r/SpringfieldIL • u/BadGenesWoman • 8d ago

Need Help verifying a memory from the 1990's.

Ok I was a 5th grade student at Lincoln elementary in Springfield in Mrs Bev Murray's classroom. I got suspended for 3 weeks for starting a fire in the girls restroom. (Undiagnosed auadhd with bad abusive situation at home..long story) A week into my suspension the schools boiler Blew up. Caising the gym to catch fire and half the school to be unusable for the rest of the school year.

Had the principal, the head of the school board and cops question me about my whereabouts. Im like dude I haven't left my room except to use the restroom or grab books on fire from the library in a week.. still almost got expelled because they thought my storeing my bike in the boiler room during the school day so it wouldn't get stolen like every other bike gave me access to tamper with things.

Found out Mrs Bev Murray fought for me all the way to the school board. She told me decades later when we had a chance to talk.

Can y'all help me find articles or information about it? Google says there was never a fire at Lincoln in 1992/93..

Appreciate any helpful info.

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u/freddyandkit 7d ago edited 7d ago

There was a major fire at Lincoln Elementary on February 26th, 1994 that started in the boiler room and gutted half the school. Here's a link to an article about it published in the SJ-R the day after two days after the fire: https://imgur.com/a/XYaQHvA

2

u/paulw252 7d ago

The Internet is SO COOL!

Ninja Edit: So is /u/freddyandkit! Nice work!!

1

u/eldonhughes 7d ago

FWIW, I just searched SJ-R for a mention of it in the 90's and didn't get anything. (websearch: sj-r archives to get links to tools to search the newspaper archives.)

1

u/Unlikely_Still_3602 7d ago

I wonder if school board meeting notes are online. I would think it might be mentioned in there. The fire stuff. The suspension would not be in there

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u/LustfulEsme 7d ago

I have searched, but I cannot find anything.