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    Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and The Greatest Show On Earth
    Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and The Greatest Show On Earth
    Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and The Greatest Show On Earth
    Ebook128 pages1 hour

    Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and The Greatest Show On Earth

    By Laura A. Woollett

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    International Literacy Association Award Winner for Intermediate Nonfiction 2016
    Eureka Children's Book Honor 2016

    On July 6, 1944, thousands of fans made their way to Barbour Street in Hartford, Connecticut, to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey Circus performance. Not long after the show's start, a fire broke out and spread rapidly as panicked circus-goers pushed and scrambled to escape. Within 10 minutes the entire big top had burned to the ground, and 167 people never went home.

    Big Top Burning recounts the true story of one of the worst fire disasters in US history. It follows the tragic stories of the Cook family—including children Donald, Eleanor, and Edward, who were in the audience that day—and 15-year-old Robert Segee, a circus employee with an incendiary past. Drawing on primary sources and interviews with survivors, author Laura Woollett guides readers through several decades of investigations and asks, Wasthe unidentified body of a little girl nicknamed"Little Miss 1565" Eleanor Cook?Was the fire itself an act of arson—anddid Robert Segee set it? Young readers are invited to evaluate the evidence and draw their own conclusions.

    Combining a gripping disaster story, an ongoing detective and forensics saga, and vivid details about life in World War IIera America, Big Top Burning is sure to intrigue any history or real-life mystery fan.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChicago Review Press
    Release dateJun 1, 2015
    ISBN9781613731178
    Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and The Greatest Show On Earth

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    Reviews for Big Top Burning

    4/5

    9 ratings2 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Clearly I'm an outlier here, but I thought this book wasn't nearly as interesting as it could have been, and I can't really see any kid putting up with it. I think it's the structure- it got gruesome very quickly, and the endless questions about what happened went nowhere. There needs to be some kind of thread to hold it all together and give it forward momentum. The whole thing was just *sad*, not compelling.
    • 4/5
      In the summer of 1944, people near Hartford, Connecticut were excited to attend the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which was coming to town. Being distracted for a couple of hours by entertainers and animals was just what people thought they needed. Unfortunately, a massive fire broke out and tragedy struck. What happened as a result of the fire was a lesson for the Ringling Brothers and the local emergency department. Reading this narrative nonfiction book about a true event that happened not far from where I live really hit home. My heart broke thinking about all the people and animals trapped inside the tent. Fire isn't the only damage to worry about during an emergency, when people don't stay calm- more people get hurt. Have you ever heard of the Hartford Circus fire of 1944?

      I discovered Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and the Greatest Show on Earth on Rosi’s blog; The Write Stuff. I was lucky enough to win a copy of the book. The story intrigued me because I live a state away from Connecticut and had never heard of the fire (or any other circus fire for that matter). Reading about the mystery that surrounded not only how the fire started, but what happened to the people lost during the tragedy, peaked my interest. I was shocked to learn that the pieces of the puzzle were never put together, and the exact cause of the fire, along with a list of all the people who died, have yet to be determined. Each chapter was filled with careful research. The photos made the story even more real. Although the book includes information that's horrific, it's based on true events, and none of the details are gory; they're just sad. When we understand things that went wrong in history, and how common sense and safety precautions weren't in place, we can be thankful for lessons learned. This was my first book by Laura A. Woollett, but I plan to read more by this author!

    Book preview

    Big Top Burning - Laura A. Woollett

    ON JULY 6, 1944, thousands of fans made their way to Barbour Street in Hartford, Connecticut, to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performance. Not long after the show’s start, a fire broke out and spread rapidly as panicked circusgoers pushed and scrambled to escape. Within 10 minutes the entire big top had burned to the ground, and 167 people never went home.

    Big Top Burning recounts the true story of one of the worst fire disasters in US history. It follows the tragic stories of the Cook family—including children Donald, Eleanor, and Edward, who were in the audience that day—and 15-year-old Robert Segee, a circus employee with an incendiary past. Drawing on primary sources and interviews with survivors, author Laura Woollett guides readers through several decades of investigations and asks, Was the unidentified body of a little girl nicknamed Little Miss 1565 Eleanor Cook? Was the fire itself an act of arson—and did Robert Segee set it? Young readers are invited to evaluate the evidence and draw their own conclusions.

    Combining a gripping disaster story, an ongoing detective and forensics saga, and vivid details about life in World War II–era America, Big Top Burning is sure to intrigue any history or real-life mystery fan.

    Book Title of Big Top Burning

    Copyright © 2015 by Laura A. Woollett

    All rights reserved

    Published by Chicago Review Press Incorporated

    814 North Franklin Street

    Chicago, Illinois 60610

    ISBN 978-1-61373-114-7

    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

    Woollett, Laura A.

    Big top burning : the story of an arsonist, a missing girl, and the greatest show on earth / Laura A. Woollett.

         pages cm

    Includes bibliographical references and index.

