Events Archives - Alliance Historical Society

Alliance’s Deadliest Train Accident

by Alliance Historical Society | Dec 3, 2022 | Events, Historic facts

Background | What Happened | After the Crash | The Victims | Who Was to Blame

Alliance’s deadliest train accident occurred on December 8, 1856, at the crossing. Eight people were killed and many others were severely injured, when two railroad trains collided. Newspapers across the country and the journal Scientific American shared the gruesome details of the aftermath of that fateful night.

Background

A passenger train consisting of an engine, tinderbox, baggage car, and four passenger cars, left the Pittsburgh depot at 3:00 p.m. and arrived in Alliance at 6:38 p.m. for a supper break at the Sourbeck Hotel. The train traveled west from Pittsburgh on the Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad. E. A. Leavitt was the conductor of the train.

The second train approached from the south on the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad track. W. C. Cleland was the conductor and his engineer was William Cherry.

The crossing is where the village of Alliance got its name, since the two railroads crossed there and there was an “alliance” of the two railroads. On the northeast side of the crossing sat the Sourbeck Hotel. The building stretched alongside both railroad tracks and was a frequent stopping place for trains and their passengers.

What Happened?

A well-known rule of the railroads instructed all trains must come to a full and complete stop at any railroad crossing, whether there was any other train in sight or not. A flagman would get off the train and check for traffic before the conductor would cross the other tracks.

As the supper break concluded and the passengers climbed aboard the Pittsburgh train at about 7:00 p.m., conductor Leavitt began to cross the Cleveland and Pittsburgh tracks. The entire train had not crossed the intersection when the headlight of the Cleveland train was seen about a half mile away. The flagman failed to slow the speeding train, which showed no signs of slowing down and did not sound its whistle. The speed of the train was estimated from 25-35 mph.

The Cleveland train struck between the third and fourth passenger cars of the Pittsburgh train. The two cars were tossed from the tracks. The fourth car landed in the lobby of the Sourbeck and the third car crashed into the crowd of people who were standing on the platform. Strangely, none of the passengers riding in the cars were killed, but many were severely wounded. The only people killed were standing on the platform outside the hotel or near the tracks.

After the Crash

After the crash occurred, William Cherry, the engineer of the runaway train jumped off and ran away from the scene, fearing that he would be lynched for the accident. When the wreckage was cleared, it was determined that eight people had lost their lives. They were found under the train cars and some were dismembered as well as totally disfigured.

The Victims

Those killed included Alliance resident Jacob Rudie, flagman for the railroad; Dr. P. B. Smith and his wife Sarah B. Smith, residents of Alliance, a newly married couple with a promising future ahead of them. John Brooks resided in New Jersey and was on his way to Limaville to be married. Nicholas G. Taylor, a resident of Philadelphia, was on a business trip to Chicago. John C. McIntyre lived in Alliance and had a wife and two young children. He is buried in the Williamsport Cemetery. He, along with Pierson Otterhalt and King Watson were carpenters. Atterholt and Ritchey resided in New Garden, Ohio.

Who Was to Blame?

Who was to blame for the slaughter? Leavitt had left the supper stop four minutes later than he should have, at just the time that the Cleveland train was to arrive. It was unclear whether Cleland’s engineer, William Cherry, had sounded his whistle or not. If he had pulled the brakes and reversed the engine as the train approached the crossing, was there a coating of frost on the tracks that prevented the train from slowing and stopping as it was required to do? If he had tried to stop the train, why did he jump off and run away? Engineer Cherry turned himself in to authorities in Cleveland several days after the incident. On January 1, 1857, he appeared before a magistrate in Alliance to tell his side of the story.

Cherry swore in his statement that he had whistled down the brakes, reversed the engine, and tried to stop his train before reaching the crossing. He noted that the wheels slid on the tracks and he was sure that the train was going no faster than twelve miles per hour. He stated that when he did see the lights of the Pittsburgh train and those on the station platform, the track was clear. He tried several times to slow the train, but it did not stop.

