Flower in the River: A Family Tale Finally Told

Lane Tech: Triumph Through Tragedy

• Natalie Zett • Season 2 • Episode 93

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This week, I’m diving into the touching story of Lane Technical High School students who tragically lost their lives in the Eastland disaster of 1915. These weren’t just names on a list—they were vibrant young men with big futures ahead of them. From a baseball captain to a Moody Church Sunday School member, I’ll take you through their personal histories and the incredible ways their school honored them after the tragedy.

 Here’s what I’ll cover in this episode:

  • Lane Tech’s incredible legacy as Chicago’s first technical high school and its impact during the city’s booming industrial age.
  • How Lane Tech students created a memorial edition of their school newspaper to raise funds for Eastland relief efforts—just days after the disaster.
  • The importance of digging deep into archives to uncover untold stories, and why it’s so important to bring them to light.
  • Follow-up on Frank Fuka, the amateur boxer I talked about last week, and how his story brought new listeners to the podcast.
  • As always, this episode is about more than just names and dates. It’s about honoring lives, connecting the past to the present, and keeping these stories alive. Whether you’re into genealogy, Chicago history, or just love hearing about the incredible lives of everyday people, this episode has something for you.

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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 there, this is Natalie, and welcome to episode 93 of Flower in the River podcast, and I so appreciate you joining me for this weekly adventure into places that I don't even know where we're going to go half the time. But thank you. So this week I attended another Legacy Family Tree webinar and the speaker was none other than Elizabeth Schoen-Mills. Yes, I talk about her a lot, but there's a reason. If you're into genealogy, you know who Elizabeth is. In summary, she's a legend.

Natalie Zett:

Elizabeth Schoen Mills is the preeminent genealogist, and for good reason. Her insights and methodologies have shaped this field in profound ways. If you ever get a chance to attend one of her webinars, seminars, or catch her on YouTube or read her books, don't pass it up. She is the gold standard in this work. She's always elevating us and also encouraging us to continue to level up our skills. And what struck me most during this webinar was how perfectly timed her advice was for me. How perfectly timed her advice was for me. She tackled a challenge that so many of us face how to deal with the sheer overwhelm of material we accumulate as genealogists, podcasters or historians.

Natalie Zett:

I'm betting that many of you can relate to this. You dive into your family history or do some research on some other family and, before you know it, you're buried under mountains of information. This is what's happened to me here with the people of the Eastland stories. What do you do with all of it? That was the focus of her talk and it really resonated with me. For newer listeners, let me share some of my journey here. Back in November 2023, this podcast expanded I should say blew up into broader territory after I stumbled upon some possible relatives and their fascinating but largely undocumented stories.

Natalie Zett:

Well, the stories of the people of the Eastland disaster exist in a kind of digital twilight. Most of them are documented, but they're often hidden in the shadows of vast archives, and these fragments of history are scattered across many digital platforms, across many digital platforms, buried in obscure court documents, family histories and forgotten books. Rarely have they been pulled up, at least in the last few years, dusted off and reimagined for a modern audience. And that's where I come in. I've been retrieving these stories, pulling them out of their obscurity and trying to breathe new life in them. It's about more than just finding them. It's about giving these voices a chance to be heard again, connecting them to the present and ensuring they're not lost to time. This is my way of honoring those lives and making sure their stories are remembered and touch your life.

Natalie Zett:

At the same time and this initial discovery almost happened by accident I found a 1934 court document buried deep inside Google Books, but not so deep that you couldn't find it. Google Books and resources like this are incredible free resources. You have to use search terms like Eastland disaster or Eastland tragedy, and those can uncover so many hidden gems. And these hidden gems might not be there today, but they will be there tomorrow. Stuff is always being digitized and posted online, so that's how I have found so many untold stories.

Natalie Zett:

And what do I mean by untold stories? There are people associated with the Eastland whose names are written down someplace. Their dates of birth, dates of death etc. Are there, but it's usually bare minimum. Here's what has surprised me. No, let me correct that. Here's what's shocked me during this journey and has broken my heart a little bit.

