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Abercrombie, Clotiele B. Abercrombie, Loyd D. Sr. Abercrombie, Virgie Blalock
Armstrong, John
Bain, Pamela
Bento, Lola
Box, Dorothy Womack
Campbell, Lu
Holbert, Pearl Shaw
Challis, James E. "Ike"
Cole, Beaver
Coleman, Howard
Cronkite, Walter
Degnan, Julie E.
Duch, Greg
Erikson, Charles Henry
Ezell, Alta Reigh
Farrell, Hal
Gregory, Doug
Grenley, Martha Rogers
Grigg, Horace
Grigg, William N.
Hannon, Bill
Harris, Howard
Johnson, Joe and Bobby
Kronjaeger, Jim
Lester, George
Lester, George - Playmates
Lummus, Darlene
Lummus, Don
Martinez, Nelma Cummins
Mayhew, Bessie
McAllister, Mark
Meissner, J. Raymond
Moody, Mildred
Motley, Pete
Nelson, Ron
Plant, Sally
Platton, Mike
Read, Osceola Jefferson
Robertson, William Judson
Robinson, Jimmie Jordan
Mack Thornton Rogers
Ryan, Terri Jo
Seacrist, Debra
Shaw, Marjorie
Stanley, Glenda G.
Taylor, Bob
Taylor, Jim
Thompson, Bill
Vail, Mary Lechtenberg
Vento, Eduardo
Vinson, Allen Earl
Vinson, Melvin
Williams, William B. |
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"Recollections" is the "human interest" section
of this site .... in the (unedited) words of the
survivors, or of those closely related to them.
Within these pages you will find personal
accounts of the tragedy taken from newspaper
articles, information sent to me, and personal
interviews. |
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Virgie Blalock Abercrombie, Clotiele B.
Abercrombie, and Loyd D. Abercrombie, Sr |
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as told to Donna D. Abercrombie Bangan and Lloyd
D. Abercrombie, Jr. |
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In 1937, a family named Abercrombie lived in New
London, Texas. The father, Eric Talmage, worked
in the oil field, while Virgie Blalock
Abercrombie, his wife, stayed at home caring for
their three sons; Boyd Anderson Abercrombie-born
May 10, 1921, Loyd Dalton Abercrombie,Sr.-born
June 21,1924, and Virgil Talmage
Abercrombie-born December 4, 1935. During this
time, Virgil Talmage had just undergone surgery
to correct his legs and feet from a birth
defect. On March 18, 1937, he had both legs in
casts and was sitting in a high chair at
breakfast with his two big brothers. That
morning had started out just like any other
normal day in the Abercrombie household. As Boyd
and Dalton (Loyd was called by his middle name)
prepared to leave for school, Boyd leaned over
to talk to his baby brother and said to Virgie,
"Momma, don't ever spank these little legs." No
one knew that these would be the last words Boyd
would speak to his mother.
Toward the end of the school day, Dalton's
teacher allowed the children in her class to
swap seats and visit with their friends. Dalton
swapped with his girlfriend to sit in her desk
located on the last row. When the explosion occured, his girlfriend was killed. Dalton
managed to step over a friend's head and crawl
out of the debris through a narrow slit of a
window. He ran home, terrified and bleeding from
his head and arms. When he ran into the house,
he noticed the two hot cups of hot chocolate
waiting for him and his big brother. But his
mother and little brother were no where to be
found, Virgie had grabbed Talmage and ran toward
the school to look for her two children. Boyd
had been blown from one building to another with
some parts of his limbs lying along the way. It
was reported that he called out to his mother
before he died, although, it was decided to tell
his mother that he died instantly.
By some means, unknown to us, the family came
back together that day. Shocked and in a great
deal of emotional pain, they took Dalton to the
nearest hospital that could see him. It happened
to be in Shreveport, LA. By the time he had
arrived, the cement that had embedded itself in
his head and arms had crusted over. The doctors
decided it would be best to leave the wounds
alone.
The family moved back to Louisiana. Boyd's body
was buried in the family cemetery in Mt. Olive.
Nightmares plagued Dalton for many years. It was
so bad that his mother had to sleep with him and
keep her hand on him for he would wake up
screaming and try to crawl out of the window.
As time passed and everyday living started
again, emotional and physical wounds began to
heal. Dalton finished high school and married
Clotiele Bennett in Jonesboro, LA. He joined the
Navy and served in WWII. When he returned, he
started working for Continental Can Co. as a
machinist. He and Clotiele had two children,
Loyd Dalton Abercrombie, Jr. and Donna Dahl
Abercrombie ( now-Bangan), who in turn, blessed
them with four grandchildren...one of these
grandchildren has the oak truck that Boyd built
in school just before the explosion. Clotiele
went on home to be with the Lord on March 16,
1979 after suffering from leukemia. Dalton
followed on May 21,1989 after a major heart
attack. He still had the cement in his head and
arm. He lived to see one of his
great-grandchildren.
This is the story of that fatal day in 1937 in a
small East Texas town as told to us, Donna D.
Abercrombie Bangan and Lloyd D. Abercrombie,
Jr., by our grandmother, Virgie Blalock
Abercrombie, and our parents, Clotiele B.
Abercrombie and Loyd D. Abercrombie, Sr. |
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