100 Years And One Day

In 1911, in New York City, 146 young immigrant women lost their lives.  The shirt factory they worked in was on the 8th, 9th, and 10th floor.  Doors were locked to keep them on task.  The fire escape wasn't sturdy enough to hold all the women trying to get out.  Terrified young ladies leaped to their deaths from the windows.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire happened one hundred years ago yesterday.  From this tragedy, many labor laws were passed, and regulations and rules were created to ensure the safety of workers in factory settings.

This historical event really captured my attention when I was fairly young.  Perhaps because of the ages of the victims, they were so near my own age.  Maybe because these were primarily immigrant girls who were working to discover their own American Dream.  Or maybe just because it was such a needless tragedy. 

One of the main cemeteries where these victims were buried in New York is seeing the headstones erected for these girls washing away the proof of their stories.  We take for granted the labor restrictions that this fire brought about, so we tend not to think of these victims much any more. I hope that it stays in the history books, but even those are being rewritten at an alarming rate.

I'm grateful to know this story.  And I am grateful that people, at least in NYC, commemorated this tragedy.  The longer ago it becomes, the less it will be recognized and remembered.