Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1901-12-19
Another OH Country Tragedy.

Shortly before four o'clock Tuesday
afternoon Butler was shaken to its
foundations by the heaviest conclusion
in its history. People for an instant
were stunned and stupifed. buildings
swayed, dishes fell from shelves and
shattered on the floors, and window
glass was broken in dozens of buildings.
a large plate glass show window in Mrs.
Lyons building on the Diamond, oc-
cupied by Cooper, the tailor, crashed
/ to the pavement, in the front of the
National Supply store, the frame work
! split and the glass was loosened but for
! some reason did not fall Windows
were broken in the Broad st School
/ building, Court House, Younkins, Boyd,
/ Alard, Boos and many other buildings
( The tremendous force came from the
southwest: crowd rushed to the rear
of the Court House and across the val
4 lev 4 great cloud Of yellowish white
( smoke was seen rising from behind the
Z Bredin hill, south OF the Fair Ground,
where in the valley of Mile Run be-
I tween the house of Samuel Schaffner or
I the Plank road and the Kalb road, the
F.! Humes and Penn'a Torpedoe Cos. have
( their nitro-glycerine magazines and FAC
( tories The latters magazine had ex-
I ploded.
Charles d. Parker. a Penn'a shooter,
! accompanied by Thomas. L. EdFards, a
| partner OF Jas. T. Holland in the torpe
/ do business, had driven out with a team
/ to take an invoice of the stock and to
prepare 20 make a shot on Wednesday.
The magazine. plank shed, was To-
Gated on the hillside close to the road
| leading in from Schaffner's. Two other
! board buildings. the Humes factory and
magazine, stand not more than 200 feet
away.
! How it happened will never be known.
! The men were perhaps carrying gIy GER
Inc to the wagon. The first to reach
the place-passing the Humes buildings
! saw no explosion had taken place there,
although the buildings We're blown al
most TO kindling, but where the Penn a
magazine had stood was a hole in the
| ground 40 or 80 feet across and II or 10
| feet deep The trunk of a great oak
| tree, close to the hole, was broken as
| though pipe stem. Trees $50 feet
I away were stripped of their bark. The
| two horses lay with their heads toward
| Schaffner's house The hindquarters
and most of their bodies had been blown
to atoms. The front parts were there
| but every bone seemed to be broken.
Twisted pieces of iron were all that re-
mained of the wagon At first glance
| there was nothing to indicate that men
had been killed. but Chief of Police
| Raw. who was one of the first on the
! scene, after a short search found a hu-
man heart. A piece of skull, a cross sec
| # NTH ha GhTrt and
sleeve still on it and othes small pieces
were also found.
| Everyone sarmised what had happen
ed to Parker and Edwards as soon as
their being at the magazine became
| known Quickest of all to guess the
! terrible truth was Mrs Parker, at her
| home in the Pringle house on ". Gun
| ningham street with heI two babies,
aged two years and three weeks Tespec
| lively Her husband had told her he
| going out 70 invoice the stock, and when
| the report came she needed nothing
more to tell her she was widowed and
her children fatherless.
| Edwards lived in L. c. Wick's house
at 216 West St, near Washington, with
| his wife and three children, two girls
| aged 0 and years, and boy aged T.
| Mrs. Edwards was away from home at
the time of the explosion and the report
had not alarmed her. The sad news had
| to be broken to her and fell a fearful
blow. Mr. Edwards had been late at
dinner Tuesday and had made no men
ton of going to the magazine. Both
Mrs. Edwards and her boy recently
have been sick Size is a sister of JAS
l.. Garroway of Franklin ST., and Mr.
Edwards has brothers living at Worth
ington and Bradys Bend Mrs. Parker's
father. Mr.. Alwith, lives in Sharpsburg.
Edwards was 81 years old and Parker
%.
J. T. Holland, Mr., Edwards partner,
estimated the amount of nitro-glycerine
which exploded to have been from 1000
to 10000 pounds.
Edwards had taken out $4,000 policy
in the Casualty Inc Co. of New York
short time ago. but attorneys who have
examined the policy state that it cannot
be collected. If this is SO both families
are left wi h but little more than their
furniture and clothing. Both have re-
latives who are no doubt willing to help
them, but here is chance for the people
of Butler to aid the unfortunate.
The idea of popular subscription has
been urged and favorably considered.
We call upon all who are willing and
able to extend helping hand to the
widows and fetherless by contributing
to fund to be equally divided between
the two families as soon as practicable.
The CITIZEN will bank and distribute
the money and account for every cent
received.
Funeral services in memory of both
men will be held at the residence of
Thos. Edwards, 216 West St, at 2:30
| ID aft nao