The judicial inquiry into the incident formed quickly with the verdict coming just nine days later. The Summit County Beacon reported the findings on December 17, 1856, as follows: “After having heard evidence extensively and examined the bodies, we do find that the deceased came to their death by violence … inflicted and caused by the passenger train on the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad crossing of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad at Alliance … the Jury find caused the immediate death of said persons whose bodies were found as aforesaid. And we, the jury, do further find that one John Cherry, the Engineer on the engine of said train on said Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad running north, was concerned in the perpetration of said outrage, violence and death, as principal.”

Alliance’s Worst Disaster – The Orr Block Explosion

by Alliance Historical Society | Sep 11, 2021 | Events, Historic facts, Obituaries

Headline from The Alliance Weekly Review, February 6, 1884 detailing Alliance’s worst disaster

At 4 o’clock in the afternoon of February 1, 1884, Alliance’s worst disaster occurred. Seven people lost their lives and at least 15 others were seriously injured as the fumes from a gasoline spill inside the Orr Block ignited, causing the three-story building to explode.

The victims

Frank M. Orr, age 46, owned the stove and tin ware store, located on the south side of Main Street near 5th Street (now known as Seneca) in downtown Alliance. On the second floor of the building, lived Mr. Orr’s 24-year-old daughter and son-in-law, Homer and Allie Highland, along with their 2-year-old son, Vernon Highland. The Highlands had been married three years. On the third floor lived Frank Evans, his wife Ida, and their two small children, ages 2 years and 4 months. Frank Orr’s son, Elmer, age 21, worked in the store with his father. He was friendly and showed a good talent for business.

How the disaster happened

It was a typical Friday afternoon at the store with a few persons shopping. The building, completed in the fall of 1883, was considered one of the finest in the city. Its exterior consisted of pressed bricks and French plate glass windows. Businesses in the adjoining buildings included a three-story dry goods building, owned by Mr. Miller, to the east, a single-story millinery store to the east of that, and a two-story grocery store to the west of the Orr Block. Noted in the newspaper reports of the day, about seven or eight people were shopping at the grocer’s store at the time of the explosion and a few people were working in the Miller building. Frank Orr was a staunch believer in the Temperance movement and had offered his store to the local WCTU for a meeting on the afternoon of February 1, 1884, but “some trifling matter” caused them to postpone their meeting for another time.

Mrs. Highland and her son Vernon were visiting with her father, Frank, and brother, Elmer, in the tin shop when young Vernon opened the spigot of the gasoline tank. Frank Orr kept gasoline in an airtight galvanized iron tank inside his store for his customers. About a gallon of the liquid spilled out onto the floor of the shop and the fumes began to disperse into the air. Elmer Orr began to mop up the gasoline when the fumes reached a fire-burning stove and caused the great explosion.

The explosion

Two men from Duprez & Benedict’s Minstrels, standing in the doorway into the shop at the time of the explosion, were hurled through the plate glass window to the opposite side of the street. A team of horses on the opposite side of the street, thrown down by the violent explosion, scrambled to their feet. Eyewitnesses remarked that the building appeared to be lifted up before crashing to the ground. The sound of the explosion, heard several blocks away, caused many to think there had been an earthquake. The neighboring three-story building collapsed and thin glass windows within two blocks of the explosion shattered. Property damage estimates were $50,000 and there was little insurance coverage.

Frank and Elmer Orr along with Allie Orr Highland and her young son Vernon all perished in the subsequent fire and building collapse. Frank Evans had just put his 4-month old baby into her crib when the explosion occurred. Their third floor apartment collapsed, trapping the family beneath the ceiling beams and bricks as the fire spread. Evans was able to pull himself out from the wreckage but could not reach his wife, Ida, or either of their children and they perished in the disaster.

