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Gone at 3:17: The Untold Story of the Worst School Disaster in American History
At 3:17 p.m. on March 18, 1937, a natural gas leak beneath the London Junior-Senior High School in the oil boomtown of New London, Texas, created a lethal mixture of gas and oxygen in the school s basement. The odorless, colorless gas went undetected until the flip of an electrical switch triggered a colossal blast. The two-story school, one of the nation s most modern, disintegrated, burying everyone under a vast pile of rubble and debris. More than 300 students and teachers were killed, and hundreds more were injured. As the seventy-fifth anniversary of the catastrophe approaches, it remains the deadliest school disaster in U.S. history. Few, however, know of this historic tragedy, and no book, until now, has chronicled the explosion, its cause, its victims, and the aftermath."Gone at 3:17" is a true story of what can happen when school officials make bad decisions. To save money on heating the school building, the trustees had authorized workers to tap into a pipeline carrying waste natural gas produced by a gasoline refinery. The explosion led to laws that now require gas companies to add the familiar pungent odor. The knowledge that the tragedy could have been prevented added immeasurably to the heartbreak experienced by the survivors and the victims families. The town would never be the same.Using interviews, testimony from survivors, and archival newspaper files, "Gone at 3:17" puts readers inside the shop class to witness the spark that ignited the gas. Many of those interviewed during twenty years of research are no longer living, but their acts of heroism and stories of survival live on in this meticulously documented and extensively illustrated book.
255 pages, Hardcover
First published January 31, 2012
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1206 people want to read
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March 19, 2016
New London School Explosion
About five years ago I was reading through a book containing my family genealogy when I came across a side note next to the names of two of my cousins, Pauline and Donald Barrett: "They died in the New London School explosion."
I had discovered references to other tragedy's throughout the book, so this one didn't strike me as unusual at first. I continued reading, and at one point I came across a reference to the event a second time: "They died in the New London School explosion." Now my curiosity was piqued.
I was sitting with my wife, Brandie, and as I read the line I commented, "What kind of explosion could kill two children in a classroom?" I was frustrated because there were no more details given in the book, but as I studied it closer I did notice one thing that seemed a little odd; there was a six year difference in the brother and sisters ages. Still naive about the incident, I was wondering why the two were in the same classroom together. I was envisioning scenes from, "The little house on the prairie," where the children of all ages attended one class.
I had a thousand questions running through my head, and I was thumbing through the book from front to back hoping to find more information on the accident when suddenly it hit me! Google! Ah, yes, the modern answer to all inquiries, questions, and curiosity's.
Pessimistically I went to my computer asking myself, "What are the odds of finding some vague event like this on a search?" I opened the website and began typing in the search box; New London Sc...
Before I could finish typing the word, School, the drop down menu appeared and there it was. I was surprised at how quickly it came up but not nearly as surprised as I was when I clicked on the first option.
"Hundreds of children killed!"
"Worst school disaster in US history!"
THE EXPLOSION
At approximately 3:17 on that fateful day of March 18, 1937, shop teacher, Lemmie Butler, flipped a switch to an electric sander. The switch threw a spark which ignited a layer of natural gas that had leaked from a gas line. The school had tapped into a run-off line that flowed from the nearby oilfields.Due to the fact that natural gas is odorless, a crawl space approximately 250 feet long had filled with the leaking gas without anyone being aware of it.
Witnesses have all said that at the moment of the explosion, the entire school elevated off the ground, appearing to float in mid air, and then crashed back to earth. The majority of the school structure collapsed in upon itself, turning into a disaster site of concrete rubble and helpless children and adults.
The official death toll from the explosion has been set at 296, but it is agreed upon by most that those numbers are not accurate and that the exact number will probably never be known. There were many families during that time who had moved from far and wide to take advantage of the oil boom. After the accident many of the families moved, taking their lost with them to be buried in their home towns. Many of them had been severely traumatized, so there were no notifications as to where they had gone or what cemeteries they planned to make arrangements with. It is commonly accepted that the actual number of dead from the explosion stands at well over 300. The number of those accounted for are: 272 children, 16 teachers, and 8 visitors. It is also worthy of note to point out that there were later deaths of rescuers and family members due to lingering injuries, concrete dust inhalation, and suicide.
Notes of Interest
Walter Cronkite, a young and unknown reporter at that time, was one of the first among hundreds of press members who covered the story. In his later years, when asked about the tragedy, he stated that the New London School explosion was the worst non-war disaster that he had ever witnessed.
Another significant name attached to the catastrophe was, Adolph Hitler. The German dictator wired a letter of condolence to the United States offering his sympathies.
In the years following the accident, laws were passed requiring an odor to be added to natural gas so that in cases of leaks such as occurred at the New London School, the gas could be detected. So today, whenever you smell that classic, rotten egg scent of escaping gas, you know that it is an added odor to help identify the odorless natural gas. This is an act, and a law, that has stemmed from the lost lives of those on that day in March 18, 1937.
Why was I not aware of this?
Prompted by a small note in my family genealogy, I had discovered an event that had been world wide news. Needless to say, I spent the next several hours researching websites, watching videos, and making phone calls. I was completely amazed, but most of my amazement came, not from the enormity of the story, but by the fact that I had not known about the event. How could it be possible that I had never heard of this catastrophe...especially since I had family members who died in the accident?
I made a phone call to my Aunt, Joyce (Barrett) Andes, who was a first cousin to Pauline and Donald Barrett who died in the explosion. I thought surely she would know about the accident and be able to tell me about it, but surprisingly, she had never heard of it either. She and I were both perplexed and even a little upset that the details of a tragedy this big had never been passed down to us. But more than that, I was becoming a little angry that from all appearances, not only had the family forgotten, but that most of the country had as well.
Why has this tragedy escaped our memories?
Considering that the New London School explosion still stands as the worst school disaster in US history, I have questioned why I had never heard of it. Why had none of my immediate family members ever heard of It? Why is it that not one single person that I have mentioned it to has ever heard of the event?
I wondered if it had been forgotten due to a lack of media attention. In today's society we are inundated with news the moment that it takes place, and we are fed a steady stream of updated details 24/7. Due to media coverage we are all familiar with the tragedies that have taken place in schools across the country in the last couple of decades. We are aware of the sad events that occurred at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook. The total number of people lost in those events was 70; less than a quarter of the amount of souls that were lost at New London. I am in no way trying to diminish the tragedy's that took place at those schools, I am only questioning why they are so well known whereas New London has been all but forgotten by all except the locals in the area. So, was it a lack of media reporting taking place in the 1930's? I can answer my own question...No!
During my research I discovered that the New London School explosion had been reported, not only across the US, but across the entire globe. Newspapers around the world told of the horrific event, and leaders from several nations, including Hitler, sent their deepest sympathy to our mourning nation.
Okay, so the forgotten tragedy was not due to poor media coverage. I pondered other reasons why it had been erased from memory. Maybe it was simply because of the amount of time that had elapsed since the accident. After all, at the time I had discovered the record, 74 years had passed.The explosion had been the worst disaster in US history, but it had happened a very long time ago. Could this be the reason it has been forgotten? Again...I will answer my own question. No!
Growing up in the United States of America, there is a famous motto that we all learned as children. It is a motto that reminds us of an event that happened on March 6, 1836...177 years ago.
