Eastland Disaster Historical Society - Newsletter Vol. II No. 2

The Call To Remember

Newsletter - Vol. II No. 2

EASTLAND DISASTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY

2nd Quarter 2000

In Memoriam

Ken Rabe, 88, passed away on May 3. Ken, his sister, Grace, and their parents were passengers aboard the Eastland, and all survived.

Eastland Disaster Scholarship Established

The Chicago Metro History Education Center (CMHEC) has been serving the Chicago area for over twenty years, working with students and teachers to make local history exciting and meaningful. Each year the CMHEC sponsors the only regional History Fair in the country. Over 15,000 students enter their projects in the annual history fair. Each student's project is judged, and the highest scoring projects advance to the State History Fair, which in turn feeds into the National History Fair.

At the conclusion of the Chicago Metro History Fair two years ago, our Board of Directors saw the tremendous value in what the CMHEC was doing with students and history. To support the CMHEC, we decided to establish a scholarship to be awarded annually to the student demonstrating academic excellence in a history fair project related to the Eastland Disaster.

Eastland Disaster Scholarship Award Dedicated

Shortly after establishing the annual Eastland Disaster Scholarship, our Board of Directors met and proposed dedicating the scholarship award to Ken Rabe and Grace Rabe Nilsen. Ken and Grace, survivors of the Eastland Disaster, both passed away earlier this year. Last October, Ken, at the age of 88, flew in from Florida at our request to be interviewed together with his sister Grace, who was 92. Their interview appeared last November on the ABC special, "Chicago Century," hosted by Ron Magers. Their interview is also playing in the Eastland Disaster section of the Titanic exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. After their interview in October, both Ken and Grace appeared in feature articles in their local newspapers; Grace here in a local suburban paper and Ken in Florida. Because of their very personal and special show of support, our Board of Directors approached Ken and Grace's families and with their concurrence, we named our annual scholarship the Ken Rabe and Grace Rabe Nilsen Eastland Disaster Scholarship. This scholarship will ensure that Ken and Grace will always be remembered.

First Scholarship Award Presented To Phary Yoeun

The first recipient of the Ken Rabe and Grace Rabe Nilsen Eastland Disaster Scholarship is Phary Yoeun. Phary's History Fair project won a blue ribbon in the Chicago Metro History Fair and advanced to the Illinois State Finals in Springfield. Phary's project may be seen in the Students' Projects section of our Information Resource Center.

Local (?) Chicago History

Frequently we often hear it stated that the Eastland Disaster is local Chicago history. And while the tragedy itself happened right in the heart of downtown Chicago, the interest in the Eastland Disaster today extends well beyond the Chicago area. A recent review of our mailing list revealed that we send information to 41 of the 50 states in the U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii) as well as 9 different countries (including Australia, Denmark, Brazil, and Trinidad)!

85th Anniversary of the Eastland Disaster

To respectfully observe the 85th anniversary of the Eastland Disaster, a Commemorative Family Night was held at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago on the evening of Saturday, July 22. Over 325 people attended this special event, almost all of whom have a personal family connection to the Eastland Disaster. Complete details will be shared in the next edition of our newsletter.

PO Box 2013, Arlington Heights, IL, 60006-2013 847-525-3293 708-810-6140 (fax)
www.eastlanddisaster.org info@eastlanddisaster.org