Rick Roberts Remembered

Winecoff firefighter Rick Roberts was buried with full Atlanta Fire Rescue Department honors at Westminster Gardens in Peachtree City, Georgia December 22, 2011.

Ladders extended over the entrance to Westminster Gradens created an arch through which mourners passed.

In a letter of sympathy to Chief Roberts' family Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran wrote in part, "His heroic effort at the historic Winecoff hotel fire will always be remembered by the citizens of this great city, and also by the men and women of the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department.

This brief tribute to Roberts was broadcast across the Atlanta fire communications radio network to all fire stations and vehicles. (Joined in Progress)

Frozen in Youth Forever

A Winecoff Fire Remembrance by Mary Marsh

“Let not your heart be troubled...In my Father’s house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you” John 14:1-2.

The Class of ’47: Post World War II

The Class of 1947, no matter the high school, no matter the state, had survived the Second World War. In the central Georgia town of Thomaston, the seniors at the Robert E. Lee Institute were looking towards the future as a time of peace amongst the nations. They wanted their world to be safe. Thus, the editors of The Rebel, the annual of R.E. Lee Institute, chose the United Nations Organization as the theme. Wrote the editor, "As evidence of our belief in world peace, we are using for the 1947 Rebel theme the United Nations Organization with its purpose of binding nations into an international organization through which members may cooperate to promote peace and security."

The Class of 1947 met for the final time on June 5, 1947. Graduation caps and gowns were donned, diplomas awarded, and many good-byes were said as the teenagers of Thomaston embarked on the next chapters of their lives. The "Lee'ers" of 1947 are no longer young kids looking towards the future with the hope of security and peace, and the absence of wars. They passed into adulthood, many into their early 80's now, and they've seen the Korean War, the Cold War, Vietnam, terrorist attacks, the fall of the Iron Curtain, the rise of new regimes and September 11th. As the world changed, so did the Lee'ers of '47.

But there are exceptions. Four senior Lee'ers are forever teenagers: Earlyne "Birdie" Adams, Sarah Virginia "Genny" Torbert, Patricia Anne "Patsy" Uphold will always be sixteen. Christine Adams "Christy" Hinson is eternally seventeen. Their lives ended in the early hours of December 7, 1946, in room 1430 of the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta.

Virginia Torbert

Patsy Uphold

Christy Hinson

Four Talented Lee’ers

Thomaston was stunned by the passing of Earlyne, Virginia, Patsy, and Christy. These girls were academically talented - memberships in the National Honor Society; they had academic interests ranging from science to Latin to journalism. They participated in the Dramatic and Glee clubs. They liked athletics- Earlyne and Christy managed the basketball team, Virginia played basketball, and Patsy was a cheerleader.

Patsy Uphold

The girls were natural leaders. Perhaps they, like their classmates, had a confident post-war mentality and a feeling of security in the world. It is evident that these young leaders wanted to make their world a better place.  Earlyne, Christy, and Patsy were members of the Lee chapter of the Beta Club; their motto was "Ducamus aliis seerviendo (Let us lead by serving others)." Earlyne participated in the civics club, while Christy and Patsy joined the Citizenship club.

As an Eta Epsilon Chi (1945), Virginia Torbert was living up to her sorority's motto, "every member an active member".

In addition to being the Rebel's circulation manager, Virginia was enrolled in the Diversified Cooperative Training Class. The purpose of this class was to, "work and study an occupation of his or her choice and receive units of credit for the work on the job as well as for classroom study." D.C.T. students also planned and participated in recreational events and "many worthy projects".

The Fall Semester

School started on Monday September 9, 1946. The first football game was the high point of this first month, with a 72-0 victory over Joneboro. On September 27th Patsy, Christy, and their fellow "L" club members held the first dance of the year.

R.E. Lee’s year-old Tri-Hi-Y chapter was in full swing with thirty-one year old Mary Minor as the sponsor.

A big upcoming event was the Youth Assembly scheduled in Atlanta the first weekend in December. Youth Assembly preparation started on October 5th when, "a group of Tri-Hi-Y's went to Macon to attend a training session for the Youth Assembly which is to be held in Atlanta in December. Purpose: better government for our state." Initially, many girls signed up, but as fate would have it, only five ended up going.

