The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1947-04-18
Texas Blast
Hits Local
Families
Kin OF Khayats
And N. c. Lee
Reported Missing

The explosion disaster at Tex-
as City Wednesday which killed
$40 people and injured 5000
struck hard at several families
in the Pascagoula-Moss Point
area, while one family living here
recounted a fortunate escape BIZ
virtue of having ''checked-out"
of the Monsanto Plant area only
a few days ago.
N. c. Lee, a barber in Sam
Byrds barber shop on Magnolia
street. left by plane late Wed
nesday for Texas City after hav-
ing received a telephone mes
sage that one of his sons was
injured and in a hospital and
another son missing in the ex-
plosion.
The injured son was said to
have been employed in the Mon
santo plant, while the other was
said to have been employed
loading ships at the plants
docks. II was the explosion of
a French vessel loaded with am
onium nitrate which set off the
chain of explosions and the fire
which destroyed the port area of
the city.
Khayat Kin
The family of Edward and
Ramas Khayat received wor.l
that their brother-in-la w. Graham
Mcfarland, husband of the for
mer Miss Evalline Khayat, was
missing in the explosion. MI. Nc
Farland was also employed at
the Monsanto plant. The Khayat
brothers, who are well known
here with connections in BUSH
ness and civic circles, left early
Thursday for Texas City.
w. T. Broom, electrical super
Visor in Ingalls, sllipyafd, left
late Wednesday for the blast
area, where his sister-in-law and
her husband and child were To-
Gated. 1t vas said at Byrd's bar
Der shop Thursday. that word
came through by telephone from
Brooms relatives, after he had
left, that they were safe. They
gave the news sbout the fate
of Mr.. Lees two sons.
A happier fac was dealt to
another local family - Frank
Cunningham of Moss Point and
his wife and three children,
who left Texas City only last },
Thursday Immediately after Mr..
Cunningham had checked out at
the Monsanto plant, where he
had been employed as an cleo
trician on the day shift since
last fall.
Home Destroyed
The Cunningham's lived in a
house in the Snug Harbor" area
of the town which was DESTROY
ed in the blast, and the three
children had attended a school
which was also destroyed. The
children are Tony. Is; Violet,
l3; and Mike, 10.
Mr.. Cunningham heard the
first reports of the blast over
station EGBC where he had al
so appeared on a "hill-billy cow
boy" singing program.
The blast and fire began with
the explosion of a French YES
sci loaded with amcnium nitrate
from the Monsanto Plant To-
Gated near the docks, and most
of the day crew at the plant
were killed or injured in the
blast. Among them are many of
the friends and fellow-workers
of Cunningham.
Cunningham's brother, Jesse
c. Cunningham, signalman first
class in the U: S. Navy, also
escaped possible injury when he
effected a transfer last Thurs
day from the Galveston base in
the bay near the explosion to
the Gulfport base.
The Cunninghams are lifelong
residents of Moss Point, and are
sons of Mrs. j. B. Cunningham.
Frank was an electrician for
four years in INGALLS, shipyard be-
fore leaving last fall for Texas
City.
He has escaped two smaller
explosions last winter at the
plant. On one occasion gas which
had collected in the fire-box of
a boiler in a power house blew
up just as he left the building
causing $4,000 damages, and on
another occasion gas in a man
hole near the one in which he
was working blew up. The back
pressure from this blast blew his
hat off.
Thursday he said, Folks in
Moss Point have been saying /
must be living right to have got
away from Monsanto in time:
but l tell them | don't know if
its because I've been living right
or whether the Lord is just CIV
ing me another chance"