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Flower in the River: A Family Tale Finally Told
"Flower in the River" 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.
Flower in the River: A Family Tale Finally Told
Final Claim: Insurance Records Speak from Beyond the Grave
In this episode, we explore newly discovered insurance records of Eastland disaster victims through the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America (PRCUA). These records provide unprecedented insight into the aftermath of the tragedy and its impact on Chicago's Polish community.
Key Discoveries
- Previously unsearchable records found through FamilySearch.org's experimental Labs feature
- Approximately 22 Eastland victims identified who held PRCUA life insurance policies
- Documents include detailed death records, beneficiary certificates, coroner's reports, and correspondence
The Polish Roman Catholic Union of America (PRCUA)
- Founded in 1873
- Oldest and largest Polish American fraternal benefits society in the US
- Introduced life insurance in 1886
- Granted women full membership in 1897 (23 years before US women's suffrage)
- Continues today with over 42,000 members
Why Insurance Mattered to Immigrants
- Working conditions in factories, mines, and mills often dangerous
- Few workplace protections or social safety nets
- No Social Security (didn't exist until later)
- Without insurance, families sometimes faced destitution if breadwinners died
Featured Eastland Victims and Their Records
*Emma Joschko
- Age: 16
- Joined PRCUA: July 10, 1914
- Death benefit: $250
- Beneficiaries: Parents Jacob and Matilda Joschko
- Member of Polish Society St. Agatha #611
*Maria Dudek
- Insurance amount: $500
- Joined: July 26, 1910
- Complex case involving:
- Multiple beneficiaries
- International correspondence
- American Red Cross inquiry
- German birth certificate from Poland
Historical Significance
- Documents written in multiple languages
- Provides insight into immigrant experience
- Shows community response to mass casualty event
- Reveals complexity of insurance claims process
- Demonstrates importance of fraternal organizations
Pete Hoffman's Role
- Cook County Coroner during Eastland disaster
- Established centralized morgue at Second Regiment Armory
- Convened coroner's jury
- Provided detailed documentation for insurance claims
Resources
- FamilySearch.org/Labs - Experimental search features
- Polish Roman Catholic Union of America (PRCUA)
- Book website: https://www.flowerintheriver.com/
- LinkTree: @zettnatalie | Linktree
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-z-87092b15/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zettnatalie/
- YouTube: Flower in the River - A Family Tale Finally Told - YouTube
- Medium: Natalie Zett – Medium
- The opening/closing song is Twilight by 8opus
- Other music. Artlist
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 102 of Flower in the River Podcast. So a funny thing happened while I was preparing for this week's podcast. I had planned to follow up on the individuals and families that I introduced last week. Those were the people with the unmarked graves, the people of the disaster, who still have unmarked graves after all this time. But as I was researching one of these families, I kept hitting brick walls. Then, on a whim, I decided to check out the labs area on FamilySearchorg.
Natalie Zett:I want to pause. Have you heard of this? If not, if you're a genealogist, history buff or somebody in between, you have to check this out. It's a hidden part of FamilySearchorg that so far you're not able to find from their main page. Instead, you have to type in FamilySearchorg, forward slash labs. That's L-A-B-S and I'll drop a link in the show notes for you in case you're interested and I hope you are, and it's entirely experimental. They've got all kinds of things going on there, but one of these tools that they have is labeled expand your search with full text. That doesn't sound exciting, but the subtitle unlock hidden mysteries in historical records that have never been searchable until now. Oh my gosh, I felt as if I reached genealogy nirvana and I went there and I found out that they're not kidding about hidden discoveries.
Natalie Zett:I started with a simple search on the Eastland disaster and found a gold mine of records. These are unlike anything I've ever found before. I uncovered records for approximately 22 Eastland victims. They were all members of Chicago's Polish community and all of them had taken out life insurance through the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, the PRCUA, which is a fraternal society. Now, this is similar to commercial life insurance and means that a policy holder designated a beneficiary to receive benefits upon their death and because of that, their files contained documents that I had never seen before, for example, detailed death records, beneficiary certificates from the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America and they're quite lovely, by the way. Coroner's reports, by the way, coroners reports, and sometimes even letters between surviving members and various organizations, as they disputed payouts and claims, just like now. Filing an insurance claim can be a headache.
