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_ Subject: Destruction of officers‘ beach club by tidal wave â€"â€" eyeâ€" witness of. Lt. M. J. (Art) Daniels Writes Eye Witness Account of Tidal Wave The club was located on the ocean front, in the vicinity of runâ€" "Call O," the chief said. "And when we answer, be certain you tell us exactly where the fire is. On what street near what other streets. . Speak plainly for there are many Highland Park streets that have similar names. We must know exactly where to send our fire fighting equipment," the chief cautioned. INSPECTS EQUIPMENT ... (Lt. Danuiels will be rememberâ€" ed as "Art" Daniels, who attended the Highland Park high school.) . "I wish," the chief emphasized, "‘that you‘d tell Highland Parkers to please keep their atties and basements clean. _ Many . costly fires would never start if this were done." When a fire does start, what is the proper method for us to notiâ€" fy the fire department, the PRESS "Highland Parkers are neat people," he continued. "Their lawns are always well kept; their homes done in exquisite taste. But they‘re always careless about their attics and basements. _ They are not kept clean. And old rags, paâ€" pers, and other refuse are excelâ€" lent breeding places for dangerous fires. s KEEP THEM CLEAN ... "Electricallyâ€"started _ fires are too numerous. We must be cauâ€" tious about overloading electrical circuits," the chief went on. "There are lots of cigarette fires here also," the chief continâ€" ued. Frequently ashes _ are dropped unconsciously on rugs, beds, chairs, davenports, and the like. . And although one is unâ€" aware of it at the time, it doesn‘t take long for these sparks to set fire to the cotton and wool padâ€" ding. "‘Then, too, many chimneys are old and in bad repair. They might be worn through in an outâ€" ofâ€"theâ€"way spot in the attic. If so, sparks can get through these cracks and ignite the boards. MANY CIGARETTE FIRES, TOO ... "Carelessness causes most fires. Just about every home in town has a fireplace â€" and dry shinâ€" gles on the roof. Most of the fires are caused by sparks from the fireplace igniting these highly inflammable shingles. What, we asked, can Highland Parkers do to stop these fires and thus save thousands of dollars yearly? â€" ‘"There‘re â€" many _ precautions we can take," Chief Hennig beâ€" "Of course Highland Park was much smaller then. Only 3 square miles.. Now it‘s 12.5. But last year there were 330 fires. Indeed, during the last 10 years Highland Park, has had an average of 300 fires a year. And I fear the numâ€" ber will continue to grow if we keep on ignoring simple precauâ€" tions. WHAT WE CAN DO ... * Page 4 of that fact." And rightly so, we‘d say. But Highland Parkers are still a long way from being firewise and cautious, Chief Hennig told the PRESS. "When I joined the fire departâ€" ment back in 1922, we had only 60 fires a year. That was our peak. f "Yet," the chief told the PRESS, "Highland Parkers have the lowâ€" est fire insurance rate along the North Shore. And we‘re proud Since 1922 when William J. Hennig became a fireâ€"fighter, he has been educating townsfolk on the importance of fire prevention. But, despite the diligcnt work of Chief Hennig and his staff of 13 fearless firemen, Highlandâ€" Parkâ€" ers are still careless. ENJOY LOWEST This column believes that there are lots of persons in Highland Park who do important work â€" butthey‘renever justly recognized or rewarded. Let this, then, be the first of forthcoming columns cunâ€" cerning fo‘ks living here who are doing splendid jobs and deserv», at least, a written thanks . .. * Highland Park‘s alert fire chief is a kindly, graying, courteous man who is trying his best to prevent fires in our town. W HITT N. SCHULTZ Let‘s Take a Look your â€"fightin (Apecial to The Highland Park Press) A Chat With Our Fire Chief By g equip The 13 men who are doing a splendid job working with Chief Hennig are: Lts. Raymond Botker, Joseph Boylen, Lester Peterson; Firemen Raymond Sneeden, Charles Robinson, John Shelk. Paul J. Marty, John M. Patten, J. W. Cameron, Frank Freberg, William Perry, John Perry, and Raymond J. Mann. * } decked, wooden frame structure, the ;alluod'm. lobcrt'. C.m AOM2/c, Warren RDM3/c, Charles E. Smith, RM HAS THIRTEEN ASSISTANTS _ In addition, we learned, the firemen are always inspecting the local schools and business estabâ€" lishments, making certain they are safe from any fire hazard. These men _ deserve much credit . . . C LETS BEâ€"ALERT ... Last year <~Highland Parkers, through their own carelessness for the most part, lost thousands of dollars in fires. From now on let‘s be alert to fire hazards; let‘s be fireâ€"wise, cautious. And let‘s keep those atâ€" tics, basements, chimneys, and fireplaces clean and in good reâ€" pair. § Since 1922 two Highlana Parkâ€" ers have been burned to death. Let‘s not have m;:hwl? strike your home! ‘Every Monday we thoroughly inspect the trucks: gas, oil, tires, batteries, and equipment. â€" Tuesâ€" day we clean the station; change linen; do general house cleaning. Wednesday