Blast Kills 500
School Disasl
Be Worst I
Search Debris For Mang- ''
led Bodies Of Child- t
ren Dead, Dying :]n
HEARING IS HELD
Accumulation Of Gas In ,!
Cellar Believed To Be !
Cause
i
JCcw London, Tex.?Workers are
still searching the wreckage of the r
London Consolidated school for more (
bodies to be added to the toll of the 5
worst school disaster in the world's 1
history. *
Hundreds of students were literally
blown to bits in a gas explosion which *
demolished the richest rural school in *
America ten minutes before the boys 1
and girls would have been dismissed '
for the day. Estimates placed the '
total dead at about 500.
Gov. James V. Allred immediately (
declared martial law, and sent ali
state highway patrolmen to the scene, r
which is 12 miles north of here. Na- )
tional Guard troops were ordered out 1
as the entire populace of the neigh- ,
borhood thronged about the school
hysterically waiting for the bodies of 1
their loved ones to be dragged forth.
I\ sidcnt Roosevelt promised every
: id from the federal government. j
At the time of the mighty blast ?
fifty or move mothers were attend- ,
a Farent-Tcacher association
meeting in the school gymnasium, a
separate building several hundred ij
feet away from the main structure, j
Hearing the rumble of the blast, j
they rushed to the windows in time J i
to see a hail of debris flying through \
the air and the big building col laps- \
ing upon their children.
Mothers Race to Aid. t
O .. I . . it . . ,
oc reaming nysiericaiiy, me motn- j
era raced across the campus and with t
their bare hands clawed at the debris \
trying desperately to reach the chil-1 {
dren whose cries could be heard from
beneath the crumbled structure. Near- ,
j by oil fields, some of which could be (
seen from the school grounds, shut .
down and frantic workers rushed in , t
to try to rescue those who still re- '
i mained alive.
The terrible force of the eruption U
sent the mangled bodies of boys andj,
irirla flying through the. air like they ,
were rag dolls. The brick walls were j |
blasted out. The roof raised in the
air and then fell back on to the mass |
of crying and struggling humanity. <
Bricks were hurled more than a quar- t
tor of a mile. 1
Dismembered bodies lay all around <
on the school lawn. Some were de- j
capitated. Others had limbs missing.
Som? of the children still were alive. .
k The scene quickly became one of :
extreme confusion. Hysterical women
fainted, shrieked, and prayed,
kneeling on the grass.
, Many parents, the women either
screaming hysterically or silently
sobbing, ran frantically from one
body to another, seeking their loved
ones. There were gasps of horror
and occasionally a woman slumping .
to the ground in a faint, indicating ,
i she had found what she had fearfully \
l i
I uupea she wouldn't. ?
I Mutilation of the bodies made \
I their tragic task increasingly diffi- |
| cult. One couple hovered over the ]
I form of a little boy, his face and (
body so mangled and bloody they t
couldn't be certain if he were their
son. t
"Must Be Jim," Mother Cries. ?
"O, it's Jim, it must be Jim," sob- s
bed the woman. Picking up one of
the little victim's feet, she argued s
hysterically with her husband. "See, a
it's his tennis shoes," she cried. "I (1;
remember he asked to wear them to i n
school this morning." c
"No, no," her husband replied, al- t
most happily. "Jim changed into
his other shoes when he came home
for lunch." o
"O, merciful God, he may still be d
alive then," the mother cried as they d
P?t up and hurried away to scan c
other little bodies. f
For a few minutes after the roof t
caved in, leaving jagged remnants
?f wall standing like the ruins of a o
medieval castle, flames shot out above L
\ the wreckage. But the building was
of fireproof construction and the a
laze, having almost nothing to feed
upon, soon died out. It was well that t
11 did, for nearbv communities have
?aly small fire fighting forces. ?'
T he narrow roads to the school, f
situated between the oil fiel i com- ii
munitiea of London and Ne^ Lonon?
unncorporated hamlets, soon
were clogged with a stream of ve- r?
m
The CI
In Texas
ter; Said To j
n U. S. History ;
licles.
