PUTNAM VILLAGER Friday, October 31, 2008 • A3

A CCURACY Author speaks at Women’s Board event

WATCH WEBER TALKS ABOUT HER BOOK ‘TRIANGLE’
The Putnam Villager is commit- BY CHENOA PIERCE some of the more interesting feedback and
ted to accuracy in all its news VILLAGER STAFF WRITER
reviews she has received. For instance, a docu-
reports. Although numerous safe- BROOKLYN — The Day Kimball Women’s ment mentioned in the first chapter has caught
guards are in place to ensure accu- Board played host Thursday, Oct. 23, to a very the eye of many scholars, professors and histo-
rate reporting, mistakes can occur. special guest during what it hopes was the first rians who have e-mailed her asking how to get
Confirmed fact errors will be cor- of an annual event. their hands on it. Unfortunately for them, the
rected at the top corner of page A3 New York Times bestselling author Katharine document is part of the fiction.
in a timely manner. Weber paid a visit to a private residence in “It’s a novel,” she said. “I made it up.”
If you find a mistake, call Brooklyn, which featured a nearly full house of Another fictional detail from the book that
(860) 928-1818 during normal busi- people all there to hear her speak, firsthand, Weber said keeps cropping up in book reviews
ness hours. During non-business about her most recent publication Triangle, a regards money. She describes the fire scene with
fictional story based on the non-fictional money littering the streets; according to Weber,
hours, leave a message in the edi- there is no mention of money in any of the
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911.
tor’s voice mailbox. The editor will DKH Women’s Board President Paula accounts she has seen.
return your phone call. Schimmel opened the evening with a few “I made up the detail of money in the streets,”
remarks about her own family’s connection to she said.
Correction New York City in the time of the Triangle Fire. The details of the fire, however, are trustwor-
Regarding the Oct. 17 edition of the Her grandparents lived in an apartment at 97 thy.
Villager Newspapers in the article Orchard St., an apartment that is now home to “You can trust me on the fire,” she said. “… I
titled “Four new stores open at grow- the Tenement Museum, a location home to thou- think you can really trust the telling of the
ing Killingly Commons,” Tammy Ngo sands of immigrants from the mid-1800s to 1937. Chenoa Pierce photo story.”
is the human resource supervisor for On a recent trip to New York City, Schimmel When discussing the number of the dead,
Triangle author Katharine Weber reads an excerpt which was 176, Weber said she believes that
the store. Kristen Campbell is the and her husband took their granddaughter on a
from the first chapter of her critically acclaimed there more and that they were children.
store manager. walk through Washington Square, near the site
book at the Day Kimball Hospital Women’s Board’s
of what was once the Triangle Shirtwaist build- “They’re not listed in the survivors and
first annual Author’s Night.
ing. The building, looking as though it has been they’re not listed in the dead,” she said, noting

PUBLIC MEETINGS untouched since it was first built, shows no

signs of the tragedy that once occurred inside
its very walls. In fact, the building is now home worked in the offices on the 10th floor, who fled
that children did work at the factory. “I think
some of them disappeared in the ashes that
day.”
to the New York University science labs. to safety by the roof. No one notified the workers Weber ended the program with a question
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31 “That building was fireproof; what happened on the ninth floor of the building. A point of and answer session, before signing copies of her
in it wasn’t,” she said. note made by Weber was that Freedman, inter- book for all who wanted them.
Halloween ested in what had happened to those in the
After Schimmel’s remarks, Elizabeth Cressy, Some of those lucky enough to attend the
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28 president of Friends of CPFA/Artsplace Inc. offices above, fled the ninth floor, discovered event were thrilled.
and good friend of Weber’s, introduced the what they had done and followed in their path to “She’s a fabulous speaker,” said Marilyn
Recreation Commission, 6 p.m., Town guest speaker. safety. Dalimonte, of Webster, Mass. “[She’s] very
Hall chambers According to Cressy, Weber has been the first “She walked out; she walked into the rest of interesting.”
author to speak at a slew of first-time author’s her life,” she said. “It’s a dreary subject matter, but it’s a very
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 According to Weber, the Triangle Fire also
nights events for other organizations and has interesting twist to the story,” Janie Pultorak of
Inland/Wetland, 7 p.m., Town Hall cham- “set a very high bar” for those who follow. has many similarities to the Sept. 11 tragedy Dudley, Mass., said of the book.
bers Weber began her presentation by talking that, like the fire, shocked the nation and “It’s exciting to have an author here who is
about how she came to write Triangle. She said invoked change. An example she used was the published and well known,” said Kerry Morin, a
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10 it all started with the death of Rose Freedman, many who jumped to their deaths from win- member of the Woodstock Book Club. “I think it
Special Services, 7 p.m., Police the last living survivor of the Triangle dows with the hope that, just maybe, they’d was a success.”
Department Shirtwaist fire, in February 2001. It was her obit- make it out alive. She noted the fire fighters in
uaries that got the wheels in Weber’s head turn- 1911 had ladders that only reached the ninth Chenoa Pierce may be reached at (860) 928-1818,
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11 ing. floor, and she could just imagine the workers ext. 112, or by e-mail at chenoa@villagernewspa-
“Her obituaries fascinated me,” said Weber. standing in the windows with the hope of sur- pers.com.
Veterans Day Weber also began listening to any Freedman viving shining in their eyes. She compared this
Redevelopment Agency, 8 a.m., Economic interview she could get her hands on and found to a similar image of Sept. 11, only using heli-
Development Office herself in awe of what she heard. She asked her- copters instead of ladders.
Economic Development, 9 a.m., Economic self what it would be like to be in Freedman’s According to Weber, the first chapter of
Development Office shoes. Triangle was completed before Sept. 11, but the
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12 “What would it be like to be famous because tragedy “stopped me dead in my tracks for a few
you didn’t die [on that day]?” said Weber. months.” She said that she didn’t want to write
Water Pollution Control, 7 p.m., Town When plotting out her book, Weber said, the about Sept. 11 or New York City, but felt that it Sunday
Hall Board of Education conference room last thing she wanted to do was write about was prolonging the inevitable. “To write about November 2, 2008
Freedman, though she was very interested in the Triangle fire in New York and ignore Sept.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17 11 [seemed impossible]. I decided the best way to 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
her life story.
Board of Selectmen, 7 p.m., Selectmen’s “I wanted to write about the last living sur- write about Sept. 11, 2001, was to write about
Chambers, Putnam Town Hall vivor of the fire,” she said. March 25, 1911.” 260 W. Main St.
It was through Freedman’s story that Esther After she read an excerpt of that first chapter, Route 9
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18 Gottesfeld was born. Weber said she used Weber talked about response to Triangle and West Brookfield,
Freedman’s method of escape and fascinating MA

Harmony Limousine
Zoning board of Appeals, 7 p.m., Town
Hall chambers history as a guide to outline Gottesfeld, while $3.00 ADMISSION
Board of Education, 7:30 p.m., Library keeping Gottesfeld’s character original.
Media Center, Putnam Middle School Weber also talked about the fire itself, noting
that it broke out on the eighth floor. The workers Luxury
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19 on the eighth floor notified the people who Transportation
For All
Zoning Commission, 7 p.m., Town Hall
chambers Occasions SPECIAL CRAFT
Free Estimates SHOW
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24
508-347-2305 401-489-1289 Luncheon Menu
Library Board, 7 p.m., Library Closets [email protected]
Community Room Home Offices
www.gowithharmony.com 11:30–3:00
Planning Commission, 7 p.m., Town Hall Garages Member New England Livery Association
Community Room

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