Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1904-09-29
FLOOR OF BUILDING COLLAPSED
NINE SCHOOL GIRLS PERIsHED IN
THE VAULT.
Fatal Accident in Suburb of Cincin-
nati-School Teachers Aid in the
Work of Rescue-Heart-
rending Scenes.

Cincinnati, Sept. 24.-School closed
yesterday at Pleasant Ridge, seven
miles north of Cincinnati, with the
first quarter of the session, when nine,
possibly ten, school girls were suffo,
Gated in vault during the forenoon
recess, and a score of others narrowly
escaped the same horrible death.
During the rest of the day this suburb
was wild with mingled excitement,
sorrow and indignation, and last night
those openly charging the calamity to
official negligence are making serious
threats, among them being many wo-
men. The dead:
Loretta Finke, aged II; Emma Stein
kamp, aged 13; Amelia Hesse, aged 8;
Martha Buhr, aged 8; Edna Thee,
aged 10 Hazel Glover, aged 8; Fausta
Card, aged II; Chairman Card, aged
8; Lillian Witham, aged 10.
The large building is used for a
high school as well as for all lower
departments. All of the victims were
from primary grades. On opposite
sides of the spacious ground in the
rear of the school building are two
outhouses. When recess was given
about 80 OF the smaller girls were in
the Outhouse assigned to them, when
suddenly the floor gave way, precipi-
tating them into the vault below. This
vault is II feet deep and walled up
with stone like a well. There was in
It four feet of water that would would
have been over the heads of the chill
dren falling in it singly, but those
falling foremost filled up the vault
partially, so that others were not en-
tirely submerged. The girls fell eight
feet from the flooring and the strug-
giles of those who were on top kept at
least nine under meath until they were
dead. The frame sheds of these vaults
were about 20 feet square without
windows, and only one narrow door
way, so that only one girl escaped
from the door. She ran into the school
building and told the teachers what
had happened. The principal and
other teachers rushed to the rescue.
The screams of the girls were dimly
heard while within the vault, and
they were most of them unable to
speak when rescued. The teachers
were soon reinforced by the entire
population of the town, the police and
fire department rendering most eff
fective service. The fremen drained
the vault so as to be sure that the res
cue was complete.
Those engaged in the rescue work
recite the most ghastly experiences
Even those rescued alive presented
such an appearance as to make many
in the crowd of spectators faint, but
the sight within the vault beggared all
description.
Among the first to come to the re,
lief of Principal Simmerman were
Rev. l. d. Lambert, of the Presbyteri-
an church, and Frank s. Johnson, of
the Herald and Presbyt9r, of Cincn-
natl.
James Smith, aged A. one of the
pupils, climbed to the roof of the
school house, united the flag and ran
20 the vault. BY means of this i'm
promptu rope several were rescued.
Marshal Wood had great difficulty in
keeping the crowd back and from in
ttrfering with the rescuers. The i'm
pOrtunities of friends, especially of the
weeping mothers, were almost beyond
the control of the officers.