OVERTON, TX (EAST TEXAS NEWS) – The McMillan Memorial Library in Overton presented a series titled ‘Book Talk,’ with Tuesday’s topic aligning with this week’s 85th anniversary of the New London school disaster that claimed the lives of more than 300 students and teachers. In March 1937, a natural gas leak ignited, triggering the deadly blast.
“The pain is still there, even across two generations. I think people would be surprised by what a community does to come together and help heal,” said Jimmie Piercy, chair of the board of the New London School Museum.
“What people don’t realize is that most of the children who died that day were in the fifth and sixth grades. The high school students were not at the school that day,” Piercy added.
Event attendee Phyllis Shaw Bigbie shared stories about her two great-uncles and her grandfather, who lost relatives in the explosion.
“My father was at the school; he had graduated the year before and was there studying in the library and had found another one of his sisters, and his best friend, and he helped them out of the rubble of the explosion,” Bigbie said.
The New London School Museum will host a memorial on Saturday on the West Rusk campus in New London to honor the victims who lost their lives.
RELATED:
+ Friday marks 85 years since the deadly gas explosion at New London School
+ A retrospective look: Anniversary of the New London School explosion
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