    ISBN 978-1-61373-114-7 (cloth)

    1. Hartford Circus Fire, Hartford, Conn., 1944—Juvenile literature. 2. Fires--Connecticut—Hartford—History—Juvenile literature. 3. Arson--Connecticut—Hartford—History—Juvenile literature. 4. Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows--History--Juvenile literature. 5. Dead—Identification— Case studies—Juvenile literature. 6. Hartford (Conn.)—History—20th century—Juvenile literature. I. Title.

    F104.H3W66 2015

    974.6’3042—dc23

    2014036121

    Interior design: Sarah Olson

    Map illustration: James Spence

    Photograph of Emmett Kelly on page [43] by Ralph Emerson Sr. Every effort has been made to contact the copyright holder. The editors would welcome information concerning any inadvertent errors or omissions.

    Printed in the United States of America

    5 4 3 2 1

    FOR DAD

    Those remembered are never lost.

    CONTENTS

    PROLOGUE

    Some say they saw the flickering of a small flame on the side wall of the tent just above the men’s bathroom. At first no one moved; surely the circus staff had it under control. But by the time circus workers reached the fire, their meager buckets of water had little effect. As the crowd watched, the flame grew, spidering up the tent wall. Then someone yelled, Fire! and the panic began. A frightened crowd of 6,000 spectators began jostling down the rickety bleachers and across the grandstand toward the exits. The mob shoved aside folding chairs and anything else in the way. People tripped and fell. Some women and children were plucked up off the ground by kind, strong hands. Others were trampled under the rush of frantic feet. A crush of bodies pushed toward the main entrance on the west end of the tent. The northeast and northwest exits were blocked by tall steel chutes where snarling panthers still prowled inside.

    Meanwhile, the blaze spread across the ceiling of the massive big top, fueled by the mixture of wax and gasoline that was used to waterproof the tent. Pieces of flaming canvas floated to the ground and black smoke billowed, making it difficult to breathe. As the fire grew, the tent became an oven. Parents desperately struggled to hold on to their small children as everyone was swept along in the swarm of people rushing toward the exits.

    The tent burned to the ground in fewer than 10 minutes, and 167 people died. It was one of the worst tragedies the country had ever seen. From the ashes, questions arose: How did the fire start? Was it an accident? Could a madman have set it on purpose? Who cared for the people who survived? Who were the victims? How did investigators identify them from their charred remains?

    The mysteries surrounding the Hartford circus fire are still being explored today, more than 70 years after the disaster occurred. Professionals and amateurs alike have examined the evidence and argued their theories. Now it’s your turn.

    1

    THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN

    Coming from Providence on its own trains of red and yellow steel cars, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus arrives in Hartford this morning.

    —Hartford Courant, July 5, 1944

    You could almost hear the buzz of excitement in the air over Hartford, Connecticut, leading up to the arrival of the one and only Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Posters plastered on buildings and storefronts boasted the show’s highlights: Mr. and Mrs. Gargantua the Great, a pair of enormous gorillas; aerialists performing a Cloud Ballet; and a pantomime by the famous clown Emmett Kelly.

    Emmett Kelly was a tramp clown. He dressed in drab colors and painted a large white frown and black stubble on his face. His routine was different from those of other, more colorful clowns, whose slapstick antics were intended to make people laugh. Instead, without speaking a word, Kelly made people feel sorry for him. Poor Weary Willie, the audience thought, chuckling as he tried unsuccessfully to sweep a circle of light into a dustpan. By the summer of 1944, Kelly had been traveling with the Ringling Bros. circus for three years, and Weary Willie was one of its most popular attractions.

    In the 1940s, a trip to the circus was a rare treat. Though Hartford was a thriving city during the years of World War II, the average income was only about $52 a week. Many fathers and husbands served in the military overseas. More women entered the work force when they found themselves raising their families on their own. Kids often contributed to the family income or made their own pocket money by delivering groceries or newspapers. Buying food and paying rent took priority, and circus tickets were expensive—the nicer grandstand seats cost $1.20 each. But for an occasion as big as the Ringling Bros. circus, families saved their pennies all year long.

    A poem in the circus program promised the real Fairyland is right at hand, it’s where the circus holds sway. Going to the circus was not only a delight for children; it gave everyone a break from the real world. Emmett Kelly claimed people loved the circus because they want to laugh and forget their troubles. Worries about food rationing or bomb shelters faded away amid the bright colors and lively music of The Greatest Show On Earth.

    Even the government thought the circus was good for the morale of the country. During the war, railroad travel was restricted so that military supplies and machinery could be transported quickly and efficiently. However, the Ringling Bros. circus was given special permission to use the rails to travel from town to town. The government also used the circus to promote the sale of war bonds. People who bought bonds were loaning their money to the government to

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