The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1899-12-28
TERRIBLE CATASTROPHE.
Eleven Children Die From Burns Re-
ceived at Christmas Rehearsal
Others Badly Hurt.

Quincy H., Dec. 23.-An awful trag-
edy resulted from the rehearsal of
one of the classes of st. Francis
school of Christmas exercises Friday.
There were fourteen little girls in the
classes, and they represented differ
ent characters. Two of them appear
ed as lambs and wore white fleece on
their garments. One of them caught
fire from an open gas jet, and almost
in an instant the whole circle of lit
tie ones was afiame. Sisters of the
school run to the rescue and were also
badly burned.
Six of hose burned died almost in
stantly from burns; four survivors
will die. The dead: Mary Waverlng,
Alma Middendorf. Bertha Freund. Jo-
sic Roszewog. Miss Hickey. Irene Frei-
berg. The badly injured were: Jo-
sephine Bohne. Wi;helmina Rotten
dorf, Lena Zeiger. Laura Menke, Miss
Soebbing, Alva Timpe. Josie Werner,
Father Andrew Butzkueben, Sister
Ludwigus. Sister ltodolphia, Sister
Theodet. Sister Ephia.
Three or four little girls were
dressing for the rehearsal and laugh
ing gayly among themselves. A doz-
en- others were grouped in the wings
of the stage near the foot of the
stairs descending from the dressing
room. The girls in the dressing room
lad nearly completed their costumes
when one of them brushed against the
gas jet. but which it was will never
be known. 4 touSh of the flame was
sufficient and in an instant her dress
of cotton and light cloth was in a
blaze. She screamed and ran out of
the room communicating the blaze to
| the others as she ran. One of the
| girls with her dress in "A blaze jump
| ed out of Il small window into the
| stairs leading to the stage and down
| the stairs. a flaming torch she was.
| as she almost fell down the stairs
| and rushed into the groups of chill
| dren standing in the wings. They
| were all clad like her in fancy cos
| tunes of cotton. lace and silk and the
fire spread with incredible rapdity
| from one to the other. There We're IA
| children in the cast of the Christmas
entertainment and only few escap-
| ed 1t was all over in ten minutes
and i'm that time four perished, seven
were fatally burned and others more
or less severely injured. The children
were panic stricken and rushed this
| way and that. screaming with pain.
But the agony was brief. Only a few
| minutes and then four of them sank
to the floor dead. Others fell too.
but they still lived, suffering excruci-
ating agony.
The school hall was filed with chill
dren and many more would have been
| killed in the panic which followed
had it not been for the prompt eff
forts of the teachers and sisters who
were in charge of the entertainment
and were present. The children w,t'e
in panic for few minutes and rush
ed to the doors. But prompt efforts
quieted them and no one was hurt in
the rush.
The shrieks and screams of the in
jured were agonizing. The little ones
lay helpless and impotent on the floor
and writhed about in their agony.
The dead were charred in most cases
beyond recognition.
Josephine Bohne, Alvia Timpe. Mar
garet Warner. Wilhelmina Cuttendorf
and Mary Althoff died at midnight
All these are between and II years
of age.