East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-10-27
MEDAL FOR
SEATTLE WOMAN
MRS. MINNIE l.. MYERS
FACED DEATH FOR DUTY
Carnegie Hero symbol Awarded Ma
tron Of Washington Children's
Home-With Nurses She Saved
Children When Building Was De-
stroyed and Nearly Lost Her Own
Life I'm Effort 10 Rescue Babies.

In recognition of her heroism and
self-sacrificing devotion TO duty in
re-entering the burning building OF
the Washington Children's Home TO
rescue two babes committed to her
care, the Carnegie hero fund commits
sion at a meeting held in Pittsburg
on Wednesday, awarded a silver med
al and cash gift of $1,000 to Mrs.
Minnie L. Meyers, matron of the
Washington Childron's Home now at
Ravenna, says the Seattle P. l. Of
fetal announcement of the award has
not yet been forwarded to Mrs. Mey-
ers and she was much surprised yes
terday when informed she had been
placed on the honor roll.
Mrs. Meyers is to receive the silver
Carnegie hero medal for her heroism
in forcing her way through the flames
which were fast destroying the build
ing Of the Washington Children's
Home, at Riverton on Saturday morn
ing, December 2S, last, in an effort TO
save two children. Failing to locate
the little ones. Mrs Meyers spent so
much time in her search that she was
hemmed in by the flames, and saved
her life only be leaping from the sec
ond floor of the building, after the
stairs had been burned away.
So severely was the matron burned
that she was confined for some time
to the Seattle General hospital, and
she has not yet completely recovered
from her terrible experience.
Yet even at this time, nearly year
after the destruction of the home,
she regrets nothing of her own suffer-
ing, though her eyes filled with tears
yesterday when she recalled the fall
ure Of her heroic effort TO save her
little charges.
Children Saved from Fire.
The fire in which Mrs Meyers was
injured broke out in the nursery of
the home. at Riverton, shortly after
2 o'clock in the morning So swiftly
did the flames spread through the
flimsy wooden structure that it was
only with the greatest difficulty that
% OF the % children housed in the
building were removed from the
doomed structure to place of safety. |.
The children who escaped owe their
lives TO Mrs. Meyers. Miss Agnes L. !
Hill, the day nurse, and Miss May
Baer, the night nurse of the home,
who risked their own lives to save the |
children.
Flames originating in some clothing
hanging behind a stove in the nursery
room and the fire spread so rapidly
that Miss Baer, who discovered it, had
only time to run from the room be-
fore the apartment was a mass OF
flames
Mrs. Meyers was awakened by the
screams of Miss Baer, and without
waiting to dress, or to save any of her
belongings. rushed to the dormitory,
and awakening the children, hurried
them before her down the stairs and
into the open air moment later
Miss Hill dropped two little ones
from a second story window and be-
ing cut off from the strairs by the
flames, leaped to the ground after
them.
Rushes Into Burning Building.
Hastily counting the frightened
children. Mrs. Meyers found that Ha-
eel Lee, three years old, and Iris
Crabtree, months old, were miss
ing, and realizing that they must be
still in the nursery, she rushed into
the burning structure, and, cropping
her way through the smoke, made her
way up the stairs and forced the door
of the nursery. Here her strength de-
serted her, and driven back by the
flames and smoke, she turned to the
stairs to find that they were burned.
building was cut off.