A statue honoring the victims of the St. Anthony Hospital fire and those who bravely responded to the disaster has been erected in Effingham.
A large crowd gathered outside of HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital Sunday to get a first look at the statue memorializing the historic fire. The highly anticipated ceremony took place 10 days after the 75th anniversary of the fire which claimed 76 lives and left many others injured.
The statue now sits in front of the Prairie Heart Institute, near the hospital’s Healing Garden.
“The strength of the Effingham community has always been amazing,” HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital President and CEO Chad Markham said during the ceremony. “In the wake of such tragedy, you rallied, and this community, through generosity and grit, built this hospital behind me.”
The statue, which is based off of a design by local artist Jamie Stang Ellis, depicts a nurse holding a newborn baby, an image that is meant to honor the lives of the newborns killed in the fire and the nurses who died while trying desperately to save them.
“The names of those who perished are embedded in the bronze plaques on either side of the base of the statue, and on the front of the statue is a short message on why we thought it was important to undertake this task,” Effingham Retired Volunteer Firefighters Association Vice President Jim Wolters said during the ceremony. “And on the back of the base is the inscription recognizing our organization, the city of Effingham and HSHS, who were all major players in this endeavor.”
The Effingham Retired Volunteer Firefighters Association began discussing plans for the statue in November of 2023. These plans were made in coordination with Effingham Fire Department Executive Secretary Jenn Alwardt and Effingham City Commissioner Libby Moeller who brought the idea to the Effingham City Council which approved a $15,000 contribution for the project.
The idea to memorialize the fire’s 75th anniversary with a statue came from one of the members of the Effingham Retired Volunteer Firefighters Association, Gary Poynter.
The group raised the $40,000 it needed for the statue in just a matter of months, and the names of each donor are engraved on bricks surrounding the statue.
“We’ve done a few community projects, but this is our biggest by far,” Effingham Retired Volunteer Firefighters Association President Nick Althoff said in an interview after the ceremony. “It worked out well.”
At the beginning of the ceremony, attendees took part in a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the fire, and the colors were presented by an honor guard composed of members of Effingham American Legion Post 120, Effingham VFW Post 1769 and Effingham DAV Chapter 7.
“Being such a somber matter, understand that we do not want this referred to as a celebration, but rather a memorial to all involved in this tragedy,” Wolters said during the ceremony. “Almost everyone in the county and the surrounding area, actually everyone in the United States, was affected in some way, shape or form by this tragedy.”
Wolters discussed how the fire transformed national fire codes and Effingham’s fire department. These changes improved the overall safety of buildings and has likely prevented countless tragedies.
“The water resources were not sufficient, and the fire equipment was inadequate to fight a fire of this magnitude,” Wolters said.
Effingham Mayor Mike Schutzbach spoke on behalf of the city during the ceremony, praising the community’s “endless acts of kindness, valor and faithfulness” during and after the fire.
“Together, our community suffered, grieved and prayed,” Schutzbach said. “I am honored to help pay tribute to the memorial of lives lost, lives saved and families forever changed.”
Also during the ceremony, Greg Sapp of Premier Broadcasting, who acted as the master of ceremonies Sunday, acknowledged the last known living survivor of the fire, Anita Sidener, 97, of St. Elmo.
“We’re glad that she could be here with us today,” Sapp said.
After being unveiled, the statue was blessed by the hospital’s chaplain, the Rev. Adam Prichard.
“We pray that this statue be blessed, that all who look upon it remember the sacrifices of those who responded to the fire,” Prichard said. “We pray that we may remember those who died in this horrible tragedy, and we pray, again, that we may use it to galvanize us, that we may again be convicted to reach out to hands in need, that we may serve and share with one another.”
In an interview after the event, Markham said he thought it would be important to hold some type of event in recognition of the fire’s 75th anniversary, and he wants to ensure that the community never forgets the events of April 4, 1949.
“It’s a pretty vivid memory for a lot of folks,” he said. “It’s good to remember the people that risked their lives to save others.”
Also after the event, Wolters said he was pleasantly surprised to see just how many people gathered outside of the hospital to catch a glimpse of the statue.
“It still marvels me how outstanding it really is,” he said of the statue. “Words can’t describe it.”
“It’s something that I did not believe that we could pull off.”
Among those who stuck around after the unveiling to get a closer look at the statue were Kelli Sanders of Mt. Zion, her father, Ed Sanders of Mt. Zion, and her uncle, Ralph Riley of Cowden. Ralph Riley and Ed Sanders are nephews of Fern Riley, one of the nurses who died while trying to save newborn babies during the fire.
“To me, she was a sister really,” Ed Sanders said.
Kelli Sanders explained that the statue now serves as a reminder of her family’s connection to what is arguably the most significant event to ever occur in Effingham.
“For me, I obviously never got the chance to meet her, but I grew up hearing my dad talk about her because he remembers her,” she said.