Even now, 68 years later, Arthur Pavlo cries at the memory of his older sister’s death in a horrific trainwreck near the Swampscott railroad station.
The wreck occurred Feb. 28, 1956, and claimed the lives of 14 people and injured nearly 300 others. One of the persons killed was19 year-old Pauline Pavlo, a passenger who was on her way to work at the law firm of Hale, Sanderson, Burns, and Morton in Boston.
Arthur Pavlo, who has lived in Peabody all his life, keeps his older sister’s, and the other victims’, memories alive by spreading remembrance of the tragedy nearly seven decades later.
“Everyone was told if you have any loved ones to go to Lynn Hospital,” Arthur Pavlo recalled.
At only 15 years old, Arthur Pavlo struggled to comprehend the situation.
“One or two or maybe five reporters gathered around me,” Pavlo said. “They started asking me questions. My brother-in-law came over and then he shooed them away… I thought I was a big boy, but I was a kid. Especially in a situation like that.”
According to Arthur Pavlo, it took multiple days after the crash for his family to learn that his sister had died. He credits his oldest sister, Dororthy, for showing maturity and leading her siblings during an unthinkably difficult time.
“She took the brunt of it because she had to identify, not the body, but pieces,” Arthur Pavlo said.
The wreck occurred when the train, which was reportedly going at an unsafe speed for the weather conditions, collided with another that was stopped.
“It was an awful snowstorm,” Arthur Pavlo said. “Bigger than the one of ’78.”
Arthur Pavlo keeps a picture of his sister on his desk along with those of his wife Maria, their three children, and nine grandchildren.
“You know, I still cry,” Arthur Pavlo said. “I’m still crying.”
Walter Allen, Ruth Bean, Francis Boettner, Alberta Haley, Raymond Jones, Penelope Kotsovilis, Walter Lee, George Sillars, Donald Taylor Jr., Ernest Tourtellotte, Gardner Trask Sr., and George Warren Jr. are the victims who were killed in the wreck. Arthur Pavlo noted that Kotsovilis was a friend of his family.