Natalie Zett:But before I get ahead of myself, I'm going to give you some background on what all of this means. And I want to warn you right now I've tried to simplify the transition of information for this episode, but there's no graceful way to do that, so I'm going to have to go back and forth between a lot of different types of information. So hang in there with us. I promise it's fascinating. So hang in there with us, I promise it's fascinating.
Natalie Zett:First of all, let's talk about the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, the PRCUA, and then we will talk about what happened when so many of their customers died on the same day and in the same way. Now, because these victims had this beneficiary insurance, their families had to provide additional documentation to process claims after the Eastland disaster. After the Eastland disaster, and that paperwork gives us an unexpected but very vivid window into their lives, and it's not just about the people who died, but it's about the struggles, disputes and decisions that their surviving family members faced in the aftermath. This is a historian's and genealogist's dream. And, by the way, I have done other episodes on fraternal organizations. These were a big part of the various immigrant communities in Chicago during that time, for reasons that you'll understand when you hear the details. And this type of thing, meaning insurance records, has not been well covered in terms of the history of the Eastland disaster, which maybe is not a surprise, but it's essential to understand this component.
Natalie Zett:So the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, the PRCUA, was founded in 1873. That's a long time ago and it is, as far as I can tell, the oldest and largest Polish-American fraternal benefits society in the United States. And it's more than an insurance provider. It was at that point a community pillar dedicated to protecting Polish immigrants, preserving their heritage and supporting those in need. And, according to the wonderful detailed history on its website, by 1886, the PRCUA introduced life insurance, strengthening its financial foundation while continuing to fund churches, schools and charities in Polish-American communities, particularly in Chicago, detroit and Buffalo. It also launched its own newspaper in 1897.
Natalie Zett:The PRCUA was also ahead of its time when it came to women's rights. Get this In 1897, it granted women full membership. And that is 23 years before the United States granted women the right to vote. By the early 1900s, polish women were not just members, but they were leaders, they were delegates and they were decision makers. They made the news quite a bit after the Eastland disaster in the Polish press, by the way. Thank goodness they had those advocates. And over the decades the PRCUA continued to serve its members in times of crisis. Later on, it founded the Polish Museum of America in 1935 in Chicago, and that may be one of the first ethnic museums and archives in the United States. And it ensures that Polish-American history would not be forgotten. And even today, the PRC-UA remains a strong, fraternal organization with over 42,000 members, and they offer not just insurance but scholarships and cultural programs, including Polish language and dance schools. And after more than 150 years, according to its website, it still upholds its guiding motto for God and country.
Natalie Zett:But we have to go back to 1915. And on that day, on July 24, 1915, the PRCUA was suddenly called upon, in an unprecedented way, to understand why organizations like the PRCUA played such a crucial role in the aftermath of the Eastland disaster. We need to understand why so many immigrants had insurance in the first place, why so many immigrants had insurance in the first place For immigrants life in Chicago's industrial landscape was dangerous and uncertain. Traditional old-world safety nets, extended families, village support and parish assistance were no longer enough. These immigrants needed a new kind of protection and that's where fraternal insurance came in. And here's why they had dangerous and unstable jobs.
Natalie Zett:Think of it In Chicago, many of these people worked in slaughterhouses, factories and elsewhere. They often worked in coal mines, as my grandfather did steel mills and places where accidents were common and often fatal. Workplace protections were nearly non-existent. If a worker died, their family was left with nothing unless they had insurance. There were no social safety nets In 1915, social security, which has been a lifeline for so many people, didn't exist yet and there were no government welfare programs for surviving family members. So if the family was relying on a single breadwinner and that breadwinner was killed and by the way, it wasn't always a man, a lot of times the daughters of the family would work and support the family. If that person was killed, the remaining family members often had no recourse. Without insurance, families could fall into immediate destitution.