"Remember The Alamo"
The New London School explosion occurred 76 years ago; The battle at the Alamo took place 101 years prior. 257 souls were lost in that battle; 39 fewer than was lost at New London School. And none of the victims at the Alamo were children. Once again I want to emphasize that it is not my intention to diminish the memory of those brave men that gave their lives at the Alamo, or of those innocent children and teachers that lost their lives in those senseless school shootings. I pray that we always remember "The Alamo" and that we never forget those poor victims at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook. What it is my intention to do is to bring remembrance back to those men, women, and children who lost their lives because of that terrible day of March 18, 1937.
"Sorrow"
As time has gone by and I have continued to dig deeper into the history of the event, I believe I have discovered the reason that the story has faded from our memories. Of course there are some underlying reasons for the fading of the story; first there were the ongoing exploits of one, Amelia Earhart, the female pilot who had captured the attention of the world, there was also the Hindenburg disaster, and then there was the ongoing threat of Hitler's Nazi Germany and the fear of another world war. As I mentioned earlier, there had been extensive coverage of the New London School explosion, so it wasn't as if the world had no knowledge of the event, and the other events taking place around the globe were indeed note worthy enough to capture anyone's attention. But there is one more reason I have discovered...sorrow!
Grief Stricken
Through the course of books that I have read and articles that I have researched I have come across one common thread involving survivors, family members, and rescuers; the inability to talk about, think about, or deal with the accident.
My Aunt Joyce called me after successfully contacting a couple of family members who had been connected to the event. She said that every one of them had the same response when she inquired of them information about the accident; they had all said that while growing up, that any time the New London School explosion was mentioned, the adults all refused to talk about it. One of the family members was a younger sibling of Pauline and Donald, and he stated that even he hardly knew anything at all about the event because his parents never spoke of it his entire life.
This response that came through my family parallels the accounts of interviews with other family members of the event through their families or witnesses. The media was reporting facts and statistics about the accident, but they were getting no personal interviews with the kin of the victims. Families were so severely traumatized that it was intolerable for them to face the reality of what they had lost and what they had experienced. I have read accounts of parents who completely went mad, and some who even committed suicide. Those who survived the wave of insanity and the lure of darkness fell into such a state of unbearable sorrow that the only way they could survive was to withdraw into themselves so that they could escape pain.
Trying to imagine the grief that the survivors must have endured reminded me of the emotional state of my Uncle Bobby. Uncle Bobby served two terms in Vietnam. He was shot once, and on another occasion stepped on a land-mine which nearly killed him. When he was discharged he moved away and hardly spoke to any of us for what seemed like twenty years. As time has gone by and he has opened up, I have discovered that it was not his injuries that affected his mind; It was what he saw while he was there. In the modern world, doctors have diagnosed this as "PTSD" (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). PTSD is a common condition suffered by many war time veterans brought on by being introduced to experiences that the human mind refuses to accept. For the majority of people suffering this affliction, the only way they can survive is to erase all the dark memories from their minds. The problem with this approach is that without proper help, most of the sufferers not only wipe out the bad, but they also forget much of the good from the past. They withdraw into lonely solitude, and depression.
Honoring Their Memory
The New London School explosion of March 18, 1937, has been largely forgotten, and I believe I can understand why. I can't blame those family's, survivors, and rescuers, who for self preservation, or just because it hurt too damned much to think about it, erased that day from their conscious. I cannot imagine the emotional pain and torment that they must have suffered. What I want to do now is Remember! It has been a couple of generations since the explosion. Only a handful still survive who were there on that fateful day. Time has taken its toll and eased the pain. It is time now for people like myself, decedents, family members, locals in Texas, and writers such as, David M, Brown, Michael Wereschagin, and Ron Rozelle, to honor those who were lost in the explosion. We need to honor them by remembering them. It has been my purpose here to bring to your attention the memory of these souls that were lost on that day. Remember the survivors. Remember the rescuers. Remember the parents and teachers that were lost. Remember those 272 children whose young lives were ended in that tragic accident. I have made it my duty, that as long as I live, I will make sure that they are never forgotten. I will not forget!
If you are ever in Texas and you ask for the most popular tourist attraction in the entire state; you will be directed to The Alamo. I'm sure if you made your way there you would find plenty of souvenirs with the slogan, "Remember the Alamo!" So, if ever you do find your self there, ask someone if they remember, "The New London School Explosion?" They will probably be Texas natives and so will possibly remember. But if not, you will!.
In memory of my cousins, Pauline and Donald Barrett.
And to the children and adults who perished on March 18, 1937,
About five years ago I was reading through a book containing my family genealogy when I came across a side note next to the names of two of my cousins, Pauline and Donald Barrett: "They died in the New London School explosion."
I had discovered references to other tragedy's throughout the book, so this one didn't strike me as unusual at first. I continued reading, and at one point I came across a reference to the event a second time: "They died in the New London School explosion." Now my curiosity was piqued.
I was sitting with my wife, Brandie, and as I read the line I commented, "What kind of explosion could kill two children in a classroom?" I was frustrated because there were no more details given in the book, but as I studied it closer I did notice one thing that seemed a little odd; there was a six year difference in the brother and sisters ages. Still naive about the incident, I was wondering why the two were in the same classroom together. I was envisioning scenes from, "The little house on the prairie," where the children of all ages attended one class.
I had a thousand questions running through my head, and I was thumbing through the book from front to back hoping to find more information on the accident when suddenly it hit me! Google! Ah, yes, the modern answer to all inquiries, questions, and curiosity's.
Pessimistically I went to my computer asking myself, "What are the odds of finding some vague event like this on a search?" I opened the website and began typing in the search box; New London Sc...
Before I could finish typing the word, School, the drop down menu appeared and there it was. I was surprised at how quickly it came up but not nearly as surprised as I was when I clicked on the first option.
"Hundreds of children killed!"
"Worst school disaster in US history!"
THE EXPLOSION
At approximately 3:17 on that fateful day of March 18, 1937, shop teacher, Lemmie Butler, flipped a switch to an electric sander. The switch threw a spark which ignited a layer of natural gas that had leaked from a gas line. The school had tapped into a run-off line that flowed from the nearby oilfields.Due to the fact that natural gas is odorless, a crawl space approximately 250 feet long had filled with the leaking gas without anyone being aware of it.
Witnesses have all said that at the moment of the explosion, the entire school elevated off the ground, appearing to float in mid air, and then crashed back to earth. The majority of the school structure collapsed in upon itself, turning into a disaster site of concrete rubble and helpless children and adults.
The official death toll from the explosion has been set at 296, but it is agreed upon by most that those numbers are not accurate and that the exact number will probably never be known. There were many families during that time who had moved from far and wide to take advantage of the oil boom. After the accident many of the families moved, taking their lost with them to be buried in their home towns. Many of them had been severely traumatized, so there were no notifications as to where they had gone or what cemeteries they planned to make arrangements with. It is commonly accepted that the actual number of dead from the explosion stands at well over 300. The number of those accounted for are: 272 children, 16 teachers, and 8 visitors. It is also worthy of note to point out that there were later deaths of rescuers and family members due to lingering injuries, concrete dust inhalation, and suicide.
Notes of Interest
Walter Cronkite, a young and unknown reporter at that time, was one of the first among hundreds of press members who covered the story. In his later years, when asked about the tragedy, he stated that the New London School explosion was the worst non-war disaster that he had ever witnessed.
Another significant name attached to the catastrophe was, Adolph Hitler. The German dictator wired a letter of condolence to the United States offering his sympathies.