Then came mid-terms and the football team’s first loss, 13-12 to LaGrange. Then Armistice Day, Thanksgiving, the Formal Battalion Dance, and the first meeting of the senior class.

Battalion Sponsor Christine Hinson

Four days after that meeting, Mrs. Minor and the five senior girls left for what promised to be a fun-filled educational experience in Atlanta.

Reservations were made at another hotel, but they switched to the Winecoff, as it was thought to be safer. It was advertised as "Absolutely Fireproof". Who wouldn’t want five young girls and a young teacher to stay in the safest hotel? Plus R.E. Lee was getting a good deal on a room on the south side of the hotel – all of these rooms were large and could nicely accommodate teenagers and their chaperones.

Friday In Atlanta

On December 6, Mrs. Minor, Earlyne, Christy, Virginia, Patsy and Zanier Downs headed to Atlanta.

Zanier Downs

Unlike other Youth Assembly delegates, this was not the first time the Lee’ers had been to Atlanta. The Beta Club conference was held in Atlanta, and Mrs. Minor had chaperoned that trip, too. The Tri-Hi-Y girls wanted her to come along on this trip. “She wasn’t always so serious and always let us have a lot of fun,” said Zanier Downs

After initial meetings, the girls headed back to the Winecoff to listen to the radio and chat. They complained about having to go to more meetings that evening, but Mrs. Minor assured them that she would bring them back to Atlanta for a graduation trip. The girls ate dinner at the Frances Tea Room, a place with significance from the Beta Club convention. They made another stop at the hotel before heading off to committee meetings. The same meetings they complained about only a few hours prior turned out to be very interesting. Zanier recalled, “We thought we would be through early and my aunt was going to call for me at the hotel. But we got so interested in the good bills that we were studying and discussing that we could have just stayed on and on.”

It was fifteen minutes before ten o’clock when the girls made their way back to the Winecoff. But they weren’t ready to let Zanier be picked up by her aunt and uncle, which was fine with Zanier – she had reluctantly accepted her aunt and uncle’s invitation to spend Friday night at their house – she figured she’d have Saturday night and Sunday to be with her friends.

The girls had dessert at the Henry Grady Coffee shop. It was apple pie and ice cream for all except Earlyne, who had chocolate ice cream. At 10:45, the girls met with Zanier’s aunt and uncle. Zanier had one final moment with her friend Earlyne, who went to room 1430 to help Zanier with her bags. According to Zanier, the girls were worried Earlyne would spill the beans about dessert to Zanier’s relatives, who had been waiting quite a long time for their niece. So Mrs. Minor delegated Earlyne to help with the bags.

Zanier departed and the rest headed into the Winecoff for a good night’s rest.

The Fire

At approximately 3:30 am fire broke out on the third floor and spread upwardly with suspicious speed. Smoke ascended quickly through the central stairway, blocking any downward escape. Mrs. Minor consulted briefly with Pauline Bault, another fourteenth floor guest, and ultimately decided, with the girls, to wait for rescue. The five hunkered down on one bed and read from Patsy Uphold’s Bible John 14:1- 3, “Let not your heart be troubled…” The Bible was left open on the bureau, the young women died together, in one bed, only to be separated when rescue workers took their bodies to different morgues and funeral homes.

Back in Thomaston, it was six in the morning and the residents were aware of the inferno at the Winecoff. Dickson Adams, Christy’s uncle, drove to Atlanta to identify the bodies. He was able to identify Patsy and Christy by the afternoon. Earlyne was been identified by a “stranger”. Virginia was the last to be identified, by her father, after 4:30 pm.

Dickson searched several morgues, viewing bodies in various stages of fire damage. He said of the Lee’ers:

"I feel sure that all of the girls died in their sleep from suffocation – Patsy’s hair was still done up in little tight knots and not a hair was out of place and her face bore a look of complete relaxation and ease of mind. The appearance of the others was just as composed and immaculate."

