtesy of Notebook LM. Let's see how this goes and in the meantime, I want to encourage you to check out the episodes where I previously covered the Jewish community's response to the Eastland disaster. Check out the show notes for links, or go to my website for more information about this. Without further ado, meet Max and Ava. Courtesy of Notebook LM. Take it away, guys.

Max:

Ever wish you could like step back in time and experience history firsthand.

Eva:

Well, today we're using the Sentinel, a historic Chicago newspaper, as our own personal time machine.

Max:

We're diving deep into their coverage of the Eastland disaster in 1915.

Eva:

But this isn't just about a sunken ship.

Max:

It's about how a community processes tragedy and what their voice reveals. About Chicago then, and maybe even now.

Eva:

We have actual articles from the Sentinel published right after the disaster.

Max:

Well, we're starting with something a little different.

Eva:

A 1997 piece from the Chicago Tribune.

Max:

Okay.

Eva:

This article caught my eye because it's about the Sentinel itself, specifically its closure after 85 years.

Max:

It wasn't just any paper.

Eva:

It chronicled the evolution of Chicago's Jewish community.

Max:

I'm struck by how the Tribune describes the Sentinel a watchdog, a bridge between their immigrant heritage and their evolving American identity.

Eva:

What do you make of that description?

Max:

It's spot on. Ethnic newspapers like the Sentinel were more than just news sources, especially back then, For immigrants. They were lifelines to their culture, their language, a way to build a sense of community in a new land.

Eva:

And the Sentinel didn't shy away from tough topics. The Tribune piece mentions them, covering everything from the liberation of Nazi concentration camps to the then-radical theories of Sigmund Freud. Talk about range.

Max:

It speaks to their commitment to addressing the community's evolving needs and concerns. This wasn't a paper content with just reporting local gossip. They wanted to engage with the big issues of their time, both here and abroad.

Eva:

OK, let's unpack that local angle a bit further. We have an article from July 30th 1915, just weeks after the Eastland sank titled the Voice from the Eastland.

Max:

It starts with this incredibly vivid scene someone standing on the Clark Street Bridge, almost like a ghost story.

Eva:

And this line emerges. I have to quote this Make ships safe, yes, but make shops human Chilling.

Max:

That line to me feels like it cuts to the core of what the Sentinel was trying to do. What?

Natalie Zett:

do you?

Max:

think Absolutely. You see the grief intertwining with social commentary. Remember, 1915 was a different time. Working conditions, especially for immigrants, were often horrific. The Eastland disaster, while a terrible tragedy on its own, also exposed these deeper systemic issues. The Sentinel channeled that collective grief into a call for action Safer workplaces for everyone, not just safer ships. And to really understand the magnitude of their message, it's important to delve into the working conditions of that era.

Eva:

Okay, so paint the picture for us. What are we talking about here?

Max:

Think about factories with minimal safety regulations, sweatshops where people toiled for hours in cramped, dangerous conditions.

Eva:

And we know, immigrants, especially at that time, were often pushed into the most dangerous jobs.

Max:

Precisely. They were vulnerable, often desperate for work and willing to accept these risks. The Sentinel, by calling for human shops, was advocating for basic worker rights and dignity in a system that often exploited them.

Eva:

So it's about more than just physical safety. It's about basic human rights. And how did they go about making that connection so powerfully? We've got this other article here Heavy Jewish Toll, and right away. You see, it's not just statistics.

Max:

This is where the Sentinel' approach truly stands out. They understood that numbers alone couldn't convey the true cost of the tragedy. By highlighting individual stories, they brought the human impact into sharp focus.

Eva:

Like. There's this story of Sam Wigren. He saved 40 people. A true hero.

Max:

His story, while highlighting incredible bravery, also underscores the inherent tragedy that such heroism was even necessary. It forces us to confront the question would these acts of self-sacrifice even be required if safety had been prioritized from the start?

Eva:

It's like celebrating the hero while also feeling this anger at the system that forced them to be one in the first place, right.

Max:

Exactly, and the Sentinel doesn't shy away from that complexity. They present these stories without shying away from the hard questions they raise.

Eva:

And they don't let us forget that these were real people with families, friends, lives outside of that tragic day.

Max:

Right, like the detail about Widren and Ginsberg. Those friends who worked together died together, even laid side by side at the morgue. That just hits you with the human cost.

Eva:

And even their boss, mr Marshall, saying how Ginsburg always asked for time off for Jewish holidays. Suddenly, he's not just a name on a list.

Max:

Exactly these small details create a sense of empathy, a connection that transcends time. It reminds us that these weren't just victims of a disaster, but individuals with hopes, dreams and people who loved them.

Eva:

And then you have those who survived but carry the weight of that day with them.

Max:

Like the young man who overslept and missed getting on the Eastland, can you imagine the survivor's guilt, the what-ifs that must have haunted him.

Eva:

That really struck a chord with me. That unspoken burden Makes you wonder about the long-lasting impact, not just on individuals but on the community as a whole.

Max:

And the Sentinel understood that they captured these nuanced emotions, the resilience, the collective trauma and, ultimately, the ongoing struggle for justice and change.

Eva:

It's easy to see the Eastland disaster as this isolated event, but the Sentinel's coverage reveals something more profound, don't you think?

Max:

Absolutely. It becomes a lens through which we can examine broader social dynamics, the plight of immigrant workers, the struggle for safety regulations, the very assets of community in the face of unimaginable loss.

Eva:

And the way they wove those individual stories into that larger narrative. It's incredibly powerful.

Max:

It's about recognizing that history isn't just a collection of events. It's the lived experiences of real people, and those experiences, even in tragedy, can reveal incredible resilience and the potential for change.

Eva:

Like that small detail about Max Hyman opening his clothing store to survivors, offering food and comfort.

Max:

Precisely those acts of kindness, of courage. They highlight the human spirit that perseveres even in the darkest of times. It reminds us that even amidst tragedy, there's hope, there's compassion, there's a community coming together to support one another.

Eva:

And while the Sentinel was writing for a specific community, their message in the wake of the Eastland disaster, that call for worker safety, for dignity, for basic human rights. It resonates far beyond those pages, doesn't it?

Max:

Absolutely, pages, doesn't it? Absolutely? It speaks to universal values that transcend time and place. The desire for a just and equitable society, the recognition that every life has value, those are themes that remain incredibly relevant, even today.

Eva:

It makes you think about what other time capsules are out there just waiting to be unpacked to offer their own unique perspectives on history.

Max:

And that's the beauty of exploring these primary sources they challenge our assumptions, introduce us to new voices and provide more nuanced understanding of the past.

Eva:

So, as we wrap up our deep dive into the Sentinel and the Eastland disaster, what's the one thing you hope our listeners take away from this conversation?

Max:

That history isn't some distant, irrelevant subject. It's alive, it's relevant and it's filled with stories that can teach us inspire us and challenge us to create a better future.

Eva:

And sometimes all it takes is a single newspaper, a voice from the past, to illuminate the path forward. Until next time, keep exploring, keep questioning and keep diving deep.

Natalie Zett:

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 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.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Natalie Zett

Host