In the years following the accident, laws were passed requiring an odor to be added to natural gas so that in cases of leaks such as occurred at the New London School, the gas could be detected. So today, whenever you smell that classic, rotten egg scent of escaping gas, you know that it is an added odor to help identify the odorless natural gas. This is an act, and a law, that has stemmed from the lost lives of those on that day in March 18, 1937.
Why was I not aware of this?
Prompted by a small note in my family genealogy, I had discovered an event that had been world wide news. Needless to say, I spent the next several hours researching websites, watching videos, and making phone calls. I was completely amazed, but most of my amazement came, not from the enormity of the story, but by the fact that I had not known about the event. How could it be possible that I had never heard of this catastrophe...especially since I had family members who died in the accident?
I made a phone call to my Aunt, Joyce (Barrett) Andes, who was a first cousin to Pauline and Donald Barrett who died in the explosion. I thought surely she would know about the accident and be able to tell me about it, but surprisingly, she had never heard of it either. She and I were both perplexed and even a little upset that the details of a tragedy this big had never been passed down to us. But more than that, I was becoming a little angry that from all appearances, not only had the family forgotten, but that most of the country had as well.
Why has this tragedy escaped our memories?
Considering that the New London School explosion still stands as the worst school disaster in US history, I have questioned why I had never heard of it. Why had none of my immediate family members ever heard of It? Why is it that not one single person that I have mentioned it to has ever heard of the event?
I wondered if it had been forgotten due to a lack of media attention. In today's society we are inundated with news the moment that it takes place, and we are fed a steady stream of updated details 24/7. Due to media coverage we are all familiar with the tragedies that have taken place in schools across the country in the last couple of decades. We are aware of the sad events that occurred at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook. The total number of people lost in those events was 70; less than a quarter of the amount of souls that were lost at New London. I am in no way trying to diminish the tragedy's that took place at those schools, I am only questioning why they are so well known whereas New London has been all but forgotten by all except the locals in the area. So, was it a lack of media reporting taking place in the 1930's? I can answer my own question...No!
During my research I discovered that the New London School explosion had been reported, not only across the US, but across the entire globe. Newspapers around the world told of the horrific event, and leaders from several nations, including Hitler, sent their deepest sympathy to our mourning nation.
Okay, so the forgotten tragedy was not due to poor media coverage. I pondered other reasons why it had been erased from memory. Maybe it was simply because of the amount of time that had elapsed since the accident. After all, at the time I had discovered the record, 74 years had passed.The explosion had been the worst disaster in US history, but it had happened a very long time ago. Could this be the reason it has been forgotten? Again...I will answer my own question. No!
Growing up in the United States of America, there is a famous motto that we all learned as children. It is a motto that reminds us of an event that happened on March 6, 1836...177 years ago.
"Remember The Alamo"
The New London School explosion occurred 76 years ago; The battle at the Alamo took place 101 years prior. 257 souls were lost in that battle; 39 fewer than was lost at New London School. And none of the victims at the Alamo were children. Once again I want to emphasize that it is not my intention to diminish the memory of those brave men that gave their lives at the Alamo, or of those innocent children and teachers that lost their lives in those senseless school shootings. I pray that we always remember "The Alamo" and that we never forget those poor victims at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook. What it is my intention to do is to bring remembrance back to those men, women, and children who lost their lives because of that terrible day of March 18, 1937.
"Sorrow"
As time has gone by and I have continued to dig deeper into the history of the event, I believe I have discovered the reason that the story has faded from our memories. Of course there are some underlying reasons for the fading of the story; first there were the ongoing exploits of one, Amelia Earhart, the female pilot who had captured the attention of the world, there was also the Hindenburg disaster, and then there was the ongoing threat of Hitler's Nazi Germany and the fear of another world war. As I mentioned earlier, there had been extensive coverage of the New London School explosion, so it wasn't as if the world had no knowledge of the event, and the other events taking place around the globe were indeed note worthy enough to capture anyone's attention. But there is one more reason I have discovered...sorrow!
Grief Stricken
Through the course of books that I have read and articles that I have researched I have come across one common thread involving survivors, family members, and rescuers; the inability to talk about, think about, or deal with the accident.
My Aunt Joyce called me after successfully contacting a couple of family members who had been connected to the event. She said that every one of them had the same response when she inquired of them information about the accident; they had all said that while growing up, that any time the New London School explosion was mentioned, the adults all refused to talk about it. One of the family members was a younger sibling of Pauline and Donald, and he stated that even he hardly knew anything at all about the event because his parents never spoke of it his entire life.
This response that came through my family parallels the accounts of interviews with other family members of the event through their families or witnesses. The media was reporting facts and statistics about the accident, but they were getting no personal interviews with the kin of the victims. Families were so severely traumatized that it was intolerable for them to face the reality of what they had lost and what they had experienced. I have read accounts of parents who completely went mad, and some who even committed suicide. Those who survived the wave of insanity and the lure of darkness fell into such a state of unbearable sorrow that the only way they could survive was to withdraw into themselves so that they could escape pain.
Trying to imagine the grief that the survivors must have endured reminded me of the emotional state of my Uncle Bobby. Uncle Bobby served two terms in Vietnam. He was shot once, and on another occasion stepped on a land-mine which nearly killed him. When he was discharged he moved away and hardly spoke to any of us for what seemed like twenty years. As time has gone by and he has opened up, I have discovered that it was not his injuries that affected his mind; It was what he saw while he was there. In the modern world, doctors have diagnosed this as "PTSD" (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). PTSD is a common condition suffered by many war time veterans brought on by being introduced to experiences that the human mind refuses to accept. For the majority of people suffering this affliction, the only way they can survive is to erase all the dark memories from their minds. The problem with this approach is that without proper help, most of the sufferers not only wipe out the bad, but they also forget much of the good from the past. They withdraw into lonely solitude, and depression.
Honoring Their Memory
The New London School explosion of March 18, 1937, has been largely forgotten, and I believe I can understand why. I can't blame those family's, survivors, and rescuers, who for self preservation, or just because it hurt too damned much to think about it, erased that day from their conscious. I cannot imagine the emotional pain and torment that they must have suffered. What I want to do now is Remember! It has been a couple of generations since the explosion. Only a handful still survive who were there on that fateful day. Time has taken its toll and eased the pain. It is time now for people like myself, decedents, family members, locals in Texas, and writers such as, David M, Brown, Michael Wereschagin, and Ron Rozelle, to honor those who were lost in the explosion. We need to honor them by remembering them. It has been my purpose here to bring to your attention the memory of these souls that were lost on that day. Remember the survivors. Remember the rescuers. Remember the parents and teachers that were lost. Remember those 272 children whose young lives were ended in that tragic accident. I have made it my duty, that as long as I live, I will make sure that they are never forgotten. I will not forget!
If you are ever in Texas and you ask for the most popular tourist attraction in the entire state; you will be directed to The Alamo. I'm sure if you made your way there you would find plenty of souvenirs with the slogan, "Remember the Alamo!" So, if ever you do find your self there, ask someone if they remember, "The New London School Explosion?" They will probably be Texas natives and so will possibly remember. But if not, you will!.
In memory of my cousins, Pauline and Donald Barrett.