Dickson told the newspaper that he asked the doctors if it was possible the girls simply died in their sleep, without any knowledge of the fire. The doctors said yes, it was possible, but of course, we now know that they were all aware of the fire. It is believed that their last conscious act was to read from Patsy’s Bible.

Saying Good-bye

The bodies of the occupants of 1430 were returned to Thomaston for their funerals on Monday, December 9th. Residents first said good-bye to Mrs. Minor, with her funeral at 9:30 am at First Baptist Church.

Mary Minor was the mother of a four year old daughter

The Presbyterian Church held funeral rites for Christy at 11:00 am. At 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm, respectively, Earlyne and Patsy were bid farewell at First Methodist Church. In between their rites, at First Baptist, Virginia’s funeral was held.

Thomaston mourned. City schools were closed for the funerals. Flags flew at half-mast. The one occupant of room 1430 not present during the fire was Zanier Downs.

She wrote for the “diary” of the 1947 yearbook: "Tragedy struck our lives as Mrs. Minor, Christy, Patsy, Earlyne, and Virginia were lost in the Winecoff fire while attending the Georgia Youth Assembly- in the service of humanity- The days following were long and the ache in our hearts was severe as we tried to 'carry on'."

The Y.M.C.A sent speakers on Dec. 11th, bringing to grieving students and staff the inspirational theme, "Let not your hearts be troubled."

On December 13th, the families of the deceased extended their gratitude in The Thomaston Times. The Upholds wrote:

"May God in His heaven bless our town and county and state and we would like to leave Patsy’s last message to all that knew her everywhere: ‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions…’"

Going Forward

The class of 1947 carried on, and a sense of normalcy returned to the halls of R.E. Lee, or at least it was written that way in the yearbook’s “diary”. On December 16th, the senior class voted on mascots and the Who's Who. Two days later, girls began to daydream about the holidays with "certain someones" coming home from school. On February 14th the girls basketball team defeated Fort Valley and the boys completed their regular season undefeated. Amid their grief, the Class of 1947 somehow reached the last day of school with all the expected romances, hi-jinx, and adventures of typical teenagers.

At graduation on June 5th, each student received his or her diploma and a brand new Bible; the Hinsons used their late daughter’s savings to purchase a copy for each member of her graduating class. Even in death, Christy was still helping others.

The 1947 Rebel yearbook is dedicated to those who preished. Five beautiful portraits are on the opposite page – each woman frozen in youth forever.

In the senior class individual portraits, the girls are placed with their classmates. Mrs. Minor’s photo is listed with the faculty and her homeroom remained hers for the ’46 –’47 school year. The girls were given their place in their activities- Virginia is the circulation manager of the Rebel, Earlyne is secretary of Tri-Hi-Y and Patsy is a cheerleader.

In the winter of 1947, R.E. Lee’s new building was named Memorial Hall and a commemorative plaque – “Not Ours To Give Or Lose Is Life” – marked the short lives of Mrs. Minor and her four students. At almost the same time, the Tri-Hi-Y chapter sponsored a project to donate memorial books to the library.

The fire's impact on Thomaston has been a lasting one. Fifty years after the fire, many in the Class of 1947 and others reunited in Thomaston - simply to remember their friends who perished in the Winecoff fire.

Their eternal resting places:
Mrs. Mary Minor at Rose Hill Cemetery - Winder, Ga.
Earlyne Adams and Virginia Torbert at Southview Cemetery
Christy Hinson and Patsy Uphold at Glenwood Cemetery

May they rest in peace and rise in glory.


References:
 Proud To Be From R.E. Lee: A History of R.E. Lee Institute Thomaston, Georgia 1875-1992  by Edwin Cliburn, pages 522–525, 528
The Winecoff Fire: The Untold Story of America’s Deadliest Hotel Fire.  by Sam Heys & Allen B. Goodwin, pages. 86-89, 140-142, 169, 174.
The Free Press, December 10, 1946. Five Thomastonians Suffocate in Hotel Fire; Happiness Reigned in Last Waking Hour, Friend Says In Own Story of Last Day
R.E. Lee Institute. Rebel Yearbooks, 1944- 1947
Thomaston Times, December 13, 1946. Bereaved Families Express Gratitude to Community; Two Memorials Planned for Fire Victims; Final Rites for Fire Victims Held as Thomaston Mourns
All photos from the 1946, and 1947 Rebel yearbooks of R.E. Lee Institute.
Many thanks to Claude Burgess of Thomaston Upson Archives, who provided scans of these references.

