Milford chronicle., 1908-01-17

Unable to DisentangIe Them-Many
Bodies So Badly Burned They May
Never Be ldentified-NearIy Every
body In Boyertown Lost One or
More Relatives.
Boyertown, Pa, Jan. 15.-The Off
Cial roll of dead taken from the ruins
of the Rhoads Opera House, where
Monday nights holocaust occurred,
number 167.
The following is a list of the known
dead:
Miss Edith Rhoads, Charles Hart
man, Newton Lichtel, Mrs. Emma Lich-
tel, Mr. and Mrs. Shollenberger, Frank
Shollenberger, Harry Schaeffer and
wife, Clarence Miller, Reading; Miss
Hartman, daughter of William Hart
man; Miss Hartman, daughter Of Frank
Hartman; Miss Leidy Leach, Daniel
Krauss, Mr.. and Mrs. Charles Nuss and
son, Harry Foreman and wife and two
daughters, Miss Foreman, sister Of
Harry Foreman; Mr.. and Mrs. Daniel
Gable, Mrs. Johnson, Mr.. and Mrs.
George Parsin, Florence EttingeT, Mrs.
Henry Meyer, Mr.. and Mrs. Herbert
Gottschall, wife of DR.. L. X. Francis
and Miss Francis, Mrs. Addison
Schwoyer, Amos Hartman, Miss
Grimm, daughter of Gearge Grimm;
Ellen Gottschall, Rose Diamond, Laura
Rhoads, Blanche and Mable Rachel,
Emma Engle, Mrs. Tabor, Alice Moye.',
Edna and Florence Meyer, Nora
Herbst, Hannah Haring, Anna Deem,
Mrs. Clouser, Lottie Bowman, Lii
lie P. Fegely, Stella Meyer, Fran
els Meyer. Miss Weber, daughter
Of Rev. Weber; Mr.. and Mrs. James
Anderson, Mr.. and Mrs. Morris Ander
son, Keely and Edna Boyer, Mrs. Har-
vey Leinbach, Maggie Lefevre, a sister
Of Mrs. Leinbach; Charles Mayer, Hi
ram Leidy, Irwin Klemmer, Mrs. George
P. Romig, Mrs. Henry Shaner and two
sons, Paul and Harry; Miss Sallie
Hartman, Mrs. Lillian ROmig and son,
Miss Alice Gable, Warren Reed, Abra-
ham Gable, Mr.. and Mrs. Henry Wei
ser, Florence and Carrie Weand, Dr.,
Frank R. Drummer, Of Eshbach; Laura
Cleaver, May Geyer. Horace Leidy,
wife and son, John Fritz John Fritz
and daughter, Mrs. George Schanley. !
Charles Maurer, Stella Kulp. Mrs. |
George Moore, William Rhoads and |
daughter Mrs. John Bicker and two |
daughters; Robert Taggert, wife and |
jeremiah RhOads, of swamp; |
three daughters of DR.. Knipe; Ley
man Ziegler. Lottie Remick. Amos
wife and child, Austin |
Mrs. Wallace Hoffman and |
Annie Ritter. Elmer X.
Emrick, Mrs. Della Mayer. who had |
charge Of the performance.
Whether any more bodies are buried !
beneath the ruins cannot be positive
Iy stated, but it is the belief of those
who had charge of the gruesome work
that all of the dead have been re-
moved and that the total list of the
victims will not go above 40. The
-atiO of women and girls to men and
Boys is about nine to one.
Town Bowed With Grief.
The inhabitants of the little borough
n the Berks county hills are stepped
n grief. The calamity, terrible when
t is realized that the place has a pop
llation of but 2500, has paralyzed the
own and the people are going about
lazed. They scarcely realize what has
and cannot believe that
owed ones, friends or acquaintances.
we're lost in the awful panic and fire.
t is safe to say that everybody in the
lace either lost one or more rela-
ives, or was intimately acquainted
With those who died in the fire. In
everal cases whole families we're
7iped out. If ever a community was
ruly in mourning it is the substantial
own of Boyertown.
There were many different stories
s to the exact cause of the panic and
re, and there were several runners
I arrests, but the borough officials
nd Coroner Strasser denied that any
ction whatever had been taken. The
oroner said that his one thought was
} get out all the bodies before a sleet
r snow storm should set in and ham
er the work.
Actor Started Fire.
So far as can be learned there we're {
bout 425 persons packed in the room,
lost Of whom were adults. The num- ]
eT Of children present was compare |
vely small. There were about sixty =
We persons, all local talent, on the /
age, who were giving a performance (
the Scottish Reformation. The en- S
,rtainment was nearly over the au /
ence waiting for the curtain to go
D on the last part. when something (
ent wrong with the calcium light ap +
iratus, that was perched on small v
atform near the front entrance of Il
Ie building and at the back of the n
ldience. The light was in charge of i
w. Fischer, of Carlisle, Pa and 4
3 says a rubber tubing slipped from 4
le of the tanks. At any rate there v
as a loud kissing sound which caus- '
~ l.. nn@Hvs