And to the children and adults who perished on March 18, 1937,
May 1, 2015
This is one of the saddest non-fiction books I have ever read. It is also an exemplary demonstration of the power of clear and precise reporting. It is a superb document detailing not just the events of March 18, 1937 and its aftermath, but the emotions and ramifications of those events. At 3:17 p.m. on that Thursday afternoon, in the small town of New London, Texas, a pool of undetected natural gas which had gathered in the basement of the town's school exploded, creating a blast that was felt for miles and that wiped out many of the town's children. Over 300 children and teachers died, and hundreds more were injured, in the disaster. No one in the town and surrounding area was untouched by the tragedy. The world resonated with cries of grief, messages of support and sympathy coming from such disparate people as Eleanor Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler. Yet today, the explosion and its devastating effect on a small town is almost forgotten. Fewer than two months later, the airship Hindenburg exploded, killing 36, and while it is remembered as an iconic event even by people who were not alive when it happened, the disaster in New London, with a death toll nearly 10 times greater, is known and remembered by only a comparative few. David M. Brown and Michael Wereschagin, both veteran journalists, have done a masterful job of recreating not just the details of the tragedy but of the emotions that ranged across that time and place. This is a rewarding book, and one that compels reading. I won't soon forget it.
June 4, 2012
Haunting. The descriptions of injuries inflicted on the victims of this disaster are burned into my memory. This is definitely not a book for the faint-of-heart.
I hesitate to call this book "good", because using such a word to describe a book about tragedy just seems wrong. It was through-provoking, memorable, respectful, and very interesting. I had never heard of this disaster prior to reading this book, and throughout I wondered why. How could such a tragedy slip out of our memory? The author addresses this issue at the end of the book, and offers compelling reasons why we all know the story of more "famous" disasters, such as the Titanic sinking or the Triange Shirt Waist fire, but know nothing of what happened on that horrible day in New London, TX in 1937.
I said many prayers for the victims of this tragedy while reading, and hope that those left behind were able to find some measure of peace with their loss.
I hesitate to call this book "good", because using such a word to describe a book about tragedy just seems wrong. It was through-provoking, memorable, respectful, and very interesting. I had never heard of this disaster prior to reading this book, and throughout I wondered why. How could such a tragedy slip out of our memory? The author addresses this issue at the end of the book, and offers compelling reasons why we all know the story of more "famous" disasters, such as the Titanic sinking or the Triange Shirt Waist fire, but know nothing of what happened on that horrible day in New London, TX in 1937.
I said many prayers for the victims of this tragedy while reading, and hope that those left behind were able to find some measure of peace with their loss.
October 29, 2023
So heartbreaking
July 24, 2018
Despite growing up in East Texas, I had never heard of the New London School explosion until I read Walter Cronkite’s autobiography. By then, I was an adult living and teaching in Panola County, less than 45 miles from New London. I’ve been fascinated and horrified by the story ever since. This book is hard to follow in the beginning (and again in the epilogue) - there are lots of names to try and keep up with and sort out. But the names almost don’t matter, compared to the story of what happened to those people. As a mother, I can’t begin to imagine the heartbreak, and knowing of all the places mentioned just makes it that much more real. Everyone from the area should read this, for sure, but it’s a good read for anyone from other places too.
November 28, 2022
I sincerely have to wonder what caused a couple of writers from Pennsylvania to want to write a book about a school disaster in rural east Texas.
But I'm also sincerely glad that they did.
I was made aware of this book while I was reading a novel about racism in deep east Texas that was set around the same disaster. However, the only factual piece of that tale was the fact that there was an explosion and the number of lives it took.
In Gone at 3:17, Brown and Wereschagin present what is, in my opinion, at least, a very well written account of the events surrounding the explosion at New London schools on March 18, 1937. I have ties to this event, if not directly, then at least indirectly. My mother says that she had a cousin that died in the explosion. My mother and father both attended that school, but long after this event. My uncle should have been going there, but, for some reason, had been sent to a different school that year. My father was born in November of 1937, and my Grandmama was pregnant with him when this happened. I seem to remember being told that she was standing in the kitchen and heard the blast from her house in Pirtle, a few miles away from New London.
It is also my opinion that this account reads a lot like something that Eric Larson, author of Isaac's Storm, would have written. The writing is more than just factual. It has life; it has feeling and emotion. I don't know how many times it made me weep while I was reading it.
The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 is "Calm." The calm before the storm. Simply an account of everything that was happening on that day, leading up to the time of the explosion. Part 2 is "Terror." And that's putting it mildly. For twelve or so pages, in chapter 13, they authors give intricate details of everything that happened in what must have taken less than thirty seconds to occur. It is mind-bending; it is heartbreaking. Part 3 is "Aftermath," and recounts the almost futile efforts of a small community to bury around 300 children and a small number adults who also died.
There is also an account of a regular gathering of survivors who began meeting at the site, every two years. At this point, being ten years after the publication of the book, I would be surprised if any of the survivors still live.
I learned some things while reading this. I learned that Walter Cronkite, famed news reporter, while not originally from Texas, did a great bit of his growing up in Texas and attended the University of Texas, but did not graduate. He dropped out to pursue his passion, becoming a reporter. The New London explosion was his first big story. He would not have landed it, had he not been on special assignment for United Press, in Dallas. I also learned that New London received a letter of condolences from . . . Adolf Hitler.
I also learned that the phrase "It is what it is" was in use way back then.
The story of the rescue effort is an astounding story of the strength and resilience of a community. People who were looking for their own children pitched in to help move the rubble from the wreckage. Lonnie Barber, a bus driver (I also learned that their "buses" were more like tractors with a trailer attached, the children riding in the trailer that resembled a train car), took some children home to their parents before going back to help the rescue effort, even though he had no clue about his own children.
This is also a tale of decisions that had permanent consequences. Several times, it is mentioned that there was a PTA meeting that afternoon. Most days when there were PTA meetings, the children were sent home early. That day, they decided to keep them for the whole last period, because Friday was to be a school holiday, due to Interscholastic League competitions going on. The explosion happened at 3:17, just a little over ten minutes before school would have been let out.
The cause of the explosion is probably the most tragic piece of the story. Tragic, mostly, because New London schools were extremely wealthy. There are allegations that they were the richest ISD in the nation, because of the 200+ square mile oil reservoir that had been discovered there, known as the "Black Giant." But, to save a few dollars (a spit in the bucket compared to the wealth of the district), the school decided to use waste gas that came from the oil drilling. It was natural gas, and all they had to do was run a pipeline from the drilling sites to the school. But a leak developed on the lower floor of the school.
Up to that point, natural gas had no smell, and it was colorless. So no one could tell that the lower floor had filled with gas. The shop teacher, Lemmie Butler had plugged in an electric sander. He flipped a switch. The following is a direct quote from the book.
"A violent heat, the concussive single beat of a monstrous heart, conjured chaos from oxygen. The shop became a blast furnace, whit hot. Scorched and twisted inside a burning shock wave, Lemmie Butler died first. The blast flicked Dial and his classmates backward into the sharp concret cloud of a disintegrating wall.
"Flames raced back through the four-foot door into the crawlspace. The atmosphere fed madly on itself in a frenzy of deflagration. Every molecule of 62,500 cubic feet of air screamed and rent itself away from every other. A concrete basement wall, 250 feet long, cracked from the ground and tilted on its heels. Soil below and sturdy foundations around would yield no more, caging the relentless pressure, leaving one way out. The dragon spread its wings.
"At its base the school trembled. The motion intensified to a menacing rumble until, mere seconds later, the entire structure shuddered violently. The explosion burst skyward with the force of seventy pounds of trinitrotoluene (TNT) detonated beneath each square foot of basement ceiling.
"In the English class above the shop, teacher Lizzie Ellen Thompson felt the tremor sweep through the building as the floor, walls, and ceiling rattled and shook.
"'Jesus help us,' she said.
