Newspapers / The Cherokee Scout (Murphy, … / Dec. 5, 1957, edition 1 / Page 13
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36 Dead, 40 Injured In Oklahoma Fire 33 Years Ago This Christinas The Mfgeat Christina* party ever in the community was in pro gress at Babbs Switch'* frame ?choolhouae. Aim oat everyone from the sur rounding Oklahoma countryside crowded the building to capacity? about 150 men, women and child ren Entertainment, under the direc tion of a teacher had started at eight o'clock- A Christmas tree, trimmed with cotton and colored tinsel decorations and beautifully % lighted with small wax candles, stood in a corner of the one-room school. There had been some difficulty in decorating the tree- Earlier it had toppled over from its insecure base, but it was righted again, and fastened in the same way. High point of the evening's festi vities came when one of the men appeared as Santa Claus- Dressed in a cotton suit, trimmed with cot ton and tinsel, and wearing cotton whiskers, he distributed candy and presents and laid other gifts on the floor around the tree. He then be gan to strip the tree of still more presents. By then, it was about nine-thirty o'clcok In reaching for a present near the top of the tree, Santa Claus pulled down a decorated branch. It brushed a candle flame and in stantly caught fire- Jokingly, sev eral persons told him to look out, he'd get burned Santa heard the warning. He picked up a small toy chair and threw it at the burning branch. Instead of putting out the blaze, he knocked over a kerosene lamp on a near-by table. The lamp ex ploded! Panic result e d- The crowd stampeded for the door. Santa Claus tried to smother the flame with a coat. Then he grasp ed the cotton stage curtain- Any thing to smother the flame. In his excitement he knocked over the tree- In that instant his clothes caught fire. Now fire reached the ceiling. It had been freshly painted. The fire flashed over the entire surface! Twelve minutes after the fire started, the building collapsed. Some of those who had escaped through the narrow doorway had tried to re-enter to rescue others They met head on? completely blocking the exit On the outside, others tried un successfully to pry the window screens from their fastenings Then the bodies were removed from the ruins of Babbs Switch School that Christmas Eve in 1924, they counted 33 dead. Three other persons died later- In all 18 chil dren, 18 adults. The teacher was among them. Santa, too- Forty others were in jured or burned. Thus, Babb's Switch biggest Christmas party became one of the most tragic. Yet from the tragedy many les sons were learned, the National Board of Fire Underwriters points out The schoolhouse had two doors, with only one in use. That door opened inward ? against the direc tion of travel. The other led to a coal bin, added after construction of the building. The seven win dows, in effect were barred- Each flow crowd had packed the aisles fastened in each corner with a bolt running through the casement and secured with a nut inside- Wire staples fastened the screens to the window frames. The building itself? 20 feet by 36 feet? was too small to hold the assembled crowd. Desks and addi tional chairs had provided seat ing space for about 100. The over flow crowd has packed the aisles and all available floor space Other facts, such as lighting by oil lamp, the insecure Christmas tree with its flammable decora tions and lighted candles, the freshly-painted ceiling, the absence of even so much as a bucket of water to extinguish a possible fire and Santa Claus' clumsy attempts to do so, all further contributed to that large-scale disaster. But out of that disaster came many improvements. For that fire had underlined the need for fire safety precautions in all places of assembly. It had served as a grim notice that special precautions are needed during the Christmas sea son if Babbs Switch never is to I Keep Christmas Religions Holiday Now it is again the Kuon of the year that we call Christmas, the most joyful and moat universally celebrated of all our holidays The observance of Christmas may differ among nations and peo ples which stretch from the lands of snow and