Natalie Zett:

I have located people whose names are not documented anywhere in association with the Eastland disaster other than in the documents in which this information originally appeared, so I've been bringing them forward as well. Those are the truly untold stories, and those were the stories that were at most risk of getting lost. And what shocked me the most, though, was realizing how many of these stories hadn't been documented, and I'm not just talking about birth and death dates or burial locations. I mean their lives, their families, their hobbies, their neighbors, their places of worship, their communities. That's what Elizabeth Schoen Mills was talking about in this particular webinar. She wants us to ask the question who were these people? These people weren't just victims. They were vibrant individuals with full, complex, crazy lives sometimes, and yet so much of this history remained untouched. And as long as there are discoveries to make and there apparently are I will keep writing and keep podcasting about this, because my deepest fear is that there's probably a lot more information that's buried someplace and it needs to be shared with people. But what an honor, what a privilege and what a frightening thing that this stuff could have gotten lost.

Natalie Zett:

Here's the funny thing about doing this research. I can say with confidence that I know more about Chicago a place that I never lived, than I do about St Paul, a place I've lived for a number of years now. I've learned so much about the history of Chicago, about its various nooks and crannies, and it is one fascinating place that I have to say and many people assume I'm from Chicago and live there. It's an honor I'm happy to accept. But no, I have never lived there. I've spent considerable time there with family, with doing research, etc. But I'm not a Chicago native. And I also have to give a shout out again to Tommy Henry and his Chicago History podcast, because his work has made me even more passionate about uncovering Chicago's stories. Thanks, tommy, and Tommy's podcast is a must-listen for anyone interested in Chicago's history.

Natalie Zett:

This journey obviously has been transformative for me and it's pulled more out of me than I ever knew I had. Truth be told, what I have learned, what's been brought home to me, I should say pulled more out of me than I ever knew I had, truth be told, what I have learned. What's been brought home to me, I should say, in this last year, is that if a person sticks with what's comfortable and what they already know, you never discover what you're capable of. And what I love about this work besides the fact that I really love and care about all of these people what I love about this is what it's brought out in me and I think, because my family lost somebody in the Eastland disaster, it is personal. From that emanates all this passion for this project and wanting to make sure that everyone's history is cared for and it's brought about this protectiveness. I want these people, I want their lives, their history cared for and that is happening.

Natalie Zett:

And in the last couple of months I'm not sure what's going on, but some very interesting, amazing and supportive people who have the chops in history and genealogy are coming forth and are being super supportive and are offering a lot of practical advice in this project. I always assume, too, that the right people will come forth when you do something like this, and that all began over 25 years ago when I began researching my aunt and almost from the get-go, I felt the guidance of the unseen hands that Joseph Campbell talks about. I never believed it until that began happening with this project. So let's get going with this episode. We'll start, as we often do, with a death notice and from there we'll go backwards a little bit in time and uncover what is being said. So this death notice is from the Saturday July 31st 1915 issue of the Chicago Tribune and the headline is Lane Tech Boys Pay Tribute to their Dead. By the way, lane Tech is a high school.

Natalie Zett:

Here's a unique tribute to the memory of the Eastland dead. Within two days after the tragedy, students at the summer school conducted in the Lane Technical High School had prepared a special edition of their school weekly containing memorials of the five Lane boys who perished in the disaster Morris Roble, captain of the baseball team in 1913, harry Berquist, a member of the Moody Church Sunday School. Adolph Redlich, who had a vacation job with the Western Electric Company, john Larson and Henry Earhart. The edition was printed in the school print shop and sold among the students and friends of the school. Yesterday proceeds $102.61 were brought to the Tribune office for addition to its relief fund.

Natalie Zett:

Whoa, let me wipe the tears away. Isn't that interesting? We've got a lot going on here. We've got names of boys who died who were at one point, students at the Lane Technical School. I'll tell you about the school. Lane Tech is still in existence today. That in and of itself is astonishing. And I'll tell you about the boys' lives. And I'll tell you about some of the other associations these boys had. But first let's talk about this school.