"The maelstrom swallowed her.
"The first floor shattered like porcelain as a blazing torrent erupted through the poured concrete slab on which the long building stood. Cement, timber, and brick splintered. Rolling balls of gas, burning blood orange, howled upward in a dense, searing, forty-ton hurricane. The first floor, blown to shrapnel, rushed toward the ceiling. Windowpanes shattered in sprays of glass. Desks and chairs hurled apart. Drinking fountains snapped loose from plumbing fixtures. Classroom walls disconnected and were pulverized into clouds of chalky gray powder. Throughout the chaotic scene were children and teachers, faces, fingers, nerves, and bone. All was being torn to pieces."
The description goes on for another ten or so pages. And in the time it took you to read that quote, it was already over.
The district saved $250 dollars in heating costs.
But it's not all horror, as that bit describes. There are tales of heroics, and happy family reunions, especially the one described on p. 181 when two sisters were reunited, both wondering if the other was okay.
A radio man named Ted Hudson started his first radio broadcast at a new station he had created, the morning of the explosion. When he heard about it, he rented a plane, flew over the disaster area, and immediately went back and got equipment and a truck to take to New London, and broadcast nonstop for about two or three days, reading notes over the air, begging for doctors, nurses and other helpers to come. Thinking he was probably only reaching a few hundred people, he didn't know that his broadcast had been picked up by most stations in the nation, and he was being heard by millions of people.
I could go on and on, and I've probably written way too much in what is only supposed to be a book review. But this book has had an impact on me that will not soon diminish. One thing is for sure; I am going to arrange, somehow, to visit the New London Museum and Tea Room in the near future. Many of the photos and documents described in the book are on display there, in the museum which is across the street from the current school, which is still the one that was built to replace the one destroyed in the explosion of 1937.
It is described by many as the "worst school disaster in American history." People all around the world (as evidenced by the letter from Hitler) took notice. There were even school children in japan who collected money to send to New London to try to help.
"A town had lost its future." And several reports said that in one afternoon, the richest school district in America had become the poorest.
Even the cover of the book is heart-rending.
But I'm also sincerely glad that they did.
I was made aware of this book while I was reading a novel about racism in deep east Texas that was set around the same disaster. However, the only factual piece of that tale was the fact that there was an explosion and the number of lives it took.
In Gone at 3:17, Brown and Wereschagin present what is, in my opinion, at least, a very well written account of the events surrounding the explosion at New London schools on March 18, 1937. I have ties to this event, if not directly, then at least indirectly. My mother says that she had a cousin that died in the explosion. My mother and father both attended that school, but long after this event. My uncle should have been going there, but, for some reason, had been sent to a different school that year. My father was born in November of 1937, and my Grandmama was pregnant with him when this happened. I seem to remember being told that she was standing in the kitchen and heard the blast from her house in Pirtle, a few miles away from New London.
It is also my opinion that this account reads a lot like something that Eric Larson, author of Isaac's Storm, would have written. The writing is more than just factual. It has life; it has feeling and emotion. I don't know how many times it made me weep while I was reading it.
The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 is "Calm." The calm before the storm. Simply an account of everything that was happening on that day, leading up to the time of the explosion. Part 2 is "Terror." And that's putting it mildly. For twelve or so pages, in chapter 13, they authors give intricate details of everything that happened in what must have taken less than thirty seconds to occur. It is mind-bending; it is heartbreaking. Part 3 is "Aftermath," and recounts the almost futile efforts of a small community to bury around 300 children and a small number adults who also died.
There is also an account of a regular gathering of survivors who began meeting at the site, every two years. At this point, being ten years after the publication of the book, I would be surprised if any of the survivors still live.
I learned some things while reading this. I learned that Walter Cronkite, famed news reporter, while not originally from Texas, did a great bit of his growing up in Texas and attended the University of Texas, but did not graduate. He dropped out to pursue his passion, becoming a reporter. The New London explosion was his first big story. He would not have landed it, had he not been on special assignment for United Press, in Dallas. I also learned that New London received a letter of condolences from . . . Adolf Hitler.
I also learned that the phrase "It is what it is" was in use way back then.
The story of the rescue effort is an astounding story of the strength and resilience of a community. People who were looking for their own children pitched in to help move the rubble from the wreckage. Lonnie Barber, a bus driver (I also learned that their "buses" were more like tractors with a trailer attached, the children riding in the trailer that resembled a train car), took some children home to their parents before going back to help the rescue effort, even though he had no clue about his own children.
This is also a tale of decisions that had permanent consequences. Several times, it is mentioned that there was a PTA meeting that afternoon. Most days when there were PTA meetings, the children were sent home early. That day, they decided to keep them for the whole last period, because Friday was to be a school holiday, due to Interscholastic League competitions going on. The explosion happened at 3:17, just a little over ten minutes before school would have been let out.
The cause of the explosion is probably the most tragic piece of the story. Tragic, mostly, because New London schools were extremely wealthy. There are allegations that they were the richest ISD in the nation, because of the 200+ square mile oil reservoir that had been discovered there, known as the "Black Giant." But, to save a few dollars (a spit in the bucket compared to the wealth of the district), the school decided to use waste gas that came from the oil drilling. It was natural gas, and all they had to do was run a pipeline from the drilling sites to the school. But a leak developed on the lower floor of the school.
Up to that point, natural gas had no smell, and it was colorless. So no one could tell that the lower floor had filled with gas. The shop teacher, Lemmie Butler had plugged in an electric sander. He flipped a switch. The following is a direct quote from the book.
"A violent heat, the concussive single beat of a monstrous heart, conjured chaos from oxygen. The shop became a blast furnace, whit hot. Scorched and twisted inside a burning shock wave, Lemmie Butler died first. The blast flicked Dial and his classmates backward into the sharp concret cloud of a disintegrating wall.
"Flames raced back through the four-foot door into the crawlspace. The atmosphere fed madly on itself in a frenzy of deflagration. Every molecule of 62,500 cubic feet of air screamed and rent itself away from every other. A concrete basement wall, 250 feet long, cracked from the ground and tilted on its heels. Soil below and sturdy foundations around would yield no more, caging the relentless pressure, leaving one way out. The dragon spread its wings.
"At its base the school trembled. The motion intensified to a menacing rumble until, mere seconds later, the entire structure shuddered violently. The explosion burst skyward with the force of seventy pounds of trinitrotoluene (TNT) detonated beneath each square foot of basement ceiling.
"In the English class above the shop, teacher Lizzie Ellen Thompson felt the tremor sweep through the building as the floor, walls, and ceiling rattled and shook.
"'Jesus help us,' she said.
"The maelstrom swallowed her.
"The first floor shattered like porcelain as a blazing torrent erupted through the poured concrete slab on which the long building stood. Cement, timber, and brick splintered. Rolling balls of gas, burning blood orange, howled upward in a dense, searing, forty-ton hurricane. The first floor, blown to shrapnel, rushed toward the ceiling. Windowpanes shattered in sprays of glass. Desks and chairs hurled apart. Drinking fountains snapped loose from plumbing fixtures. Classroom walls disconnected and were pulverized into clouds of chalky gray powder. Throughout the chaotic scene were children and teachers, faces, fingers, nerves, and bone. All was being torn to pieces."
The description goes on for another ten or so pages. And in the time it took you to read that quote, it was already over.
The district saved $250 dollars in heating costs.
But it's not all horror, as that bit describes. There are tales of heroics, and happy family reunions, especially the one described on p. 181 when two sisters were reunited, both wondering if the other was okay.
