A Survivor's Son Writes

Hello, Mr. Goodwin:

I wonder if you have any Winecoff Hotel fire photographs of my father, Andrew (Andy) Babb of Winchester, Virginia.

He was injured in the fire, but survived.

He was in Atlanta on behalf of the National Fruit Product Co. of Winchester, VA. He was chief chemical engineer with the firm and looking at plans for a National Fruit plant being built somewhere in Georgia. 

Years ago I saw a photo of Andy taken just after the Winecoff fire He was recovering in a hospital. There was a patch over his eye. Ironically, he was smoking a cigarette. Next to him was my aunt Roasalie Oakes of Atlanta. Rosalie and Andy had had dinner that night. She taught at Agnes Scott and rushed to the scene from her apartment after she hear the sirens.

Any information about this photo would be greatly appreciated. 

Yours truly,

Drew Babb

 

Dear Mr. Babb,

Yes, I have a photo of Andrew Babb. But not the exact one you've described. It's a newspaper photo published shortly after the fire. It was republished December 6, 1993 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the occasion of a gathering of the fire's survivors. (Click to enlarge).

All best,

Allen

Family Research

Mr. Goodwin,

I've just learned of a distant relative's surviving this fire, which I knew nothing of. His name was Langdon Thrash. A photo of him in the hospital in Atlanta went out on the Associated Press wire and was subsequently published in several newspapers.

Survivor Langdon Thrash and nurse Gloria Horton were pictured on December 9, 1946 in the Atlanta Constitution and other newspapers.

Thrash said he survived by putting his head out the window and shutting the window so he could not remove it. He was found unconscious--I never knew this story growing up but you can bet it will become a part of my own family records. Langdon died in 1970 in San Antonio according to Texas records.

I look forward to reading your book.

Best regards,
Debra Osborn Spindle
Oklahoma City

Dr. Spindle,

Langdon C. Thrash's room was on the alley side of the building. It's a miracle he survived!

Good luck with your family research. I hope you come across someone who knew Mr. Thrash. Please let me know if you should learn what became of him and how the fire affected him later in life.

Thanks for writing,
Allen Goodwin

A Fire Scene Witness Speaks

Allen, --- Just reviewed your stories of the Winecoff Hotel Fire in Atlanta Dec. 7, 1946. I was stationed that night at the Naval Air Station barracks (North Atlanta Airport) near Doraville, as an incoming Veteran student on the G.I. Bill.

The first time I saw the results of the fire was on the next day when some of us came to town to see what had happened. Most of the debris had been cleared and the building was a burned out shell. I was struck by the silent immobility of the city, like time stood still.

What impressed me was that there was so little motion and stark silence in the streets especially Peachtree Street the next day as eventually things slowly came back to life. I remember how the entire city of Atlanta was stricken with grief as a result of the horror of that disaster.

As a soldier in Europe, I'd been in cities all over France, Belgium, Holland and Germany where destruction was rampant, but this was so different. Atlanta was stunned by this tragedy and people just seemed dazed by the impact of the horrible happening in their innocent peacetime city.

I thought I would thank you for doing tribute to those people you cover in your articles. I checked out your website and am very much impressed with the coverage from all the different sources.

One thing as a side issue are the videos you present. I am an avid student of southern accents. Here preserved for posterity, in your website, are those who speak with an authentic Southern Accent!

Thanks so much, --- Vaughn Wagnon --- Charlottesville, VA.

Thank you, Vaughn.
That calm that befell the city after the fire was, I suspect, a mixture of shock and respect for the fire's victims.

On Southern accents: there surely are a variety of them. Here in the Atlanta area you'll hear the Appalachian twang as you travel north and the South Georgia drawl if you travel south! And then there are the sub-groups. For better or worse, the accents instantly reveal much about the backgrounds of the speakers. I know mine could use a little polish!

