On March 1st,..........1965,...We all woke up to a big Blast,..........
Forty Two Years Ago this morning,.the whole apartment building in the Lasalle Heights area,.........Exploded,...with a Terrible Blast caused basically by a Natural Gas Leak,.......................the ensuing blast claimed 28Lives,of which most were just kids,.........................................
You know what sad (aside from the Obvious) is take alook in that pile of Rubble and almost dead center at the bottom of the photo,you can see ,some poor kids little wagon..........................a very Stark Reminder of the Awful Reality of this Incredible Blast,..................the bright side (if that's possible)
is that it could have easily claimed more lives and several more of those Apartment Blocks,............................................
25 comments:
Les I remember that horrific blast as if it were yesterday. We had freinds who survived the blast and family who lived in the bldg. that managed to miss the blast. My parents and many others worked as volunteers on search and also collecting clothing and furniture and places to live for the ones left homeless. It was a terrible day. It is good to take a minute to remember those who suffered. Glo
HI I used to work with a couple of guys who lived in those apts. One told me he had just to work in the Point when he found out.The other said he had just walked out and got in the car to go work when it happened. Can recall they had sent some boy scouts down to help out. One of the guys in my class told me he was there and how bad it was. Think they rebuilt the area with more apt. bldgs. Lad
A parishioner of our church lost her three children in that explosion. Jack
Hello Les, Do you know where to get the list of names? Do you remember a natural gas explosion/ fire in Lasalle many years earlier apartments as well? George
Explosion Dates Unveiling of a Commemorative Plaque 1956 and 1965 explosions at LaSalle Heights residential complex 27 april 2006 Borough Council will be unveiling a plaque commemorating the two natural gas explosions that occurred on August 28, 1956 on Jean-Milot Street and on March 1, 1965 on Bergevin Street. These tragic events, which rocked LaSalle Heights residential complex, cost the lives of 35 LaSalle residents, mostly children, while injuring dozens more. At the request of the residents directly affected by this disaster, Council has decided to unveil a plaque, on behalf of LaSalle residents, to honour the memory of the victims, to comfort the loved ones who bear the brunt of these heartbreaks and to pay tribute to all those who took part in the rescue operations and lent a hand to support the victims. Council is inviting all those who feel concerned, to attend the unveiling, which will be held prior to the Council meeting on Monday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m., at Borough Hall, 55 Dupras Avenue
Gary (Arbutus) I hadn't Rememberred hearing about the 1956 blast,.. Did they publish a list of names as well?,.I have been looking for a list to post here,.as Montrealgoodtimes asked as well,.........Thanks for that info, it seems the '56 blast must have been worse,.in terms of lives claimed 35 ? or is that the combined total,.with 28 being from the '65 explosion,? Also Remember the Monsanto Chemical Plant Explosion,.that claimed (i worker ) I think it was,....... It's odd that ,finding any info on these blast are really hard to find,... like it's not happened ,......you can find refereance to them ,but noe real info: I don't know why that is,....or I just haven't discovered the right source yet
Montrealgoodtimes,.......here's a sort od detailed account of the goings on of the day,.interms of emergenct response,........a list of names is not included from what I read,.but the reaction time,.and the response effort is laid out well,.in a PDF (Adobe) file,........ http://dspace.udel.edu:8080/dspace/bitstream/19716/1247/1/RN12.pdf A traffic news helicopter was one of the first to respond ,to report on it ,.I wonder if it was CFCF ?? if so they may have some archival footage,.or photo's around ,..i'll see what I can find
Seem in 2005 at Cavalier de Lasalle,.......they had an explosion too,.injuring some students,..... I think this school was just in the planning stages,,,and didn't exist by the time I left Montreal, Montreal classroom explosion injures 10 Updated Thu. Mar. 24 2005 11:26 PM ET Canadian Press MONTREAL -- Ten people were injured Thursday after an explosion rocked a woodworking class, caving in a ceiling and toppling part of a wall. An ambulance official said four of the victims were taken to hospital with injuries ranging from fractures to head trauma. Two men and two teenagers were among those hospitalized, he said, adding none of the injuries was life-threatening. The school closed after the incident. Other people may have suffered from smoke inhalation, said Steve Morissette, a Montreal police spokesman. The accident occurred at Cavalier-de-LaSalle school in southwestern Montreal. Fire official Aime Charette said the explosion was likely caused by a machine that collects sawdust from the shop tools. "On arrival we noticed there was an explosion in a carpentry shop," he said. "There were several cinderblock walls that were disintegrated by the force of the explosion." A student who didn't give his name said he and a teacher smelled smoke before the explosion. "Everyone was panicking," said the student. "I looked up and I saw a plume of smoke. So we just ran out after that and everyone was pushing, screaming. You could hardly see anything there." Television news footage showed blown-out windows and students and teachers gathered outside the school while firefighters worked inside. The fire department said the blast caused major damage. ......................found it while looking for info on the other blast:
I was in kindergarden at Bronx Park when this happened. A little girl in my class was killed. If I could find the class picture, I could still point out who she was and if not mistaken her name was Heather....sad..