News of the disaster

News of the explosion traveled quickly to neighboring Canton and an estimated 4,000 people arrived by train by the next morning to see what had happened. Spectators scooped up pieces of broken glass as souvenirs. Coverage of the disaster appeared in newspapers across the country from The New York Times to Missouri and beyond. The Business Men’s Association constructed a memorial arch on the site of the former Orr Block as a sign of respect for one of their members, Frank Orr.

The funerals

Frank Evans worked at The Hammer Works. Nearly 2,000 people attended the funeral of his wife and children, held at the home of John R. Morgan on Market Street. The funeral service for the Orr family, held in the First Methodist Episcopal Church, included a detail of special police stationed to prevent overcrowding at the service. At the cemetery service for the Orr family, the crowd of spectators and sympathizers, estimated at five to six thousand, attended. The burial service included full Odd Fellows rites since Frank Orr was a member.

All seven victims of the Orr Block explosion are buried at Alliance City Cemetery. Their names:

Frank M. Orr, age 46
Elmer Orr, age 21, son of Frank Orr
Allie Orr Highland, age 24, daughter of Frank Orr
Charles Vernon Highland, age 2, son of Allie Highland
Ida Evans, and her two small children, ages 2 years and 4 months

Carnation Festival rooted in Chautauqua Movement

by Alliance Historical Society | Aug 10, 2021 | Alliance Review, Events, Historic facts

by Jack Weber

Long before there was a festival celebrating Alliance as the Carnation City, there was the annual weeklong Chautauqua.

The Alliance Review, August 20, 1917

Usually held in late July or early August in the early part of the 20th century, residents from throughout the area would flock to the khaki-colored big top on the grounds between Ramsey Court and Shadyside Court for all kinds of entertainment, ranging from musical concerts to dramas to impersonations and lectures from educators, humorists, authors, and clergymen.

Today, little is remembered of those yearly events sponsored by the Daughters of Veterans that would draw capacity crowds. A short road off of Shadyside Court is designated as Chautauqua Court, not far from where the Redpath Chautauqua would set up its stage and deliver a lineup of some of the greatest talent of its day during the 1910s and 1920s.

It’s only fitting that a “circuit Chautauqua” would visit the Alliance area every year as the entire Chautauqua movement was co-founded by a longtime trustee of Mount Union who was inspired by the summer school sessions held annually at the institution.

The Beginning of the Chautauqua

The Alliance Review, August 19, 1921

The Chautauqua Institution, an education and social movement that provided entertainment and culture for an entire community, with speakers, teachers, musicians, showmen, preachers, and specialists of the day, got its start when Akron industrialist Lewis Miller and Methodist minister John Heyl Vincent purchased land on the shores of Lake Chautauqua near Jamestown, New York, and set up a camp.

Two years earlier, Vincent, editor of The Sunday School Journal, had begun to train Sunday school teachers in an outdoor summer school format. Meanwhile, Miller, manufacturer of agricultural implements, served as a trustee of Mount Union from 1865 to 1899 and was president of the board for most of those years. He was inspired by summer school sessions that had been held at Mount Union starting in 1870, making it one of the first institutions of higher learning to offer a summer term.

In 1944, Mrs. Mina Miller Edison, daughter of Miller and the widow of famed inventor Thomas Alva Edison, received an honorary doctor of human letters from Mount Union. In an interview with The Alliance Review, Mrs. Edison spoke about both her husband and her father who later became superintendent of the Akron Methodist Church and was an inventor himself, holding approximately 200 patents. As far as Chautauqua was concerned, she confirmed that her father and Vincent patterned the project from summer schools established at Mount Union.

Mount Union’s Connection

According to “A Select School,” the history of Mount Union written by Newell Yost Osborne, Vincent also credited Mount Union as being one of of a variety of sources out of which the Chautauqua movement had grown.

Osborne also noted that in a public memorial service to Miller after his death, Mount Union President Tamerlane Pliney Marsh stated that, “[Miller] thought the Chautauua movement was somewhat indebted to the conjoint experience and service of [Vincent] and himself in pushing the interests of Mount Union College.”