You are fortunate, Vaughn. To my ear, nothing beats a refined Charlottesville or Charleston, SC. accent. All best, Allen

A Reader in Florida Writes

Allen,
I received the book I purchased from you about the Winecoff Hotel fire. It arrived in great shape, and I appreciate your signing it. I was glad to find it on eBay. I read a few pages last night, and I’m already hooked! Compiling the stories of so many people from a time gone by is not an easy feat, but you have done a fine job in structuring the tale.
My interest in the hotel’s history, incidentally, was sparked by a recent stay at the Ellis. Although I am an Atlanta native, I had no knowledge of the Winecoff fire. In fact, I managed to stay oblivious to the events of 1946 throughout my stay at the Ellis. It was not until I was later describing our hotel to my father and stepmother, who live in Ballground, Georgia, that I learned of the fire. They both made the connection to the Winecoff and did a pretty good job of recounting the history. For them to each have such good and independent memories of the fire is a testament to the significance of the event.
Thank you, again, for the excellent eBay service and for your detailed preservation of an important moment in Atlanta history. I look forward finishing the book!
Sincerely,
Ed

Thanks, Ed.
The Winecoff fire story is unknown to many Atlantans. That's no accident. Big fires are bad for business. By 1947 Atlanta's business and political leaders felt that the sooner the whole thing was forgotten, the better. The mayor even ordered the Winecoff's large sign, still affixed to the side of the building, taken down, condemning it as a grim reminder of the fire. Plus, almost everyone who had any direct involvement with the sudden tragedy had reason to want to forget it. Everyone wanted to put it behind them. Still, they were all affected for the rest of their lives. It simply couldn't be forgotten but couldn't be discussed either! I expect your folks remember vividly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news of the fire. Almost everyone we interviewed during our years of research recalled exactly where they were that day. Like the Kennedy assassination and the World Trade Center attacks, this was Atlanta's Titanic.

Reader Visits Fire Scene

Mr Goodwin,

I read your book some time ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yesterday, I rode the elevator up to the top of the Ellis. Walking through the halls of the hotel--the same floor design as the Winecoff was eerie. I'm glad to finally see a successful hotel in its building. Every time I go to Atlanta I drive by the Winecoff.

Charles Newberry
Gray, GA

Mr. Newberry,

Thanks for your e-mail. Like you, I'm so pleased that the building is again being put to good use. I'm glad you got to look around inside the building.

I know that eerie feeling the halls can give but I think that's because we know so much about the day of the fire and not so much about the happier days there from 1914-1945.

We know from our interviews with long time Winecoff Hotel employee Nell McDuffie that there were many days of joy and grace within those walls. It was, after all, a first class hotel for most of those years hosting wedding events, honeymoons, business and charity luncheons, family reunions and all the things that give fulfillment to our lives.

It's sad that one act of cruelty can define a site for sixty-odd years and push aside in our minds everything else that happened there. But, by-in-large, that's what's happened.

Thankfully, more good days are underway and more pleasant memories are now being made at the Ellis Hotel.

Be safe,
Allen

Dwight Morrison Remembered

.Dwight Morrison, Sandy & Russ Newbury

Allen,

My friend Rob kindly contacted you about my hunt to determine the name of the victim who was my Dad's good friend. We've figured out his name was Dwight Morrison, the World War II bomber pilot mentioned in your book. My Dad's name was Russ Newbury and he and my Mom lived in Decatur at the time of the fire. He had always told us that he raced downtown when he learned of the fire and identified his friend's body. I'm sending you a picture of Dwight with my mother and father, Russell and Sandy Newbury, for your files.

All we really know is that my father was travelling that week and wasn't due home until around 4 in the morning, so they had planned to visit with Dwight the next day, had not seen him yet. My mother felt guilty until the day she died because she always thought that if my dad had not been travelling, Dwight might have stayed with them at their house instead at a hotel (the mores of the day, you know - it wouldn't have been fitting). My father wouldn't talk much about the war. He landed on Omaha on D day and we didn't find this out until last year - and only because my brother visited Normandy last summer and discovered it! But, the few stories he shared were of "escapades" with Dwight. He sounds like such an amazing man and was such a great loss to the world. I know my parents were devastated.

I found your book so interesting! I raced through it the first time and will have to reread it to really absorb the totality of it all. My tears flowed so many times as I read. Knowing my Dad was one of those grimly searching for his friend . . .

Sincerely,
Janet Newbury Daurity
Myrtle Beach SC

Dear Janet,
Thanks for the photo and we can confirm the man on the left is Major Dwight Morrison. (Room 1026). America lost one of her heroes in Dwight Morrison. He survived sixty-five bombing missions over Europe only to perish in the Winecoff Hotel fire upon his return. Sadder still is the fact that he left behind a wife, Hilda, and a son born in February 1947, two months after the fire.

