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| This photo of the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire hangs on the wall of the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. |
On
the night of October 8th, 1871, the Great Chicago fire began. The
sight of the flames spreading as far north and south as they could see was both
terrifying and awesome. Emma joined her friends at the window where they could
watch the blaze coming ever closer.
“We saw a veering wind, fearing that the
fire might be blown one more point westward, and so destroy the entire city,”
wrote Emma. The wind held its northward course and the river helped spare the
west side of the city. The devastation, however, was widespread.
Among
the city’s 300,000 population, as many as 100,000 residents were left homeless
by the great fire. Of these, many were the poorest immigrants, already barely
able to meet their families’ basic needs before the tragedy. The area of
destruction spread four miles and long and nearly one mile wide. One hundred
and twenty-five people were confirmed dead – although some thought as many as
300 had perished in the blaze and smoke. The fire raged for three days, finally
subsiding only when the heavens opened and a heavy rain fell upon the charred,
blackened ruins that had once been Chicago.
Many
people, including Emma Dryer, lost everything in the Chicago fire. “Every
article of clothing except what I was wearing at the time was burned in the
fire,” she wrote. Emma’s home, her books, and her belongings were completely
destroyed. Her life, however, was spared.
Rather
than being discouraged by the tragedy, the resolute schoolteacher felt a
confirmation of God’s call upon her life and immediately headed to work. Chicago’s
mayor called together all the women who were available to help. They met at a
church on the west side of the city and began to organize the task ahead.
“We
were all at once busy, ministering to the homeless, the sick and the
suffering,” wrote Emma. With her leadership, the YWCA reorganized itself,
temporarily, as the Chicago Women’s Aid Society because of the needs presented
by the fire. She designated certain rooms to serve as the distribution
headquarters for clothing as donations came in from across the country.
"I was unexpectedly forced into work of various kinds. It crowded us from every side," wrote Emma. Her abilities to organize and conduct schools helped her to react quickly to the overwhelming needs caused by the fire. She founded an employment agency, a women's aid office, a food/clothing and toy bank, and began an industrial education program at the YWCA.
- excerpted from When Others Shuddered: Eight Women Who Refused to Give Up. Available on Amazon February 2014. http://www.amazon.com/When-Others-Shuddered-Eight-Refused/dp/0802410782/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376520053&sr=1-1&keywords=jamie+janosz
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