Maude Whiteman Biography by Chet Wallace

Maude Whiteman 1885-1971

Mrs. Maude Whiteman and Mrs. A. F. Geele Sr. occupied suite 1608-10-12 on the top floor. Mrs. Geele’s bedroom was 1608, Mrs. Whiteman was in 1610 and 1612 was used as a living room. Maude, age 61, was five feet tall and weighed 135 pounds and, according to her granddaughter, was “a little spitfire”. (6) Maude was the manager of the Winecoff Hotel cigar stand for the previous four years. People coming into the hotel were greeted by her smiling face just inside the door.

Maude Whiteman was born May 20, 1885. She was married to Banks Whiteman, who had passed away years before the fire, and they had two children. (6)

Maude was spending the night in the hotel because the Geele men were on a hunting trip and she was looking after Mrs. Geele Sr. She had probably been staying with Mrs. Geele for about a week. (6)

Mrs. Whiteman was awoken probably by the sirens and immediately went to the telephone and learned that the hotel was on fire. She opened the door and walked the twenty-five feet to the base of the stairs leading to the roof and could have easily made it there because the smoke hadn’t reached the top floor at that point. Mrs. Geele, bound to a wheelchair, was still in the suite and Maude realized that there was no way she could get her up the stairs. Returning to the suite Maude stuffed wet towels under the doors of each room, got Mrs. Geele into 1612 and placed her between the two open windows facing Ellis Street covering her with blankets.

Around 4:30am Maude heard Mrs. A. F. Geele Jr. calling from the room below saying the smoke was getting bad and they couldn’t stay in the room much longer and couldn’t go out into the hall. Maude decided to make a sheet rope out of six sheets tied together and attach it to the mullion between the two windows of 1612 and let it down to the window of 1512. She helped with getting Mrs. Geele Jr., her son John and her daughter Esther Geele into 1612 as well as helping Mr. J. W. Henry, Robert O’Connell and the Horne couple into the room.

In the process of rescuing this people she tore back muscles, pulled two ribs loose and twisted a vertebrae and permanent damage was caused. (1) She had back problems for the rest of her life as a result. (6)

Mrs. Banks Whiteman was led out of the hotel by a doctor and a fireman at 7:45am. At one point a fireman helping her down the stairs slipped. She said to him smiling “You’d better be careful there, young man, or I’ll have to help you down.” (3) She said of the whole incident “We prayed – all of us prayed.” (4)

Soon after the fire Maude Whiteman would be prompted to start writing her account “by request from people far and near who have called, written, and been to see me for information and advice as to what to do in case of fire.” (2) She intended for this account to be a book about her experience but ended up never finishing it. (6) In her account she offered ways of getting out of a burning building as well as her thoughts on laws that should be passed to prevent another catastrophe like the Winecoff fire. She wrote “No hotel is absolutely fireproof but all modern up to date hotels have facilities with which guests could prevent fire spreading if they would only remain calm, stop and think now “Just what can I do”. There are fire extinguishers and hose long enough to reach up and down the halls on each and every floor. Get out there and use them.”

“The horrible memory of the Winecoff fire brings back recollections of how very much I would have appreciated a pair of wings. As the fire was coming toward us it looked as if I would soon have them. Death seemed inevitable to those above the 9^th floor as that is as high as the firemen’s ladders could reach. All escapes had to be made from the outside as the halls were filled with smoke, no one could have penetrated it and lived more than a minute or two. Only those on the front of the building who climbed down sheet ropes and met the firemen on the ninth floor made their escape. Those who remained in their rooms on the higher floors and lived did it by dogged determination.” She said of the “many of those who jumped could have been saved if they had only waited for the firemen to rescue them. I, again, repeat don’t jump unless told to do so by those trying to rescue you. It only means sudden death.”

“One more thing that would prevent fire from giving headway in hotels is sufficient night watchmen service. If there were plenty of watchmen on the job they would detect the fire before it had time to spread”.

“It is up to the hotel men to make their place safe for their guest. There should be a card on the wall in each and every room with advice to the occupant as to what to do in case of fire. If your room has this information study it carefully before you retire. If it does not have it, demand information as to fire escapes”.

“Our city fathers should make it their business to see that the fire dept. is furnished adequate equipment with which to fight fires in tall buildings.”

“One last and most important thing is have faith in God call on Him. He will guide you through.” (2)

Atlanta Fire Chief C. C. Styron sent Mrs. Whiteman a letter of recognition in August of 1947. In part it described her heroic efforts. “Mrs. Whiteman closed the transom and kept all openings packed with wet towels and poured water on the door to keep it from igniting. She also made a rope from sheets for several tenants on the 15^th floor and helped them reach the 16^th floor.

It is my opinion that Mrs. Whiteman’s forethought and heroic action saved several lives in this fire.” (5)

After the fire Mrs. Whiteman retired, because of her back problems. Her son-in-law was a doctor and he took her to his home in Thomasville, Georgia to recuperate. She did stay active socially and became a member of the Joel Chandler Harris association. (6) Mrs. Whiteman passed away on August 31, 1971 and is interred in Greenwood Cemetery in Atlanta.

Sources:

1. Winecoff Hotel stationary account
2. Whiteman account of Winecoff fire experience.
3. New York Times Dec. 8, 1946 pg. 29.
4. Unknown Atlanta newspaper
5. Letter of recognition from Atlanta Fire Chief C. C. Styron
6. McCrae/Wallace phone interview 2013.
7. Greenwood Cemetery records

Eloise Buck

Her Story:
Born in Monroe, Washington in 1906, Eloise Buck was an award winning student in high school and at the University of Oregon.

The Gerlinger Cup is Still Awarded Annually by The University of Oregon

Achievements:
Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority member.

Phi Beta Kappa scholastic honorary.

Women's League leader.

Elected to the Mortar Board, senior women's national honorary society.

Active in YWCA.

Won the Gerlinger Cup, awarded to the most outstanding Junior woman student in 1925.

In 1929 she earned her Masters Degree at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

Eloise Buck in 1940. Assistant English Professor at The Oregon College of Education.

She served as the Maid of Honor at her brother Pete's wedding in Salem, Oregon 1940. She was living and teaching in Salem when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred - exactly five years before the Winecoff fire. She wrote this (mis-dated) letter to her sister Florence in St. Louis the day after the Sunday morning attack.

Click To Enlarge

Later Buck Joined The Faculty At Washington University in St. Louis.

Her final years were spent as an admissions counselor for the Katherine Gibbs School in New York, a top notch secretarial college with a fervent emphasis on grammar and writing skills. The Gibbs School turned out highly polished and capable executive secretaries - white gloves to the elbows. While in New York she lived in the Barbizon Hotel for Women.

On November 15, 1946 she began a recruiting trip through the South. Her visit to Atlanta was likely timed to coincide with the Youth Assembly convention at the state capitol. She declined an offer to stay at Agnes Scott College for fear of imposing. She checked into the Winecoff Hotel on December 6th. She died in room 1124 of multiple burns at age 40. Her brother, Pete, was mightily affected by the passing of his sister whom he so admired. Their mother was never told the actual cause or circumstances of her daughter's death, only that she had suffered a heart attack.

Eloise Buck and her brother Robert

She rests at the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery - Snohomish County, Washington - near where she was born.

Full biography is here.

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

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