A radio man named Ted Hudson started his first radio broadcast at a new station he had created, the morning of the explosion. When he heard about it, he rented a plane, flew over the disaster area, and immediately went back and got equipment and a truck to take to New London, and broadcast nonstop for about two or three days, reading notes over the air, begging for doctors, nurses and other helpers to come. Thinking he was probably only reaching a few hundred people, he didn't know that his broadcast had been picked up by most stations in the nation, and he was being heard by millions of people.
I could go on and on, and I've probably written way too much in what is only supposed to be a book review. But this book has had an impact on me that will not soon diminish. One thing is for sure; I am going to arrange, somehow, to visit the New London Museum and Tea Room in the near future. Many of the photos and documents described in the book are on display there, in the museum which is across the street from the current school, which is still the one that was built to replace the one destroyed in the explosion of 1937.
It is described by many as the "worst school disaster in American history." People all around the world (as evidenced by the letter from Hitler) took notice. There were even school children in japan who collected money to send to New London to try to help.
"A town had lost its future." And several reports said that in one afternoon, the richest school district in America had become the poorest.
Even the cover of the book is heart-rending.
May 29, 2019
This book describes, in detail, the worst school disaster in American history. It’s split into three parts. Part one talks about New London’s history, and how oil was discovered there a few years before the disaster. It also provides the backstories of the kids and teachers leading up to the disaster. Part two describes the explosion itself, and everyone’s reaction. People spent countless hours digging through the rubble in search of their children. Part three talks about what became of the survivors in the days and decades following the tragedy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very well written. This book had a lot of emotion in it, which I always like in a book. I recommend this book to people who enjoy books about history and/or nonfiction. This book is not for the faint of heart because it describes in graphic detail the death and severe injury of young children. Because of such descriptions, I wouldn’t recommend this book to elementary school children either. I think most other demographics should read this book because the memory of these people who lost their lives should be kept alive as long as possible.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very well written. This book had a lot of emotion in it, which I always like in a book. I recommend this book to people who enjoy books about history and/or nonfiction. This book is not for the faint of heart because it describes in graphic detail the death and severe injury of young children. Because of such descriptions, I wouldn’t recommend this book to elementary school children either. I think most other demographics should read this book because the memory of these people who lost their lives should be kept alive as long as possible.
August 26, 2023
This was a very detailed retelling of the New London Texas school disaster. It was informative and heart wrenching. Actual survivors were interviewed. It was not an easy read but well worth the effort. I learned things I did not know about the people and how the event affected safety regulations. Thank you to the authors for remembering these precious lives that were lost that fateful day.
July 6, 2014
Horrifying account of the worst disaster in US school history. The terrible event paved the way for safety measures regulating the natural gas industry. Captures the horror without dwelling on the grisly details, it was still difficult to read at times. Recommended by a cousin when I posted that my husband's grandfather was one of the hundreds of volunteers that helped clear the debris. He had a welding shop in nearby Gladewater, Texas.
September 11, 2018
Unbelievable Tragedy Told with Heart
I had never heard of this school tragedy. I came across this book by chance. I am shocked that throughout my life, I have never heard of this disaster.
The story was well told and gives the reader a vivid picture of what happened. This story has heart. The authors were sure to include stories about many people involved.
I feel fortunate to have found this book and to have learned about so many stories of resilience and hope.
I had never heard of this school tragedy. I came across this book by chance. I am shocked that throughout my life, I have never heard of this disaster.
The story was well told and gives the reader a vivid picture of what happened. This story has heart. The authors were sure to include stories about many people involved.
I feel fortunate to have found this book and to have learned about so many stories of resilience and hope.
March 7, 2024
When I saw that Gone at 3:17 was co-authored by two writers and that both were newspaper journalists, I feared that my expectations for the book might not be met. Heretofore, I've found that co-authored works often suffer from stylistic confusion, and as a former English major in university, of course I considered journalism majors to be of an inferior breed, just as hard science majors looked down upon us humanities majors. (Remember the chorus of Kris Kristofferson's Jesus Was a Capricorn: “'Cause everybody's gotta have somebody to look down on”?) Anyway, my fears proved groundless because Brown and Wereschagin have written a remarkable book that is not only factually accurate (appealing to my appreciation of historical reality) but is also enticingly composed (appealing to my enjoyment of a readable, captivating narrative).
Why does natural gas have such a distinctive, annoying rotten-egg odor? A chemical called mercaptan is added to it; otherwise, it is invisible and odorless. Why make it smell so offensive? Over three hundred Texas death certificates, all bearing the same date and location of death, are why. The same inspiration underlies the creation of this book, which the authors have “dedicated to preserving the memory of the events of March 18, 1937” when the building housing the middle and high school classes of New London, Rusk County, Texas erupted in an earth-shattering explosion of its gas-filled basement.
Why is the book important? I offer myself as an example. I was born and grew up in a Texas town only a 2 ¼ hour drive from New London. I graduated from a Texas university that lies roughly a three hour drive away. Nevertheless, until I accidentally encountered Gone at 3:17, I had never heard of the incredible disaster that had unfolded only four counties to the south of my own. As Brown and Wereschagin note, the passage of time and the natural deaths of the aging survivors and witnesses of the catastrophic destruction of a brand new school building filled with students as young as fifth graders and their teachers is fading from public memory—and it really should not.
Why read this particular book? There are, of course, other accounts of this tragedy, and one can very simply look up its facts on line. The authors of Gone at 3:17 have written an account that includes but goes beyond the material facts. Through their prose, the reader is vicariously transported to the time and the town, feeling the warmth of the springtime Sun, smelling the airborne perfume of newly blooming flowers, seeing youngsters en route to school, hearing some of their chatter. The reader also understands why the town even came into being and sees the transformation of agricultural fields into a derrick-crowded, roughneck-populated oil boom region. (And waste gas produced by the refining of this oil played a crucial role in the massive death toll.) In short, through their descriptive narrative the authors transport readers into the events, which become far more memorable than facts that are simply read.
I levy only a few quite small criticisms against Gone at 3:17. The first is that, thankfully on only a very few occasions, the authors create some unsuccessful similes that, when contrasted with the otherwise excellent writing, strike me as unforgivably sophomoric. For example, on page 165 we read, “There were a few bright moments, like nuggets of gold or diamonds turning up in a washtub of muddy water.” On page 173, we encounter a reference to a “flashing beacon of an ambulance floating across the darkness like the raw red eye of a storybook phantom....” Fortunately, such inappropriate comparisons are not at all frequent.
A bit of jarring phraseology (perhaps a malapropism or a typo?) occurs on page 122. Quoting another source, the authors relate, “Most of the school had, literally, vanished, leaving a rubble-littered cradle to show where it had been.” A “cradle”? Might the original word have been “crater”? If so, then this observation is contradicted by a quotation from the Dallas Times-Herald on page 168: “[W]hile the building was shattered from the ground up, leaving no trace of the concrete basement floor, there was no hole in the ground.”
As long as I'm picking nits, page 118 shows an erroneous use of the subjunctive mood in the sentence “If the Kentucky Derby were taking place, McLemore was there.” This is the sole instance of an obviously ungrammatical sentence in the book, but one wonders where the proofreader was when the book was read before going to print.
I was also disappointed by one omission in the book. Although 16 unnumbered pages are given over to pertinent historical photographs, there is no photo of the impressive cenotaph that stands in New London today to memorialize the victims of the 1937 catastrophe although it is described in the text. Fortunately, numerous images are easily found by an Internet search, but I am surprised by their omission from the book.
