Axios Remebers The Winecoff Fire on 78th Anniversary

Thomas Wheatley has written a piece on Atlanta's Winecoff Hotel fire and its vital role in advancing fire safety standards around the world. 

Read it on Axois here or MSN here.

Janet Cox & Winecoff Authors To Speak Oct. 8th

Janet Cox, the daughter of Winecoff fire survivor Dorothy Moen Cox will speak to the Dekalb County Historical Society Tuesday October 8th at 6:30 p.m. She will share photos, videos and memorabilia of her mother's incredible story of survival and lengthy recovery following America's deadliest hotel fire in 1946. She will be joined by Winecoff Fire co-authors, Sam Heys and Allen B. Goodwin. Details are here.

Beloved Georgia Minister Truett Gannon Passes

Rev. Dr. J. Truett Gannon, a beloved Georgia Baptist minister and eyewitness to the 1946 Winecoff Hotel fire died July 18, 2024. Services were held at Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, GA Thursday July 25th.

Here is his Winecoff Hotel fire story as told by Winecoff Fire co-authors Sam Heys and Allen B. Goodwin in 2011:

The phone was ringing. Sixteen year old Truett Gannon awoke in a strange bed in a strange city. His bed in Atlanta's Henry Grady Hotel was only a block up Peachtree Street from the Winecoff Hotel. The loud mayhem already underway there hadn't disturbed him but the phone call did.

Groggy, he answered to hear his sister's voice describe a situation he could hardly believe: a fire, a friend injured, others unaccounted for. His help was needed. His sister urged him to pull himself together and get down Peachtree Street.

Young Gannon walked up on the fire scene and became an eyewitness to America's deadliest hotel fire. Shaken, he made his way to nearby St. Joseph's Infirmary on Courtland Street. There he found his injured friend, Ed Kiker Williams. Ed told him of his narrow escape from the fire.

He also told Gannon that he was certain his mother, Boisclair, and little sister, Clair, had already died before he'd fallen out the window and miraculously landed on a horizontal ladder stretched across the back alley behind the hotel. Together, through Ed's hospital room window, they watched the Winecoff Hotel continue to burn.

When Gannon's sister arrived, she told him to go look for Ed's father, John, who was on his way from Cordele, Georgia, the hometown of both the Williams and the Gannons. She told him to take her car.

Gannon found John Williams near the State Capitol and flagged him down to pull over. He faced the desperate father and said, "Mr. Williams, Ed is in St. Joseph's Hospital. It's on the left just up the street." Then came the question he couldn't find the heart to truthfully answer: John Williams asked, "What about my wife and daughter?" Gannon responded meekly, "Mr. Williams, I don't know." He knew from the look on Williams' face he'd failed the man. He felt also that he'd failed one of life's tests, that he'd been weak and self-absorbed when the moment called for strength and compassion.

The ride home to Cordele with his sister was a quiet one. The trauma of what he'd seen at the fire scene, the enormity of the tragedy and the personal angst he felt weighed on him heavily. That night peace descended on Truett Gannon in an epiphany. He would make it up to John Williams, prove himself capable and worthy of guiding others through times of grief. He committed himself that night to becoming a minister. The next day in church he announced his intentions.

Truett Gannon became an ordained minister in June of 1948.

For the next four decades he served Baptist churches throughout Georgia. His strength became ministering to those grieving the loss of a loved one. But he rarely spoke of the roots of his calling to the ministry, and never publicly. Then in 1986, at the 40th anniversary of the fire, he explained in a sermon the impact of Dec. 7, 1946 on his life. 

Then in 1996, on the 50th anniversary of the Winecoff fire, Gannon told his story in a lengthy interview in the Christian Index, a statewide Baptist newspaper. And in 2007, when the Winecoff reopened as the Ellis Hotel, Gannon was there, blessing the building and offering a prayer for the survivors and victims' families, who had gathered there that evening.

Today Truett Gannon, 94, was a retired Baptist minister and Mercer University theology professor.

The Winecoff fire affected every eyewitness for the rest of their lives but few as powerfully as Truett Gannon.

Winecoff Fire 77th Anniversary Today

 

Atlanta, Georgia: In the early morning hours of December 7, 1946 a suspicious fire tore through the Winecoff Hotel claiming the lives of 119 people. Dozens more were injured. Despite the enormous tragedy of the event, the fire impacted fire safety codes worldwide for the good. The building still stands at 176 Peachtree Street. More from The Atlanta-Journal-Constitution here. And from WSB-TV Atlanta here.

Sam Heys Pens Rosalynn Carter Tribute For AJC

See today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, page A15, for a moving personal tribute to Rosalynn Carter written by Winecoff Fire co-author, Sam Heys. Also on AJC.com.

The Winecoff Fire - New Media Editions

The Winecoff Fire: The Untold Story of America's Deadliest Hotel Fire is also available in e-book and audio-book editions. 

The e-book is here.

The audio-book is available on Audible, Spotify, Google Play, Chirp, Scribd and Rakuten Kobo.

Winecoff Fire Authors Speak at Georgia Tech

Winecoff Fire co-authors Allen B. Goodwin (L) and Sam Heys (R)

Sam Heys points to firefighter Richard Ellington using his ladder to cross a ten-foot alleyway into room 1518 of the Winecoff Hotel. The authors spoke to Dr. Matthew Hild's history class at Georgia Tech February 28th. 

Who Was She?

Ruth Powell, 16

When Winecoff Fire reader, Ashley Webb, 35, found an old photo among her grandmother's effects she started asking questions but got few answers from her family. "She was killed in a hotel fire," she was told. No further details were forthcoming so she reached out to winecoff.org. We determined her photo is of her grandmother's sister, Winecoff fire victim, Ruth Powell, 16. Ruth was in Atlanta on December 7, 1946 as a Youth Assembly delegate from Bainbridge, Ga. 

We arranged a phone call between Ashley and Sara Parker, 92, who knew Ruth Powell well. The two women spoke for fifty minutes and Sara shared her wonderful and vivid memories of Ruth Powell.  "Ruth was just the sweetest and funniest, always in the best mood, laughing and fun," person to be with. Ashley was thankful for the call and the women made plans to meet. More here.

Ashley Webb's e-mail inquiry to winecoff.org is here.

Gainesville High School Plaque Re-Dedicated

A brief but moving ceremony was held at Gainesville High School December 7th to re-dedicate the school's plaque honoring the memory of the four senior girls - Gwen McCoy, Ella Sue Mitchum,  Suzanne Moore and Francis Thompson - who perished in the 1946 Winecoff Hotel fire. 

New construction on campus has forced the plaque to be moved a few times over the years. This latest outside placement is in a prominent space on campus and is easily visible to visitors. Originally a wall plaque, it's now affixed to a large smoothed stone and looks excellent. 

Listen to Sandra Parrish's WSB Radio News report here. See Berndt Petersen's WSB-TV News report here. See Paola Suro's WXIA-TV News report here.

Gainesville, Georgia Plaque Re-Dedication December 7th

Winecoff fire victims Suzanne Moore, Ella Sue Mitchum, Gwen McCoy & Francis Thompson

The Gainesville Times reports a brief ceremony is planned at Gainesville High School December 7th at 4:30 p.m. to re-dedicate the plaque honoring the memory of the four senior girls who perished in the Winecoff fire. New construction on campus has forced the plaque to be moved a few times over the years. The public is invited. The Gainesville Times notice is here.