East Texas Utopia: Remembering the New London School Explosion 9/18/2013

By Amy Burke, aburke@news-journal.com

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Photo: Ellie Goldberg, 2007

London Museum & Tea Room

690 S Main Street

New London, TX 75682

(903) 895-4602

It was March 18, 1937, and it was one of the most tragic days in Texas history, but it brought forth a law that would save countless lives in its wake.

The explosion that day at the New London Junior-Senior High School could be heard for miles — ripping down walls, smashing cars and killing around 300 unsuspecting students, teachers and visitors.

At the height of the East Texas oil boom, how could something like this happen at one of the richest rural school districts in the country? I set out to find some answers by visiting the place where it all began — at the self-proclaimed home of the original Friday Night Lights — New London.

The town is small — home to less than 1,000 residents — but the resilience of the locals is evident, especially inside the museum that pays tribute to the school and the victims in the aftermath of one of the biggest school disasters in the country....

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New London remembers former mayor, museum director Mollie Ward, NEW LONDON, TX (KLTV) 

An East Texas woman who dedicated most of her life and all of her time to her community has passed away.

Mollie Ward, who was once the mayor of New London, died this morning at the age of 86. Listing all of Mollie's accomplishments is nearly impossible. There are many things that Mollie will always be remembered for--- including starting the New London Museum, which honors the victims and survivors of the New London School explosion.

In 1937, when the explosion occurred, Mollie Ward became a survivor. She used her life, which was spared, to make sure her classmates that were killed in the explosion would never be forgotten.

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There is a HERO in your area. It could be you!

Countdown to National Healthy Schools Day April 30

HEROES understand that when it comes to making decisions that impact children, "no risk is acceptable if it is avoidable."  

HEROES are committed to building schools for occupancy by children recognizing that standards, building codes, and guidelines that are based on the average adult male or workplace regulations are not safe for children because children are not little adults.

  

HEROES serve as a resource and mentor to the school community, setting up in-house systems for community participation, health surveillance, and ongoing hazard identification and control.

  

HEROES support the rights of parents to be involved in the decisions that affect their children, acknowledging that without informed parents, there will never be enough experts or inspectors to ensure schools are the healthy places and safe havens they are supposed to be. 

HEROES educate community members, preparing them to exercise their special rights as parents, employees, patients, students and citizens.  

HEROES advocate for precautionary standards and protective measures as active members of building committees, school health advisory councils, site-based management boards, and environmental quality teams that set child safety standards and guidelines for school design, renovation, operations and maintenance, pest-proofing, lab safety, and all activities in and around the school.

Yes, it is painful to threaten the illusion of safety in a school or community and to talk about death and loss. The 1937 Texas School Explosion survivors did not talk about their painful experiences for more than forty years. Their stories clearly teach us that it is even more painful to live with a tragedy when opportunities to prevent loss were unseen or overlooked.

2013 Healthy Schools Heroes

Heroes Linda Stroud and Janet Hurley

Inspiring Nominees Aimee Code and John Gann 

The cenotaph to the victims of the 1937 Texas School Explosion.

Gone at 317 YouTubeVideo 
The75^th Anniversary of the opening of the Mother Frances Hospital. It opened a day earlier than planned to take care of many hurt children from the March 18 1937 New London school explosion.  David Brown, author, and Jimmie Robinson, survivor interviewed.

Jimmie Robinson, Survivor

Author, David Brown