Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1910-07-06
FIVE MEN ARE KILLED.
LIGHTING PLANT IN MINNEAPO-
LIS SALOON BLOWS BUILD.
ING TO BITS.
BUILDING WAS BLOWN TO ATOMS
Four Unknown Wome> Picnickers Es.
cape With Cuts and
Brave .Rescues
Made.


. +* +
The Dead:
\ Charles Giebenhain, 48 years =
X old, bartender. i
Louis o. Hamish, ~ years old, +
= painter. y
Eugene HamIin, Is years old, X
X teamster.
Albert Hirth, Drickton, Minn., 4
+ about 20 years old. +
i MiddIeaged man thought to be =
+ Joseph SiIbaugh, AZ years old, +
Il carpenter. r.
The Injured:
X Edward Boucher, IS years old, +
proprietor Of the Point saloon, =
+ burned and bruised about the +
head and shoulders; hearing and y
+ sight probably destroyed;
+ George Miller, 81 years old, +
plasterer. Severely burned about +
= the chest and face. +
Ernest osterhcld, 80 years old, +
porter. One arm and his face bad +
X Iy burned. =
Four unidentified, elderly wom- X
X en-, members Of picnic party +
+ who were in the large room back +
Il Of the bar when the tank explod- t.
+ ed, cut and burned. X
X + i X 4
Minneapolis, MINI. - Five men
were killed and three injured when,
with defamation that could be heard
for several miles, the acetylene gas
generating tank in the basement of
the Point saloon, at the intersection of
the Crysal lake and Robbinsdale roads
near Minneapolis was blown up, hurl-
ing the walls of the building outward
and killing and manning some IA per-
sons who were in the place. The ex-
plosion was followed by fire which
reduced the shattered structure to
ashes and horribly charred and dis.
figured the bodies of those who failed
to escape with their lives.
Watch Stops at 4:22 p. m.
According to a gold watch found on
the body of Charles Giebenhain, the
bartender, the explosion occurred at
1922 p. NJ, at which time the watch
stopped. An alleged defect in the
acetylene generator, which was used
for Illuminating purposes only, is hint
ed at as the cause Of the accident, al
though from the twisted and jumbled
mass Of boiler plate and metal in the
basement Of the ruins, the real cause
may never be ascertained.
The acetylene plant was located in
the basement near the north wall and
midway between the front and rear
of the cellar. It was directly under
one end or the bar.
The blast literally tore out the front
and one side Of the building, hurting
beams, timbers and glass across the
Crysal Lake and the Robbinsdale
roads. The corner support between
the two shattered walls was also
blown away and the roof of the struc-
ture hung above, supported only by
the rafters running to the rear and
other side wall of the building.
Floors Shoot skyward.
Both the first and second floors in
the front part Of the building shot
skyward, carrying with them bar, fix
lures, contents of the cellar and &C.
cupants of the bar room. The roof
withstood the terrible upheaval and
the splintered wreckage fell back into
the pit of the basement. The floors
IN the rear room, separated from the
bar room by a strong partition, bent
upward before the blast like so much
canvas, but did not fall into the base.
ment.
George. Miller Is Freed.
Amid the heart-rending cries and
groans of the men buried and pinned
down in the forward part of the base.
ment when the flames were rapidly
turning the wrecked shell into seeth.
ing furnace, the rescue party hacked
away at the woodwork and freed Mil.
Ter. He was carried to the road
where he tainted. Repeated efforts
were made to aid the other men whose
agonlzed shrieks as the fire reached
them drove the workers on to desper.
ate endeavor, but the shattered and
partially supported roof hung an un.
stable canopy over the buring human
pit and warned the rescuers away by
the dropping Of huge timbers and
flaming beams
At the risk of burns and falling into
the cellar to say nothing of the posi-
bility of more explosions, firemen and
citizens crowded close to the burning
wreckage and dragged large burning
parts out into the road. The first
body to be recovered was that OF
Giebenhain. The charred mass was
placed on a board and covered with
gunny sacking.