On Jan. 3, 1924 at 3:30 a.m., 42 people lost their lives after a fire and explosion at the Corn Products Refining Company in Pekin.
100 years later, successor company Alto Ingredients continues to process corn by the river. Dozens of representatives of the company, local first responders and descendants of those lost in the explosion came together to commemorate the tragedy Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
The memorial starts with a book, or more specifically, a project to create a book.
Alto Ingredients’ Vice President of Quality and Sustainability Stacy Swanson was tasked with finding out more about who was injured in the explosion. She could not turn up a lot of information, so she turned to her aunt, Verna Hankins.
“She worked so closely with the Tazewell County Historical and Genealogical Society,” said Swanson. “I thought ‘well, they may have more information.’ So she reached out to them, started digging and I think it turned into a full time job for a couple months really putting the book together.”
The result is a 164 page, spiral-bound tome. Hankins says it doesn't really have a name, but the cover page reads: “1924-2024: Remembering Those Who Died and Suffered.” Between the dates is a picture of forget-me-not flowers. A note on the inside cover reads: “Giving someone forget-me-nots means you will always remember them and keep them in your thoughts. We will always remember the ‘men of 1924.’”
“It was a lot of computer research, a lot of time at the genealogy library,” said Hankins. “I went through newspaper articles, Corn Products magazines and newsletters. Just lots of research time.”
The breadth of Hankins' research is clear in the book: newspaper citations come from as far as the Rock Island Argus and the Decatur Herald, an appendix at the back lists the burial sites of the men lost that day and pictures range from historic to contemporary photographs of descendants.
But, for Hankins, the crowning achievement is the preservation of life stories. For example, Edward Livingston Bearden. She says Bearden had a difficult life: he lost a twin brother at one, broke a hip at four and lost his mother at ten.
“He was working at the plant at the age of 44 when the fire came and took the fingers off of both hands,” Hankins said. “He lived with those injuries for 35 years, for the rest of his life. So that’s one man who suffered greatly.”
But how did this explosion that created so much suffering happen in the first place?
Hankins says answers came from a lengthy and intensive investigation by Bureau of Chemistry Engineer David James Price. According to the book, the federal government assigned Price the same day of the disaster.
“All kinds of rumors were presented about how it could have started. Somebody smoked, someone dropped a match, something did this,” said Hankins. “There were five theories. They chased them all down.”
The cause of the disaster was found in the plant’s conveyor system. An improperly lubricated bearing, under the continuous duress of the conveyer, rose to such a temperature it ignited its wooden casing. The plant processed corn starch, which means combustible starch dust hangs in the air and on surfaces. A load of starch lit on fire after being dumped on the burning cover, consequently igniting the dust in the air and causing the devastating blast.
Todd Benton, Alto Ingredients Vice President of Operations, says the industry has taken measures to avoid similar tragedies.
“They’re typically not built inside anymore, grain legs, conveyance systems like that are often outside,” he said. “They all have dust collection systems on them, so they’ll actually pick the dust up and manage it throughout the conveyance systems. The conveyance grain legs and elevators themselves have systems that monitor belt alignments and temperatures.”
In a worst case scenario, Benton says buildings are designed to vent the aftermath of an explosion.
While modern technology would have alleviated some of the challenges faced by workers and first responders in 1924, some remain. It hit negative 23 degrees that morning and the book describes firefighters slipping and sliding on the frozen water they tried to extinguish the blaze with.
Pekin Fire Chief Trent Reeise says it's a problem firefighters still face in extreme cold.
“Cold weather is going to be spills and falls and a lot of issues, a lot of broken hoses,” he said. “It’ll freeze the pumps in the truck as well. So it’s something that we have to, today, a hundred years later, still battle.”
But, Reeise says there are lessons to take away from the incident for modern first responders.
“Fire prevention, inspections, things of that nature,” he said. “We’re in these facilities several times a year, through our partnerships. Where we can help each other see issues that may come about.”
Alto CEO and President Bryon McGregor says by putting the work in to document the victims of the explosion, the company is being a good steward of its place in the community.
“We’re building something more than just selling products, right?” he said. “We’re selling, you know, it’s important to maintain a culture and a community and that’s part of it.”
Most importantly for Hankins, the book documents the resilience and sacrifice of those injured and wounded. One man, Friedrich Fornoff, returned to work at the plant for 46 years before retiring after losing fingers on both hands. As the book puts it: they carried on the best way they knew how.
“My focus going in was to find out about these men who had died and who were injured.” Hankins said.
A passage from the book's conclusion: “They were what Americans are- diverse in backgrounds, in religious beliefs, in levels of education, in physical stature, in occupations. In the dark, pre-dawn hours of January 3, 1924, this diverse group of Americans shared a terrible and terrifying common end. Their experiences should never be forgotten."
A number of the men were buried under a single memorial headstone in Pekin’s Lakeside Cemetery, left missing or unidentified. As part of the 100 year remembrance, Alto and the community will add a plaque reading: “On Jan. 3, 1924, the Corn Products Refining Company in Pekin, Illinois had a large starch dust explosion and fire that took the lives of 42 employees and impacted many more. This monument honors those unidentified and missing.”
