Robert Cromie's The Great Chicago Fire
Robert Cromie, author of The Great Chicago Fire, was very informed on the subject of this book because of his excellent educational background and later careers. Cromie was a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio. During his college years he mainly studied history. He would later join the Chicago Tribune where he would become a reliable and hardworking reporter and journalist. In 1969, he began writing a column that made him the first staff writer to exhibit a liberal perspective for the Chicago Tribune that was known for its conservative viewpoint (Struzzi). The reason this fact is so important is because it helps readers understand that he was very reliable and many writers trusted Cromie when it came to writing and reporting. He was a very
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The Great Chicago Fire takes place in 1871. The fire took place from October 8, 1871 until October 10, 1871. The story begins with a helpful quote to set the mood for what was to come throughout the rest of book. Although Mrs. Leary denied any accusations towards her, it is believed to this day that her cow hit a lantern inside a wooden shed near her house. The cause has been been discussed by many reporters and was written by an anonymous reporter when he/she stated, “One dark night, - when people were in bed, Old Mrs. Leary lit a lantern in her shed; The cow kicked it over, winked its eye, and said, There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight,” quoted in the Chicago Evening Post. Mrs. Leary’s barn was located on the southside of Chicago and would later rapidly spread into the city. Since many building were constructed of wood, it was easy for the fire to spread and to do so at a fast pace. In the book it was majorly discussed how much everything was made of wood. Buildings and houses had wooden, shingle roofs and many sidewalks and roads consisted of wood. Sadly, Chicago is also known as the “Windy City” which leads to the fact that the city tended to (and still to this day) have strong winds. This helped to carry the fire later into the heart of the city which would lead to extreme damage. Chicago was also going through a drought and had not had much water for a number of days. All of these factors would aid the spread of the
The Great Chicago Fire takes place in 1871. The fire took place from October 8, 1871 until October 10, 1871. The story begins with a helpful quote to set the mood for what was to come throughout the rest of book. Although Mrs. Leary denied any accusations towards her, it is believed to this day that her cow hit a lantern inside a wooden shed near her house. The cause has been been discussed by many reporters and was written by an anonymous reporter when he/she stated, “One dark night, - when people were in bed, Old Mrs. Leary lit a lantern in her shed; The cow kicked it over, winked its eye, and said, There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight,” quoted in the Chicago Evening Post. Mrs. Leary’s barn was located on the southside of Chicago and would later rapidly spread into the city. Since many building were constructed of wood, it was easy for the fire to spread and to do so at a fast pace. In the book it was majorly discussed how much everything was made of wood. Buildings and houses had wooden, shingle roofs and many sidewalks and roads consisted of wood. Sadly, Chicago is also known as the “Windy City” which leads to the fact that the city tended to (and still to this day) have strong winds. This helped to carry the fire later into the heart of the city which would lead to extreme damage. Chicago was also going through a drought and had not had much water for a number of days. All of these factors would aid the spread of the