July 24, 1915 should have been a wonderful day for the employees of Western Electric Company's Hawthorne Works and their families. The company had chartered five passenger steamers to carry around 7,000 people from Chicago to Michigan City, Indiana for a picnic. But one of those ships, the Eastland, capsized before it even left the docks on the Chicago River. In this episode, Ted and Barb Wachholz from the Eastland Disaster Historical Society join Erika and Amelia to tell the story of the disaster and its survivors.
Stories from the episode:
Clara Schuster Read more about the Eastland Disaster: Scritch Scratch Capsized! The Forgotten Story of the SS Eastland Disaster Sylvia's Story: The Chicago River Tragedy of the SS Eastland If you want to replicate Ted Wachholz's "Ultimate Whitey's Experience" (which we officially do NOT recommend...but let us know if you do it), you can visit Whitey's Ice Cream in the Quad Cities. If you want to play it a little safer, visit Maddy's Ice Cream and More in Gardner, Massachusetts and enjoy a sweet treat this summer! Questions? Idea for an upcoming episode? Email us at thepodcastgrotto@gmail.com.