Back To Winecoff.Org

Exemplary Strength

Pearl Cason Murphy
A Winecoff Fire Biography by R. Michael Murphy

Born in 1893, Pearl inherited her love of poetry from her affable father, who died when she was 19. She kept his memory close by finding the same warmth in the expressions of simple verse that he did. Pearl’s mother lived with her for the rest of her life.

Pearl married in 1913, and had her first child in 1918, a son, their only child until Mary Louise was born 14 years later. Older parents Pearl, 39, and Robert, 41, faced an unexpected pregnancy and a premature delivery. Happily, they found themselves blessed with Mary Louise, “Sister”, as her family nickname would remain for her brief life.

The Murphys and the entire town of Bainbridge were devastated by the Winecoff Fire of December 7, 1946 that killed eight of their finest. The family’s palpable grief took Pearl’s mother within six months, and Mary Louise’s father within three years.

Pearl sought solace in her poetry and her Bible almost immediately following the fire.

.         At her daughter's graveside service Pearl C. Murphy penned this poem.

By the early 1950’s, with two grandchildren from son Robert Jr., she regained her inherent strength. For the rest of her life, she applied herself to the relief of others. In 1960 she was named Bainbridge’s “Woman of the Year.”

Wrote Annette Morris for the Bainbridge Post-Searchlight newspaper: “Miss Pearl is well known by the people of this community for her work in the Clothing Center, through which she distributes clothing to the needy. She is known and loved by all those she is helping daily in her tireless and unselfish work. Miss Pearl was nominated by her many friends for this honor for her many accomplishments, far above and beyond the call of duty.”

Miss Pearl, Pearl Louise Cason Murphy, died in 1974 at the age of 81.

Her granddaughter's thank you note to Winecoff.Org is here.

Mary Louise Murphy

Mary Louise Murphy, her mother Pearl and grandmother Mollie Cason in 1943

The Life of Mary Lou
Handwritten By Her Mother, Pearl Murphy
After The Winecoff Fire
Transcribed For Winecoff.Org
by R. Michael Murphy

. On October 25, 1932, I, Mary Louise Murphy,

.     made my appearance here,
. In a hospital at Gainesville, Florida,
.      eleven seventeen p.m. the time.
. When I looked around to see how I
.     would like the care --
. Thought the world seemed mighty large,
.     but I had no fear.
.
. Each day I grew and grew, until time
.     to go home,
. To High Springs, Florida in a new Ford,
.     in my G'mother Cason's arms, I went.
. Met by Friends, Dorothy Simpson & many more,
.     who were glad I'd come.
. Some brought gifts, while others sent.
.
. I lay on the day bed by my G'mother's side,
. She crocheted bed spreads, & sang too.
. Time went on until I began to glide,
. Crawl, walk, chatter, and coo.
.
. I lived there until I was little over five,
. Had playmates, parties, much alive.
. Oh yes, I had a father, mother, a brother
.     who was much older than I.
. How, I loved him, "I Know Why."
.
. Well, the time came, I had to move
. To Bainbridge, Georgia on June 12, 1938.
. I was welcomed there, by friends, with love
. Good people are everywhere, if we will wait.
.
. I was six years old, started to school
. Miss Grace Rawls, my first teacher.
. My, how timid I was, when I heard the rules.
. Wasn't too sure I'd like it either.
.
. On through the grades of school I went
. Made real good marks as I liked to
. Study, with Margie.
. Older chums, now, we all thought;
.     Jeanne, Joe Beth, Rebecca, Bettye Joe,
.     and neighborhood boys,
. To play with them in the afternoons.
.
. I grew to finish in grammar school,
. Then into high school, a freshman, scared;
. I didn't tell it, for then I began to feel my age
. Tried to be more dignified, more prestige.
.
. Sophomore next, what a thrill,
. Elected President of my class, what could I do?
. Oh, I know, I would change my name to Mary Lou.
. Sophisticated it seemed, whatta, whatta thrill!
.
. Election for Assembly next, in Atlanta, Ga.
. What? Me elected as a delegate there?
. With Patsy, Earl Carr, and Clarence too,
. Miss Mary Davis our Chaperone, Whoo!
.
. The day came to get ready for our meet
. All in a flutter, packing, so excited
. Told my loved ones goodbye,
. We all were about ready to cry.
.
. So off to Pat's home I went
. Spent the night and made our plans
. What we would wear,
. When we got there.
.
. The next morn the car was full
.     of merriment in every form,
. Not knowing what would happen to us
.     the following morn.