Natalie Zett:

Lane Technical High School, or Lane Tech as it was commonly known, was still a relatively young institution in 1915,. But here's a detailed history from Lane Tech's website. History from Lane Tech's website. Located on Division and Sedgwick, the Albert Grannis Lane Manual Training High School opened in September 1908. The school was formally dedicated on Washington's birthday, february 1909, and is named for Albert Grannis Lane, chicago Superintendent of Schools. As industrial education's popularity continued to grow through the years and Lane added many new courses to its curriculum, principal Bogan recommended that the school's name be changed to reflect all of the courses offered. In 1909, the school became known as the Albert Grannis Lane Technical High School.

Natalie Zett:

By 1915, the school was in full swing. The building was in almost constant use. Carpentry, cabinet making and wood churning were offered to first-year students. Sophomores were given extensive training in the fields of foundry, forge, welding, core making and molding. Juniors worked in the most popular shop, the machine shop. It was equipped with 80 machines and 60 lathes cast and built at Lane. Seniors were given the most advanced shop, the Electric Shop. There they built motors, generators, transformers and other instruments. Other classes such as art, classical architecture, drafting and English were offered to develop students' communication skills. The print shop was the best-equipped high school print shop in America. It was equipped with the newest and most advanced equipment of its time. Its jobs included the four-page Lane Daily, the 56-page monthly Tech Prep and the annual 200-page yearbook, plus other out-of-school jobs.

Natalie Zett:

At this time Jack T Nelson, a student, felt it was time for Lane to have a school song. He wrote the words and music of quote-unquote Go Lane, go, making Lane one of only a handful of schools with an original song. In 1915, it showed us what is possible in terms of education. I mean, I would have loved to have been at a school like that and taken those types of shop courses and to see if I actually do have any ability there. So, as you can probably tell, lane Tech wasn't just any high school. It was Chicago's first technical high school and it was created to meet the demands of the city's booming industrial age. The school's commitment to hands-on education was evident in its fully equipped workshops, including the print shop where our story's memorial edition would be created when these five young men walked its halls. Lane Tech was located at Division and Sedgwick Street in a building that had originally housed the old North Division High School. And get this, it's still going strong today.

Natalie Zett:

So I want to share something exciting with you, and it illustrates why it is necessary to go the extra mile to get the big picture of the lives of these people of the Eastland, or of any research that you're doing into your own family history, because who they were, who they were related to, and the things that they engaged in, the hobbies that they had, the interests, avocations, whatever you want to call them, are critical. So if you were with me last week or you heard last week's podcast about a young man called Frank Fuca who died at age 19, you learned that Frank Fuca was also an amateur boxer and he was doing really well in Chicago fighting under the name of Young Hanlon. And then I expanded that further so all of us, me included, could understand the world of boxing in 1915. I didn't realize that there were women boxers who were also competing during that time. After publishing the latest episode on Frank Fuca and the boxing his boxing adventures, I promoted this podcast, as I do with all the podcasts, on the various socials. I noticed two new followers on social media. Naturally, I was curious about what brought them to a quirky little podcast like this one. When I checked out their bios I discovered something fascinating they were both amateur boxing enthusiasts. I can't prove it, but I'm guessing they were.

Natalie Zett:

Connection to the story likely began not with the Eastland disaster itself, but through their shared passion for boxing. Frank Fuca's story provided a bridge. That is exactly why I am so committed to telling these stories in a way that goes beyond the facts of the disaster. When history is reduced to just names and numbers well you already know, if you listen to this, we lose the opportunity to connect the past to the present. We lose the ability to connect to each other. But when we share the details and the expansiveness of these people's lives, for example Frank's love of boxing we create some meaningful entry points for others to engage with this history in ways that are personal and relevant to them, not just to us. In a way, I see myself as a curator, not just of my family's history, but of the stories of the people who lived and died on the Eastland. It's my privilege and my responsibility to make sure their lives and passions are remembered.

