Hi Cam. Thanks for this and interesting about your family's personal connection to the fire. I remember the famous supper club. Growing up, my family would occasionally go there for special occasions. When I was in grad school at UC in my early 20s, I got a gig as a stringer for the then-NYTimes Detroit bureau chief to do some initial groundwork covering the Who concert stampede until he got to town. He was also curious about the supper club fire 2 years earlier. There hadn't been much in-depth reporting about what instigated that fire, beyond fire code violations and overcapacity, and he suspected arson. He enlisted me to do some research for what he hoped would be a book. In those days, pre-Internet, research meant going to the library. I followed some breadcrumbs and found enough to support further reporting. When I presented my initial findings to the reporter, he saw that too, suspected coordinated foul play, and worried that we were crossing over into something that could into dangerous territory--for me in particular--so called me off the case.
Yes Cam, Moock Rd. was one of the main roads being used that tragic night. I think the only one in our family who slept was your 9-month-old brother. Several of the people had been patrons at your grandparents Wischer's Cafe in Covington. I remember how I felt seeing their names on the list of victims.
Hi Cam. Thanks for this and interesting about your family's personal connection to the fire. I remember the famous supper club. Growing up, my family would occasionally go there for special occasions. When I was in grad school at UC in my early 20s, I got a gig as a stringer for the then-NYTimes Detroit bureau chief to do some initial groundwork covering the Who concert stampede until he got to town. He was also curious about the supper club fire 2 years earlier. There hadn't been much in-depth reporting about what instigated that fire, beyond fire code violations and overcapacity, and he suspected arson. He enlisted me to do some research for what he hoped would be a book. In those days, pre-Internet, research meant going to the library. I followed some breadcrumbs and found enough to support further reporting. When I presented my initial findings to the reporter, he saw that too, suspected coordinated foul play, and worried that we were crossing over into something that could into dangerous territory--for me in particular--so called me off the case.
I was just looking and I see that a former Cincy Enquirer reporter followed those breadcrumbs decades later and published, in 2020, a story that explores mob influence in that fire, exactly what my research was pointing to. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/12/03/forbidden-fruit-beverly-hills-supper-club-fire-peter-bronson/3782061001/
Yes Cam, Moock Rd. was one of the main roads being used that tragic night. I think the only one in our family who slept was your 9-month-old brother. Several of the people had been patrons at your grandparents Wischer's Cafe in Covington. I remember how I felt seeing their names on the list of victims.
Such a terrible night...