. The Seniors, Sue, Ruth and Maxine,

. With Pat, Earl Carr, Clarence, Miss Davis and I,
. Registered at the Winecoff Hotel, on the fourth floor,
. Then later changed to the ninth.
.
. We attended an afternoon meeting,
. The last one at night, at the Capitol
. Back to the hotel to retire
. When the last we knew, an alarm of a fire.
.
.                          A Mission
.
.            A religious club organized in the school
.            To teach our boys and girls the rules.
.            The Hy-Y's for boys and Tri-Hi-Y's for girls
.            To protect them from the evil whirls.
.
.            The youths were sent to an Assembly meet
.             In Atlanta, Georgia, "The Capitol Seat."
.             A great mission they had to perform
.             With prayers and votes of everyone.
.
.             To place the Bible in each school
.             Always live the Golden Rule
.             Respect the kind of every race
.             A chance for all, each one a place.
.
.             Some registered at the Winecoff Hotel, there
.             Thinking they would have the greatest care,
.             While in the early dawn, at rest,
.             There came a signal of distress.
.
.             Fire started from an unknown place,
.             Gained headway at a rapid pace,
.             Until it trapped our young and old
.             Destroyed their bodies, but not their soul.
.
.             A challenge, boys and girls, ‘tis true
.             Your mission will not be in vain
.             A better world lies ahead for you
.             God received the messengers, and
.             Eased the Christians pain.
.
.             The Bible is true, it is told to you,
.             "That greater love hath no man than this
.             That a man lay down his life for his friends."
.             John 15:13.
.
. Her Name was Mary Louise, it is true.
. Then on in years, to Mary Lou.
. Now, back to the original name
. On the slab of granite, Mary Louise, again.
.
.                                                     Pearl C. Murphy
.                                                     Bainbridge, Ga.

Editor's Note: The phrase, "I Know Why" is a reference to a popular song of the day by the Glenn Miller Band: I Know Why and So Do You. Click to play.

A Winecoff Fire Biography of Pearl Murphy is here.

__________________________________________

Source: The Collected Poems of Pearl Cason Murphy

R. Michael Murphy, Conservator

Maxine Willis

 Vintage Fall of 1946 recording of Maxine Willis singing:

A Winecoff Fire Biography by Chet Wallace:

Betty Maxine Willis was born December 3, 1930, the daughter of Thomas Felton Willis and Ruby Evelyn Bruce Willis in Bainbridge, Georgia. Thomas’ family was from Decatur County and Ruby was from Cartersville, Georgia. Thomas met Ruby while she was a school teacher in Cartersville and they settled in Bainbridge. Thomas owned a lumber business and had a tobacco farm. Maxine had one sister Sara Willis Parker and one brother Robert Willis.

Maxine is related distantly to Lottie Moon through her mother Ruby’s family. Lottie Moon was a famous American missionary in China from 1873 to her death in 1912. She taught school in Danville, Kentucky and Cartersville, Georgia before her work in China. Toward the end of her life she stood by her Chinese friends in the famine that occurred there and almost starved to death. She grew very weak and just before Christmas of 1912 she attempted to return to America but died on her ship that was in the harbor of Kobe, Japan. Many Southern Baptist missionaries still look up to her today and an annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for Missions has raised $1.5 billion for missions since the late 1800’s.

