HUB History - Our Favorite Stories from Boston History

Enjoy two classic stories this week. First up is the story of the Cocoanut Grove fire. In November 1942, Boston was on a wartime footing, business was booming, and the streets were packed with soldiers and sailors on their way to fronts around the world. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, a fire broke out at the popular Cocoanut Grove nightclub, and in the moments that followed, 492 people were killed, making it Boston’s most deadly disaster. After that, the podcast visits December 1917, when another world war raged in Europe. When confusing reports of a disaster to the north reached Boston, the city sprang into action, loading a special train with doctors, nurses, and medical supplies. After the most massive explosion before the advent of the atom bomb, Boston rushed relief to the town of Halifax. In return, they send us a Christmas tree each year.

Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/281/

Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

We have disasters on the mind because of the terrible, deadly fires on Maui. We just replayed a story about how deeply connected Boston is to Lahaina in episode 280, but if you want to hear it on its own, you can go back to episode 220 to learn how the ancient royal dynasty of Maui had its seat in Lahaina, how King Kamehameha moved his royal court to Lahaina after conquering Maui, and how whalers, merchants, and Congregational missionaries from Boston gathered there during the colonial era. The survivors need food, clean water, and housing in the immediate short term, and they will have to rebuild their lives from scratch in one of the most expensive places in the country. Please consider donating toward Maui relief. I would recommend the Maui Food Bank, to help families in need, or the Maui Humane Society, who are reuniting lost pets with their families, feeding homeless animals, and providing veterinary care.

PT-109

• A 2015 history of PT-109 from the US Navy History and Heritage Command
• “Survival,” by John Hersey
• Letter from Kohei Hanami, via JFK Presidential Library
• August 1943 memo by the survivors of PT-109, via JFK Presidential Library
• A 1961 history of PT-109 by the US Navy Division of Naval History
• Joseph Kennedy’s correspondence about PT-109, via JFK Presidential Library
• “Kennedy Lauds Men, Disdains ‘Hero Stuff’,” Boston Globe, Jan 11, 1944
• “Kennedy’s Son Is Hero In Pacific As Destroyer Splits His PT Boat,” New York Times, Aug 20, 1943
• Ambassador Caroline Kennedy marks 80 years with a mile swim.
• All photos public domain as works of the US government

JFK at the helm of PT-109 PT-105, as sister ship of PT-109