To the good, Dwight Morrison and the other 118 victims of the Winecoff fire inspired the fire safety codes the world relies on. Thanks for thinking of him.
All best,
Allen Goodwin

Dorothy Moen Remembered

Dear Authors,

I have read your book. Dorothy Moen (room 730, survivor) was my father's sister. Although scars were evident on Aunt Dorothy, I did not know the story until well into my adult life. It was just not talked about.
Though I hear it was painful for Dorothy to talk about it, I am glad the story was extracted from her and preserved for us to hear. I admired her but gained a new level of understanding after reading the book. I want to pass it on as a piece of family history to my own daughters, who have taken an interest in journalism, making movies and writing.
I am looking forward to viewing the updates on your website.

Vicki Moen Samas, Mansfield, Texas

Dear Ms. Samas,

How kind of you to write to us. We knew and admired Dorothy Moen and remain in close contact with her daughter, Janet. Dorothy's determination to overcome her severe injuries and make a full life for herself was an inspiration to all who knew her.
It was her idea to first reunite the fire's survivors in 1993 and Janet made it happen.
A year later the Atlanta Fire Department became involved. They blocked Peachtree Street for a plaque dedication ceremony and extended their tallest ladder apparatus up against the Hotel. That was a dramatic show of their readiness to meet the challenge again but also a reminder that no ladder can reach above the tenth floor. Dorothy was as prim as ever that day and was singled out for an interview on one of the TV news channels.
Dorothy was a treasure and no one has been more helpful to us over the years than Janet.
Be safe,
Allen Goodwin

A Winecoff Memory

Dear Mr. Goodwin,

My memory is not of the fire itself, rather memories of a young boy. I was born 1938 in Quincy, Florida: population less than 8,000. Going from a small southern town to a city the size of Atlanta for me was like going to see the Wizard of Oz.

My father was in the Navy and being permanently assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. He, my mother and I drove from Quincy and spent the night of December 31, 1944 in the Winecoff Hotel. It was dark by the time we arrived in Atlanta, and I have some memories of him becoming frustrated by driving around and around looking for the hotel.

The next memory is walking into a small bedroom and my father becoming irate because the room wasn't clean. Cigarette butts were in the ash tray and there was "something" about the waste basket that really irritated him. For some reason, mother didn't want me to look into the waste basket. I didn't know why but I now believe there were empty liquor bottles in it. He demanded the hotel staff come and clean the room. The reason all this sticks in my mind is: this was the first time in my life I'd ever stayed in a hotel!

Another indelible memory which helps me know the exact date we stayed there is the noise I heard from the street below. Sirens, whistles, kleg lights, a mob scene, etc. Mother opened the window and I looked down (probably from the 8th or 9th floor), and saw a sea of humanity on the street, yelling and screaming. My impression was they were all crazy people!

Mother told me, "It's New Year's Eve"! She might as well been telling a Martian the news - I had no idea in the world, at 6-1/2 years old, what a "New Year's Eve" was!

Next morning we ate breakfast in the coffee shop, and I must have had a cold because mother swiped a spoon so she could later in the car give me doses of cough syrup. That spoon was "special" for so many years, especially after the fire, but regretfully got misplaced in one of my several moves made over the years.

Two years later, 1946, and eight years old, I can distinctly remember the large photos in the newspaper, especially of the woman leaping from her hotel room. I'm sure at the time and as someone young reaching that point in development of storing memories in one's mind, the events of the Winecoff were my first introduction into the tragedies of life.

My captivation with the tragedy over the past 61 years has not diminished and I've already booked a room to revisit the hotel that's now the Ellis Hotel.

Regards,
Frank Thrower
West Columbia, SC

Dear Mr. Thrower,
Thank you for sharing your memory of the Winecoff Hotel with me. I expect you'll be impressed with the refurbishments recently completed there.
Be safe,
Allen Goodwin

The Boys From Rome Remembered

Dear Mr. Goodwin,
I remember too well that tragic morning in December, 1946, when the five girls in our family and our parents were gathered around our radio in a state of shock, as we listened to the sad news of the raging fire at the Winecoff Hotel! We were so worried about the eight wonderful Rome High boys, their Hi-Y advisor, Mr. Hamil, and his son, Richard, who were staying there, while attending the annual state Hi-Y convention there!

