294 killed in New London, Texas school explosion, 80 years ago

[Draggingtree]

294 killed in New London, Texas school explosion, 80 years ago

Augusta Robinson, Tyler Morning Telegraph, Associated Press

 

Published 4:57 pm, Friday, March 17, 2017

NEW LONDON, Texas (AP) — Otis Bryan was filling an inkwell on March 18, 1937, when suddenly the 11-year-old fifth-grader's art class in his school in the East Texas town of New London was shaken and invaded by a dark cloud of smoke.

 

Although Bryan said he didn't hear anything or understand what was happening, he started running and was able to exit from the back of the school down a staircase. He recalls running about one mile to get home, where he noticed he was bleeding and had small pieces of debris in his skin.

 

A steady stream of ambulances and first responders passed by his home, Bryan told the Tyler Morning Telegraph

 

"Everyone was hollering 'the New London School blew up,'" said Bryan, now 91, of Overton.
Saturday marks the 80th anniversary of the tragedy.

 

At 3:17 p.m. that day, Lemmie R. Butler, an instructor of manual training, turned on a sanding machine in an area that he didn't know was filled with a gas

 

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/294-killed-in-New-London-Texas-school-explosion-11010292.php