Source unknown- October 1963- Four Former Residents Die In Explosion- Four former Crawfordsville residents died Thursday night in an explosion that blasted a section of the Indianapolis Coliseum on the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Mr. and Mrs. Earl H. Myer of Indianapolis and Mr. and Mrs. Dwight Keim of West Lafayette were among the dead found in the wreckage at the coliseum. The spectators were watching the closing minutes of an ice revue when the blast occurred. Mr. Keim, 64, a former mayor of West Lafayette, was a native of Ladoga and moved from Crawfordsville to West Lafayette in 1929. He and his wife, the former Lois Davidson, were married in 1919. Mrs. Davidson was born near Whitesville and was a graduate of Crawfordsville High School. The couple lived in Crawfordsville for 10 years after their marriage. Mr. Keim was an insurance man and owned his own agency in West Lafayette until his retirement in June of this year. Survivors of Mr. Keim include a brother, Carol, of Ladoga. Included in the survivors of Mrs. Keim are three brothers, Newton Davidson of Crawfordsville, Milo Davidson of the Crawford Hotel and Marion Davidson of New York City. Double funeral services for Mr. and Mrs. Keim are announced for 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Sollar-Baker Funeral Home in Lafayette. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery here. Friends may call from 12 noon until 9 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Earl Myer lived in Crawfordsville for about 20 years before moving to Indianapolis according to his half-brother, Ernest Myer of Hillsboro. He was reared in Hillsboro and taught school there before coming to Crawfordsville in the early thirties. Mr. Myer’s half brother said that he left Crawfordsville about 15 years ago to work in Indianapolis. He was vice president of the Indiana Farmer’s Mutual Insurance Co. there at the time of his death. He also worked for the firm while living in Crawfordsville. The body of Mrs. Myer was identified by her son, Earl Jr. of Indianapolis. Mrs. Myer was the former Dorothy Thomas and was born in Hillsboro. Survivors of the two include the son; a daughter, Nettie Jane; Mr. Myer’s half-brother, and a brother of Mrs. Myer, Charles Parker of Hillsboro. Double funeral services for Mr. and Mrs. Myer are set for 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Flanner-Buchanan Mortuary’s Broad Ripple Chapel in Indianapolis. Graveside rites will follow at 2 p.m. at Rose Hill Cemetery in Hillsboro.

There were pages of obituaries in the Indianapolis Star for many months! People who couldn't get a ticket to the event thanked their lucky stars. A propane gas explosion under the bleachers (I think the gas was to heat the popcorn) blew the bleachers upwards and outwards, hurling bodies through the air onto the ice show. Some people, at first, thought that they were dummies, not live bodies, hurling through the air, "as part of the act." Body parts were laying everywhere. People were screaming and in shock. A HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE tragedy. Some people lingered on for months, only to die. Some people were permanently disabled. I never forgot it. I was in high school then. Angela Todd On Jan 25, 2011, at 9:07 PM, Lena Harper wrote: > Source unknown- October 1963- Four Former Residents Die In Explosion- Four former Crawfordsville residents died Thursday night in an explosion that blasted a section of the Indianapolis Coliseum on the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Mr. and Mrs. Earl H. Myer of Indianapolis and Mr. and Mrs. Dwight Keim of West Lafayette were among the dead found in the wreckage at the coliseum. The spectators were watching the closing minutes of an ice revue when the blast occurred. Mr. Keim, 64, a former mayor of West Lafayette, was a native of Ladoga and moved from Crawfordsville to West Lafayette in 1929. He and his wife, the former Lois Davidson, were married in 1919. Mrs. Davidson was born near Whitesville and was a graduate of Crawfordsville High School. The couple lived in Crawfordsville for 10 years after their marriage. Mr. Keim was an insurance man and owned his own agency in West Lafayette until his retirement in June of this year. Survivors of Mr. Keim include a > brother, Carol, of Ladoga. Included in the survivors of Mrs. Keim are three brothers, Newton Davidson of Crawfordsville, Milo Davidson of the Crawford Hotel and Marion Davidson of New York City. Double funeral services for Mr. and Mrs. Keim are announced for 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Sollar-Baker Funeral Home in Lafayette. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery here. Friends may call from 12 noon until 9 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Earl Myer lived in Crawfordsville for about 20 years before moving to Indianapolis according to his half-brother, Ernest Myer of Hillsboro. He was reared in Hillsboro and taught school there before coming to Crawfordsville in the early thirties. Mr. Myer’s half brother said that he left Crawfordsville about 15 years ago to work in Indianapolis. He was vice president of the Indiana Farmer’s Mutual Insurance Co. there at the time of his death. He also worked for the firm while living in Crawfordsville. The body of Mrs. Myer > was identified by her son, Earl Jr. of Indianapolis. Mrs. Myer was the former Dorothy Thomas and was born in Hillsboro. Survivors of the two include the son; a daughter, Nettie Jane; Mr. Myer’s half-brother, and a brother of Mrs. Myer, Charles Parker of Hillsboro. Double funeral services for Mr. and Mrs. Myer are set for 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Flanner-Buchanan Mortuary’s Broad Ripple Chapel in Indianapolis. Graveside rites will follow at 2 p.m. at Rose Hill Cemetery in Hillsboro. > > > > > > http://ingenweb.org/inmontgomery/ > > List Manager - [email protected] > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message