Newspapers / The Franklin Times (Louisburg, … / March 13, 1942, edition 1 / Page 2
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SIX KILLED IJXPLOSIOIt Near Selma Saturday Morning WHEN LARGE TRUCK LOADED WITH ARMY AMMUNITNION EXPLODES Blast Heard in Louisburg; Buildings Demolished; Highway Damaged, Caus ed by Wreck Cacthing Fire; Raleigh Woman Killed in Wreck Which Touched Off Johnston Blast Thirty thousand pounds of mu nitions in a blazing truck and trailer exploded with a shaking roar between Smithfleld and Selma early Saturday morn ing. The blast killed three men, left two missing, injured more than 50 persons. 20 of them serl ously, bowled over hundreds of spectators like so many ten-pins and levelled nearby buildings Hundreds of spectators had been'dfawn to the scene long be- 1 tore the~lrantt -gienades, - powder and other munitions were touched off by the blaze, started in a collision between the truck and a passenger car. The explo sion occurred two hours later, at 2:57 a. m., after Smithfleld and Selma firemen had attempted to extinguish the flames. Mrs. Minnie Lewis, of Raleigh, driver of the automobile, died a few hours later from burns re ceived in the collision. Bonos Found In Ruins The nearby Talton Hotel was leveled to the ground and bones, believed to be from two different bodies, were found in the still smoking debris late in the after noon. This tallied with a report that two occupants of the hotel, one of them last seen "in a sheeo of flames," are still missing. Killed by the explosion were| George Stroupe of Gastonia and, Cecil E. Propst of Lawndale. who| were driving by the truck when it blew up. and Claude (Buck) Mitchell of Dunn, a bystander. I Stroupe* was commander of aj CCC camp at New Holland and Propst was a game and fish war-j den there. Those missing are Willie How ell. 33-year-old Goldsboro taxi driver, and Jessie: Holloway, 30., Goldsboro woman. The munitions truck was strewn, -far "one und ?r nan miles, only] two gnarled gas pumps mark the site of nearby Luke Capp's Fill ing Station. Gurkln's Tavern, about 100 yards from the truck, and several residences within a 500-yard radius were littered with broken window panes, fall ing bricks and timbers. but were not- completely destroyed. Selma Windows Shattered ? Virtually all the windows In Selma. one mile away, were shat-l tered, including panes worth $10. 000 in the Methodist Church and 900 panes in the Selma CoMonj Mill. A few windows were bro-j ken in Smithfleld. three miles away. " An Insurance adjuster who spent more than 12 hours inves-' tigating the destruction estimated total damagejf at $500,000. Hole Hippo<l In Road The explosion ripped a hole 20 f feet deep and as long as a rail road car In, Highway 70. Con-, Tict workers had the crater filled j by about 3 p. m. Riding with Mrs. Lewis when the wreck pccurred were her hus-! band, Odle Lewis, a carpenter at New River Marine Barracks; two^ children, Bobbie Ray, 4. and| Charlie Grey. 5; and two marines., Jimmie Backstrom and Bernard Rosenburg. All suffered cuts; and bruise?, and Backstrom a possible fract-ure. Mr. and Mrs., Lewis lived at 226 South Blood worth Street, Raleigh, before he began work at New River. Red Cross Aids C. Leo Williams, Red Cross representative in eastern North Carolina, arrived at the scene Sat-urday to supervise work of that agency. Four nurses were called from Raleigh. In a special plane Xrom Washington Saturday night, came Dr. Albert McCown, medical director of the Red Cross; Miss Alice Dugger, nurse|| supervisor; W. W. Jefferson, as sistant eastern manager; and three special* case workers. Facilities at the Johnston1 County Hospital were taxed to the limit as a steady stream of injur-, ed flowed in for first aid treat ment. The county's newly or-, ganized civilian defense unit, op erating as if the disaster had come_from enemy bombs, quick ly summoned Smithfleld's six doc tors and 12 nurses. Many persons In nearby com munities. waked by the explosion, called into Smithfleld to ask whetiher there had been an air raid. Ambulances screaming through the streets led many per sons to believe "tba^enemy is here." Fire of the injured