Despite the nits I have just picked and my few perhaps picky criticisms, I found this to be a most effectively written book about a topic that should not vanish from public memory. It deserves an unqualified recommendation and is well worth the time expended in its reading.
Why does natural gas have such a distinctive, annoying rotten-egg odor? A chemical called mercaptan is added to it; otherwise, it is invisible and odorless. Why make it smell so offensive? Over three hundred Texas death certificates, all bearing the same date and location of death, are why. The same inspiration underlies the creation of this book, which the authors have “dedicated to preserving the memory of the events of March 18, 1937” when the building housing the middle and high school classes of New London, Rusk County, Texas erupted in an earth-shattering explosion of its gas-filled basement.
Why is the book important? I offer myself as an example. I was born and grew up in a Texas town only a 2 ¼ hour drive from New London. I graduated from a Texas university that lies roughly a three hour drive away. Nevertheless, until I accidentally encountered Gone at 3:17, I had never heard of the incredible disaster that had unfolded only four counties to the south of my own. As Brown and Wereschagin note, the passage of time and the natural deaths of the aging survivors and witnesses of the catastrophic destruction of a brand new school building filled with students as young as fifth graders and their teachers is fading from public memory—and it really should not.
Why read this particular book? There are, of course, other accounts of this tragedy, and one can very simply look up its facts on line. The authors of Gone at 3:17 have written an account that includes but goes beyond the material facts. Through their prose, the reader is vicariously transported to the time and the town, feeling the warmth of the springtime Sun, smelling the airborne perfume of newly blooming flowers, seeing youngsters en route to school, hearing some of their chatter. The reader also understands why the town even came into being and sees the transformation of agricultural fields into a derrick-crowded, roughneck-populated oil boom region. (And waste gas produced by the refining of this oil played a crucial role in the massive death toll.) In short, through their descriptive narrative the authors transport readers into the events, which become far more memorable than facts that are simply read.
I levy only a few quite small criticisms against Gone at 3:17. The first is that, thankfully on only a very few occasions, the authors create some unsuccessful similes that, when contrasted with the otherwise excellent writing, strike me as unforgivably sophomoric. For example, on page 165 we read, “There were a few bright moments, like nuggets of gold or diamonds turning up in a washtub of muddy water.” On page 173, we encounter a reference to a “flashing beacon of an ambulance floating across the darkness like the raw red eye of a storybook phantom....” Fortunately, such inappropriate comparisons are not at all frequent.
A bit of jarring phraseology (perhaps a malapropism or a typo?) occurs on page 122. Quoting another source, the authors relate, “Most of the school had, literally, vanished, leaving a rubble-littered cradle to show where it had been.” A “cradle”? Might the original word have been “crater”? If so, then this observation is contradicted by a quotation from the Dallas Times-Herald on page 168: “[W]hile the building was shattered from the ground up, leaving no trace of the concrete basement floor, there was no hole in the ground.”
As long as I'm picking nits, page 118 shows an erroneous use of the subjunctive mood in the sentence “If the Kentucky Derby were taking place, McLemore was there.” This is the sole instance of an obviously ungrammatical sentence in the book, but one wonders where the proofreader was when the book was read before going to print.
I was also disappointed by one omission in the book. Although 16 unnumbered pages are given over to pertinent historical photographs, there is no photo of the impressive cenotaph that stands in New London today to memorialize the victims of the 1937 catastrophe although it is described in the text. Fortunately, numerous images are easily found by an Internet search, but I am surprised by their omission from the book.
Despite the nits I have just picked and my few perhaps picky criticisms, I found this to be a most effectively written book about a topic that should not vanish from public memory. It deserves an unqualified recommendation and is well worth the time expended in its reading.
February 14, 2013
Very carefully researched documentary, of a tragic event...that was entirely preventable. In an effort to save a minor amount of money, many lives were lost. Also a great accounting of early news reporting of a major catastrophe...before TV or Internet, or cellphones!
Want to read
March 13, 2015I live three or four miles from the school where this tragedy occurred. I grew up hearing about it, and I'm glad someone wrote a book about it, because the lost children, the surviving families, and the rescuers should never be forgotten.
January 23, 2015
Very well written book about a horrific incident in Texas history.
April 18, 2020
*spoilers*
Gone at 3:17 encapsulates the main idea behind this entire novel, written by the two authors David M. Brown and Micheal Wereschagin. The purpose behind this novel was to give a detailed look into one of the most destructive disasters that ever happened. This book serves as a reminder that when building a school in a place such as Texas, one needs to be inherently aware of the natural surroundings. The school was built beautifully, with Spanish tile roofs, but the one thing they failed to notice was the unexplainable gas that filled the building. In an attempt to save money, the principle instructed the janitor to mess with the infrastructure in the basement instead of calling a professional. This simple mishap led to a gas-based explosion that took hundreds of lives of young children, young adults, and faculty. The book has amazing detail of first hand accounts by people who lived through the experience, either as a child escaping the school or adults that helped clear the rubble.
Through this novel, the reader is able to learn very many key details about this event. For example, there was a new hospital built a few towns over that was set to open on a Friday. The explosion happened on a Thursday, so the hospital made the executive decision to open a day early to treat these children. I won’t go into too many details--as parts of the book made me cry in horror-- but a lot of the children that were affected by the explosion lost parts of their bodies. Some of them had to be pulled from the school, while others jumped from windows in an attempt to leave the crumbling building.
The people that experienced this tragedy often made comments on how this lasted with them through their whole life. The correct word to use to describe this event is trauma. This was an extremely traumatic event not only for the children, but for everyone involved. Children lost their friends and teachers. Adults lost their friends and children. The community was no longer the same with a generation missing. Some people left town, and some people stayed. The authors ability to write a fluid story, separated into four parts presented a cohesive story with factual information. It was a hard read in terms of the context, but was still written very well and gave me a deep insight into an event I had never heard about. The lives lost on March 18, 1937 will always be remembered and serve as a reminder that not all disasters are created by the environment. Sometimes the most deadly things can happen with the flick of a light switch.
Gone at 3:17 encapsulates the main idea behind this entire novel, written by the two authors David M. Brown and Micheal Wereschagin. The purpose behind this novel was to give a detailed look into one of the most destructive disasters that ever happened. This book serves as a reminder that when building a school in a place such as Texas, one needs to be inherently aware of the natural surroundings. The school was built beautifully, with Spanish tile roofs, but the one thing they failed to notice was the unexplainable gas that filled the building. In an attempt to save money, the principle instructed the janitor to mess with the infrastructure in the basement instead of calling a professional. This simple mishap led to a gas-based explosion that took hundreds of lives of young children, young adults, and faculty. The book has amazing detail of first hand accounts by people who lived through the experience, either as a child escaping the school or adults that helped clear the rubble.
Through this novel, the reader is able to learn very many key details about this event. For example, there was a new hospital built a few towns over that was set to open on a Friday. The explosion happened on a Thursday, so the hospital made the executive decision to open a day early to treat these children. I won’t go into too many details--as parts of the book made me cry in horror-- but a lot of the children that were affected by the explosion lost parts of their bodies. Some of them had to be pulled from the school, while others jumped from windows in an attempt to leave the crumbling building.
