A Jeweler, a Woman Diver, a Candy Butcher: Eastland’s Unlikely Trio

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The untold stories of the 1915 Eastland disaster continue to surface over a century later through forgotten newspaper accounts and overlooked connections. These rediscovered narratives reveal how this Chicago tragedy touched lives across America in ways rarely documented.

FEATURED STORIES

• H.L. Bening, a West Virginia jeweler who witnessed the disaster while in Chicago on business, providing a powerful emotional account
• • The "candy butchers" who sold refreshments aboard the Eastland and survived to share their stories of the capsizing and rescue efforts 
• • "Little Elsie," a professional high diver who believed her brother died in the disaster, though research suggests this may have been mistaken

What I Learned

• The forgotten profession of "candy butchers" - traveling vendors who sold treats, souvenirs and newspapers on trains, in theaters, and aboard excursion boats
• How the golden age of women high divers represented women defying both gravity and societal expectations in the early 1900s
• Why these rediscovered accounts matter in understanding how history ripples outward beyond headlines

Resources

• First Ever Women's Diving Competition - Stockholm 1912 Olympics

Newspaper Citations 

• Washington Herald, August 8, 1915.
• Beckley Messenger (Beckley, West Virginia), August 3, 1915.
• Richmond Times-Dispatch, July 25, 1915.
• The Day Book (Chicago), August 14, 1915.

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