Lest We Forget....New London School
Printed in The Panola Watchman Newspaper, March 16, 2005
Editorial Comment: Emily Proctor, fifth grate student, is a friend of Catherine Keeling and wanted to write a short story of Keeling's recollections of the New London school explosion. March 18th will mark the anniversary date of the London School explosion, which resulted in the death of at least 311 school children, visitors, and teachers. The gas explosion has been called one of the major disasters of our time.
On March 18, 1937, about 3:15 p.m., a blast occurred with such explosive power that all the witnesses agreed to hearing a loud rumbling noise. At that time the school was using a free gasoline known as "wet" or "residue" gas from a gasoline extraction plant. This was a common practice in the area at this time. It was established beyond reasonable doubt that the explosion was due to leaking gas from a pipe or pipes under the building, and that the ignition was from the arc of an electric switch in the manual training room at the moment that the teacher plugged a portable connection into a wall socket. There were many reports of persons who survived by reason of protection from desks and other objects of furniture.
Emily Proctor, a fifth grade student at Baker-Koonce Elementary school, took it upon herself to research and interview a survivor of the London School explosion. Emily interviewed a resident at Briarcliff Nursing Home in Carthage. Emily wanted the Panola County readers to know of this special lady and her experience of that dreadful day.
The following is Mrs. Keeling's recollection of March 18, 1937:
"I am the daughter of John and Dolly Hughes of Longbranch, Texas. I grew up in Longbranch, Texas, and attended the four room school house there. The school only went through the ninth or tenth grade. We could not graduate from Longbranch School, so we had to go to some other school to complete high school. I had a sister and brother-in-law that lived in New London, so that's why I ended up there to attend school at New London.
"It was a rich school because of the oil field industry. I made a lot of friends there. My math teacher was Mr. Bunch. I was good at math. He and his wife were very good people and Christians, too. They took special interest in me. I always said that Mrs. bunch was a special "angel" to me and the other school children. Later on, before I graduated in 1936, my brother-in-law got transferred to South Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Bunch asked me to move in with them. That is why I was able to graduate from New London High School in 1936.
"My family was very poor and I didn't have money to go to college. That school was so rich, they offered a post graduate year of high school to all the students who could not go to college. I took the post graduate year of high school. I took typing, short hand, and bookkeeping to prepare me for a job. I was in the typing room when my math teacher, Mr. Bunch, came and asked me to be in a program with him that afternoon for the PTA, which was meeting in the gym that afternoon. This was unusual because the students were using the auditorium and that's why the PTA had to use the gym that afternoon.
"We left for the program earlier than we were supposed to go. We went out the back door across the alley between the school and the gym. We walked into the gym and sat down. Just as soon as we sat down in the gym, the explosion took place. If it had not been that we had gone to the PTA Program early, we would have still been in the school. A lot of unusual things happened that caused us to be out of the school building that day. Everyone in the typing room was killed by the explosion. I never did do anything that I felt I deserved to be spared that day. I will never forget waking out of that gym and what a daze I was in. I didn't know what to do or where to go.
"After so long a time, I decided to walk up the hill to where the school had been. When I came to the top of the hill, I walked right up to my daddy and my uncle. They had driven over from Henderson. My daddy had gone to Henderson that afternoon. He and my uncle were standing out on the sidewalk when they heard off the sirens. When they finally found out what it was, my uncle told my daddy to get in the car, they were going over to the school.
"I walked right up to my daddy and uncle when I topped the hill. Isn't that something? My daddy came over see to see if I was still alive, and I ended up waking right up to him. My daddy, when he saw all the destruction, thought I was dead. When my daddy and uncle decided to leave, they tried to get me to go with them, but I wouldn't t leave. I stayed there and didn't do anything but go to funerals for about a week. I made a lot of good friends over there, and I have outlived most of them.
"It has been a long time since I have been back to New London. I don't know anyone there anymore. When the explosion first occurred, I thought that Mexico had bombed us, because we were having some trouble with Mexico at that time. I will never forget that dreadful day."
Emily Proctor says, "I feel that Mrs. Keeling is a special lady in our community. She survived the explosion for a purpose, and I feel that her story needs to be told to others. I am thankful she allowed me this privilege to share her story of what happened March 18, 1937, with our community. This story really makes me appreciate my school, my teachers, my family and friends. These are special gifts and we should never take them for granted."
Hats Off! to The Panola Watchman and Miss
Emily Proctor for this story.
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3/18/05