Rome was smaller then with only two high schools, Girls and Boys, both close together. The students all knew or knew of one another, especially these outstanding people. Lamar Brown was a member of our church, South Broad Baptist, and I believe he was an only child. "Buzz" was a fellow band member and captain of our marching row; although I was younger, he was so kind to me! His sister, Jane was my age, and she and sister Joyce were band members also. Billy Walden was a brother to our aunt by marriage Mary Warren, and was an outstanding football player! I did not know Charles Keith well, only by reputation-- all good! I believe he was a nephew to another aunt by marriage, Nilla Warren.

That day, Rome lost four of the best. Four, who had wonderful futures ahead, as they planned on graduating and heading for college. We cried as we heard the terrible news, and the entire city was united in grief and mourning! In spite of the pain, we praised God for the miracle of Mr. Hamil's escape over to the roof of another building with Richard clinging to his back, an impossible feat under normal circumstances! Later, I was blessed to have Mr. Hamil for a Sunday School Teacher at South Broad Methodist; he was a mentor, friend, example and Christian gentleman! I can only imagine the profound influence he was to all of the young people he touched in his role as teacher and principal.

At our last KEG Meeting, I was thrilled to hear Anne Culpepper present the plans for the new memorial in Rome. I wanted to have a small part and share precious, though sad memories!

I consider it a blessing to have grown up a Roman and will always appreciate the fine teachers, Mr. Derrick, our band director, and all of those who were positive influences and good role models in my life!

God Bless.
Jane Briggs Allen.
Knoxville

A Reader In Denmark Writes

Dear Allen,
I have read your book, actually more than a month ago. I wanted to write to you with my reflections on the book sooner. It has been a problem for me to sit down and take the time to thoroughly write down my thoughts, emotions and reactions to the "event" - this letter is too short...but.. I am stunned over the work you must have put into research creating this sad documentary.

Where did you find all this information on all the different families whereabouts before and during the fire - surviving family, friends? How many years did it take you to complete the book?

I found myself being very distressed and sometimes very sad as I read along, hoping for everybody’s souls (so many young people died, it broke my heart every time a new story ended tragically!). But also at the same time, I felt happy when folks eventually made it to safety, one way or another.

I don’t think I have ever read a book quite like "The Winecoff Fire". It is in some ways exciting and in many ways disturbing due to all the tragic deaths, especially the young people. AND the fact that to this day, nobody knows the true story; arson, revenge, or simple human error.... Also, I know I will definitely read the book again - don’t ask me why, I just know it. Few books I have ever read (I read a lot) have gotten that "status" - this one does.

I was on a pleasure trip to Rome, Italy with my wife and some friends last month, and I found myself checking and checking again for fire exits and stairways when we checked in to the hotel. I told my wife what to do and where to go in case of a fire, remembering your book all too clearly, knowing that even though we shared the same room, we might not be able to find each other in the smoke and panic.

I thought of the Winecoff every day of that vacation. My thoughts go to all the victims and their families of that fire. I could go on and on about this, but I would just like to tell you it is a fantastic book, fantastic work and fantastic research. I hope somewhere somehow it has helped survivors and victims' families find peace.
Per D. Kristensen
Roskilde, Denmark

Dear Per,
Thanks for your kind words about our book. Yes, we did learn a great deal from the families and friends of the victims but we learned the most from the survivors themselves.

Each one we interviewed, without exception, told their stories in a tone of reverence and as if the fire had occurred very recently. Most had forgotten little. It remained fresh in their minds.

Often staring at a midpoint in space, each one spoke in a cadence that suggested that a sense of shock had never really left them. It was a humbling experience. It sometimes gave me the shakes. It always made me thankful.

The book took about eight years to finish. There were several stops and starts and some periods of despair when it seemed as if we had bitten off too much. The funny thing is, the work has never really stopped. New information about the fire comes to us still and people rely on us to keep up with it all. We try.

We remain convinced that the fire was intentionally set.