Natalie Zett:

So let's get back to Lane Tech. Right now I will share some brief bios of the young men whose names were listed in the article. We'll start with Morris Roble, who was the captain of Lane Tech's 1913 baseball team. And it does sound as if Morris was a natural leader on the field and he had gone on to work for Western Electric after graduation. He followed a path that many Lane Tech students took, from technical education to industrial employment. So it was security for him and his family and he contributed to the development of industry in Chicago. And I profiled Morris in episode 43, which was called Curveballs and Calamities Eastland Disaster Baseball Connection, and it featured Morris and a number of young amateur baseball players who were on their way and who knows what they could have accomplished had they not been on the Eastland. And thanks to the citizen genealogists, historians on Find a Grave, we have additional information about Morris Roble. Morris was born October 11, 1894, and he died, of course, july 24, 1915. He's buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, illinois, so that's a ways away from Chicago. He was survived by his parents, mr and Mrs Carl A Roble this is from his obituary and by his grandfather, william G White and uncle George E White. Both of Springfield Roble had been employed by the Western Electric Company in Chicago for several years and that is from the Springfield Illinois Journal, the Springfield Illinois Journal. Another person mentioned was Harry Berquist, and in the article they said that Harry was known for his dedication to Moody Church School.

Natalie Zett:

During the 20th century, the early 20th century, chicago was moving at breakneck speed, rapidly industrializing and undergoing sweeping societal changes. These transformations were reshaping the city in profound ways and in the midst of all of this upheaval, I imagine that places like Moody Church offered a sense of stability for many people. While I can't prove it outright, it seems likely that such institutions provided a grounding presence during a time of such relentless change. Moody Church, where young Harry Berquist was an active member, was founded by the renowned evangelist Dwight L Moody in 1864. So this church began as an Illinois street church in the aftermath of the Civil War and by 1915, it had become a cornerstone of Chicago's religious and charitable community. Dwight L Moody started his ministry working with children in Chicago's most impoverished neighborhoods, and by the time Harry Berquist attended the church's Sunday school program was one of the largest and most active in the city. The church was known for its outreach to young working people like Harry, offering not just spiritual guidance but a sense of community in a rapidly growing city.

Natalie Zett:

If you've not heard of Dwight L Moody, perhaps you've heard of Moody Bible Institute. They are still going strong after all these years. I learned about them vis-a-vis their radio ministry. They had a radio station in Cleveland and when I was growing up I listened to it. I found the way that they used radio and storytelling was truly innovative. Let's just say they were really different from the Lutheran church that I was a part of when I was a kid, but I still loved their radio dramas. So that's how I learned about Moody Bible Institute. And now here's more information about Harry Berquist.

Natalie Zett:

Harry was born on April 25th 1900 in Chicago and he died July 24th on the Eastland. His parents were David Berquist and Anna Swanson. They were both from Sweden, that's what the records show us anyway, and Harry had one sister called Helen, and I've not come across what happened to Helen in later years, but that's the Berquist family. Right now it's hard to know how the Berquist family fared out after the Eastland disaster, after losing their son. But one can only imagine and what happens with so many of these families afterward. Some of them, they went on with life and did the best that they could. Others stumbled, and that would make sense, because we all react to tragedy and trauma differently and it probably depended on so many variables such as how much support that they have in place before, during and after this took place. We'll never know, but it's important to say that not everybody was able to just recover and move on with their lives as if nothing happened, even though on the surface it might appear that way.

Natalie Zett:

Now we'll talk about Adolf Redlich. He was working at what was supposed to be just a summer job at Western Electric and I suppose, like many young people of that time, he was building his future one summer at a time, taking advantage of all of that industrial training he received at Lane Tech. And thanks to Find a Grave, we have additional information about Adolph Redlich. Adolph was born on May 18, 1897 in Chicago and he died July 24, 1915. And Adolph is buried in Wonders. It's spelled W-U-N-D-E-R-S cemetery in Chicago and when you look at his memorial on Finder Grave.

