I know a lot of schools are closed up tight today because of the cold weather, but
back in 1954 on this date, February 19, everything was wide-open. Back when annihilation of the human race,
except for the Danes, Swedes and Norwegians, was on everyone’s mind, one Des
Plaines school, St. Patrick’s Academy, was the scene of what was perhaps one of
the biggest “oopsies” in Chicago history.
It
sure could have been a lot worse.
Here
is what the lead paragraph in the Chicago Tribune story said, “A loaded combat
rocket from an F86-D jet airplane parked at O’Hare field was discharged
accidentally yesterday afternoon, soared a mile and a half, and crashed into
the foundation of St. Patrick’s academy in Touhy av. between Mannheim rd. and
Lee st., Des Plaines. Windows were
shattered but no one was injured.
Can
you imagine?
 |
| Des Plaines Police Chief John Wigham and Sgt. Amasa Kennicott look at damage foundation of St. Patrick's Academy (Chicago Tribune Photo) |
Poor
Lieutenant Frederick Ludesking was the public information officer on duty at O’Hare
that day. He speculated that the rocket
could have been accidentally launched by static electricity or “stray voltage
from a radar transmitter.”
No
one was near the plane when the rocket ignited.
It shot across the field, hit a concrete ramp, and ricocheted
upward. Ordinarily, said the lieutenant,
“the rocket would have buried itself in the ground within the limits of the
field.”
Instead,
though, the three- to four-foot long projectile exploded on contact when it
reached the foundation of St. Patrick’s. The
acting director of the school, Sister Gabrielle, said the explosion sounded
“like an atom bomb.”
Every window on the first three floors of the east side of the school was shattered,
and the blast, which blew a hole two feet wide and a foot deep at the base of
the building’s foundation, even broke an inside door leading to the school’s cafeteria.
There
were 400 souls inside the school at 2:30 p.m. when the rocket exploded. Fortunately, no classroom on the first two
floors of the building’s east side was occupied. “The girls were excited by the explosion,”
said Sister Gabrielle, “but they calmed down quickly, and everybody finished
the remaining class period of the day.”
Now THAT is a well-disciplined student body.
Oh dear, oh dear . . . yes, yes,
yes, young ladies, a rocket just exploded on the east side of the building,
blowing out all of the windows, but let’s just finish this last period, shall
we? Quick, quick, now girls. Education awaits!
 |
| The path of the rocket from O'Hare to St. Patrick's Chicago Tribune Photo |
Lieutenant
Ludesking, in public relations for a reason, directed everyone to look at the
bright side. The rocket used against the
school was for use against other aircraft and was only 2.75 inches in
diameter. “Air to ground rockets, on the
other hand,” he observed, “are five inches in diameter and carry a much larger
warhead.”
Well,
thank goodness.
In
October of 1873 the great educator Horace Mann said, “Education is our only
political safety. Outside of this ark all is deluge.” Perhaps those good girls who went back into
their classrooms and finished the day back in 1954 found this to be the most
important lesson of their school careers.
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