Long before my birth but I visit the Queen of Heaven memorial once or twice a year. Horrific. What stumps me is the refusal of most to use the alleged arsonist's name. He killed four more in Cicero - that would make 99 bodies before age 12.

The cause of the fire was never officially determined. In 1962, a boy who was a student at Our Lady of the Angels at the time of the fire, confessed to setting the blaze. At the time of the fire, he was 10 years old and in fifth grade. A family court judge later concluded the evidence was insufficient to substantiate the confession. Officially, the cause of the fire remains unknown

Well, what was it?

True story - My dad was driving my mother to Our Lady that day for a job interview. She was a teacher and eager to start her career after graduating from De Paul. They had been married only a few short months, My mother didn't have a driver's license... not uncommon for a young Italian Catholic schooled woman back then.

At a nearby intersection, my dad had the right of way but a fruit truck driver blew through clipping the back of my dad's car. The brakes went out on the truck causing the accident said the man in broken English. Nobody was seriously hurt only shaken up a bit. The accident blocked the intersection as irate drivers either wormed their way through or turned around to find a new route.

My dad and the truck driver were surveying the damage as the sounds of sirens blaring kept getting closer and closer. My dad remembers thinking; "All this for a fender bender?!?" They saw the fire trucks approaching as firemen were yelling and waving them to get off the street. They showed no signs of slowing down. Another driver helped my dad free up his back fender from the the truck's front fender and they got the street clear just in time for the multiple emergency vehicles to race by them.

In all the commotion, the truck driver sped off and they never saw him again. As a precaution, my dad took my mom to the hospital because she was feeling dizzy. The entire way to the hospital was ducking and dodging emergency vehicles. They knew something very bad happened somewhere close. They had no idea it was Our Lady until mom asked a nurse if she could use the phone to call and reschedule her interview. The nurse had told her that the school was on fire. That's how they found out. They also found out she was pregnant with their first child - my oldest brother - later that day.

That IS a pretty crazy story!

...I visit the Queen of Heaven memorial once or twice a year. ....

Well, what was it?

How about with a photo? https://www.pinterest.com/pin/378091331190991830/

True story - My dad was driving my mother to Our Lady that day for a job interview. She was a teacher and eager to start her career after graduating from De Paul. They had been married only a few short months, My mother didn't have a driver's license... not uncommon for a young Italian Catholic schooled woman back then.

At a nearby intersection, my dad had the right of way but a fruit truck driver blew through clipping the back of my dad's car. The brakes went out on the truck causing the accident said the man in broken English. Nobody was seriously hurt only shaken up a bit. The accident blocked the intersection as irate drivers either wormed their way through or turned around to find a new route.

My dad and the truck driver were surveying the damage as the sounds of sirens blaring kept getting closer and closer. My dad remembers thinking; "All this for a fender bender?!?" They saw the fire trucks approaching as firemen were yelling and waving them to get off the street. They showed no signs of slowing down. Another driver helped my dad free up his back fender from the the truck's front fender and they got the street clear just in time for the multiple emergency vehicles to race by them.

In all the commotion, the truck driver sped off and they never saw him again. As a precaution, my dad took my mom to the hospital because she was feeling dizzy. The entire way to the hospital was ducking and dodging emergency vehicles. They knew something very bad happened somewhere close. They had no idea it was Our Lady until mom asked a nurse if she could use the phone to call and reschedule her interview. The nurse had told her that the school was on fire. That's how they found out. They also found out she was pregnant with their first child - my oldest brother - later that day.

That's incredible.