ice to the sunny South ern hemisphere, but in every corn- J er of the world the true meaning of the holiday is ever the same. -- As our world has changed through the centuries since the first Christmas, so have we taken the customs of Christmas and adjusted them to our changing environment The origin of many of these cus toms have been lost in the pass ing of time to the extent that today many burn candles in the window and adorn firesides and homes with holly and mistletoe without a passing thought as to why we use candles rather than kerosene lamps and holly or mistletoe in preference to other winter green ery. It is custom, and we believe in following customs, in one fash ion or another Customs have their place in the scheme of things, so let us keep them and, if need be, give them ! new meanings of our own- Yet, with it all, let us remember that cus toms and traditions are only a part of the observance of Christ mas. We do not keep the Christmas merely because we observe the customs. Let us keep Christmas in our hearts- Let us remember that it is a religious holiday, a time of joy and peace and faith and hope More particularly, it is time to be humbly grateful for mankind's greatest birthright? the hope of eternal salvation- Such was God's gift to the world that night at Bethlehem. With the spirit of Christmas in our hearts we shall find deep and significant meanings in the cus toms an dtraditions we associate with this great holiday happen again! Real progress will be made in safeguarding life and protecting property, says the National Board of Fire Underwriters ,if precau tions are taken to minimize the danger of fire and to provide for safety in case fire occurs. DON'T WAIT! SHOP AT SOSSAMON AND SAVE!! LAY-AWAY GIFTS NOW! A Small Deposit Holds Any Purchase Until Christmas And Yon Caa Pay Next Year On Sossasion's Easy Terms. Easy Chair Portable TV ? Hot point ? Motorola Reading Lamps Luggage Sunbeam Electric Razor Smoking Stands Ottoman Table and Portable Radios Record Player ? Luggage Camera ? Lane Cedar Chest Hair Dryer ? Odd Chests and Dressers Hollywood Red ? Red Lamp Redroom Chair Electric Range Living Room Suite Washer ? Dryer Sunbeam and GE Mixers, Toasters, Cookers, Irons, Percolators Kitchen Radio mmm Ladies' Electric Shaver Sewing Machine ? Vacuum Cleaner Bunk Beds ? Pen and Pencil Sets Camera ? Becord Player ? Cloek Badio Flashlight ? Bookcase ? Desk Training Chair Play Yard and Pad Stroller Swings High Chair Rockers Clothes Hampers Diaper Raeks Bassinet Sossamon's Christmas Shopping Center "On The Square" Dial VE 7-3115 JABALEY'S MURPHY, NORTH CAROLINA XMAS SALE BUY NOW at after Xmas Prices. All merchandise listed is first quality. We WILL NOT sell seconds or irregulars without advertising as such. Re member! You take no chance hy trading at Jahaley's, for no sale is final unless you are completely satisfied. Your money will re refunded on any sale. LADIES' NYLON HOSE First Quality 51 Gauge ? 15 Denier 2 pair for J,Q0 LADIES' SWEATERS 100% OBLON Reg. 5.00 Value 3.99 each SPECIAL GIRLS' COTTON SLIPS Sizes 4 to 14 59c~2 for 1.00 Ladies' WINTER COATS Biy Now At After CHRISTMAS PRICES Values of 24.95 to 29.95 19.95 TOPPERS! CAR COATS Fur collars and other assort ed styles. Value to 12.95. 9.98 each SPECIAL! GKLS' DRESSES All Sizes Regular 498 3.99 Regular 198 199 Regular 198 149 LADIES' DRESSES 99c YES HI A' 91! Boy One At Regular PRICE OF 5.98 And Get Second one for only 99c SHEETING LL Brand 5 yards for 1.00 GIRLS' COATS Valies to 14.98 Nov 5.98 to 9.99 SHEET BLANKETS 1.4t Vahe sale price 99c ? ? ? '? .-aak-vtiiArHAtff . MEN'S LACE BACK PANTS Anvil Brand 10 oz. ? Regular 3.00 sale price 1.99 Pr MEN'S SPORT SHIRTS Regular 3.00 Valve Of Popular Brands sale price 1.98 BLANKETS S% Wool Doable Blanket sale price 3.49 A Mixture ?( Mylwi Rayu Blanket 3.49 BOYS' CORUROY SHIRTS Reg. 2.98 Value sale price 1.98 Boys' Flannel or Broadcloth SHIRTS Popnlar Brands Broken Sizes 97c AH Sizes L49 ADSizes 198 BOYS' PANTS & SHIRT SETS FIwumI IiMi Sices 2 f ? Miy 1 .98 for the set
The Cherokee Scout (Murphy, N.C.)
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Dec. 5, 1957, edition 1
13
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