107th ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION

Tuesday, Jul 26, 2022

Chicago, Illinois -- This past Sunday, July 24, 2022, the Eastland Disaster Historical Society hosted the 107th anniversary commemoration of the Eastland Disaster. We were honored to have the participation of the United States Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago this year. Commander Timothy S. Tilghman gave the Coast Guard's remarks, and later the USCG crew placed the spray of flowers into the river in memory of the 844 souls who died as well as the thousands of others who were affected by the tragedy.

Later in the afternoon, it was also our privilege to attend the grave marker dedication ceremony for Miss Anna Kubiak at Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois. Anna was a 17-year-old girl of Polish descent who worked at Western Electric's Hawthorne Works. A victim of the Eastland Disaster, she was buried in an unmarked grave. Her grave remained nameless for over one-hundred years until her extended family (together with Jim Retseck) coordinated the installation of her headstone.