More than 15,000 persons assem- J1
-led at the scene in the next few 11
lours, either anxious over the fate \
f their relatives, to help in the res- '
ue work, or sightseeing.
Call Doctors and Nurses.
Every available ambulance, doctor,
,nd nurse in all surrounding towns 1
irere summoned by telephone and *
adio. As far away as from Shreve>ort.
La., came doctors and nurses '
>y airplane, sent by the American 1
ted Cross.
Thirty doctors and seventy-two
Jurses, twelve of them from the Red !
3ross, came from Dallas. Accompanying
them were twelve ambu- j
ances, twenty-five embalmers, and
ive hearses.
AH sorts of vehicles?laundry
:rucks, private cars, ambulances, and
vhat not?speed to the scene, and
vere used to carry the bodies away.
But. with no one in authority and
\undreds of persons wrought up to
i frenzy, many of the cars soon were
entangled in a hopeless snarl.
Because of this siutuation, Goverlor
Allied ordered all state highvay
patrolmen ond uty in the district j
o hurry here and take command.
All available Texas Rangers and I
lighway policemen also were being
ushed there from Dallas, Houston.
\ustin and Tyler. Fingerprint experts
were sent from Austin on the
lossibilitlv they might assist in Identifying
the bodies, many Texas
school children having been finger
ninted.
Find Few Survivors.
Five hundred workers from the oil
fields arrived at the wrecked build
ng scon after the explosion and
caned into thp mine n
? - ?uk biicic were
Vw survirors for them to rescue, and
heir main work was carrying out
)odies.
Later an additional 1,000 men went
o work on the debris. In the early
itages they passed up the bodies oi'
hose obviously dead in the hope of
hiding those in whom there might
>e life.
Three hundred and sixty bodies
vere taken by ambulance, truck, and
. very possible conveyance to Hender;on.
Dozens of other bodies were
aken to Kilgore, Overton, Ark.,
Troup, Longview, ar.d Tyler.
While waiting for the arrival of
sufficient vehicles to move the great
lumber of dead the bodies were caricd
from the wreckage and laid in
cng rows on the lawn.
Mothers and fathers dragged the
todies of still more victims into the
ichool gymnasium until the vehicles
:-ame back for more loads. There
the children and their teachers lay,
tide by side, many of them unidentified.
Stricken School
Was Richest In
United States
Henderson, Tex.?The London Con;olidat??d
school, wrecked in the hor ible
explosion which blotted out the
lves ot nunureas 01 cnuaren instantly,
is believed to have been the
:inest rural school of its type in the
United States. In the heart of the
Sast Texas oil fields, it is located in
me of the wealthiest sections of
he world.
The blast itself is believed to have
>een caused by explosion of natural
fas from the seven oil wells on the
chool campus.
The school district encompasses
ome thirty square miles with an
issessed valuation of 16 million dolars.
The community sprang up alnost
over night following the disovery
of one of the most producive
oil fields known.
Quickly Paid For.
With "black gold" flowing from its
wn wells, the school plant had no
lifficulty in raising the several hun- I
red thousand dollars spent in its
onstruction. It is not only debt
ice but its original value has muliplied
many times.
In 1931, when wealth gushed out
f the ground for the communities of
ondon and New London, the schools
Irving the two villages were merged
nd the present district set up.
The school lies midway between
he two communities.
The site of the disaster scene can
eadily he located by drawing a line
rom Tyler, a city of 35,000, largest
i the district, to Henderson.
1.500 in Eight Grades
The wrecked school had an en^llment
of 1,500 students, from the
lerokee Scout, Murphy,
fifth grade to the third year of hi;
school.
The building had been construct
in units, the first of which was bu
n 1934. The completed structure co
lained 30 classrooms and an auditc
um large enough to accommoda
lalf of the total enrollment.
Equipped to teach stenograph
Ttusic, manual training, and sewin
is well as academi subjects, it w
he proud boast of the community th
its institution was as fine as could I
found in any rural section of t!
