EFFINGHAM — Marylene Weishaar is here today to share firsthand memories of her family's connection to the April 4, 1949 fire that destroyed St. Anthony Hospital and claimed 77 lives.

Nov. 11—Linda Ruholl recently published a 485-page book titled "The St. Anthony's Hospital Fire of 1949: Assessment-Analysis-Consequences" and had a book signing on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the ...

The blaze that torched the original St. Anthony Hospital in Effingham on April 4, 1949, is one such memory. The inferno claimed 77 lives, including a dozen infants and their 22-year-old nurse ...

Sisters from St. Mary’s Hospital, Decatur, were called to duty at the Effingham fire early on April 5, 1949. Food, clothing and medicants were taken to the scene.