The Deadliest School Disaster on this Day in History

 

This day in history: The Collinwood school fire (also known as the Lake View School fire) was a major disaster that occurred on this day in 1908 at the Lake View School in Collinwood, Ohio, when a fire erupted, killing 172 students, two teachers and one rescuer. It is one of the deadliest school disasters in United States history.

"About nine o'clock in the morning on March 4, 1908, nine-year-old Niles Thompson jumped out of a window at Lakeview Elementary to escape a fire that had started in the basement of his school. Nearly two hundred children who had also been lucky enough to escape watched as flames engulfed the Collinwood school. Niles frantically ran among his schoolmates, searching for his little brother, Thomas. Once Niles realized his brother was not one of the safe children, he ran back into the school to save Thomas. Neither of the two Thompson boys walked out of their school again." Source

The origin of the fire remains uncertain, although numerous explanations abound. Newspapers circulated many possibilities, sometimes blaming the building's janitor Fritz Hirter for inattentiveness and for running the boiler too hot. Another theory held that the fire was caused by girls smoking in a basement closet near flammable materials. A quickly completed coroner's inquest concluded that heating pipes running next to exposed wooden joists ignited the building. The coroner blamed the fire on "conditions" and held no one legally accountable for it. Many parents condemned the speed of the inquest and objected to its refusal to hold the school board, the architects, Hirter or anyone else responsible. J.H. Morgan, Ohio's chief inspector of public buildings, explained the problem in his annual report to the governor and citizens: "The cause of the fire cannot be determined. Many believe it originated from the heating system or boilers, but proof has been offered to the contrary."

A memorial plaque placed at the site by the state of Ohio in 2003 asserts that the fire was of "unknown origin."

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Two Cases of Familicide on This Day in History

 

This day in history: On this day in 1937, 30-year-old farm wife Elsie Nollen of Dennison, Iowa, backed the family car up to a window and piped deadly monoxide gas into a room, killing her six children and herself.

The children raged in age from two years to 11 years. The husband, Albert Nollen, and two friends, found the bodies.

Nollen left a suicide letter starting: "I'm doing this because I see the family is not going to be raised up right." Nollen was overwhelmed with jealousy and marital unhappiness.

Albert Nollen found the bodies when he returned to his home Sunday morning after a quarrel with his wife and an all-night "spree". He found her letter in the mailbox.

Also on this day in 1919 in Kimberly, Ohio, Mary Stravisar killed her seven children and herself. "The family was living in destitute circumstances and her husband Tony had left them in May that year to search for work, but hadn't been heard of since. Stravisar and her children, who were aged 6 weeks to 10 years, were aided by the local authorities, which eventually decided to take the children to the Athens County Home. The 35-year-old was greatly worried about this and on the day the children were to be removed she tied them to their beds, sprinkled the room with coal oil and set it on fire, burning or asphyxiating all of them." Source

A familicide is a type of murder or murder-suicide in which an individual, usually a man, kills multiple close family members in quick succession, most often children, spouses, siblings, or parents. In half the cases, the killer lastly kills themselves in a murder-suicide. If only the parents are killed, the case may also be referred to as a parricide. Where all members of a family are killed, the crime may be referred to as family annihilation.

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A Tornado and a Flood on This Day in History

 

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A tornado outbreak killed more than 240 people in the central United States, while an ongoing flood in the Ohio River watershed was killing 650 people on this day in 1913.

The tornado outbreak sequence of March 1913 was a devastating series of tornado outbreaks that affected the northern Great Plains, the Southern United States, and sections of the upper Midwest over a two-day-long period between March 21–23, 1913. 

The Great Flood of 1913 occurred between March 23 and March 26, after major rivers in the central and eastern United States flooded from runoff and several days of heavy rain. Related deaths and damage in the United States were widespread and extensive. While the exact number is not certain, flood-related deaths in Ohio, Indiana, and eleven other states are estimated at approximately 650. The official death toll range for Ohio falls between 422 and 470. Flood-related death estimates in Indiana range from 100 to 200. More than a quarter million people were left homeless. The death toll from the flood of 1913 places it second to the Johnstown Flood of 1889 as one of the deadliest floods in the United States. 

