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In this episode, we revisit the Bell Telephone News from August 1915 and the stories of extraordinary individuals who responded to the Eastland disaster with courage and quick thinking:

• Fred J. Lippert - The telephone company engineer who happened to be wearing his bathing suit that morning (planning to swim after work) and dove repeatedly into the Chicago River to rescue victims. But his heroism didn't stop there - his entire life was defined by service and sacrifice.
• George Spiegelhauer - The methodical rescuer who knew how to operate the cutting-edge "pulmotor" resuscitation devices when others couldn't. His story has a beautiful twist involving beekeeping that perfectly captures his caring nature.
• H. Haberstroh - The vacationing boatman whose pleasure craft was pressed into rescue service by police.
• James Carney - The unsung hero who literally had to swim 100 feet in semi-darkness to install emergency telephone lines at the life-saving station, ensuring communication could flow during the crisis.

The Fire That Almost Was

I'll also share the spine-chilling story of an unnamed plant department worker who prevented what could have been a catastrophic fire at the Second Regiment Armory - where hundreds of people were gathered to identify their loved ones. Imagine the panic that could have ensued.

The Bigger Picture

Though freely available in digital archives, these firsthand accounts have remained largely overlooked for more than a century. They reveal not just moments of individual heroism, but the critical, behind-the-scenes work that connected rescuers, hospitals, morgues, and desperate families—long before the digital age. In just a few hours, the telephone company installed nearly 40 emergency lines, creating a vital communication network during one of Chicago’s darkest days.

These stories raise important questions about historical memory: Who gets remembered, and why? By reclaiming their stories, we not only honor their courage, but also gain a fuller understanding of how communities respond in moments of crisis.

Resources

• Selfless Saviors: Two Extraordinary Rescuers in the Eastland Disaster
• Bell Telephone News, 1915
• American Ancestors

• Book website: https://www.flowerintheriver.com/
• LinkTree: @zettnatalie | Linktree
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• 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

Send us a text

In this week’s episode of Flower in the River, we unearth a powerful 1952 article written by author Olive Carruthers—an overlooked piece of Eastland Disaster history that should be widely known but has remained hidden for over 70 years. Through Carruthers’ evocative writing, we meet three remarkable figures:

• Catherine O’Reilly, the telephone operator who took the call about the Eastland disaster—and whose own brother, Patrick, was among the victims.
• Enoch Moberg, a deep-sea diver from Evanston who pulled more than 60 bodies from the wreckage and yet remains mostly unrecognized today.
• Olive Carruthers herself, a poet and author whose beautiful, human-centered storytelling reminds us why these names matter.

We also unpack why these stories were forgotten—and how rediscovering them reframes what we know about that tragic day in 1915.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

📞 The call Catherine O’Reilly made—and the call she dreaded to receive.

🤿 The incredible heroism of Enoch Moberg, a city diver who worked nonstop in pitch-black waters to retrieve the lost.

✍️ The literary legacy of Olive Carruthers, who wrote with clarity, compassion, and historical insight.

🕵️‍♀️ Why so many Eastland stories remain sidelined —and what it takes to bring them back.

Resources:

• Carruthers, Olive. “How Evanstonians Assisted in the Eastland Disaster.” The Evanston Review, October 23, 1952. In Evanston’s First 100 Years.
• The Piper City Journal, December 20, 1917. “Diver Works in Bitter Cold.” A piece that references Enoch Moberg’s service as a diver for Evanston, including his role in the Eastland Disaster.
• “From Ashes to Action” (about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911) and the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition. Fill to Capacity Podcast (host, Pat Benincasa)
• Threads of Tragedy: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the Eastland Disaster. (Flower in the River Podcast)
• Additional music in this episode sourced from Pixabay Music.

• 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

Send us a text

In this episode, I’m circling back to three stories I’ve covered before—but they’re too important to leave behind.

First up: Floyd C. Smith, a hardworking Chicago salesman who was near the dock when the Eastland capsized. He assisted and was later recognized by Coroner Peter Hoffman as a citizen hero. I found Floyd through his granddaughter, Ann, who shared his story in The Chicago Genealogist (Vol. 48, No. 3, Spring 2016).

Next: Gertrude Berndt, who survived the Eastland—and twelve years later, survived The Favorite, another boat that capsized and claimed four members of her family. She had warned them about the boat. No one listened. Among those who helped with the rescue that day? A young lifeguard named Johnny Weissmuller, who would later swing to fame as Tarzan of the silver screen.

And finally: Bob Satterfield, a political cartoonist who was on the Clark Street Bridge when the Eastland went over. He didn’t just witness it—he captured it in a searing cartoon and a raw, first-person account.

Like so many Eastland stories, these didn’t make it into the version of history that gets repeated the most. But they’re part of the record—and they’re not going away.

As we approach the 110th anniversary of the Eastland Disaster, remembrance isn't something we perform once a year—it's the work of uncovering each story, name by name.

Watch the Promo for this Episode here: Promo for “One Saved Lives. One Survived Twice. One Drew the Truth.

• 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