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.

Gainesville High School Plaque Re-Dedicated

A brief but moving ceremony was held at Gainesville High School December 7th to re-dedicate the school's plaque honoring the memory of the four senior girls - Gwen McCoy, Ella Sue Mitchum,  Suzanne Moore and Francis Thompson - who perished in the 1946 Winecoff Hotel fire. 

New construction on campus has forced the plaque to be moved a few times over the years. This latest outside placement is in a prominent space on campus and is easily visible to visitors. Originally a wall plaque, it's now affixed to a large smoothed stone and looks excellent. 

Listen to Sandra Parrish's WSB Radio News report here. See Berndt Petersen's WSB-TV News report here. See Paola Suro's WXIA-TV News report here.

Gainesville, Georgia Plaque Re-Dedication December 7th

Winecoff fire victims Suzanne Moore, Ella Sue Mitchum, Gwen McCoy & Francis Thompson

The Gainesville Times reports a brief ceremony is planned at Gainesville High School December 7th at 4:30 p.m. to re-dedicate the plaque honoring the memory of the four senior girls who perished in the Winecoff fire. New construction on campus has forced the plaque to be moved a few times over the years. The public is invited. The Gainesville Times notice is here.

Youth Assembly Ribbon Discovered

YMCA Advisor's Ribbon

Carlos Hamil

Winecoff fire survivor Richard Hamil recently discovered his father's YMCA advisor's ribbon. Carlos Hamil was the faculty advisor for the eight member 1946 YMCA Youth Assembly delegation from Rome, Ga.

Carlos Hamil kept the ribbon all his life, as he did a sense of guilt that four of his charges died on the tenth floor, even though there was nothing he could have possibly done to help them. The Hamils were trapped on the fifteenth floor until they were rescued by ladder across the alley on the hotel's west side.

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.

A Worthy Legacy

The Rome News-Tribune has published an article remembering the four teen-aged boys from Rome, Georgia who perished in the Winecoff fire and traces the fire safety improvements the fire inspired. The article by Doug Walker, Winecoff fire in Atlanta 68 years ago prompted safety changes, is here.

A Gainesville Times article by guest columnist M. Garland Reynolds Jr. remembers four young women from Gainesville, Ga. who also died in the tragic fire. Reynold's article is here.

Legend of Devotion Revealed

Cliff Burtz Carried a Secret Burden

Now it can be told. Cliff Burtz died in 2011. He was eighty-eight. He never married though he was considered a good catch. He had lovers, kind and thoughtful women who would surely have considered making a life with Cliff -- one with wedding vows. But Cliff's willingness to give his heart in full had been shattered by the Winecoff fire and the searing, lifelong memory of a girl, Frances Thompson, age 17.


Frances Thompson's Senior
Photo Remained on Burtz's Dresser 
For The Rest of His Life 

   Cliff was older than Frances. He'd been to war in Europe. She was a senior at Gainesville High. They were engaged to be married. He was head-over-heels in love. In Atlanta attending the Youth Assembly, she planned to shop for her trousseau. Then came the Winecoff fire. She perished before the sun rose but remained Cliff Burtz's sweetheart forever. It wasn't the first, or even the worst, emotional jolt Cliff had ever suffered. In 1936 he'd lost his mother and three sisters in the infamous F4 tornado that struck Gainesville, Georgia. Hundreds were killed. By 1946, Frances Thompson had become the most significant woman in his life. Losing her was the final blow. Cliff Burtz lost his trust in love. But his love for Frances never left him.


Cliff Burtz in Europe 1945

He visited her grave-site regularly, sometimes lengthy stays accented by tears, until his final years in life. Her high school photo, in its original embossed cardboard frame, remained on Cliff's dresser until he died. Cliff Burtz led a normal life. He acquired real estate and wealth. He had friends and a brother, but never a wife and no children. He rarely spoke of Frances as he carried his secret burden. But a few times it was revealed. Sara Jo Hill shared an office with Cliff at the B & W Gas Company in Commerce, Ga. "He was a nice fellow, well thought of,” said Hill. "Some days when it was cloudy and rainy and dreary and nobody was coming in the office that much he'd sort of get down and out and get to talking about when the storm come and took his mama and them. 

Frances Thompson, 17

"He'd get to talking about the girl he was going to marry. The way he would talk, I think that he truly loved that girl and I don't think he had that same feeling for anybody else." Cliff was left to wonder how life might have been had Francis Thompson lived. He was left with a vacancy that couldn't be filled. To let go of Frances' memory and move on in the pursuit of love and happiness represented a risk he couldn't bear to take. His heart was hopelessly guarded by the harsh results of the Gainesville tornado and the Winecoff fire. Georgia's two most tragic and devastating events of the twentieth century combined to ice a good man's heart.

Betty Huguley's Escape Remembered

Betty Huguley On Her Wedding Day In 1953

Sixty-six years ago today Betty Huguley escaped the Winecoff fire. She showed poise, calm and courage as she edged along a tiny eight inch ledge, four floors above Ellis Street, then descended an aerial ladder to safety. Then sixteen years old, she was a Youth Assembly delegate from Griffin, Georgia. Today she lives in Newark, Delaware.