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The .22 Caliber Killers on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: Thaddeus Lewingdon was born on this day in 1936. He, along with his brother Gary Lewingdon, were American serial killers who committed a series of ten murders in different Ohio counties from December 1977 to December 1978 while committing robbery. As a murder weapon, the criminals used .22 caliber pistols, due to which they received the nickname The .22 Caliber Killers. In 1979, both brothers were sentenced to several terms of life imprisonment.

The Lewingdon brothers chose strangers as their targets, away from their homes. The killings were particularly cruel; ten to seventeen shots fired at each victim. The murder spree began on December 10, 1977, when the brothers attacked 38-year-old Joyce Vermillion and 33-year-old Karen Dodrill at a bar in Newark, during which they robbed and shot at them. No witnesses were present at the crime scene, and Dodrill died afterwards, on her 34th birthday.

On February 13, 1978, the brothers broke into the property of an entrepreneur, 52-year-old Robert McCann, who owned a nightclub in Franklin County. During the robbery, they shot McCann, his 77-year-old mother Dorothy and his girlfriend, 26-year-old Christine Hardman, with several shots to the heads. On April 8, 1978, the killers arrived in the city of Granville, Licking County, where they attacked 77-year-old Jenkins Jones, shooting him and his four dogs before stealing money and valuables from the house. The Lewingdons' next victim was a priest, 35-year-old Gerald Fields, who was killed on April 30 in Fairfield County.

On May 22, 1978, the brothers committed a double murder. In northeast Columbus, where 47-year-old Jerry Martin, vice president and general manager of "Perma-stone", lived. Before stealing all valuables, the brothers shot Martin and his wife Martha through the window screen, after which they left the crime scene without leaving any clues for the investigators. In the course of a forensic ballistic examination of the bullets pulled from the bodies and casings found on the scene, it was established at the end of May 1978 that all the victims were killed with the same pistol. It was also found that another .22 caliber pistol was used in the spouses' murder, which established that there were two criminals present.

In the fall of 1978, a conflict occurred between the two brothers, with Thaddeus refusing to participate in further joint criminal activities. As a result, Gary, having financial difficulties for the upcoming Christmas Day, attacked 56-year-old Joseph Ennik on December 4, 1978, robbing and subsequently killing him. On December 8, while trying to pay off Ennik's stolen credit card, Gary Lewingdon was arrested by the store security service and was taken to the police station. During the interrogation, he began to cooperate with the investigation and confessed to the crimes, on the basis of which Thaddeus was arrested on December 11, 1978. Three days later, both brothers were charged with murder.

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The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk on This Day in History

 

The Wright brothers made their first attempt to fly the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on this day (December 14) in 1903.

The Wright Flyer was a plane they built in the back room of Wright Cycle Company, the Dayton bicycle shop where they sold/repaired bicycles. 

The News Wheel wrote an article entitled "Why North Carolina Needs to Take “First in Flight” Off Its License Plates" arguing that "Aviation history runs deep throughout the city of Dayton, Ohio. The local Air Force base — Wright Patterson — got half its name from the familial duo. The city is also home to the Wright brothers’ original cycling company..."

However, Dayton Ohio now plans to demolish the Wright brothers first bicycle shop claiming it is a nuisance, instead of preserving it as a historical artifact. Honestly, what else is Dayton Ohio known for?

Did you know: The Wright brothers were both high school dropouts, and neither of them ever married. Wilbur told reporters that he didn’t have time for both a wife AND an airplane.

Neil Armstrong carried a piece of the Wright Flyer with him to the moon. 

It was a toy from their father that started their obsession with aviation. "When the brothers were youngsters in 1878, their father returned home one evening with a gift that he tossed into the air. 'Instead of falling to the floor, as we expected,' the brothers recalled in a 1908 magazine article, 'it flew across the room till it struck the ceiling, where it fluttered awhile, and finally sank to the floor.' The model helicopter made of cork, bamboo and paper and powered by a rubber band mesmerized the boys and sparked their passion for aviation." Source

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