Both Miller and Vincent, who later served as a bishop, are remembered on and around the Mount Union campus with streets named in their honor. Miller is also the namesake of Miller Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus.

Out of the Chautauqua that Miller and Vincent had created in New York grew the circuit Chautauquas, highly popular from the early 1900s to the mid 1920s, that would travel from town to town, stopping for a week at a time, much like a carnival or circus. Based on the earlier lyceum movement, the purpose of the tent chautauquas was self-improvement through lectures and discussions on literary, scientific, and moral topics. The goal was to deliver educational, spiritual, and cultural stimulation to rural and small-town America.

Very popular in their day, U.S President Theodore Roosevelt was quoted as saying that Chautauqua was “the most American thing in America.”

Chautauqua in Alliance, 1921

The Alliance Review, August 15, 1921

In 1921, the Chautauqua visited Alliance in mid August. The cost of a season pass to attend all seven days was $2.75 for adults and $1.38 for children, which included war tax. The opening acts on the first day included the Euterpean Artists, a six-woman musical group led by saxophonist and pianist Beatrice Baughman, who also delighted the large crowd with several character impersonations. Later in the day, Edwin Whitney, who gave his optimistic American comedy titled “In Walked Jimmie.” Besides many other musical groups, the Gilbert and Sullivan opera “Pinafore” was one of the main attractions for the week. Among the lectures given were “The Fountain of Psyche,” given by Hilton I. Jones, and “Traitors to Justice” by Judge Marcus A. Kavanaugh.

Although the tent chautauquas are a thing of the past, Ohio Humanities sponsors an Ohio Chautauqua tour across the state that features re-enactors who portray historical figures telling their stories.

And the story behind the Chautauqua began in Alliance.

Alliance’s Freedom Trail Walk

by Alliance Historical Society | Apr 5, 2021 | Events

Take a walk on the Stark Parks Iron Horse Trail from Rodman Public Library through the former village of Freedom to the Mabel Hartzell Historical Home and learn about the businesses that were located here. Walk at your own pace along the 1 mile path. The path is paved and flat so all may enjoy the walk.

The self-guided tour for the trail explains the highlights of Main Street, Mechanic, and the former village of Freedom and can be found using your smart phone. Listen to descriptions of various points of interest and see photos of how things used to look along the trail. The tour map and description are available from https://theclio.com/tour/1522. We encourage you to download the free app Clio for iOS or Android to benefit fully of the walk.

The tour will take approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes for the round trip walk.

25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – Goat Hill

by Alliance Historical Society | Jun 16, 2020 | Events, Historic facts

#25. Goat Hill Neighborhood

A friendly game of football at Goat Hill

Located at the corner of Morgan Avenue and Garwood Street, in the Goat Hill neighborhood, a marker pays tribute to the many sports teams who played for the Goat Hill Athletic Club. The memorial reads, “Dedicated to an era of Goat Hill athletes, 1914-1927,” and lists John Hallman as manager and Lou Skelly as president.

The area known as Goat Hill is bordered by Forest Avenue on the east, Liberty Avenue on the west, Summit Street on the north, and Auld Street on the south. It was named for the large Welsh population who were known for raising goats in Wales.

Goat Hill Neighborhood location

The ball fields of Goat Hill were always busy hosting baseball and football games. Some players even hit the big time, including Pro Football Hall of Famer, Len Dawson, who played for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Between 1930 and 1947, the athletic fields between Garwood and Woodland were converted into GI temporary housing. This included 40 single and 20 double housing units. Later, this field became the home of Morgan Elementary School which was opened in 1957 and demolished in 2004.

For more information on and photos of Goat Hill, visit AllianceMemory.org. A memoir of Red Artino can also be purchased from the Alliance Historical Society.