Small world really ,that I've noticed several memebers here ,that had lived in the Bronx as well as Verdun,....Maggie did your family move to Verdun shortly after that?(kindergarten) I thought your family was mostly on Lasalle Blvd for a long time,? I moved to the Bronx , in the late 60's ..................then out to the westcoast:
My parents actually lived in LaSalle Heights and moved to Verdun (3rd Ave.) shortly before the first explosion (1956). It was in 1965 or 66 when we moved to LaSalle Blvd. Maybe you have your Maggies mixed up?
Nope I never realised that. Always thought that Lasalle Blvd was the Connection....hahahahah I do Remember asking one time a few years ago ,if anyone knew the Smith family ,they lived on Lasalle Blvd but over btwn Gordon & Galt 3rd floor ,middle of the block Someone did recall them ,.(maybe your brother Willie? ,or possiblly it was Mike Stark he seems to Remember a lot from that area .............Oh well,.... I guess from the pictures you've posted over the years ,.it was the Lasalle Blvd ones that I Remember I guess: ..................see................hahahahaha
Two Maggies! I lived on 9th Ave Lasalle, when I was in Kindergarden. When I was born we lived on 3rd in Verdun, just to confuse the Maggie's even more(!), then Brown Blvd, 9th Ave, back into Verdun to Moffat, then Beatty, then Foch in Crawford. We then went to Nun's Island for a while, back to Osborne, then to Des Trinitaires and my parent's last home was Leclair in Crawford. It was often said that whenever painting was needed, my father woud want to move!! Maggie (D'All)
I thought the 1st. explosion was before Aug/56 but I guess memory not what it use to be; I was working at Dosco on St. Patrick St. Shared a double desk with supervisor. Ralph Galoway.. The phone rang in the morning, and he was told to go home, not having a car, he asked if I would drive him home. I did so. The homes were 6 Town Houses attached, two stories high.. New construction. The street was being worked on by a bull dozer, when he hit a gas line, and the explosion ocured. When we arrived and were identified by police they allowed us passed barriers, the homes were reduced to only the concrete foundations, on 5 of them, on the last one, the fire wall had held, this was the Galoway residence, His daughter, son & son in law, were all blown out onto the street and relativly unharmed.. No remains were ever found of any of others in the 5 homes. . His Son & Son in law also worked at Dosco, Or Can. Tube & Steel at that time Ron Larman
Maggie 6697 (D'All) Do you have a brother named Danny? Used to work at Bell Canada, in the late 60's.
Yes, Danny is my brother. He lives in Tennessee now. My sister Helen worked at Bell in the 60's
Maggie
I worked there right out of high school, early 60's, and my cousin Ron Young also worked there for a brief time....and I remember him once telling me that this fella he knew from school and worked with, Danny D'All, told him he thought I was cute. Not quite sure why, but seeing your name brought back this memory. Would just be interesting to know if your brother ever worked at Bell on Beaver Hall Hill or Belmont Street. Thanks for the response. Cheers.
Hi Maggie, I remember Danny, he was one tuff dude! What is he doing in Tenn? Retired, I'll bet. He used to hang with Jim Long and Wally Strapps I think. Les,,,,,it was me that remembered Wayne Smith and family,,,,I lived at 158 Gordon til I was 12 in 1960 then moved to 3rd Ave.,,,,Right around the corner from Dave,,,,,you guessed it "Fennario",,,,lolol. Glad ur feeling better Les. Mike
We lived on Bergevin right across from the apartment building that blew up. I vividly remember when the building blew up, luckily right after the school bus had picked up the kids waiting in the porchway of the building. Right after the loud boom I ran and looked out the window to witness debris raining down on the leveled portion of the building.There were two other explosions before this and we moved to Chateauguay right after the Bergevin explosion in 1956. I was in grade 1 at Cecil Newman School and finished my year at Julius Richardson School in Chateauguay. All explosions were due to natural gas leaks.
Linda, I don't know if Danny ever worked at Bell...I'll have to ask Helen. Maybe a summer job...
Mike, I've heard he was a "tuff dude" !! He did hang around with the guys you mentioned and Bob Bindon to name a few. Lots of football. He isn't retired as yet, but I don't know that it is too far off!
Maggie
Danny did work at Bell as an installer for a year or so.
Maggie
Hi Maggie ~ thanks for confirming that! That would have been about 44 years ago, but a gal never forgets a compliment like that.
Hey Maggie, We're all retiring soon or retired,,,,,me thinks!! What's he doing now? Does he ever make it back up north? Ask him if he remembers Miss Anderson!! I also worked for Bell as a lineman for big Al Webster,,,,his son was Jimmie who I went to school with. Small world isn't it!! Mike
Hello, Do you remember anyone living in that apartment complex, by the name of Eileen, Here kids names are Danny, Michael,and Joanne? George
Hi there, Just saw your note about the LaSalle explosion. Nice to finally have a date to that memory. There are a set of triplets in my family who lived a short distance away from the explosion. The windows of their apartment were blown out and to this day the only way one of them can be distinguised from her sisters is by a small scar above her eye caused by flying glass. The fear the blast caused in the adults in my life was quite disturbing, and as a result, I have to admit, I have been rather nervous about natural gas ever since.(My house and my pool are both heated with it, BTW) Just wondering if you could re-post the picture, since I couldn't open it. Thanks Sewingnutz
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