The Colville examiner. [volume] (Colville, Wash.) 1907-1948, 1919-01-11
-FOUR PERISH
IN HOLOCAUST
FIRE WEDNESDAY MORNING DE-
STROYS HOME, MOTHER AND
THREE CHILDREN
Three Children Escape in Zero Wealth
er to Home of NeighbOr-Father
Working at Tiger

Motherless, homeless, without cloth
ing, driven from their beds in zero
weather by flames which suddenly
enveloped them, three children of
the Waltenburg family found shell
ter at the home of a neighbor at
Tbs Wednesday morning, forced to
leave their mother and three brothers
in the burning home.
Mrs. VIM. Waltenburg, aged as, and
two sons, George aged and Arnold
aged 9, perished in the home. Law
renee, aged 7, was taken from the
burning building by J. f. Potter,
but died in a few hours at the
home of L. w. Dronkers.
Three Children Escape
The three children who escaped
were BERTHE aged Is, Alvin aged 13,
and Hazel aged II. BERTHE, the old
est girl at home, says that she had
gotten up early to put fuel in the
stove, and then had gone to bed
again. The next she knew was
when her mother called the children
to get up, as the house was on fire.
BERTHE says that her only impression
was of the flames all around her,
but that she tried to help her
mother, without avail. The children
hardly knew how they got out of the
burning home. They went without
clothing, and were put to bed at the
Dronkers home. j. E. Potter seized
Lawrence from the burning room,
and S. Graham carried him to the
Dronkers home, but he was fatally
burned by heat-more SO than
by the flames. DR.. I. S. Clark was
called and found the boy conscious,
but unable to talk coherently. An
opiate was administered to free the
child from pain during the short
time it was evident he could live,
and death came at 1890. He was
conscious few minutes before
death, and said he felt as though he
were going to die.
Fire Department Responds
The fire department arrived
promptly after the alarm was given,
but the one-story house was entirely
ablaze when first seen, and nothing
was left for the department to do
but to keep the floor from burning
and rescue the burned bodies from
the debris. Quinn w. McCord, un-
dertaker, took the charred remains
of the mother and two sons from
the smoking ruins. Arnold was found
partly clothed, face downward, in
the east room. The mothers body
lay on the back, in the west room.
The youngest boy was midway be-
tween the two, apparently in the
doorway.
The house was a three-room
frame, built by the late A. 7.
Horton, and was in the 300 block on
west Astor. The mother and six
children were the only ones home,
out of a family Of IL. The hus-
band and son Lennie, aged 10, and
daughter Jessie, aged II, were at
work at Camp No. 2 at Tiger. It
may never be known just how the
fire originated, but it is evident
that there was an explosion which
suddenly hurled the flames through
out the house, or escape. for more of
the family would have been pos
sible, as there were plenty of exits
had there been time to use them.
The mother had been partly crippled
from rheumatism, but would have
been able to escape with the chill
dren had there been time.
Sheriff Sends. Car for Father
Sheriff VIM. Miller Immediately
dispatched an auto to Tiger to bring
the father, son and daughter, and
wired the two married daughters,
Mrs. Herbert Wonch, Priest River,
Idaho, and Mrs. w. M. Mortenson,
Powers Lake, North Dakota.
J. d. Casey provided the children
with suits of clothes, underwear and
shoes, while the Red Cross also sup
piled them with clothing.
The car sent to Tiger by Sheriff
Miller, driven by Carl Johnson, ar
rived little before two o'clock with
the father, son and daughter, all
of whom were dazed with the news
of the tragedy. c. F. Cdmmins ac-
companied Mr.. johnson to Tiger and
the trip was made in quick time.
Funeral services will be held at
2 o'clock this afternoon in the Nc
Cord undertaking parlors, Rev. J. S.
Bell officiating. The music will be
furnished by members of the M. E.