Daily Kennebec journal., 1906-01-19
Nearly 10 People Thrown
Into Church Cellar
wh'!e Attending Turkey Supper
at Boylston Center, Mass.
oae Seriously and Several Badly Ault.--
All Shaken and Bruised. "t

| BOyiston. Mass. Jan. 1S-The flooring
| OF the vestibule of the CONGREGATION
church i'll Eoylston Center collapsed
collapsed tonight, under the weight of
crowd of people who were there to at
tend 4 turkey supper and between so
ana ~ persons were precipitated into
Inc cellar. one man was seriously in
jurcd several others were so badly hurt
that they required the attention of ply
siciaIs. while nearly all suffered from
shock and bruises.
Henry l.. Hepburn of 1874 Lincoln
street. Worcester. superintendent of
street lighting. WAS most seriously
hurt. His right foot was crushed, his
leg badly bruised and he suffered ala
from brain concussion. An ambulan.r /
took him to tho hospital in Worcester.
Among the others injured were:
Ralph Hazclton, Worcester; leg in
jurcd
Mrs. Frederick W. White. wife of the
city treasurer. Worcester: face cut and
right leg injured.
Q. y. Kelly and Mrs. Kelly, his wife,
Worcester, suffering severely from
shock due to the fail. '''"'
Horace II. Lowe. Clinton, chairman
Of the board OF road commissioners
Of the town; bruises ami leg wrenched
Mrs. calvin II. Hastings, Clinton;
bruises and muscular strains
Mrs. Hattie Lowell Mrs c. L. Bond,
Miss Louise Smith, and Mrs. George
J.. Tuppcr al Of Worcester and Calvin
Rice of West BOylSton, suffered minor
injuries.
The turkey supper at the Boylston
congregational church is an annual af-
fair which has come TO be q social oc-
casIon of much note not only in this
town but in Worcester and ether near
by places. Excursion parties to attend
it al" made UP usually in the various
towns. travelling by electric cars and
bargcS
just before the accident happened at
about 80 tonight. two trolley cars fill
cd with people from Worcester. Sterl-
inS. Berlin, West Boylston, Shrews-
bury and other places had arrived at
til" church. The people who had come
earlier had finished eating. and the ta-
bieS were being cleared to be made
ready for the hew comers. People who
had dincd went into the vcstibule of the
building intending to wait there for the
beginning of tho entertainment later in
the church auditorium and they were
met by the thronS of new arrivals from
the trolley cars.
In The crush in the little vestibule.
ti;c flooring sagged and some of the
tlnbcrs beneath giving away COM
pictcly hole was opened up under the
feet of the throng. Through the op-
ching three score or more persons
dropped into the cellar a distance Of
10 feet. There was a wild scramble to
escape, but fortunately cool-headed
persons in the crowd prevented n panic
and the women and children were first
assisted from the mass. lamp fell
with the flooring and broke. but the
ire WAS cXtinguished before It had
caused any damage.
One of the first persons from out side
the church to reach the scene was G.. H.
Hastings who lives in the town. He
furnished valuable assistance to the
unfortunate people and also secured
medical attendance promptly by tcle-
rhoring TO DIR. w. H. Bliss of Shrews-
bury. DIR. Bliss and another Shrcws-
bury physit ian were soon at the
church. and later DR.. G.. L. Tobey
ana DIR. u. ii. Mckay Of Clinton arriv-
cd. Under the direction Of the physi-
clans the more severely injured were
Icvovcd TO their homes and to the
Worcester hospital. while others who
were found to be only slightly hurt,
were allowed to go home uEassistcd.
Horace II. Lowe of Clinton. who WAS
one OF the injured ones, said that he
was in the center Of the crowd in the
vcStinule when the floor collapsed He
felt himself dropping into the cellar
and the next instant he was buried un-
der a mass Of neOole who slid down
upon him from the funnc-shaped sag
which the floor about the aperture as
summed. Mr.. Lowe was taken to his
home in Clinton after the accident.
1t is believed that the action OF JAS
pcr w. Sawyer. the church Organist. as
sisted materially in preventing a panic
and Guieting the crowd after the acci-
dent. When tie vcstibulc floor COLLAPSE
cd and the screams of the victims
arose. Mr.. Sawyer instantly turned to
his instrument and began playing.
Upon the 80 Or a. people who had
gathered in The auditorium awaiting
the beginning of the entertainment, the
action had a quieting effect.
il was necessary to bring ladders into
use to remove the people from the audit
torum. which is on the second floor OF
the building, as with the vcstibule
flooring gone there was no other means
of egress. Most of these people We're
taken cut by ladders raised to the vim
dOws while Others walked across n tenn
pOrary staging made of ladders AMI
boards fixed across the hole in the vcs-
tibulc.