Sinclair Memorial Chapel Fire - 1947
The night
of September 4, 1947, perhaps the most famous date in Coe's history,
was the night Walter P. Hanson, Jr., a night watchman at Coe, set fire
to Sinclair Memorial Chapel. In order to get revenge against a student
who apparently had slapped him two days before, Hanson started the
blaze by throwing a match into a box of oily rags in the basement
directly under the organ.
According
to Harris Lamb, former coach and alumni director who was at a meeting
on campus the night of the fire, "the night watchman went around
the block, across from the Chapel. He went on the porch and started
visiting with some people there. He had already set the fire. That fire
was really heating up down there in the basement. So, by the time the
flames broke out and the fire department was called, our Sinclair
Chapel was on its way down in ashes." Hanson's original alibi reported
in the September 5 edition of the Cedar Rapids Gazette was soon
proved false by the Shaw family, with whom he had "visited" the night
of the fire. He first claimed that the floor of the chapel felt warm on
his 9 o'clock rounds, but he had actually set the fire and left the
building earlier in the evening. Once his alibi cracked, Hanson
admitted to starting the fire, and on September 17, he was sentenced to
ten years at the Iowa State Penitentiary.
The
financial loss to the college was great, especially since the chapel
had just been refurbished. Stained glass windows, sound proof
transepts, and a new lighting system had all been installed within a
year of the fire. The building was not the only thing to suffer in the
blaze; a piano, musical equipment, stage equipment, and valuable
paintings, including the portrait of the building’s namesake, T.M.
Sinclair, were lost as well. However, the October 1, 1947, Cosmos reports
of some salvaged items. Between 1 and 4 a.m., seven drama students
risked their lives to rescue several thousands of dollars worth of
costumes and theater pieces. They saved several historical and valuable
pieces, including Victorian velvets and brocades, suits of armor, and
even a grass skirt. These students also managed to salvage some flats
and backdrops from the orchestra pit behind the basement stage. One
student later explained the students' courage: after seeing the blaze
and hearing some bystanders laugh about the "great fire," they went
"down the street to Kozy Jones to commiserate with each other and drown
their sorrows in Carling's Ale. After a little fortification (about
three rounds), they decided they really should try to save some of the
theatre equipment."
The Board of
Trustees quickly organized and developed a plan for the rebuilding of
Sinclair Memorial Chapel. By early October, the Board, under the
chairmanship of Arthur Poe, had decided to build a larger building that
could meet several of the college's needs. Donations from the community
and area were already pouring in. The Young Men's Bureau of Cedar
Rapids raised $20,000, and even our infamous arch-rival Cornell donated
$110 to help in Coe's time of need. Of course, Coe students and alumni
also assisted the college. As Harris Lamb recalled, "the Cedar Rapids
people and alumni had a big sign out in front of that campus in a few
weeks and it read, 'Up From the Ashes.' And, that's how the new Chapel
was built - from the alumni who were interested in it."
The original
chapel, however, was not soon forgotten. In the June 5, 1948, Cosmos
editorial review of the 1947-48 school year, James Tisdale wrote, "This
one event has undoubtedly had more influence on happenings at Coe this
year than any other single occurrence. But thinking back to the night
of the fire, I still remember how quiet and thoughtful the onlookers
were. Maybe they, too, saw a lot of memories and traditions going up in
the flames and the smoke."
