Who Was She?

Ruth Powell, 16

When Winecoff Fire reader, Ashley Webb, 35, found an old photo among her grandmother's effects she started asking questions but got few answers from her family. "She was killed in a hotel fire," she was told. No further details were forthcoming so she reached out to winecoff.org. We determined her photo is of her grandmother's sister, Winecoff fire victim, Ruth Powell, 16. Ruth was in Atlanta on December 7, 1946 as a Youth Assembly delegate from Bainbridge, Ga. 

We arranged a phone call between Ashley and Sara Parker, 92, who knew Ruth Powell well. The two women spoke for fifty minutes and Sara shared her wonderful and vivid memories of Ruth Powell.  "Ruth was just the sweetest and funniest, always in the best mood, laughing and fun," person to be with. Ashley was thankful for the call and the women made plans to meet. More here.

Ashley Webb's e-mail inquiry to winecoff.org is here.

YMCA Youth Assembly Marks 70th Anniversary of The Winecoff Fire

Sue Broome, 16, perished in the Winecoff fire. Her great nephew and niece, Colton, 16, and Jarrett Broome, 14, attended the YMCA Youth Assembly luncheon November 14th.

Clear-eyed young people in their Sunday best gathered Monday at the historic Georgia Freight Depot for the annual YMCA Youth Assembly luncheon. The high school students from all across Georgia come to Atlanta each year to be delegates in a mock legislature.

To mark the 70th anniversary of the Winecoff fire, thirty Youth Assembly delegates and two faculty advisers, who were lost in the 1946 fire, were remembered with thirty-two white flowers and a moment of silence.

Nearly 800 delegates heard the story of the Winecoff fire from co-authors Sam Heys and Allen B. Goodwin. Their remarks are here.

Passing Ships

On December 6, 1946, just hours before the Winecoff fire, this photo was taken in Georgia's state capitol building as the Youth Assembly Conference was gaveled to order.

The bobby-soxed girl in the center is Sue Broome, 16, a Youth Assembly member from Bainbridge, Georgia. Hours later she and 31 other Youth Assembly participants perished in the Winecoff fire, America's deadliest hotel fire.

The man on the left is Melvin E. Thompson, the Lt. Governor-elect of Georgia. He addressed the Youth Assembly delegates that night. Fifteen days later, upon the death of Georgia's Governor-elect Eugene Talmadge, Thompson was thrust into the state's biggest political controversy ever: Georgia's Three-Governors Controversy, wherein three men claimed to be the rightful governor of Georgia. Thompson eventually prevailed.

If you can help identify the other Youth Assembly members in the photo please contact Winecoff Fire co-author Allen B. Goodwin: allenbgoodwin@yahoo.com

A Mother's Poem Discovered

.                                     Mary Lou Murphy

Winecoff Fire reader R. Michael Murphy has shared with Winecoff.Org a poem his grandmother wrote after the loss of her fourteen year old daughter, Mary Lou Murphy, in the 1946 Winecoff Hotel fire. The poem offers a rare glimpse into a mother's heart. Pearl Murphy tells her daughter's life story but writes in the first person. Click here.

Vintage Recording Surfaces

A few hours before the Winecoff Hotel burned, a small group of teens peered into the hotel's bar, certain they'd be unwelcome. They were drawn by the sound of Ward Duval at the piano entertaining hotel guests.

The bar's manager, Andy Marinos, conferred with them, then asked Duval if the teens could join him to sing a few songs. Duval consented and together they sang It's Only Make Believe and Showboat.

They were due for roll-call the next morning in the state capital because they were Youth Assembly delegates visiting from smaller Georgia towns. Surely their exciting Friday night in the big city was enhanced by the impromptu performance.

It's unclear if Bainbridge, Ga. delegate, Maxine Willis, was among the teens but her older sister Sara thinks her sister wouldn't have shied away from a chance to sing.

Now, vintage vocal recordings of Winecoff fire victim Maxine Willis have surfaced. They were recorded in the fall of 1946.

Listen to a brief excerpt and read her full biography at Winecoff in Depth.

Children of Bainbridge

The Youth Assembly delegates who perished in the Winecoff fire are remembered in Bainbridge, Georgia. As part of a college assignment, Addie Livingston,17, has written about them. She was asked to present her work to the Rotary Club in Bainbridge and it's been picked up by bainbridgega.com. Livingston deserves an A+ for her poignant and focused remembrance of the tragic event that continues to shape the values of Bainbridge. The article is here.

Bainbridge High Senior Girls

Pictured here shortly before the Winecoff fire are three who perished: Sue Broome (left), Ruth Powell (center right) and Maxine Willis (right). The three Bainbridge, Georgia high school seniors were Youth Assembly delegates and were registered into room 920 of the hotel. This photograph appeared in The Bainbridge Post-Searchlight in 1993. Also pictured is Mary Francis Barber (center left).