I'm glad to read that you are more alert to fire safety in hotels and other buildings. The exact same thing happened to me. I check for fire exits everywhere I go now. I look out for sprinkler systems. They have an amazing safety track record.

We too hope our book has brought some peace to those affected by the Winecoff fire.

Stay safe,
Allen

The Dickerson Family Remembered

Mr. Dent's Boyhood Home in Douglas, Georgia

Dear Mr. Goodwin,
I am retired, 72 years old and living in Florida. I would like to get a copy of your book. I also would appreciate anything you might suggest for my research into the Dickerson family. Here is my story.

My family goes back to the 1700's in Douglas, Georgia. Orphaned in 1934 when my two brothers and I were babies, we were raised by our paternal grandmother and her next door neighbors, Judge and Mrs. Ethel Dickerson, plus several nannies, aunts and uncles and a very small Episcopal parish. It was a wonderful childhood filled with many warm memories of those dear people.

There is one tragic event, however, that has haunted me for over 60 years, since I was a boy of 12. That event was the Winecoff Hotel fire on December 7, 1946.

Our next-door neighbors, the Dickersons, and our family, the Dents, shared holidays and family gatherings through the war years. One, in particular comes to mind, Thanksgiving of 1946! That was so very, very special for all of us! The war was over and our "hero" had returned! Will Dickerson, the oldest son and a decorated veteran was home!

To my brothers and I, Will Dickerson was everything! He had been a high school and college athlete, tall and handsome! He had also grown up with and been a close friend of our late father, Tom Dent, who we never knew. We identified strongly with him as a "father figure".

He brought his beautiful young wife, Mary, and their two small children, Mary Melinda (about 8?) and little Will (about 4?) for a long visit of over a month before they moved to Mary's hometown of Cartersville, Georgia, just above Atlanta. Will planned to begin his law practice there.

The Thanksgiving visit had been so much fun and my brothers and I had grown very close to Mary Melinda and Little Will. Much was being said about Cartersville and we had been assured that we would be invited up as soon as everything was settled in their new home.

We were tearful as we helped them load the car for the trip. The children were sobbing as we waved goodbye, their little hands waving from the windows of the car and little Will looking so sadly out the back window as they drove away.

"Mother Dick", as we called her, and Judge Dickerson called us over later that day to tell us that they had received a call from Will and they had decided to stop over in Atlanta for the observance of the Pearl Harbor 5 year anniversary. And, also, with the thrill of getting a room in the big beautiful Winecoff Hotel! They had really been fortunate to get a reservation on (I think?) the tenth floor.

Our aunt, who was Mary's age had been staying with us for a few days. We first heard her screams the next morning as we were awakened to the horror of the news coming out of Atlanta! All we knew was that there had been a terrible fire at the Winecoff. We rushed over to "Mother Dick" and the Judge to wait for more news, frightened and tearful. The rest of the events of that day are blurred and seem unreal still. I cannot remember exactly when we first knew the worst had happened! The Dickersons, all four, were victims.

Our little parish at St Andrews Church in Douglas had a memorial service. There were plans to have the family buried in Cartersville and there would be two caskets, one with Will and Mary Melinda and the other with Mary and Little Will. I am not sure about that nor any of the other details, and that sounds unlikely, but it gave me some small comfort so I held it as true.

I would go on to tell people later in my life that the Dickersons were the only entire family who perished and that they were written up in Readers Digest for doing the right thing; they were found in the bathroom with wet towels and sheets place around the door openings, Mary and little Will in the bathtub and Will sitting on the commode with Mary. I am not sure about any of this, only using what I thought I heard to somehow honor their bravery and give me some explanation for how they died. I can't really explain anything I have said about it.

I wrote a short story in college at the University of Florida based on this tragedy and I called it "The Thirteenth Floor". I have since lost the story but I did get an "A' in creative writing for it.

When I read your account on the internet, late one night, of a military policeman who saw a family of four on the tenth floor, a man and woman and their teen-age children, a boy and girl as if in prayer, I cried and cried, alone, where no one could see me. That was last week.

James McBride (Mack). Dent


Dear Mr. Dent,
Thank you for your heartfelt e-mail. Over the years my co-author Sam Heys and I have received many letters. Only a few have been as touching as yours. At a tender age you lost what God had denied you once already, a father figure. To me, that doesn't seem fair.

