Roy Burton Barber

Roy Burton Barber was a senior enjoying Mr. Lemmie Butler's mechanical trades shop class.  At approximately 3:17 P.M., a spark from machinery in the classroom ignited the deadly gas mixture.  One of only 4 survivors from the flash point location, Roy's tragedy was to become even worse as his brother, Arden, was killed in the blast.  Roy's father had been sitting in the school bus he drove in front of the building at the time of the explosion.  He spent the next several hours not knowing the fate of his two sons.  Roy Barber recently passed away in August 2008, from natural causes in Ft. Worth, Texas.



    

Dorothy (Wommack) Box

Dorothy Box was spending the last period of the day working in the school library.  The library was located on the 2nd floor of the school building, directly above the mechanical shop class.  An 8th grader, Dorothy was assisting fellow student Clifton Barton check out a book when the building was rocked by the explosion.  Pinned under heavy file cabinets, Dorothy was rescued by others.  While attempting to make her way to safety, she vividly remembers classmate Pearl Shaw declaring:  "It's gone... it's all gone... the school is all gone."  Today, Dorothy is retired and currently planning a move to San Antonio, Texas, to live near her family.





Otis Mack Bryan

Otis Mack Bryan was finishing his school day on March 18, 1937 as he did all of the others.  He was in Mrs. Johnnie Marie Nelson's 5th grade art class simply filling the ink well of his pen when the terrifying events unfolded.  His room was on the second floor and Otis Mack remembers literally flying down the steps and racing through what once was a set of doors to the outside.  The explosion dust was so thick Otis Mack ran headfirst into a parked car and then got severely tangled in some barbed fence wire.  He vividly remembers the names and faces of friends who were not so fortunate.  Otis Mack Bryan is retired and lives in Overton, Texas.



    

Marvin Dees

While working on an oil lease location approximately 5 miles from the London School, Marvin Dees and his fellow co-workers with the Texas Company (Texaco) were stunned by the sound of a massive explosion in the distance.  Believing the sound to be that of an explosion common to the oil wells of the time, the workers were shocked to learn the sound was the blast that ultimately destroyed the school.  Marvin and his friends quickly raced to the scene to find the unspeakable destruction.  Marvin spent most of the next two days and nights at the scene attempting to locate survivors, recover the dead, and clear the wreckage.  Today, Marvin is a retired engineer residing in Tyler, Texas.





Nathan Durham

An 8th grader, Nathan Durham found himself in study hall during the last period of the day reading Moby Dick.  Suddenly, the building began to disintegrate before his eyes.  Struggling to free himself from underneath a large table that had been crushed by a falling concrete girder, Nathan heeded the call of Mrs. Gary, his teacher, to make his way down what was left of the stairwell.  Once outside, Nathan was confronted by his father who had witnessed the explosion from their home just up the road.  Nathan's father had brought their neighbor, Mr. Hodges, to the scene.  Mr. Hodges located his daughter, Irma, in the rubble outside.  Nathan, his father, Mr. Hodges, and critically injured Irma loaded into the Durham car and took off for the hospital in nearby Henderson.  While traveling to the hospital, Irma died in her father's arms.  Later, while at the funeral home, Nathan witnessed his father assist a local fireman unload the bodies of more than twenty young victims piled high on top of a fire truck.  Now a retired federal customs agent and outdoor sporting enthusiast, Nathan lives in Pasadena, Texas, with his family.





Carolyn Frei

Young Carolyn Frei and her best friend, Barbara Moore had been practicing spelling words with their teacher, Ms. Sory, when the explosion occurred.  Led by Ms. Sory to safety outside, Carolyn raced home to find an empty house.  Her mother and stepfather had already headed to the scene in search of their children.  Hours later, the bodies of Caryolyn's siblings, Paul and Helen, were located in the area makeshift morgues.  Incredible sorrow engulfed the family in the coming days when a local political official came to Carolyn's house to inquire whether the young girl would be willing to travel to the state capital, Austin, and deliver a speech to the legislature about the need to odorize natural gas.  Standing on a step stool in order to be seen, Carolyn delivered a speech that so moved the assembly that a law was passed requiring the odor agent be placed in all natural gas.  Now a retired school teacher, Carolyn lives in Lewiston, Idaho.



    

William Grigg

William Grigg, age 11, did not enjoy sitting in study hall the last class period of each school day.  On March 18, 1937, William and another classmate were assisting a teacher clean the math room.  Moments after going outside to clean erasers and empty trash cans, the school exploded.  Everyone in the study hall was killed in the blast.  William was a witness to the terrible destruction and carnage.  His older brother, Edwin, was among those killed.  Now retired from the oil and gas industry, William Grigg resides in Harrison, Arkansas.





Myrtle Faye Hayes

For a considerable period of time before the date of the school explosion, Myrtle Faye Hayes distinctly remembers a daily ritual in the classrooms... the need to open the windows and get fresh air into the rooms to counteract the dizziness and burning eyes that was almost always present.  In hindsight, it was obvious the explosive gas was slowly collecting under the floor.  After the explosion, Myrtle remembers a tearful reunion with her father, who was frantically clearing away rubble looking for Myrtle.  Sadly, at the point of the reunion, it was already known to Myrtle's mother and father that her brother, William, had died in the explosion.  Retired from a long career in business, Myrtle lives in Longview, Texas.





Jeanne Mang

Jeanne Mang was sitting on the bus waiting for the older students to board and begin the trip home when the explosion sent boulders and debris crashing all around.  Jeanne vividly remembers looking up and seeing a human leg hanging from a nearby tree.  Jeanne 's worst fears were yet to be realized when, after arriving home, she learned her two sisters, Anna and Helen, had not been located.  Both girls were identified in area morgues in the days that followed.  A retired business executive, Jeanne today lives in Los Angeles, California.





