Dark Tide (45 page)

The Hall grandchildren had heard of the molasses flood lawsuit, and
Dark Tide
answered many of their factual questions about the case and their grandfather’s role in achieving justice for the victims. Yet they were most proud that the story portrayed the man as they remembered him. Sandra Hall Sampson Sloan summed up their collective feelings: “Your book offered us a chance to get to know Damon Hall beyond his role to us as a grandfather and to confirm our belief that he did, indeed, fight for the underdog, and was, indeed, one of Boston’s finest lawyers of the era.”

I realized after reading Sloan’s letter that even while
Dark Tide
helped these descendants fill in the blanks about their family histories, my encounters with them in 2003 and 2004 told me so much more about the real-life characters who were part of this story of nearly a century ago. One of the great thrills about writing and reading history is to feel a direct connection to the past. I am grateful to the relatives of Cam Burnap, John Callahan, Peter Curran, Flaminio Gallerani, Maria Distasio, Michael Sinnott, Patrick Breen, and Damon Everett Hall for sharing their memories and providing me with that connection. They all said
Dark Tide
did the same for them.

Thus, we have been fortunate enough to forge the strongest bond possible between writer and reader. We have learned from each other.

Stephen Puleo
May 2004

Beacon Press
25 Beacon Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02108-2892
www.beacon.org

Beacon Press books
are published under the auspices of
the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.

© 2003, 2004 by Stephen Puleo

All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America

08 07 06 05 04 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is printed on acid-free paper that meets the uncoated paper ANSI/NISO specifications for permanence as revised in 1992.

This is a work of nonfiction. All of the characters and events depicted in this book are real.

Text design by Dean Bornstein

Composition by Wilsted & Taylor Publishing Services

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Puleo, Stephen.
Dark tide : the great Boston molasses flood of 1919 / Stephen Puleo
p.  cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8070-5020-2 (cloth)
ISBN 0-8070-5021-0 (pbk.)
E-ISBN 978-0-8070-9667-3
1. Boston (Mass.)—History—1865– 2. Floods—Massachusetts—Boston—History—20th century. 3. Industrial accidents—Massachusetts—Boston—History—20th century. 4. Molasses industry—Accidents—Massachusetts—Boston—History—20th century. 5. Alcohol industry—Accidents—Massachusetts—Boston—History—20th century. I. Title.
F73.5.P97 2003
363.11′9664118—dc21
2003010433