Carolyn Jones pointing to the photo of her sister who was killed in the explosion.
On March 25, 1937 fifth grader Carolyn Jones spoke to the
Texas House of Representatives. She told her story of surviving the explosion
and asked them "set
aside a special day each year as a memorial ...to pay tribute to
the children and teachers who died, and
to make laws of safety... Our daddies and mothers, as well as the teachers,
want to know that when we leave our homes in the morning to go to school, that
we will come out safe when our lessons are over." Click here for the full transcript >>.
Saturday, February 13 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. (EST) on KDKA (AM 1020) Radio in
Pittsburgh. Carolyn Jones Frei will discuss her memories of surviving
the disaster during a radio interview with David M. Brown, co-author of
Gone at 3:17, a book-in-progress about the New London school explosion.
Read more >>
Promote 21st Century Skills
Update your school's values and technical skills for 21st century citizens.
In
1937, the Court of Inquiry that investigated the causes of the tragedy concluded that no one was responsible because "school
officials were just average individuals, ignorant or indifferent to the
need for precautionary measures, where they cannot, in their lack of
knowledge, visualize a danger or a hazard." (Court of Inquiry, 1937.)
The
disaster resulted in a law requiring that a warning odor be added to
natural gas, thus saving millions of lives all over the world.
However,
other important recommendations of the 1937 Court of Inquiry have yet
to be implemented in most 21st century schools: 1) schools need
technically trained administrators for modern school systems, 2)
schools need to do rigid inspections and more widespread public
education about avoiding and managing hazards, and 3) schools need a
comprehensive, rational safety code.
Call for Heroes
Do you know someone whose sense of responsibility, inspirational leadership, and exemplary persistence and courage protects children from school hazards and unhealthy school conditions?
By nominating a Hero you can help make March 18 an annual day that brings the Lessons of the 1937 Texas School Explosion to our nation's schools and celebrates the leadership that can save lives.
Send your hero's name, contact
information, and your hero's story by February 15, 2012 to healthykids@rcn.com
Tell their story.
March 18, 2012 will be the 75th anniversary of the worst school disaster in U.S. history -- a gas explosion in the small East Texas town of New London that killed 319 people, mostly students, just minutes before the end of the school day.
The Healthy Kids Healthy Schools Hero Award was created as an annual opportunity to tell the story of this preventable tragedy and to start conversations about the need to identify and eliminate chemical hazards and unhealthy conditions in today's schools. A Case Study and Cautionary Tale
The story of the 1937 Texas School Explosion needs to be part of our national legacy because today the decision-making that led to the 1937 explosion is the same type of decision-making in schools today.
The story can inspire us to break the silence about school hazards and to prioritize the values and technical skills we need to live safely with 21st century chemicals and technology.
It prompts us to take action to save lives in today's schools where explosives and other hazardous materials in labs, closets and storerooms are routinely ignored. Tell your story.
Break the Silence. The Heroes Award is part of an ongoing campaign to promote a school culture that brings 'safety' from the margins to the core of school curriculum and community culture.
The goal is to strengthen parent involvement and community partnerships to establish the 21st century standards and safeguards that can protect children from deadly explosions, fires, chemical spills and toxic exposures. Send your hero's name, contact information, and your hero's story by February 15 to healthykids@rcn.com
SeeWhat You Can Do >> for suggested activities, resources and advocacy tips.
LINKS
Today,
there is an extensive website of primary source materials and a museum
dedicated to remembering the "lost generation," to documenting the
story of their beloved community, the explosion and its aftermath, and
to preserving its legacy for future generations. London Museum and Tea
Room, New London, Texas 75682. (903) 895-4602 or (903) 561-7256 www.newlondonschool.org >>
From the Editor, American School Board Journal-- Glenn Cook, Editor-in-Chief. Having grown up on the Texas Gulf Coast, I know a little about
disasters, natural and man made. Galveston County, where I was raised,
is home to the two worst disasters in Texas history -- the 1900 hurricane
and the 1947 explosion that rocked my hometown of Texas City. Yes, it's a somewhat dubious distinction, but a definite conversation starter. And now, in a photo essay on Page 44,
it's time to look back at number three on the list.
The March 18, 1937, explosion of the London School in New London, Texas, is the worst school disaster in U.S. history.
More than 300 people were killed in a blast that, by all rights and reason, could have been avoided. Seventy-one
years later, the survivors still bear the emotional and physical scars
from that day. And 71 years later, schools still are making the same
mistakes in terms of how they keep chemicals safely away from children.
"Today, a
Generation Died >>" Revisiting the story of the 1937 New
London gas explosion -- the worst tragedy involving schoolchildren in American
history by Carlton Stowers from dallasobserver.com
Originally published by Dallas Observer 2002-02-21, c 2005 New Times, Inc. All
rights reserved.
The world endures solely by virtue of the breath of school
children. (Talmud)
