Editorial

November 16, 1989 – our day of infamy

Posted 11/13/19

We remember the day as being unseasonably mild for November, almost balmy. Then came the thick black clouds, the heavy rains and then the wind.

Some 125 students were having lunch in the …

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Editorial

November 16, 1989 – our day of infamy

Posted

We remember the day as being unseasonably mild for November, almost balmy. Then came the thick black clouds, the heavy rains and then the wind.

Some 125 students were having lunch in the cafeteria of the East Coldenham Elementary School that Thursday, when the worst thing imaginable occurred. Tornado winds struck the school and the south wall of the cafeteria came crashing down. Seven young lives were lost, 19 others were injured, and many more lives were forever changed.

“It was absolutely the worst thing you can imagine – when your worst fears are realized,” Assistant Fire Chief Anthony Trapini said at the time. “I never want to see this again.”

Thirty years have passed since that horrible day, but the names of the young lives lost remain etched in our hearts and memory: Amy Innis, 8; Joanna Lichtler, 7; Larae Litchhult, 8; Peter Orsino, 8; Charles Scotto, 7; Adam J. Soltis, 7; Maria Stuhmer, 8. In yet another cruel twist of fate, an auto accident in front of the school barely 72 hours later, would claim the life of Rosalie Sbordone, 5, another Coldenham child.

As we have witness time and time again, a tragedy of this magnitude will leave a community shaken and united. The clergy members who offered words of condolences at the community memorial service offered praise for the first responders who responded to the scene, the high school and college students who rushed to donate blood and the community members who donated meals, money and other provisions for the families involved.

But grief can divide as well as united us. We leaned that a year later during the planning of the memorial garden outside the school. Some parents of survivors opposed it, for fear that it would unleash traumatic memories of that fateful day.

It is hard to believe that an entire generation has passed, since the horrific East Coldenham tragedy. The young victims would be adults today, were it not for the tragedy. Some might even have been the parents of East Coldenham students of their own.

After 30 years, we are no closer to understanding why fate chose this path. We can only restate the obvious: life is precious and we must learn to treasure it and each other.