Last November I wrote about the 50th anniversary of the explosion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on Halloween night, October 31, 1963. I shared my personal story of the event from the experience of my brother, who was a young firefighter, the 7th to arrive on the scene from the pool of emergency responders from as far away as Terre Haute and Richmond. I sparked memories for many readers as you commented to me later. I thought you might be interested in what followed after the article. For those of you who missed that article let me recap by saying the explosion was caused by a propane tank in the storage pit under the seats in the southeastern corner of the coliseum. 4,300 people were attending Holiday on Ice, an annual ice show. People, seats, concrete, steel and debris were propelled loosening walls and flooring which caved creating a 50 foot wide crater down to the storage pit. Spectators were hurled into the crater or flown out onto the ice. Bodies were trapped and mangled. A second explosion created a fireball as high as the rafters. People were severely burned. The cold ice became a morgue as bodies were covered with blankets. Seventy-four people died and many hundred were injured. The newspapers reported that it was the worst disaster in city history, possibly state history. My story was about how the city moved on with little memorial or tribute to the victims. On the 40th anniversary a plaque was installed to commemorate the tragedy. It had been a hard recovery for my brother who needed closure. He came back home to Indianapolis to see the plaque and found disappointment. He felt that it was not historic with details and it was too generic. He thought it should be in a prominent place not in some hallway corner. He was saddened that this was the best our city could do and that it took 40 years to do it. But move forward 10 more years to last Halloween. Last October 31st the rain and thunderstorms were so severe that Trick-or-Treat was postponed by a day. Sadly, the 50th anniversary memorial that was planned was rained on. It had to be held outdoors because the Coliseum was under renovation and gutted. It passed quietly by me or I would have attended because every Halloween is a reminder of that horrible night. I learned of it later when Cindy Hoye, Executive Director of the Indiana State Fairgrounds, contacted me in November in response to the article I had written here. She provided pictures of the ceremony. She invited me to come to her office where she would take me on a tour of the construction. When I met her she introduced me to others and with hard hat and safety glasses we went across the street from her office to see the renovation underway. I am not going to go into details here. I will say that they are months ahead of schedule and I believe the unveiling will be next month. I will leave the media to share with you the wonders they have done. I don't want to be a spoiler. It is beautiful and remains historic while being updated to our modern needs. Cindy has been with the fairgrounds for over 25 years. She did not experience the explosion but she did experience the recent collapse of the outdoor concert stage. I came to learn and understand how such disasters impact from within. I don't think people realized how such an experience would impact the first responders. In such times our hearts seem to pour out to the injured and the families. On my visit I learned how much a family is within the employment of the fairgrounds. I saw tears well up in their eyes when they discussed their most recent disaster. As a group, they rallied together and are working through healing. Last month a family of six died in a house fire in Indianapolis and there was much focus on the grief experienced by the firefighters. When touring the reconstruction I did not have my bearings so I asked them to point to the corner of the building that exploded 50 years ago. They showed me where in the front lobby they are positioning the memorial plaque. I am grateful for the kindness and compassion that was expressed to me on behalf of my brother and all of the first responders-the ones that were and are silently in the background of healing.

On this visit I went back in time to concerts, circuses and ice skating with my grandfather. He was a big deal figure skater there who helped shape the skating clubs. New memories will be made now and the excitement of what is to come and the pride of pulling it all together was so evident as I was given this private showing. I know they can't wait to be interviewed and televised as they show this stunning renovation to the people of Indiana. They have worked very hard and with great attention to historical detail. You're going to love it!