we wash and _ polish trucks and clean theâ€"apparatus room. â€" Thursdays we wash winâ€" dows and cut the lawns. . Friday we c‘can our ¢.. hens â€" firemen, v1<n. on duty, mist eat a" their meals here in the station. Saturâ€" day, we have a general cleanup. And . Sunday, if there aren‘t any fires, we relax," the chief concludâ€" ed. way No. 17, approximately 75 feet from the beach and 200 feet from the water‘s edge. _ Its elevation is about 15 feet above sea level. As officerâ€"inâ€"charge of the ofâ€" ficers beach club, my living quarâ€" ters were located on the second deck of the club. At about 100 feet south of the club, in a singleâ€" *Well, all of us are on 24â€"hourâ€" aâ€"day call. Each shift works 24 Lâ€"urs and has 24 hours off â€"â€"â€" proâ€" viding, of course, there are no fires, and the men aren‘t nceded. _ The trucks‘ sedies, engines, und equipment are so clean you can est off of them.. Ard the fire station is neat and bright â€" far nester, we might add, than our Army barracks _ever were, even when a generai was inspecting! What is :ae schedule you and yr men io‘ ow throughout the week? we asked. RUGGED SCHEDULLE ... _: We had to stop now and praise the chief and his men for the xay they maintain the trucks, hoses, and fire station. _ _"It was bought back in 1929â€" 17 years ago. But it‘s still a fine piece of equipment. Ravinia‘s truck was bought 11 years ago. It‘s in pretty fair shape," he said. PRESS PRAISES ° CHIEF ... "This is our best truck," Chief Hennig said, pointing to a big, highlyâ€"polished red job parked in the south stall. : ‘ "That was bought 33 years ago," Chief Hennig replied, shaking his head. _ "It‘s not much good any more. We desperately need new equipment. _ And we should get it just as soon as we can." W agreed; the truck looked like it couldn‘t make it to another fire. Ravinia, Chief Hennig . exâ€" plained, has its own equipment. And if a fire isn‘t too serious, Raâ€" vinia‘s skilled fire fighters can put out the blaze without requiring the help of Highland Park‘s limited equipment. OLD EQUIPMENT How old is this, we asked, pointâ€" ing to an ancient truck parked in the north stall. ment, we asked? % * "Let‘s go downstairs and I‘ll show you,"" Chief Hennig said. Downstairs _ were _ two,shiny, spotlesslyâ€"clean fire trucks, backâ€" ed in, fully equipped, ready to speed to any fire in the Highland Park area. wun for the alligator amphibean we had parked on the beach, I told them to "get going." Weall start. ed for the "alligator" on the douâ€" ble but we did not go far before we stopped as we saw that we would have difficulty getting it under way because it was half unâ€" Lookifig out to sea I saw, stretchâ€" ing in an unbroken line along the horizon, a huge, solid, dirty, yelâ€" lowishâ€"brown wall of water. A white crest, like seething soap bubâ€" bles, topped the advancing wave. In front of this wall of water, exâ€" tending to the beach, the sea apâ€" peared calm but very sandy in colâ€" or. Hastily putting on my pants and boots, I dashed down stairs, running towards the enlisted men‘s quarters. _ Yelling, I aroused the men, getting them outside of the building. _ Ordering the men to 2/¢, Frank X. Perico, S1/¢, Clyde Sheldon, S1/c, Leroy _ Avants, S1/c, employed by the club, were housed and were sleeping there at the time. ; From habit, I arose at 0635, on April 1, 1946, in order to take a swim in the ocean. While putâ€" ting on my trunks preparatory to swimming, I looked at the sea thru miy bathroom window. ~I noted that the sky was very heavily overâ€" east; the sea was running rather high for usual ocean conditions. The ocean‘s surface momentarily gave me the impression of viewâ€" ing a huge pot of boiling water. I dismissed this thought from â€" my mind and decided to shave before entering the water. _ While still part through shaving I heard a roaring sound coming from the beach as if a group of trucks were madly driving up and down with wide open throttle. Looking out of the bathroom window, I saw sea, water pouring over the boardwalk, which used to separate the beach from the lawn. Water was also pouring over the terrace onto the road and parking area. Furniture and chairs were swirling in the waâ€" ter back of the club where once had been the road. We urge the continued voluntary effort of the public to keep the use of electricity at a reasonable minimum. If an early settlement of the coal controversy is reached, we believe the hmtory we serve can be supplied through the emergency without further restrictions. of the communities we serve, the press and radio. We wish it known, however, that such relaxation could not have been accomplished in spite of the temporary coalâ€"producing period agreed to May 10, had it not been for the savings in coal already made through the wholeâ€"hearted cooperation given by all industry, commercial business, resâ€" idential and other customers. by the Hlinois This company was glad to join with the lIllinois Commerce Commission in removing the major mtrict?ons on the use of electric energy which have been in force during this