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Death came knocking three times—but Bertha Behrend Healy wasn't home.
In this episode, I uncover the jaw-dropping story of a woman who narrowly escaped not one, not two, but THREE of America's deadliest disasters:
- The Johnstown Flood (1889) - A catastrophic dam collapse that killed 2,200+ people while Bertha's family fled to higher ground just in time
- The Iroquois Theatre Fire (1903) - 602 victims perished when Chicago's "fireproof" theatre became a deathtrap, but 11-year-old Bertha's mother kept her home that frigid night
- The Eastland Disaster (1915) - Moments from boarding, Bertha and her husband watched in horror as the steamship capsized in the Chicago River, drowning over 800 people—including six members of the family next door
FAMILY HISTORIES INTERTWINED
In this personal episode, I share the remarkable parallels between my own family history and Bertha's:
- Both our families survived the devastating Johnstown Flood of 1889
- Both fled Pennsylvania for Chicago seeking safety from disaster
- Both families were touched by the Eastland tragedy (my great-aunt perished while Bertha narrowly escaped)
- The shared grief that travels through generations—disaster memories that become part of our family identities
WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER
- Bertha's haunting firsthand account: "Bert! Bert! Please help me!" -- The desperate cries that followed her for decades
- How a traffic delay saved Bertha and her husband from being on the doomed Eastland
- Parallel journeys: How my family and Bertha's family both survived the Johnstown Flood, relocated to Chicago seeking safety, only for both families to be touched by the Eastland disaster
- Why Bertha developed a lifelong fear of water so powerful she once abandoned a trip rather than board a ship
- The remarkable resilience of a woman who maintained her sense of humor despite witnessing so much tragedy
SHARED TRAUMA ACROSS GENERATIONS
The episode explores how disasters create ripples through time, becoming part of our identity even generations later—a shared emotional inheritance that connects my story with Bertha's in ways neither of us could have imagined.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
"When that sense of humor is gone, everything's gone." - Bertha Behrend H