Doris (Shoemate) Morgan

7th Grader Doris Morgan was walking from the gym back to the main building with her best friend, Margarette Stroud.  Excited about an upcoming school wide academic competition holiday scheduled for the next day, the girls had started to climb the steps of the building when the force of the blast hurled them backwards.  Remarkably free of serious injury, Doris spent the remainder of that fateful day searching for her sister, Samy, and their little brother, Elbert.  Sadly, Samy was killed in the blast.  Doris remembers it took four days to locate her sister's remains in a nearby makeshift morgue.  Her father, upon making a positive identification, had to be assisted from the facility.  Doris also recalls the family being summoned awake by her mother for days after the tragedy to visit her sister's grave each night.  Today, Doris is retired and lives near her brother, Elbert, in Freeport, Texas.





Mary (Upchurch) Moring

Mary Moring found herself feeling sleepy during the last period of her 6th grade English class.  While she does not have any recall of the actual explosion, she does remember waking up screaming after regaining consciousness.  She clearly recalls the large crowds at the small medical clinic in nearby Overton waiting to receive treatment for their injuries.  Mary's mother was in the gym attending a PTA meeting when the explosion occurred.  Her mother survived as did her sister who was a 5th grade student.  In its fury, the blast killed 12 of the students in Mary's English class.  While recovering at home, Mary remembers her father asking her if there was anything she wanted.  She asked for some pink shoes, and to her amazement... her father brought home a new pair of pink patton leather shoes a few days later.  Mary Moring is now retired and resides in Gladewater, Texas.





Elbert Shoemate

While awaiting the arrival of the buses to take him home for the day, Elbert Shoemate was enjoying the lovely spring weather on the playground of the elementary school.  Following the explosion, he was terrified by the sight of the roof of the high school lifting up into the sky then crashing down onto the building's inhabitants.  He was amazed to see some survivors attempting to climb out of the wreckage.  Concerned for the welfare of his two sisters in the building, young Elbert, a 3rd grader, immediately started racing for home to alert his parents.  Elbert's sister, Samy, died in the explosion.  His other sister, Doris, survived.  A retired Air Force officer, Elbert lives today near his sister, Doris, in Freeport, Texas.





Mary Louise Taylor

Mary Louise Taylor was a 7th grader at the time of the explosion.  The force of the blast forced the roof down onto her classroom.  She escaped serious injury, but had to jump from her second story classroom to the ground to get clear of the destruction.  Her greatest task came two days later when she was asked to accompany her uncle to a makeshift morgue in nearby Henderson to help identify bodies.  After looking at scores of victims, the magnitude of the event left her unable to call out the names of those she knew.  Today, Mary Louise Taylor still works daily at a travel agency she owns and operates in Jacksonville, Texas.





Bill Thompson

Bill Thompson had developed a crush on fellow 5th grader, Billie Sue Hall.  He had wanted to move closer to Billie Sue, but first needed to persuade another classmate, Ethel Dorsey, to exchange seats with him.  After considerable pleading, Ethel agreed to exchange seats with Bill.  The explosion brought the remnants of another classroom down on top of the class.  Bill and Billie Sue sustained injuries, but sadly, Ethel, who was sitting in Bill's old seat, was killed.  It took more than six decades before Bill Thompson could talk freely about the guilt he felt over Ethel's death.  Today, Bill Thompson is retired and still lives in New London within sight of the location of the explosion.





Fran VanAssen

Enjoying the final period of the day in Ms. Nelson's handwriting class, fifth grader Francis (Fran) VanAssen knew something must be horribly wrong when a large brick fell beside her desk.  Instinctively seeking cover under her desk, Fran regained her bearings and began what seemed like an unbelievably long journey to safety outside.  Knowing her father would be somewhere outside looking for her, Fran remembers stepping over the bodies of friends and classmates in her desire to find a safe refuge.  Fran is today a retired school teacher and lives in Fort Bragg, California.





Mollie Ward

Fourth grader Mollie Ward was excited to be at the end of the school day and anxious to get home.  She had boarded the bus and taken a seat when the explosion destroyed the school.  The bus driver, after a considerable period, decided the best thing he could do for the kids entrusted to his care would be to get as many home as possible and not subject them to any more trauma.  Mollie's worst moment of the explosion came when the bus pulled up to the usual stop and she saw a large group of mothers screaming, crying, and hoping their child would get off the bus.  Mollie Ward was the only child in her neighborhood to get off of the bus that afternoon.  Now retired, Mollie resides with her husband near the site of the explosion in New London, Texas.





H.G. White

H.G. White had just returned to his desk after asking his 5th grade math teacher, Miss Lena Hunt, to assist him with a problem when the explosion occurred.  Buried under piles of debris, H.G. was pulled to safety by another teacher several minutes later.  He sustained head injuries in the blast.  Of the 31 students in his classroom, only 8 survived.  His teacher, Miss Hunt, was also killed.  Today, H.G. White is retired and lives in Lindale, Texas.





Margarett (Stroud) Woods

Young Margarett Woods was returning to the main building with her best friend, Doris Shoemate.  She remembers wearing a beautiful sweater on the cool, brisk spring day.  While preparing to enter the building, both girls were blown backwards by the force of the blast.  Luckily sustaining only minor injuries, Margarett immediately raced to the nearby football field where growing numbers of survivors were gathering.  With death and destruction all around, Margarett spent the next hours looking for her brother and sister, both of whom survived the tragedy.  Margarett lives today in Henderson, Texas, and is retired.