1919 Goat Hill football team

25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – The Caboose

by Alliance Historical Society | Jun 15, 2020 | Events, Historic facts

#24. Main Street Caboose and the Lake Erie, Alliance, and Wheeling Railroad

Main Street Caboose dedication, April 25, 1993 (The Alliance Review, April 24, 1993)

If you’ve visited Downtown Alliance, you may have wondered, “Why is there a caboose in the parking lot?“

The caboose is a reminder of days gone by when the Lake Erie, Alliance, and Wheeling Railroad passed through downtown Alliance. The track line is now part of the Stark Parks connector trail which goes from the University of Mount Union, past Rodman Public Library and the Alliance Area Chamber of Commerce, and then along Park Avenue to the Mabel Hartzell Historical Home and on to Earley’s Hill Park.

Map of the Lake Erie, Alliance & Wheeling Railroad through Alliance (http://www.abandonedrails.com/lake-erie-alliance-and-wheeling-railroad)

The donation and renovation of the caboose were a joint effort of Alliance Main Street, Inc. and the Stark County Railroad Society to honor Alliance’s railroad past. The idea was suggested by Rev. Roger Skelley-Watts in 1988. Later that year, Mayor Francis Carr was informed by Norfolk and Southern Railroad that a caboose was on its way to the city. The caboose sat idle on an Alliance Machine Co. siding for several years awaiting renovation.

The Main Street Caboose

When the Stark County Railroad Society was formed, it offered to undertake the renovation of the caboose. Approximately $3,000 was raised through the sale of railroad bonds, an idea spearheaded by Karl Fiegenschuh, a downtown merchant, to help with the cost of the renovation.

The caboose was moved to the municipal parking lot at E. Market Street and S. Mechanic Avenue and dedicated in a formal ceremony on April 25, 1993.

In recent years, a stage was added to the east side of the caboose. The stage has been used for performances by local bands during the Alliance Farmer’s Market and the Summertime Friday Night Concert series.

25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – The Olive Poisoning

by Alliance Historical Society | Apr 14, 2020 | Events, Historic facts

#17. The Olive Poisoning Kills Seven

Sharer Memorial in Alliance City Cemetery

Col. Charles C. Weybrecht was a big man physically with a warm and winning personality to match. He was liked by all who knew him and one could not imagine his having an enemy. From an early age, the military had a strong appeal to him. He was a student of military history and joined the Ohio National Guard. During the Spanish American War he served as a Major in the 8th Ohio Regiment. By 1916, he was a Lt. Col. and called into service with the Ohio National Guard to New Mexico to fight against Pancho Villa. In 1917, he was a full Colonel, serving with the 146th Ohio Regiment and deployed to France to lead his troops in World War I.

When he returned from France in August 1919, Mrs. Helen Sebring Gahris planned a party to celebrate his return. The most prominent families from Alliance were invited to a dinner at the Lakeside Country Club in Canton, Ohio. On the way, Mrs. Gahris stopped at a store in Alliance to purchase candy, nuts, and a jar of ripe olives. She gave the items to the waiter and told him they were to only be served at her table. The waiter and the chef sampled the olives before serving them. Some of the guests sampled the olives and some were told by others to not eat them because they didn’t taste right.

After the party, Col. Weybrecht and the waiter were terribly nauseous. Several guests had double vision the next day and then became deathly ill. Many theories surfaced – was it the turkey served at the dinner? Was it the mushrooms that Mr. Sharer and Col. Morgan had picked? No. It was the olives, which were tainted with botulism.

Over the course of one week after the dinner, a total of seven people died from the poisoning. The victims were: John Sharer, Katherine Sharer, Helen Gahris, Frank McAvoy (the chef), Robert Jennings (the waiter), Col. Charles Weybrecht, and Jessie Sanford.

The full story can be read on our blog at https://alliancehistory.org/great-olive-poisoning-of-1919-part-1 or, watch the story from our 2019 annual meeting on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/alliancehistory/videos/2451608141822101/

Great Olive Poisoning of 1919 – Part 14

by Alliance Historical Society | Sep 1, 2019 | Events

What Happened to the Other Guests?

