It was 1944, an exciting time for Tamaqua’s Ida Kachelries Verret.

Her husband worked for the War Production Board and had just been reassigned to Hartford, Connecticut.

Ida, a nurse, moved there with the kids, Joan, 8, and Frederick, 5.

They were just in time to take in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the “Greatest Show on Earth.”

An uncle who worked for the circus supplied four tickets.

So joining them was sister-in-law Myrtle Verret, 22.

The family was among a crowd around 7,000 to fill the bleachers and chairs.

It was one-half hour into the show. The lion-and-tiger stunts had ended and the Flying Wallendas were up next.

Suddenly, a flame erupted at the far end of the tent. Its canvas had been treated with a mixture of gasoline and paraffin to make it waterproof. But highly flammable.

Within seconds, the entire big top was ablaze, collapsing onto the audience.

Crowds rushed to exit, pushing, pulling, falling on top of one another.

“I’ll take Freddy, you take Joan,” said Ida to Myrtle. It was the last time Ida was seen. Or Myrtle.

Joan held her aunt’s hand until they were separated. Then the child wove through the crowd, even crawling between legs, to find an exit.

Finally, she had to crawl over animal cages blocking the escape route.

Joan says that when she finally got out and turned around, the entire tent was gone.

A total of 169 spectators, many of them children, never made it home. Five hundred more were burned or injured.

Others returned home with emotional scars carried for the rest of their lives.

The bodies of Ida and Myrtle were found after the fire was extinguished.

Fred and Joan were injured. But both survived.

Joan visited her brother every day at St. Francis Hospital. He had suffered severe burns on his hands, legs and back.

The tragedy of the blaze, losing their mother and aunt, bonded the two forever. They’ve remained close throughout life.

Today, they live in Lakeland, Florida, both in their 80s.

Joan says she’s visited the site of the fire. But she doesn’t like to recount what happened. Still, she tells the story only so that people won’t forget.

Family members say it’s an important part of the family history.

“My father used to talk about it,” says Ida’s niece, Beverly Freeman of Middleport.

As a result of the fire, new laws were enacted to govern circuses, mandating fireproof tents and well marked exits. Also enacted was a ban on smoking inside tents.

And while smoking was initially thought to be the cause, the fire’s origin is officially deemed undetermined.

A total of $2 million was paid to victims by an arbitration board.

Ida’s estate was awarded $9,750. Fred was awarded $12,500 for his injuries.

But no amount of money could compensate for the loss.

A day of fun turned into America’s worst circus fire, known as “The Day The Clowns Cried.”

And 80 years later it still brings tears to survivors and the families of those lost.