100th Anniversary
The Kingsland Explosion
"Are the Germans really the ones to blame for the Kingsland Explosion?"
Audio Re-enactment
About
Actual Footage
The Kingsland Explosion was an event that took place at a munitions factory in Lyndhurst, New Jersey during World War I. On January 11, 1917, a fire in building 30 took out the entire plant along with approximately 500,000 pieces of ammunition used to support American Allies. American and Canadian companies supplied goods to the Allies giving an incentive for acts of sabotage on American soil.
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The destruction of the Canadian Car and Foundry Company in Kingsland, along with the explosion at Black Tom, was the most violent acts of terrorism committed by Germany on American soil Theory has it that the Germans were responsible for the explosion in an effort to weaken support to the Allies.
This website is dedicated to the theories and characters involved during this event. Here, you will find updated and unique points of view from four different characters’ present during the explosion. You will also find videos, pictures, and a reenacted audio recording as if the occurrence were happening in today media climate.
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The rebroadcast of the actual event will be taking place on January 11, 2017 at 3:45 P.M streamed live through the Radio Repertory Company of America's Facebook page. This event features the real radio announcement that was played 100 years ago at the exact time.
Journal Entries
Tessie McNamara
What a crazy day! I never thought I would be able to save a life, much less 1,000 lives. Every instinct in my body told me to leave and run for safety, especially as began to see the flames. But I could not do it. I knew that my life was not the only one in danger. I got on the intercom and urged everyone to get out and head for an exit. Sadly, the factory was burned to the ground, but fortunately, no lives were lost.
Frederick Hinsch
America believes it can supply our enemies with ammunition, yet remain “neutral?” Well, America, I have something planned for you. We’ll see how well you can build your ammunition without a factory.
Charles Thorne
I got the job! I am officially the employment manager for Kingsland factory. In fact, if everything goes as planned, I’ll be the last employment manager! I will soon hire Theodore Wozniak and that will teach America to not mess with us again!
Theodore Wozniak
Kingsland’s foundry is finally burned to the ground! I wrapped a gasoline covered cloth around a foot-long piece of wood and inserted into the rotating shell. They can search around all they want, but they’ll never trace it back to me. This was for Germany!
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Contact: Larry M. Weiner, APR, Fellow PRSA
Cellular Phone: (201)674-8247
SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDENTS AT MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY CREATE
AUDIO REENACTMENT OF TERRORIST ACT ON US SOIL 100 YEARS AGO
Will Be Streamed Exactly 100 Years to the Day of Terrorist Event
Montclair, NJ - On January 11, 1917, German saboteurs destroyed the Canadian Car and Foundry munitions facility in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, burning down dozens of buildings in the complex and jeopardizing the lives of more than 1,000 workers. The German action was taken to try to prevent the United States, which was neutral at that point in World War I, from supplying ammunition to the allied forces.
The immediate aftermath of the explosion is about to be streamed online as an audio reenactment at 3:45 pm on January 11, 2017, exactly one-hundred years to the minute of the actual explosion, thanks to the efforts of students in a Transmedia Projects class in the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. It will be heard on the Radio Repertory Company of America Facebook page and Sound Cloud, which produced the program, as well as the website of the MSU School of Communication and Media radio station, WMSC.
“It’s not an exact reenactment,” explains the class instructor Larry Weiner. “Obviously, radio was in its infancy in 1917. So, we had to take some liberties with that, and we also compressed some of the event’s aftermath, using interviews and actual court testimony from the real life players involved in the incident. Using the actual words is what makes this broadcast so compelling.”
The students involved in the project were Bethany Quinones, Joshua Oksman, Candice Caputo and Cesar Berrios. In addition to scripting the audio reenactment, the students also created a website (http://caputoc3.wixsite.com/kingslandexplosion) to provide additional information about the incident and the characters involved, including comments from heroine Tess McNamara, the company’s telephone operator, who is credited with saving the lives of the workers, by staying at her station and calling for evacuation even though the flames endangered her own life.
Transmedia Projects is a core course in the School of Communication and Media. Transmedia is loosely defined as cross platform storytelling, where each platform, such as Facebook or Instagram, tells a different piece of an overarching story that connects the communication channels being used in the larger narrative.
The Radio Repertory Company of America is one of the nation’s leading producers of original science fiction audio drama. It was a 2016 finalist in the Audio Publishers Association Audie competition and has won three audio awards for its work. Such stars as Kelli O’Hara, Moira Kelly, Barbara Harris, Claudia Christian and Shirley Jones have starred in RRCA dramas.
School of Communication and Media is set to open the doors on its new home, an ultra-modern, 60,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility, which claims to be the most technologically advanced broadcast and media production facility at any university in North America. The School’s production facilities will be equipped with leading-edge 4K and HD studio cameras, production switchers and monitors that will power the new multi-platform “newsroom of the future,” along with a 150-seat presentation hall, broadcast studios, an integrated media lab, and a film screening room.
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The Montclair Team
Bethany Quinones
Bethany Quinones is graduating in May with a Bachelors Degree in Communications and Media Arts with a concentration in Public Reations. She has many leadership roles on campus, where she uses her experience to drive her in a business setting. She has learned to work in different sections of Communications such as radio, television, and entertainment where she succedded earning a 4.0. Her efforts working with the Kingsland Explosion has given her the experience to explore her career in a transmedia aspect.
Candice Caputo
Candice Caputo is a graduating senior majoring in Communications in Media with a minor in Business. She has a previous degree in Musical Theater and has worked in many different platforms of theater, television production, media, and entertainment. Her contribution to this project in transmedia has given her another avenue to explore through her career in media.
Josh Oksman
Joshua Oksman is an undergraduate senior at Montclair State University. He took on the task to help create the website for the Kingsland Explosion because American history has been a passion of his since grade school and he believes that more people need to learn about Tessie and her heroic deed.
Through his internship at New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio, he has mastered skills in marketing and promotions and was a perfect fit for the team. In his free time, Joshua likes to create art on Adobe Photoshop, play video games, and listen to Howard Stern.
Cesar Berrios
Cesar Berrios is a Communications and Media student. He Is a senior who aspires to work with ESPN or any sports related organization. He has high hopes that his passion for basketball will lead him to his ideal job.