Natalie Zett:And beyond the money, an organization like the PRCUA. It was also a form of community support and members most likely went to church together, most likely were members of various other societies and they helped one another get through these horrible times of crisis. Most likely, the people who worked at the PRCUA were also members of these various organizations and they, too, were probably affected directly by the Eastland disaster. Perhaps they lost family members. That's something, too, that's worth researching, of what I've been able to ascertain through my research just this week. Unlike private insurance companies, the PRCUA pooled resources among members, keeping premiums low and coverage affordable for working-class immigrant families, and in one example that I found and there were a number of examples there was a $500 policy, and that probably doesn't sound like much today, but in 1915, that was enough to cover funeral costs, rent and provide immediate relief for families.
Natalie Zett:I want to pause here to say something. So one thing I've noticed in researching the Eastland disaster is that some aspects of the relief efforts get highlighted repeatedly, such as the assistance from the Red Cross or Western Electric or the City of Chicago, which is fine, but this is happening, while others, such as the crucial role of fraternal organizations the very thing we're discussing right now are overlooked. It's a reminder that history isn't just about what's included, but also what's left out, and in this case, the mutual aid societies that so many immigrant families relied on deserve to be part of this narrative. I'm not sure what prompted these young people and they were all very young when they took out these policies in the first place. What prompted them to take them out? Maybe their parents said you've got to do this, and they might have balked. But they all did, and thank goodness they did, because that ensured that their families received some financial compensation during such a terrible time of profound grief.
Natalie Zett:And another thing to bring up is that these documents weren't just financial agreements. They were bridges. They were symbols of security, written in both English and Polish. Written in both English and Polish. Remember, many of these people were fairly recent immigrants to the United States and they might not have been fluent in English. Many of them may not have been able to speak English at all, much less understood how insurance works. However, by the end of July 24th 1915, those precious papers became something more significant. They were evidence of loss, tragedy and also security that would get these families through to the next leg of their journey.
Natalie Zett:For the PRCUA. Well, I cannot imagine what that was like. This organization had made a legally binding promise to pay benefits to families of deceased members, never thinking that something like a full-scale catastrophe would happen and never thinking that they would be hit with all of these claims at once. What did they do? I don't know the details, but the Eastland disaster definitely forced them to pivot quickly and adapt to a mass casualty event in ways that they had never done before. That said, somebody asked me when I was talking about this with them if they rushed things through.
Natalie Zett:By the level of the detail of the documents that I have been looking at, I would have to say they might have rushed things through, but they did not spare detail. Each of these documents has extreme detail in them and in a way, each of these documents complement one another. They prove that this death happened, how it happened, and they also had to prove that this person had indeed bought this insurance for this amount on this day, and they also had to have things like the death certificates and funeral arrangements in some cases. So all that detail was in there, but they also could not hold it up. They had to get it through.
Natalie Zett:The first thing is people had to get buried right, and who was going to pay for all of that? And for the most part, as far as I can tell the funeral establishments. They worked overtime. They brought in morticians from all over the place and they did really fantastic jobs, but some cases not so much. They overcharged people and there were some disputes. The paperwork was sent through. The only thing I'm guessing that they might have done they might have reduced the bureaucracy, the number of hands that things had to go through, but I'm not sure about that either. Things had to go through, but I'm not sure about that either. And what I do wonder about is how the PRCUA was able to ensure that its financial reserves could handle the extreme stress of all of these claims coming at them at once. I did reach out to somebody at the PRCUA and I hope they respond because I really want to know if they have any additional information in their archives about what happened and what changed in their business practices after the Eastland disaster.
Natalie Zett:The other aspect to that is that it's not just about the money. Unfortunately, money has to be one of the big focuses, but to say that somehow these people were out for more than they deserved. Very seldom did that happen. They were just trying to survive, trying to deal with this massive grief and also the violent, horrible way that their loved ones perished and speaking from personal experience in my own family, the impact from this event, well, it's something that affected my family for generations. But the PRCUA also played a crucial role in providing emotional and logistical support. What I mean by that is the funeral assistance. They helped families coordinate burials and cover expenses.