Maxine went to grammar school in a nearby town south of Bainbridge called Fowlstown. While they attended the school in Fowlstown Maxine and Sara sang Shirley Temple songs on the school stage. Then for her high school years she attended Bainbridge High School. Her best friend in high school was fellow Winecoff fire victim Ruth Powell and they were inseparable. They both attended First Baptist Church with their families and this is where their funerals were held.

The Bainbridge High School yearbook, The Purango, of 1947 lists Maxine’s nickname as “Mac” and states that she was “always seen with her shadow, Ruth”. Ruth said of “Mac” she was “her best friend”. They loved to hangout at the youth center with other friends after school and especially on the weekends. Going to Rex-All pool was also a hot spot although they didn’t know how to swim. They would take a dip hanging onto the side in the pool and then get out to lay in the sun.

In school Maxine was a Beta Club “A” student and excelled at all of her subjects. Her favorite subject was English. She was very popular in school and had recently been selected “Miss BHS”. She was a member of the Gamma Chi high school sorority, secretary of the Tri-Hi-Y, a member of the Glee Club and Sub Deb Club and was editor of the school newspaper. Because her class at Bainbridge was so small Maxine knew all of her classmates very well and got along well with everybody. Back then since Bainbridge High School only had eleven grades Maxine was considered a senior even though she was in the 11th year of her studies.

Her sister Sara was exactly 14 months older than Maxine but it seemed that Maxine was the older because of her being more of the leader between the two sisters. Sara and Maxine were like twins in everything they did and were always together.

Maxine was more outgoing whereas Sara was more of the quiet type and a little shy growing up. Maxine liked to design clothes and actually designed some of her own clothing as well as clothing for her sister. They had a seamstress make their prom dresses. They shared their clothing so Sara and Maxine would always be deciding on which dresses to use for certain events and even when Sara decided to attend Mercer College in Macon, Georgia she had to talk it over with Maxine on what dresses she should take with her.

Sara spent a lot of time with Maxine because there wasn’t much else to do in Bainbridge. Their mother Ruby called Maxine, Sara and Ruth Powell the Three Musketeers. They loved to go riding around town in a jeep that Thomas Willis had bought and go visit everyone. On numerous occasions Maxine was stopped by the local police because she was carrying too many riders in the jeep at one time.

Sara was very dependent on Maxine as they were growing up but became more independent when Sara went off to college. Sara left Bainbridge for Mercer College while Maxine was a senior at Bainbridge High School.
Sara describes Maxine as “personality plus”.

She was very talented artistically as well as musically and played the piano. To this day Sara gets teary eyed when she hears the beautiful classical music piece “Clair de Lune” by Claude Debussy. Maxine had performed this piece at the last piano recital that was held before her death at Bainbridge High School. Sara and Maxine had the same music teacher at the high school and Maxine excelled at the piano more so than Sara because, according to Sara, she didn’t practice as much as Maxine did.

Maxine loved to go to the movies and loved songs of the hit parade as well. Her favorite songs were “You Belong To My Heart” recorded by Bing Crosby, “Gypsy”, “To Each His Own” and “When You Were Sweet Sixteen” written by James Thornton. Sara and Maxine loved to sing the songs of the hit parade together. Sara still remembers the words to these songs she sang with Maxine.

Maxine had an ambition to learn how to fly and was very adventurous. She enjoyed sports and loved to ride horses on their farm. She was quite a daring horse rider and always tried to ride the more spirited ones. Her sister Sara was afraid of the horses. The Willis family loved to go to the beach and their favorite spot during this time was going to St. Simon’s Island in southeast Georgia on the east coast. Sara and Maxine used to make trips to Cartersville to visit their aunt also.
Maxine looked up to her mother as a role model and admired her.

Even though Ruby was her mother she was also her friend. Ruby kept up with anything her children were interested in and also anything they did with their friends. Sara remembers her mother Ruby sending them a penny postcard when Sara and Maxine attended Camp Sawyer outside of Bainbridge in the small town of Blakely. Ruby mentions in the postcard that she was so worried about them and hoped that they were keeping warm. Ruby was always involved with anything her children did.