The people that experienced this tragedy often made comments on how this lasted with them through their whole life. The correct word to use to describe this event is trauma. This was an extremely traumatic event not only for the children, but for everyone involved. Children lost their friends and teachers. Adults lost their friends and children. The community was no longer the same with a generation missing. Some people left town, and some people stayed. The authors ability to write a fluid story, separated into four parts presented a cohesive story with factual information. It was a hard read in terms of the context, but was still written very well and gave me a deep insight into an event I had never heard about. The lives lost on March 18, 1937 will always be remembered and serve as a reminder that not all disasters are created by the environment. Sometimes the most deadly things can happen with the flick of a light switch.
January 3, 2022
Forgotten for many years because the town simply could not speak of it, the 1937 school explosion in New London, Texas was an unspeakable horror. It claimed the lives of approximately 300 children, teachers, and others. Witnesses saw the entire school launch into the air, throwing bricks, glass, steel and people into the trees and surrounding fields. In the blink of an eye, an entire generation of schoolchildren was gone.
Their story deserves to be told, and this book does that very well, utilizing contemporary news reports and interviews with survivors who bring to life the children and teachers frozen in time by tragedy. Almost no family in New London survived untouched, leaving a pain so deep that it took decades for anyone to be willing to speak of it.
The causes were so pointless and predictable, yet despite the bitter, brutal loss lessons were learned that have saved untold thousands in the intervening decades. In that light we owe them so much—the least we can do is remember.
Their story deserves to be told, and this book does that very well, utilizing contemporary news reports and interviews with survivors who bring to life the children and teachers frozen in time by tragedy. Almost no family in New London survived untouched, leaving a pain so deep that it took decades for anyone to be willing to speak of it.
The causes were so pointless and predictable, yet despite the bitter, brutal loss lessons were learned that have saved untold thousands in the intervening decades. In that light we owe them so much—the least we can do is remember.
August 6, 2024
I have been familiar with this story for many years. David Brown does an excellent job describing the emergency from its human side. Brown interviewed some of the survivors from this incident. He talks about the victims, their families, and the efforts of all those involved in the response to the explosion. He also talks about the devastating aftereffects of those who lost friends and family members including the 1961 "confession" by one survivor to causing the explosion that took the life of his sister.
I am an Emergency Response Instructor and have long described these events when discussing the power of a gas explosion and why odorant is added to most propane. I have gained new insight into this event and can better related to participants in my classes the awful human toll associated with hazmat incidents.
If you want to an insight into the devastation wrought by mass casualty incidents or are looking for a detailed account of this terrible manmade accident, this is an excellent book.
I am an Emergency Response Instructor and have long described these events when discussing the power of a gas explosion and why odorant is added to most propane. I have gained new insight into this event and can better related to participants in my classes the awful human toll associated with hazmat incidents.
If you want to an insight into the devastation wrought by mass casualty incidents or are looking for a detailed account of this terrible manmade accident, this is an excellent book.
October 22, 2024
This is an excellent book - I don't normally review books, but this one was both well written and full of information that I'd never learned before about the New London School Disaster. I appreciate that the author interviewed survivors and those around the disaster, as I feel that provided a very full picture of what happened. Also, wow, I had no idea that Walter Cronkite was there! What a weird coincidence (I guess I also didn't realize how old he was). The only thing that somewhat detracted from my enjoyment was an extremely irritating formatting issue with the ebook edition that I got from the library. I'm not certain what happened, but any book involving an 'fa' word (that is, the word started with those two letters, like the word father) was changed to 'fl', resulting in words being occasionally difficult to decode. I don't think that was the author's fault, but I also wanted to bring attention to it in case anyone ends up with the same edition as I have.
July 11, 2017
This book was recommended by one of the volunteers at the New London Museum. He said others have commented that it was better than "My Boys and Girls Are In There" (which I thought was excellent). I found it to be more comprehensive, almost overwhelming. Hearing the accounts of parents searching for their children, what the reporters went through to file their stories, and the description of the community were fascinating. Towards the end, the author writes of Marvin Dees coming home after helping search through the rubble, and his wife wanting him to eat since he hadn't eaten all day. He couldn't. All he could do was lie down and yet he couldn't sleep. That image finally made me understand why it was the disaster that nobody talked about. I recognized many of the names of the children that I saw on the memorial.
May 22, 2019
What a tragic, true story of the March 18, 1937 explosion that killed an entire generation of school children in East Texas. In the aftermath, Adolph Hitler sent a condolence telegram on the loss of so many American school children. One father bought five railway tickets, two round trip tickets, on for himself and his wife, and three one-way tickets for his children's caskets, as they traveled to the cemetery where they would be buried. A then 20-year old reporter named Walter Cronkite covered the tragedy and late in life said it was the single worst peacetime disaster of his long and storied career. Veterans who had returned from WWI and later those who returned from WWII said the carnage at New London was more devastating than anything they witnessed at war.
January 25, 2021
Well researched but pretty gruesome at times. Two things struck me most. Right after the explosion people from everywhere came running immediately to help. Some stayed removing debris and looking for signs of life for a day and a half. I wondered if people now would be that willing to give of themselves that way. It was also interesting to learn how little regulation there was for safety and the change that came after this disaster that I had never heard of. The individual stories were good too.
September 14, 2022
I really enjoyed learning the full story of the New London school explosion. We live in East Texas now, so many of the places and some of the last names were familiar to me. It was absolutely gut-wrenching to read about the devastation. I was in tears for much of the book. I like how the authors shared the different stories of survivors, journalists, and first responders. It got confusing a few times because there were so many stories, but I highly recommend the book!
June 22, 2025
Excellent book. Heart-wrenching. I picked it up while taking a kid to the East Texas Oil Museum in nearby Kilgore, and it interested him enough for us to drive to the scene. I hadn't been there in 40 years, and basically only remembered that Hitler had sent condolences. We read the cenotaph.
I later took my wife to the museum there and then to the cemetery where over 100 are buried. Just breaks your heart.
I later took my wife to the museum there and then to the cemetery where over 100 are buried. Just breaks your heart.
October 2, 2019
I had never heard of this disaster prior to reading this book and it completely baffles me how such a horrific tragedy can just slip from memory. Although the subject matter is definitely not for the faint of heart, there were so many stories of resilience and hope that made it more bearable to read. Such an incredibly tragic catastrophe though that I’ll never forget.
January 26, 2020
Well written, engrossing book. My only complaint is it had only a minor discussion of what caused the disaster and even less how this disaster changed engineering, building code, and the natural gas industry. There were profound changes to engineering because of this disaster that this book did not even discuss.
July 18, 2018
Great book
What a sad story. A very fact based interesting read. Characters were very vivid. Especially since we just happened to visit Mother Francis Hospital. What a beautiful hospital
What a sad story. A very fact based interesting read. Characters were very vivid. Especially since we just happened to visit Mother Francis Hospital. What a beautiful hospital
June 5, 2020
Heartbreaking
I had never heard about this American tragedy. The book is beautifully written, detailing the horror and loss of a school explosion in East Texas in 1937. The stories in this book will haunt you...
I had never heard about this American tragedy. The book is beautifully written, detailing the horror and loss of a school explosion in East Texas in 1937. The stories in this book will haunt you...
June 25, 2021
Unbelievably tragic history told through excellent journalism. One of the most thorough, spell-binding accounts of a disaster I’ve ever read. Remarkable to have never heard of this event, especially considering how the legacy of safety has lived on.
August 26, 2017
Incredible. So much local history; unimaginable pain.
October 13, 2017
Incredibly well told account of a heart wrenching true story. Difficult not to read with tears in your eyes. Beautifully researched and masterfully written.
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