Natalie Zett:And in the case where someone did not understand English or was not well acquainted with how things are done in the United States, I'm guessing a lot of these folks from the PRCUA stepped in and acted as advocates for these people and they also provided their form of counseling and emotional support, partnering with churches and other Polish community leaders and organizations to be there for these people to make sure they didn't fall through the cracks. In the research I've done, and indeed in my own family a lot of times, the person who was killed was a major breadwinner or wage earner, if you want to call them that for the family. And how did the PRCUA cope after the Eastland disaster? How did it adjust its policies etc. That I do not know. I can guess at some of the things and I'm sure that continues until today because we are always adjusting to chaos in the environment, correct, and I'm sure that they had to do the same then and now. But the other thing that was also very important for the community back then is organizations like this to maintain trust and stability and had to reassure people that their organization, the PRCUA, was strong, solvent and still their advocate and would be there for them. There's nothing worse than feeling like all of your lifelines, all of the organizations, government entities, etc. That you have trusted are gone.
Natalie Zett:So I want to highlight another document that is a part of all of these victims' files. That would be the two-page coroner's inquest verdict or coroner's certificate of inquest. The actual document doesn't have a title, which is kind of interesting. The signature in the handwriting is difficult to make out, but I know that coroner Peter Hoffman signed it and the date is August something 1915, so just over a month after the Eastland disaster took place. The document itself is fascinating and actually I need to devote most of an episode to it because there's so much in there so I'm not going to read it in its entirety here. But these inquest verdicts, this documentation would have been required, probably for the PRCUA's insurance claims for the victims' families, and the fact that they did this for each person tells you how thorough and how serious they were about this documentation. What I don't know is how they were able to make multiple copies of these documents, for all these people change the name, so each name is individual. I'm thinking typewriter with carbon copies, or maybe there was an early form of a mimeograph machine. That's something too that needs to be investigated. So earlier I devoted an entire episode to Coroner Pete Hoffman and I must say, in terms of the Eastland disaster, he is one of the most intriguing and interesting characters that I have ever run across.
Natalie Zett:Hoffman played a pivotal role in the immediate response and subsequent investigations. Here's a high-level overview of his actions and the legal proceedings that followed. The first thing was an immediate response to the disaster. He established a centralized morgue. He recognized that the chaos, with the victims' bodies scattered across various locations, would have caused a lot of problems. So he swiftly secured the 2nd Regiment Armory as a central morgue, and that move streamlined the identification process for grieving families and organized the recovery efforts. Within hours of the disaster, hoffman convened a coroner's jury to investigate the causes and assign responsibility. This prompt action underscored his commitment to justice and transparency. The jury concluded that the SS Eastland capsized due to conditions of instability from overloading, mishandling of ballast and faulty construction. They recommended manslaughter charges against the ship's president, three officers, the captain and the engineer, and in this document that was written by Pete Hoffman, he was very clear about not blaming the passengers for the capsizing of the Eastland. That has come up in several articles that I've read, where they have tried to blame the passengers for their own deaths, but Hoffman basically put his foot down and said absolutely not. And I'll discuss the details of these various legal proceedings in another episode because it's a lot of information.
Natalie Zett:All right, it's time to talk about a couple of Polish victims of the Eastland disaster, whose files that I located when I was doing this research disaster, whose files that I located when I was doing this research. I want to introduce you to our first person. Her name was Emma Josko or Josko. I've seen her name spelled actually three different ways, and I'm starting off with Emma because her records are more straightforward than many of the other people's records. But all of these records come with a unique challenge language or languages. Most of the documents are in both Polish and English, but one of the claims includes international correspondence written in German, and for these documents I will do my best to translate using my very basic Polish skills, along with Google Translate and some AI-powered tools to help fill in the gaps. So take this with a grain of salt, okay. So the first document that I found that was present in all the files for each person was the PRCUA registry entry and it had a certificate number and society group numbers. So there were societies within this organization, an insurance amount in the case of Emma it was $250.
Natalie Zett:The date Emma joined that would be July 10th 1914, just a year before the Eastland disaster, and of course she died on July 24th 1915. Her death benefit was paid to Jacob and Matilda Josko, her parents. She was listed as an Eastland victim and of course the location was Chicago. There was a second document called the PRCUA Death Report, which had more detail. Here's the translation Polish Roman Catholic Union of America to the Honorable Board. We hereby notify that on the 24th of July of the year 1915, member Emma Josko or Jasko, residing at 2213 Clybourne Avenue, chicago Illinois, a member of the Polish Society St Agatha, no 611, died from accidental drowning on the Eastland Age, at death 16 years. She was admitted as a member of the union on October 20th 1914. At the time of joining she was 15 years old. She is entitled to a posthumous benefit of $250, and the signatures were Franticek Kaczynski, president of the society, and Marta Huda, the secretary. The key takeaways from this is that Emma was only 16 years old when she died in the Eastland disaster and she had been a member of the PRCUA for less than a year. Whoever paid for her membership? Thank goodness they did that and her family got $250 for her death benefit.