I commend our book to you with a word of caution. Our book has been difficult for some of our readers to read, though some have called it "cathartic".

You may discover in yourself what I have come to call, "A Certain Vacancy-A Hidden Grief". In fact, it sounds like you have discovered some of it already and sense the time has come to deal with the rest of it.

I suspect that that day's events are blurry to you for a reason. Children instinctively know when to shut down their senses. This may well have happened to you.

As you read our book some unpleasant memories may begin to flow back to you, from deep within. Your own sorrow may suddenly seem small compared to what you may have seen of a parent's grief and then repressed. You may fully relive the "one tragic event" of your childhood, the one that has "haunted" you for sixty years.

You will not be alone in this. You are welcome to write me again at any time. We can even put you in touch with people who were there, those who survived.

The Winecoff fire affected everyone it touched for the rest of their lives. That won't change. But after you've read our book and had time to think about it, you won't be haunted any more. You will see that the Winecoff fire had a beginning and an end and that it ultimately had a far reaching positive effect on fire safety worldwide that honors the memory of the Dickerson family.

After you have read our book I would like to speak with you. I look forward to it.

Best wishes and be safe,
Allen B. Goodwin


Dear Mr. Goodwin,
I received your book. Thank you - it is a well-written, thoroughly documented narrative of this tragic disaster! Your stories of the victims and how they came to be staying at the hotel that night was so moving. I felt that I knew these people. The horror, the fear, the absolute terror they experienced was real and difficult to read at times.

As you may have assumed by my "long and rambling" (forgive me) story about my family and the family who died in Room 1630, the "unimportant" details of the "Dickerson story" were not quite right. They were moving to Jonesboro, not Cartersville. They were on the 16th floor, not the 10th. With my search for more information all but abandoned, your narrative gave me a long awaited sense of "closure". Thank you!

Whereas the photo of the woman leaping from the Winecoff won the Pulitzer for Arnold Hardy, your book should have won that award for this compelling story!

With my very regards and gratitude,
J. Mack Dent
PS: .. I have a web page .. http://www.mackdent.com/ .. it was created to provide information to some people who requested that .. some years back. It has some of my art that depicts life in Douglas many years ago. My home was next door to the Dickersons.


Mr. Dent,
Thank you for your kind words about our book. I will share your note with my co-author Sam Heys. Thanks also for the link to your website. Nice House! Terrific drawings!

Stay safe,
Allen

Ella Sue Mitchum Remembered

Dear Mr. Goodwin,
I ordered your book for my daughter, she is our family historian. My grandmother Alma Mitcham Smith had a brother his name was John Thomas Mitchum (for some reason he spelled his name differently than the rest of the family). He had a daughter whose name was Ella Sue Mitchum. I believe she was with a youth group when this fire happened. Sadly enough she was one of the many casualties.

You may already have this information, but I will send it to you anyway, if I can locate it quickly enough... It is a newspaper article on my great uncle's search for several days trying to find his daughter's remains. I know back then that adults were sort of hush-hush about things that they thought would upset children, so all that was really said around us was that Sue had died in the Winecoff Hotel fire and little was said about how bad it really was. It has only been very recently that I have learned how tragic this fire really was.

They say that the divorce rate after the loss of a child is extremely high...my great aunt blamed my uncle for Sue's death and they ended up divorcing. From what I understand she was not in favor of her going on this trip and he let her go anyway. They ended up divorced because of it.

I think I have the article in my documents. I will email it to you if I can find it. Thanks so much for your interest in this, telling the story and being a voice for the victims of this tragedy.

Best Regards-
Carol Hicks


Dear Carol,

This is a doubly sad story indeed. I have read your second e-mail and yes, I do remember the article, "Grim Hunt". I read it in the Atlanta Public Library in the middle 1980s.

Re-reading it brought back the solemn mood that enveloped me throughout much of our original book research. Suddenly and automatically I began reading again to myself in a voice reserved for an adult breaking bad news to a child. I remember the gentle cadence well. I relied on it often during the saddest parts of our research.

Thank you for writing to me and thank you for remembering Ella Sue Mitchum.

Best wishes and be safe,
Allen