were tak en to Goldsboro and three to 'Ral eigh when the SmlOhfleld hospital, Its halls and rooms overflowing, could not take any more. M.rfim la Hero Of the many tales of heroism, om concerned Bernard Rosen burg, the marine In the Lewis automobile. "That little marine flight* to get a medal," said Dur wood Creech, Smithfleld under taker. "He was trapped in the back >eat when the wreck occurred, and the car burst into (lames. He climbed over to the front and es caped. "Then he realized the other oc cupants were still inside. "He went back into the blazing :ar and got the two children, who had been asleep on the back seat. He tossed them into a iitch. "Then he went back again and helped Mrs. Lewis out. Again he wpnt back and got Mr. Lewis out. He thought some Negroes who lad come up had carried his bud iy from the car and he started away. But he couldn't find his [riend, (Backstrom), and went sack into the burning automobile tor the fifth time." Highway Patrolman H. C. Bob jit?t was investigating the , wreck when the truck exploded. He was about six feet from his car. park 5d 100 yards from the truck. "I looked up In the sky and saw 5reat pieces of timber and steel flying around," he said. "I dove tox my. car and just as I got, iu :-he stuff came down all around. 1 am lucky to be alive to tell the story." One of the mrracles of the ex plosion was that no one was in jured in a small tenant bouse just a few yards from the hotel. Parts of the walU and the roof of the frame house were blown to sham bles. but Mr. and Mrs. Cook and their three children, sleeping in side. were hot scratched. Woninn Critically Hurt Mrs. R. L. Holloinan. operatoi of t-he Talton Hotel, was in th? lobby with two girl employes helping some of those injured It the automobile-truck collision when the blast occurred. As th< hotel crumpled and burst intt flames, she was mangled badlj and last' night was reported to b< in very critical condition. Miss Hazel Stuart, one of th< girl employes at the Talton, es caped by climbing out of a win dow. but suffered a blow acros: her head. Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Bone am Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Brown livei in a brick bungalow about 2U< yards from the hotel. The lnsid< of the house was littered witl glass and other debris, but nom of the occupants were hurt ser iously. " ( Parked Cars l)am?|p'd About five automobiles parked i at t'he hotel were destroyed and a | dozen others were damaged con-j ' siderably. Raymond O'Neil Avery, 41, of Charleston, S. C., was driver of the truck but received only slight injuries to the head and chest. Dell Carter, his companion, ,was unhurt. Walter Bagwell, Raleigh insur ance man, received a call to in- [ vestigate the wreck. The explos ion apparently occurred just as he reached the city's outskirts. Bagwell said he saw a great pil- 1 lar of flame leap into t'he air. Magistrate E. C. Jones,-, of J Smithfleld. who was helping de-' tour traffic, said a driver of a produce truck told him, "I saw the flames as I left Fayetteville." Thati would have put him more than 50 miles from the explosion. Firemen Rescue Victims Bill Norton, who joined the Smithfleld fire department only a few days ago, was another hero. He went into the burning hotel and rescued the two tfewis child- 1 ren, who had been brought there from the wrecked car, and then went back in with Fire Chief E.j L. Woodall to bring out- Mrs. Hol loman. Firemen, who worked over the burning vehicles for two hours before the blast, had warned everyone to evacuate the hotel . and had cautioned spectators toj keep away. The explosion oc-! curred while one group of firemen, ' had" gohe Bfliif tor 1UUW I'UBlllU cals. Mrs. Lewis' body was taken to a Greenville funeral home, where It will remain until funeral ser vices Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock at Pleasant Hill Free Will Baptist Church, near Shelmer dine, Pitt County. Burial was in the Smith cemetery, near the' 1 church. Mrs. Lewis was a native of Beaufort County and a former resident of Shelmerdine. She and her husband moved to Ral i eigh about three years ago. He ? is employed at Jacksonville. 