Natalie Zett:The next person's records are more complicated. I'm going to go through them fairly quickly, but you'll get an idea of how this becomes more convoluted depending on the number of people involved. So sometimes just buying a policy and cashing in on the policy is not that easy. Our next person is Marie, or Maria Dudek, and the first document. It doesn't have a title but it has, in the right-hand corner notes remarks and it's the insurance registry entry and the certificate number is 60979,. Society group number 84,. Member name Maria Dudek. Insurance amount $500.
Natalie Zett:Maria joined on July 26, 1910, and died July 24, 1915. They noted that she was an Eastland victim and how this document fits. This is a primary record for establishing Maria's membership in the PRCUA. Her next document is similar to the one that we read for Emma. It's the report of death. It gives her home address as 2937 South 48 Court, hawthorne, probably Cicero, and that's where Western Electric's Hawthorne Works was located. Her cause of death was drowning on the Eastland ship, is what it says Insurance benefit $500.
Natalie Zett:Third document is called a Certificate of the Attending Physician. This one I had a little difficulty translating, but what I could figure out from it is that it was a multi-purpose form that included the beneficiary information that would be Jan Dudek, her husband, the priest's certification of burial space for the physician's statement, which was left blank in her case, and fourth and fifth documents. There was a notary's register and legal power of attorney, and here's where it gets interesting. There's a legal document from 1916. So this is a year after the Eastland disaster, where Mariana Krasaniak, who is Maria's mother, appoints her son, albert Krasaniak, as a legal representative.
Natalie Zett:How does this fit? Well, while I was unable to locate any documentation for him, at least in this particular record set, jan Dudek, maria's husband, also died on the Eastland, so the involvement of her mother and brother probably had something to do with that fact. There's a lot of blanks in here that we don't know, but it looks like there was some kind of follow-up that was needed in order to settle the estate and the insurance claim involving relatives back in Poland who were working through the legal channels to claim benefits were working through the legal channels to claim benefits. And there's another document in Maria's file. It's a letter from the American Red Cross and the subject is official inquiry letter from the American Red Cross to PRCUA dated October 19th 1915, inquiring about a $500 insurance claim paid for Maria Dudek's death. The Red Cross is seeking to verify who the beneficiary was when the payment was made. Confirmation of the amount. Again, we don't have more detail than that, but it's something that a historian or a genealogist would investigate to see how does this all fit? What happened? What was the follow-up? I will share more stories of other people in other episodes because this is right now, as you can see, way involved. But it also shows you how multiple organizations were coordinating and getting involved in disputing to ensure proper distribution of benefits to victims' families. Maria's file also had the coroner's inquest that we just talked about from Pete Hoffman.
Natalie Zett:Finally, there was another document written in German and I was able to decipher parts of it, but the document was a death registry record. However, from what I could make out, it was some sort of German registry document dated October 25th 1888. That's quite a ways away from the Eastland disaster. The handwriting was really difficult to read in places and I tried and I did the best I could, but parts of this document appeared to be Maria's birth record, but it was maybe attached to the death registry. I don't know. The document does confirm that she was born in Orszaczałwo, Poland, and her birth name was Kryzaniak and her religion was Catholic and it bore the official seal from the German administration of that region. Even though it's a bit confusing a lot confusing actually, this document is a valuable find and it highlights how detailed record record keeping was particularly needed for insurance claims and it also gives insight into the mixed Polish-German history of the region. We don't just have an organization in Chicago that we're dealing with. We have international involvement, because that's where many of these people's relatives were still living and many ethnic Germans lived in parts of Poland and that created a complex cultural and political landscape in the late 19th century, and since many of my own maternal ancestors came from this area.