On December 3, 1946, a mere four days before the Winecoff fire, Ruby held a birthday party for her daughter Maxine at the air base club in Bainbridge called Club Lynn Haven. Ruby talked to Maxine telling her that she wished she wasn’t going to Atlanta because at the time Maxine had a cold and Ruth didn’t want her daughter going because of the cold temperatures of December in Atlanta but Maxine was excited to go. She was excited to attend the youth assembly at the state capitol as well as looking forward to doing some shopping and spending time in Atlanta. Maxine Willis was pictured departing for the Winecoff Hotel She was wearing this coat when she leaped from her hotel window to escape the fire.

Room 920, where Maxine, Ruth Powell and Sue Broome stayed, faced the 10-foot alley on the back side next to the Mortgage Guarantee Building. It will never be known exactly what happened in room 920 that night but Maxine did put on her coat and put her wallet inside her coat pocket, perhaps knowing that if she didn’t survive she could be identified. She was one of the first of the 119 victims to be identified because of the wallet.

Maxine had apparently held on to bed sheets tied together as long as she could judging by the rub marks and cuts on her hands and wrists. It is assumed she eventually was either overcome by smoke or couldn’t hold on any longer. She could have fallen also by hanging out the window and being overcome by smoke or by being knocked from the window by a falling body. Maxine fell to her death along with her friend Ruth Powell and their bodies were recovered from the alley below.

When Maxine’s mother heard about the fire she practically had a nervous breakdown. She never got over the death of her daughter. Sara was at Mercer when she learned of the Winecoff fire. The morning of the fire her friends and sorority sisters came into her room to be with Sara but Sara didn’t know what was going on. Sara didn’t seem suspicious but they seemed to want to talk about something. Then Sara’s father, brother and two of her uncles arrived on the way to Atlanta to tell Sara the news. Sara went into shock and had to be taken to the infirmary.

She then accompanied her father, brother and uncles to Atlanta. They listened to the radio for further developments on the fire. Sara has never fully gotten over her sister’s death. She describes it as something that one never gets over…. the shock and sadness. She never thought that anything like the Winecoff fire could have happened.

After the fire back in Bainbridge remembrances were held in both schools and the churches. People came in and out of the Willis home for days after the fire offering condolences. Sara noticed that when she returned to Bainbridge to be with her family that Maxine’s presents from her birthday party on December 3rd were still sitting on her bed unopened.

Maxine was laid out for her wake at the Willis home in the dining room in front of a bay window. Sara describes how when she viewed Maxine’s body there she noticed the marks on her fingers and also noticed that Maxine’s hair was not the way it normally looked and attempted to straighten it. Maxine and Ruth Powell’s remains were the only ones out of the eight victims from Bainbridge who could be viewed at their funerals. The rest were closed caskets.

Ruby for many years after the fire kept Maxine’s coat that she was wearing that night in Maxine’s closet in her room. Even after years past her coat still smelled of smoke.

A couple of years after the fire Thomas Felton Willis, Maxine’s father, decided to visit the Winecoff with the intention of seeing the room Maxine had occupied on the 9th floor. He took from the room a sheet of hotel stationary that showed at the top the advertisement for the Hotel Winecoff describing it to be “absolutely fireproof”. On the paper a family member wrote “This paper was found in room 920 – room in which Ruth, Sue & Maxine were in, during fire – Felton went in the room, Sat, Apr. 30 – (19)49 – 2 yrs – 4 mo – after fire – “

Two portraits were painted just after the fire. One was of Maxine and one of her sister Sara. These portraits now hang on the walls of Mrs. Sara Willis Parker’s house. Her mother Ruby said to never let these portraits separate - and they never have. Sara has even asked her children to keep the two portraits side by side.

Sources: The Winecoff Fire by Sam Heys and Allen Goodwin
The Children of Bainbridge by Addie Livingston
Southern Baptist Historical Library & Archives website
“These three girls were the best of friends” Ellen Darley – Bainbridge Post- Searchlight – Nov. 24, 1993.
Sara Parker interview – January 9, 2011 – Alpharetta, Ga.

Introduction

Featuring expanded posts from winecoff.org - the companion website of the book The Winecoff Fire: The Untold Story of America's Deadliest Hotel Fire