1 Survivors, inaddition to her | husband and children, are her ; parents. Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Or mond of New Bern, and a brother, , William B. Ormond of the United ' States Navy. > Reports from Smittifield Satur . day night said that houses of 17 _ families had been damaged suf s flciently to render them homeless. William I. Godwin, Selma at i torney, estimated that, the d?m 1 age in that town was well above' 9' $15,000. H. B. Marrow, John si ston County school superintend t ent, said almost' $760 damage had> " been wrought, mostly In broken -{ window panes, at the Selma echoolr Heard in Raleigh H. Page Williams of 1015 Brooks Avenue, Raleigh, said he was awake on his sleeping porch when he heard the blast and thought that perhaps tiwo trains had crashed. He said the ex plosion was followed by a rum bling, humming sound. All day long Saturday thous ands of persons went to witness the devastation. They noted the motor of the truck in an open field 150 yards from the site of the explosion. Other parts of the truck had been deposited 300 yards away, and unidentified de bris fell as far as two and a half miles away. Later information showed the two missing were burned in the hotel. Reports of t-he blast were heard as far away as Louisburg and Rocky Mount. ; o colored leadership TRAINING COURSE The public is cordially invited to attend the Leadership Training course which will be held at the First Bapt-iat Church (Colored) Franklinton, beginning March 23. announces Rev. M. E. Neal, and continuing the balance of the week. The speakers will be, March 23, Rev. CUE. Griffin, ex ecutive secretary of the Baptist State Convention. Tuesday night, Rev. P. B. Holt. Wednesday night, Mrs. Annie Pilmore, of Durham. Thursday night, the pastor of the Pirst Baptist Church (Whhe) of Pranklinton. Friday night, Dean John L. Tilley. The members of tnS Sunday School, B. T. U. Convention, Mis sionary Groups, and all other I5_A LITTLE DEVIL iraUR THROAT? I SOOTHE IRRITATED THROAT MEMBRANES get one dose relief for coughs due from colds with Mentho-Mul sion. Satisfaction guaranteed or money back 60c & $100 | Rtlltvf Stuffy net# dw? to cold witft Mrntho ~m snd ttirost drop* and brtilhi r estily. AU roMr tfructitt. Leading Druggists Everywhere TonkeTs Department Store SHOWING A COMPLETE SELECTION OF LADIES | Spring Coats, Dresses, Hats, Millinery and Shoes Visit Tonkel's and be Convinced of the Many Bargains that await you in all of the various departments. TONKEL'S DEPT. STORE "LOUISBURG S SHOPPING CENTER" roups of church workers are rged to come and bring all of our friends. ! o There was the old farmer who oticed, while riding down a lone y road the other night, a young ouple sitting in a parked car. 'he young man had a bottle in ne hand and a girl in the other. Harumph," said the farmer, that must be one of them bottle necks." To relieve Misery of ^ ^ Liquid ^ Tablets flW fife Salve IB II II Nose DropH Cough ? Drops Try "Rub-My-Tlsm"-a Wonderful Liniment COLDS Patronize TIMES Advertisers Colter's 4 in 1, Strain 4 First Year Cotton Seed FOR SALE ' , i Reynolds Farm. Wood, N. C. REMOVE OLD VARNISH % and bring out the hidden beauty of your floors ? rent our HILCO a 9 f HANDY SANDY FLOOR SANDER QUIET DUSTLESS EASY TO USE YOU CAN DO IT YOURSELF PRDITT LUMBER CO. J Phone 433-1 Louisburg, N. C. J CARPENTERS TOOLS HAMMERS Good Quality 1.25 L 0 W P R I C E $1 .25 HAND SAWS..* HENRY DISS TON SAWS... $3.50 CROSS CUT SAWS... $4.25 | BICYCLES & REPAIRS | BICYCLES .... BIKE TIRES ... $ 1.75 BIKE TUBES 80c BIKE BASKETS * 1.2.1 RALL RETAINERS lOc A LARGE STOCK OK REPAIRS | "Paints - oil - Etc. READY - MIXED PAINT $1.50 Gal up BLACK ROOF PAINT 50c Gal. VARNISHES AND ENAMELS OK ALL KINDS | FURNITURE and STOVES COOKING RANGES $24.95 9x12 LINOLIEUM Rugs $3.69 3 PC. BED ROOM SUITES $44.95 3 PC. LIVING ROOM SUITES . . $35.00 MOTH PROOF WARDROBES $2.29 - BUY DEFENSE BONDS - H C. TAYLOR Hardware & Furniture Phone 423-1 Loabburg, N. O.
The Franklin Times (Louisburg, N.C.)
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March 13, 1942, edition 1
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