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

Virginia Torbert Treasures

This photo of Winecoff fire victim Virginia Torbert is surrounded by three of her simple treasures: a decorative tea set, a bracelet (recovered from the fire scene) and a bottle of cologne, given to her by a suitor, Charles Greene. Today the items are kept safe and held dear by her sister Barbara.

Virginia Torbert's story is told on pages 88, 169, 175 and 233 of The Winecoff Fire: The Untold Story of America's Deadliest Hotel Fire.

Bess Dansby

Winecoff fire survivor Bess Dansby was badly injured when she fell from the window of room 730 to the roof of Chandler's Shoe Store, next to the Winecoff Hotel. Now, Robert B. Simpson has written a special article about her for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. The article is here.

Scorched Letter

Click To Enlarge

This letter was scorched by the Winecoff fire. Fire victim Jerry Jenkins, 15, wrote the letter to her boyfriend, Herman Easom, a few hours before the fire broke out. It was later recovered from room 930. It found its way to the Atlanta Post Office and was then sent to her family in Donalsonville, Ga. Today it is kept safe and held dear by her brother, Brantley Jenkins.

Mary Minor Photos Newly Acquired

Mary Minor and Daughter Mimi

This newly acquired photo of Winecoff fire victim Mary Minor comes to us courtesy of her daughter, Mimi Minor Duncan, who was four years old at the time of the fire. Mary Minor and four Thomston Youth Assembly delegates perished in room 1430. Mary Minor was 31. More photos are here.

Thomaston Plaques Re-dedicated

A crowd of seventy people filled Memorial Hall in Thomaston, Georgia to re-dedicate the plaques honoring the Youth Assembly delegates and their faculty advisor who perished in the Winecoff Hotel fire. Friends, family and classmates of Mary Minor, Earlene Adamas, Patsy Uphold, Christy Hinson and Virginia Torbert were among those who gathered to remember the five young women, who when faced with certain death, showed uncommon faith and courage.

Patsy Uphold's Bible was recovered from room 1430

Firefighters found evidence of panic throughout the hotel. But not in room 1430. There they found this Bible on the bedside table, opened to this page containing the verse: "Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled..." Beside the Bible, the five suffocation victims lay peacefully, side by side, on a double bed.

Ed Cliburn

Reverend Edwin L. Cliburn addressed the crowd calling the Winecoff fire a "defining moment" for Thomaston. He called it, "a time of supreme sorrow." But one that inspired a spiritual rebirth that eventually "had a good wholesome impact" on the city.

Thomaston-Upson Couny Archivist Claude Burgess stands beside the newly re-dedicated plaques. He often fields questions about the Winecoff fire.

The re-dedication was organized by Donna Auth.
The Thomaston Times' front page coverage is here.
Also see: Thomaston Girls Remembered.

Last Letter Discovered

Robbie June Moye with her mother Eva Moye

The last letter that Winecoff fire victim Robbie June Moye wrote to her mother has been discovered by a family member.

The letter was written on Thursday night, December 5, 1946, two days before Moye, a Youth Assembly delegate from Donalsonville, Ga., perished in the Winecoff Hotel fire.

Handwritten on Winecoff Hotel stationery, Robbie June tells of her bus trip to Atlanta, an unexpected travel delay, a fun night on the town and her plans for a safe trip home.

(Click To Enlarge)

Judging by the date on the letter and the postmark on the envelope (Dec. 6), the letter could not have reached Donalsonville before the news of the fire did on Saturday morning Dec. 7.

Imagine the emotions and thoughts Eva Moye may have experienced upon receiving the letter, including possibly the brief hope that her daughter was somehow still alive.

Imagine assimilating the cruel irony of the “Hotel Winecoff” letterhead, with its printed, unfounded boast “Absolutely Fireproof” and the drawing of the building where her daughter died.

What a bitter piece of mail it may have seemed like in those first few moments. Then, after re-reading it, she may have come to see it as a final gift from her child, arriving in her all-too-familiar handwriting with its “all is well” tone.

This much we know: Eva Moye kept the letter safe for the rest of her life. It was recently discovered by her Great-Granddaughter, Winecoff Fire reader Kristy Moye Griffin.

Thomaston Girls Remembered

Patsy Uphold

Winecoff Fire reader Mary Marsh has written a lovely remembrance of the Youth Assembly delegates from Thomaston, Georgia and their faculty adviser who perished in the fire. In it she examines their high school yearbooks, the lives they led, their final night and the fire's dramatic impact on the Middle Georgia town. Click here.

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.

Georgia Tradition Continues

The sixty-fifth Georgia Youth Assembly session at the State Capitol was concluded with remarks by Bob Travis remembering the thirty delegates and two advisers who perished in the 1946 Winecoff Hotel fire. Awards to the current delegates are given in their honor. Travis made his remarks to the young delegates from the well of the Georgia House of Representatives. They were recorded and posted on the popular website: youtube. Click here.

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.