:ountry.
At one side of the main buildii
;tood the gymnasium, and at the otli
stood a grade school for childr
from tho kindergarten to the fif
jrade. The home of the superinten
;nt also stood on the school grounc
All Are Fireproof.
All of the buildings were of fir
proof construction and ample sis
The grade, or grammar school, w
a two story brick building about l1
by 125 feet.
After I
Amid crumbling masonrj
killed and mangled by cxplos
Manv T
^
0
$?<* **"""^ t :
Volunteer rescue workers
Spectator Tells
of Awful B
'" in the ^tV'theTcmna
5,000 persons lay ln t,
U *
VhTreat ^UU standing. The
-d Tones were.pUjd-g^fplnderousoU
trucks tot*
Dig and
* Rescue workers at seen#
out the dead. _
N.C. T
!hi VIOLET NEWS
ed !
Our school term ended here, March
n J 9. The teacher, Lucile Mateson, has
(r_ returned to her home in Andrews.
The ones that received presents for
going everyday to school were: Zuda
Murphy, Lottie Taylor, Nola Davis,
Winston Taylor, Clayton Davis,!
?' i Wayne Taylor and Hule Davis.
a> Miss Monda Payne spent last Fri-I
at I
>e The main building had a two story)
ic init in the center, about 50 feel wide
and 00 feet deep, which housed the
ip auditorium and various laboratories,
or md wings on either side. These
*r wings, each 30 feet deep and 65 feet
th long, gave the building a frontage of
d- ISO feet.
s. From a high window of the school
me could look out across a plain
e- dotted almost solidly as far as the
lie. eye could reach by oil derricks,
as Thousands of these rear their smut-|
50 covered skeletons from 50 to 100 feet
in the air.
)eath Struck School
r and steel, rescue workers and frantic pa)
ion.
imes This Scene wJ
1'ANfci!
bringing out the body of ona of tha victims
of debris covering the children were
stretched stout cables. Sweating oil
I t field 'roughneeks' turned err ants of
IclSl mercy?many seeking their own
ed the sons and daughters,
taster: "In 11,0 manner of stevedores,
about die3r lined up on the rock and passed
ints of debris hand-to-hand to a clearing,
er por- "Blood smeared an upturned
vail at brick. With a shout, the workers
brick gathered available shovels and
15 feet lights and stretchers wt?e called.
From An arm, a head appeared?terribly
: mass crushed. In a few minutes it was
Cut Away Their Pa
?, jt -
soor. after Texas school was blown up, en*
hursday, March 25, 1937
day night with her cousin. Miss Edna
Rose.
Miss Estal Graharfi was the Sunday
dinner guest of Miss Lottie Taylor.
M iss Hoi lice Murphy and Mrs.
Vesta Beaver visited Alenc Taylor
Saturday evening:.
Mrs. Walter Graham spent Saturday
with her sister. Mrs. Janie Davis.
Mrs. Vandora Taylor and Miss
Monda Payne were visitors at Mrs.
Clara Taylor's Saturday evening.
Mrs. Parthenia Graham spent a
few days last week with her daughter,
Mrs. Nora Martin.
Mr. Lester Taylor spent Saturday
afternoon with Mr. Marion Morrow.
Mrs. Mary Beaver is on the sick
list at this writing. Her many
friends wish her a speedy recovery.
HATTIE PALMER
NOTARY PUBLIC
1 SCOUT OFFICE
in Texas
ircnts hunt for bodies of children
*
is Repeated
\ of the school disaster. c
on the stretcher, carried to a waiting
ambulance and speeded to the
nearest temporary morgue.
''The scene \vas repeated over
and over. Finally the worst of the'
shock was over and the men and
families settled down to a quiet,
organized effort to ?et out the bodies
as quickly as possible?not actually
in the hopes of life but to
make certain relatives would be
spared the anguish of ignorance of
their children's fat??which the rescuers
knew too veil." ^
_ 1 T\ 1
itn to uead
r Sk . *
[aged in hazardous task of bringing