Natalie Zett:I have spent a lot of time researching these records and I will tell you this. They are detailed, which is super useful for genealogy. This is not the case in all histories, by the way, so finding this birth certificate if indeed that's what it is adds another important piece to Maria's story. Of course, it needs more analysis, and I have a lovely German translator that I work with who I may give this to, because it is kind of driving me nuts at this point. And, as I say every week, this is just a first pass through. It's a high level sketch of these people's lives. It's a basis to begin research.
Natalie Zett:It's not exhaustive research at this point, but it needs to be discussed. And what makes this particularly significant is that this type of background research of these types of insurance documents has never been included in any of the accounts of the victims and their families. At least, I've never seen this so far in anything that I've read about this. And, as far as I know, finding this insurance benefit information as it pertains to victims of the Eastland disaster is a first. And the final document in Maria's file is a beautiful PRCUA membership certificate. It's ornate and striking, and I'll share that with you as well. It's just so pretty, and it establishes her family was part of this organization, one that provided financial assistance in times of need. Hopefully, all of these families received the benefits they were entitled to. I hope so.
Natalie Zett:This document also gives us a glimpse into the broader experience of Polish immigrant life in the late 19th and early 20th century America and how these organizations played a crucial role in supporting their communities. As I've explored in past episodes, particularly my episode on the Polish community, these groups were not monolithic. While many were Roman Catholic, a surprising number were freethinkers who chose an entirely different path, but when tragedy struck, they came together as people do in times of crisis. Some may have questioned their decision to come to America after the disaster, and perhaps a few even returned to their homeland, but most stayed, they rebuilt, they carried on.
Natalie Zett:In conclusion, since my appearance on Krista Collins' podcast, I have been connecting with so many people who are also doing their own research into the Eastland disaster. It's awesome, and so far, none of these folks have family ties to it. Yet they are uncovering fascinating details, and that's just what's needed. One researcher this week even apologized for not having a personal connection, but they are doing detailed, conscientious research on the people of the Eastland and, honestly, that's all that's really needed, because that's often what's been lacking, and so I am grateful to this person and all of you who care about this and all of you who are doing your part, not just in the Eastland disaster research, but in all the research of history of families. What matters is doing careful, conscientious research, documenting sources, asking questions, being thorough and questioning your own finds Better to always have the beginner mind and always be a beginner with this. That brings me to yet another important point no one owns history.
Natalie Zett:Now, because this is part of my family's history, I take great care in curating and preserving it, and when it comes to the Eastland disaster, of course I'm one of those family members who lost somebody on the Eastland, but the disaster itself affected hundreds of families. They were all different, they all had things they shared, and each individual story deserves to be told. Each connection needs to be brought forward, and over the past couple years, as I've looked beyond my own family's connections, I've realized how amazingly interesting the actual history is from what I first thought it was. For one thing, it's a hell of a lot more complex and chaotic and fascinating than I had been led to believe.
Natalie Zett:By only listening to established accounts, I had a really narrow, limited view of the disaster, and I'm sorry that it took me this long to do my own deep digging and finding out what really happened there. However, better late than never, right? And the more I've explored these primary sources, these firsthand records, survivor testimonies, even when they contradict each other, I don't care. The more I've explored these primary sources, these firsthand records, survivor testimonies, even when they contradict each other, I don't care. The more I've seen all this, the more I've seen how many perspectives exist. For example, a journalist covering the tragedy, a survivor, a family member, a rescuer, coroner, peter Hoffman. They all had dramatically different experiences and no single viewpoint tells the entire story. So my goal remains the same to let the people of the Eastland disaster speak for themselves as much as possible. I won't filter or censor their stories to fit a particular version of events, because I don't have one.
Natalie Zett:Each week is a surprise to me, as it is to you. History is not about repeating the same accounts. It's not about controlling accounts. It's about uncovering details, expanding the narratives and allowing the past to tell its own story. Allow those people of the past to give us their wisdom to help us. I'm so grateful that so many of you are interested in these people and are choosing to adopt one of them or their families and apply your mad research and writing skills to their stories.
Natalie Zett:Good on you, and that's all for now. Thanks for listening and I'll talk to you next week, where we will continue this discussion, Unless, of course, I find something else that's new. Take care, talk to you soon. 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 as audio book, 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.