September 12 --
Eugene V. Debs, labor leader and
socialist, sentenced to 10 years for opposing World War I. While in jail
Debs received one million votes for president - 1918
Jobless workers march on grocery stores and seize food in Toledo, Ohio - 1932
United Rubber Workers formed in Akron, Ohio - 1935
A total of 49 people are killed, 200 injured, in explosion at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Kenvil, N.J. - 1940 ~De
At 1:30 PM on September 12, 1940 over 297,000 pounds
of gunpowder blew up in a series of explosions and fires, leveling over
20 buildings. The explosions shook the area so forcefully that cars
were bounced off the roads, most windows in homes miles away were broken
and articles flew off shelves and walls.
The explosions were felt as far away as Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and were picked-up by the seismograph at Fordham University in New York, about 50 miles east of Kenvil. Not only were windows broken, but telephone wires were torn apart from their poles. Many windows in both Roxbury and Wharton high schools were shattered. Some told of High School students whose fathers worked at the Powder works, suddenly realizing what had happened, shrieking and running out of the building to the plant to check on loved ones.
Of course, the worst part was the loss of life. In all, 51 workers died as a result of the disaster, with over 200 injured and burned. The victims were brought to Dover General Hospital which was so overwhelmed that many individuals were just laid out on the front lawn of the Hospital, awaiting help. Victims were brought in laying in the back of pickup trucks and cars.
http://www.roxburynewjersey.com/hercules.htm
A SONG BY Carl L. Anderson III -whose family members worked at Hercules Powder Company
Free Song MP3 Download
www.RoxburyNewJersey.com/herc2-PapaCarl.mp3
The explosions were felt as far away as Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and were picked-up by the seismograph at Fordham University in New York, about 50 miles east of Kenvil. Not only were windows broken, but telephone wires were torn apart from their poles. Many windows in both Roxbury and Wharton high schools were shattered. Some told of High School students whose fathers worked at the Powder works, suddenly realizing what had happened, shrieking and running out of the building to the plant to check on loved ones.
Of course, the worst part was the loss of life. In all, 51 workers died as a result of the disaster, with over 200 injured and burned. The victims were brought to Dover General Hospital which was so overwhelmed that many individuals were just laid out on the front lawn of the Hospital, awaiting help. Victims were brought in laying in the back of pickup trucks and cars.
http://www.roxburynewjersey.com/hercules.htm
A SONG BY Carl L. Anderson III -whose family members worked at Hercules Powder Company
Free Song MP3 Download
www.RoxburyNewJersey.com/herc2-PapaCarl.mp3
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