critical period. § ' We also wish to express our appreciation for the continued support T HE P RES S PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS Barely having time to yell at the men to hang onto the heavy porch railing _ surrounding the second deck, the wave hit the club. Th« deck heaved under our feet, topâ€" pling us around. Then the buildâ€" ing started _ to _ disintegrate all around us. â€" The second deck litâ€" erally split in half, dropping all of us into the raging waters. Two of the men, Warren Blodget and Robert Wilkes, were picked up by the torrent and swept toward the aircraft landing strip about a mile away. Landing in some trees at the edge of the field, they hung As I started to go on the porch with the men the wave hit the beach with a thunderous roar. From then on events happened fast and furiously. the onrushing waters. Reaching the second deck I checked to see if all the men were present. Running into my quarters I dialed the duty telephone operator. _ Telling him who I was I ordered him to get trucks and help down to us immeâ€" diately, that a tidal wave was rush. ing in towards the beach. . In turn I phoned the officer of the day‘s office. Repeating the same order I had given to the duty telephone operator to the officer of the day‘s assistant, I bung up and looked at my watch. _ The time was 0650. large rats materialize out of the ground, run a few feet and seemâ€" ingly fly through the air toward Yelling to the boys to come with me I ordered them to my quarters on the second deck of the club house. It was clear that if we atâ€" tempted to reach higher ground up the beach with what appeared like expressâ€"train speed. Accompanying train tearing headlong through a Looking out to sea I noticed the ce Commission, Governor Green, all of the officials of of Yelling to the boys to climb inâ€" (rame, td the Tolp o Heorte vants, with the help of Marvin Somers, RM3/c,, and Albert Smith, RM2/c, who had visited and stayed with the boys overnight, helped Peâ€" rico into the tree, all the while fighting the ruthless, tumultous waters. > After what seemed to be ages the water reversed its direction of flow. The force from the velocity ‘of its return to the sea nearly tore us loose from our precarious hold on the tree. A snapping at the base warned us of the possibilâ€" ity of the tree being uprooted by the whim of the returning waters. Looking seaward I could see anâ€" other wall of water building up. Hastily wading kneeâ€"deep in waâ€" ter, tearing at our feet and nearly in a state of complete exhaustion, Waiting long enough until the velocity and suction from the reâ€" treating waters had retarded, and the water receded enough, we let ourselves down until we could feel solid ground under our feet. Makâ€" ing the boys form a "hand chain" we stumbled through the water toâ€" wards where once we knew had been a road. Reaching down I picked up a couple of fish swimâ€" ming past us. 3 â€" slid down on top of us, pinning us furiously to extricate ourselves. Clyde Sheldon, in the water next to me, had part of his right ear severed and his left car at this time was also badly battered. Waâ€" ter pinned us with a mighty grip amid wreckage in a tree top while debris tore past us One minute water poured over us; the next we had our heads clear of the debacle. A deluge poured over us, beating us down with relentless fury, suckâ€" mouths. wreckage a short distance away, called out, saying, "Mr. Daniels, I can‘t swim ®* onto these for security. uary 1, 194%). Each mother regâ€" istering for next year is asked to bring her child, with his or her birth certificate. LA presented by the Thursday, May 16th, 1946 Mothers of the Oak Terrace kinâ€" dergarten in Highwood are invitâ€" ing mothers of the children to enâ€" ter kindergarten in September, 1946, to a tea, to be held in the kindergarten room Friday, May 17, at 2 p.m. At this time all new kindergarteners will be registered for school (this includes children who will be five years old by Janâ€" a little beyond from where I stood, to the advancing wall of water out ‘b-â€"mma- beach like a relentless reptile afâ€" ter its prey â€" was all that could be seen. Later, I found out that the steel doors of our concrete liquor vault had been torn off as on the field. Hospital corps men removed us to safety before the third tidal wave hit the beach. Taken to the dispensary, we were immediately given treatment for our injuries by the doctors and nurses. _ All of us were confined Kindergarten Tea at Oak Terrace School where once had stood the officers‘ beach club, 1 looked to make sure that nobody had been left behind. A view of desolation and destrucâ€" tion was all I could see. Everyâ€" thing appéared to be in a state of the roof of the snack bar which was a former Quonset hut. Only seething, churning, muddy water, Hastily turning, I started wading towards the men, who by this time if made of paper. were standing on the runway. fortunately, we had no fatalities. MICHAEL J. DANIELS, we gained higher ground. A short entertainment will be , excepting for children of this