Natalie Zett:

You don't see a story written out, that is, but look at it again. There is a story there. So by noticing that Adolph's father, hubert, died in 1914, and Adolf's mother, dorothea, died in 1903, we get a picture of this family, and then we can also see that there were a number of sisters that Adolf had. It looks like he was the only boy. There were sisters Minnie, bertha she was known as Bertie, alvina and Dorothy. Most went on to have long lives and I'm guessing that more than one of them had children, grandchildren, all kinds of descendants. And I wonder do any of these descendants know about Adolf? Maybe they'll find him someday.

Natalie Zett:

Another Lane Tech student that's mentioned in this article is John Larson. Now it's getting slightly more challenging here. I was able to find a John Lambert Larson on Find a Grave and I think this is the same person. This John Larson was born in 1892, and it doesn't say where he was born, but he is buried in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago and his parents are also buried there. His dad was John Larson and he was born in 1855 and died in 1930. So he died just 15 years after his son died. John's mother, sigrid, was born in 1863, and she died in 1945 at age 81 or 82. We don't know much about them yet, but I'm sure that we will. We just need to create a record for them by we I mean me and see what pops up in terms of the additional records, the hints that come our way, and evaluate those. So I'll keep his bio posted and updated on my website.

Natalie Zett:

Let's talk about Henry Earhart. He was listed in that newspaper article and he was a person originally identified as one of the Eastland disaster victims. Ah, but here's where things get tricky. Let's just say this story needed some serious untangling. I started by looking up Henry Earhart on various Eastland-related sites. What I found wasn't about Henry, but it was about his brother and sister-in-law, fred and Clara Earhart. They did indeed lose their lives in the disaster, leaving behind two young children, raymond and Iona, who survived. I'm not sure if these little kids were on the Eastland with them or not. That part of the story remains unclear.

Natalie Zett:

The one story I found about the family didn't have any source citations and it also seemed as if it was cobbled from multiple sources. So I don't know what's going on with that. So I looked at it, but then I moved on to find a grave and I did find Fred and Clara's memorials on the larger Eastland Memorial Collection. There no story, but photos of the graves were there and that's useful. And then I found a family tree on familysearchorg and that gave the bigger picture and showed us that Henry Earhart did not die on the Eastland. So here's what I suspect may have happened, based on my research.

Natalie Zett:

Many of the Lane students profiled in this publication about the Eastland disaster, they were not current students. It seemed that only Harry Berquist, who was 15 at the time, was the current student. The others had already graduated. So I think it was a simple mix-up that occurred in the reporting, leading to the confusion about Henry. My best guess is that someone mistook Fred's death for Henry's. I'm guessing that Fred was at one point also a student at Lane Tech, as was his brother, henry. When I traced the Earhart family tree I found that Henry went on to live a full life, passing away in 1951, and his death record was attached to his profile as proof.

Natalie Zett:

This is one of those cases where information always needs to be clarified, verified and source-cited and, as Elizabeth Schoen Mills always emphasizes, always says, you have to provide proof. Where did you get this information? Without a source, it's like trying to build a puzzle with missing pieces. So this episode provided a chance to uncover yet more unknown at least unknown to me. Yet more unknown at least unknown to me history of Chicago. During that time I never heard of Lane Tech School, but now I have, and I hope you enjoyed learning about them as well, and I really hope that people from Lane Tech, whether students or faculty, maybe hear this podcast and I hope that they know that we appreciate what that student body did once upon a time.

Natalie Zett:

I have a theory that I can't prove, but when a place, an institution, embraces its history, it builds a sense of identity, continuity and pride, which in turn fosters a strong community spirit. It's like having a deep root system. Those roots can weather storms because they're anchored to something solid. Schools like Lane Tech, which celebrate their history, not only inspire current students but also keep alumni connected, which can translate into more support, mentorship and resources. Plus, history acts like a compass when you remember where you've been, it's easier to chart where you're going.

Natalie Zett:

Ignoring history. That's a quick ticket to repeating past mistakes or losing sight of what makes a place special. So, yeah, places that honor their stories usually are stronger and more resilient. Cheers to Lane Tech for getting it right for all these years. 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. 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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