As we conclude our story of the Great Olive Poisoning of 1919, we return once again to the retelling of the story by William H. Morgan, who later became the President of Morgan Engineering in Alliance, Ohio. He wrote this history of the events in the form of a letter to Harriet Clem, Director of Rodman Public Library, in 1982. It is available online through Alliance Memory, a collection of over 8,000 images and documents about Alliance, Ohio. You can find it here: https://www.alliancememory.org/digital/collection/voices/id/110/rec/3

What of the future of the guests at the Gahris dinner party?

Three or four years later Bill Gahris died suddenly and unexpectedly on a train en route to New York on business. Gretchen Gahris is now Mrs. J. Harrison Keller of Alliance.

Soon after the loss of her husband, Emily Weybrecht sold their home and moved to Seward, Alaska where she kept house for her bachelor brother, Cal Brosius. She died there some years later.

Sharer Memorial in Alliance City Cemetery

My first cousin, Ann Sharer, now Mrs. Warren C. Flynn, a widow, has lived in St. Louis for many years. We keep in touch. I had a telephone conversation with her several weeks ago.

Lou Brush became very successful in the newspaper business. Not long after, he formed the Brush-Moore chain in association with two of his friends. In addition to The Salem News, which he owned, other papers were purchased including the East Liverpool paper, The Marion Star, and The Canton Repository. Lou died suddenly while attending the Republican National Convention in 1948. Maude Brush continued to live in their home in Salem until her death in the late 1950s. She never lost her engaging personality nor her sense of humor.

Fred Morris later became President and Chairman of the Board of The Morgan Engineering Company. He died in 1948. Ella Morris was probably the last survivor of the Gahris dinner party. She lived until the late 1960s.

Dr. Sanford later remarried and practiced in Alliance during the 1920s. I believe that he died during the 1930s.

Clem, Mary and their daughter Jean Bates moved to California a few years later after the Buckeye Jack plant was closed. I have lost all track of them.

Father [Col. Morgan] died in 1928. Mother [Annette Sharer Morgan] continued to live in our old home until she sold it to the Elks in 1939. She then moved to Cleveland where she lived in the Moreland Courts apartment on Shaver Boulevard until her death in 1960. She never tasted another ripe olive after the Gahris party, nor could I blame her.

Dr. John Phillips died from toxic smoke inhalation during the disastrous fire at the Cleveland Clinic in May 1929.

Yes I eat ripe olives. I believe with modern safeguards the chance of botulism is very remote. Nevertheless outbreaks do occur from time to time. A few years ago botulism was traced to Vichyssoise soup bearing the label of Bon Vivant. The adverse publicity and the following suits put the company out of business.

A few weeks ago bacillus botulinus was found in canned salmon from two Alaskan canneries. Apparently a malfunction of the machinery caused minute holes to be punched in some of the cans.

The lesson to be learned is that although rare, botulism still remains an insidious and deadly killer.

I hope that whoever reads this narrative will gain a knowledge of not only the facts but also of the people involved in the olive poisoning tragedy of 1919.

Sincerely,

William H. Morgan

We hope you have enjoyed reading this account of one of the most tragic events in Alliance’s history. To help us with further projects like this one and to stay informed of our activities, we ask that you consider becoming a member of the Alliance Historical Society. Memberships begin at just $15 per year and can be paid through PayPal or by credit card. Memberships help to fund research projects, protect our archival materials, and maintain the Mabel Hartzell Historical Home.

Part 1 – Introduction

Part 2 – Who was Col. Weybrecht?

Part 3 – The party hostess: Helen Sebring Gahris

Part 4 – The dinner guests

Part 5 – The dinner party – August 23, 1919

Part 6 – The first effects of the tainted olives

Part 8 – Other members of the dinner party are contacted

Part 9 – The first information published in The Alliance Review

Part 10 – Jessie Sanford struggles

Part 11 – Funerals are held for the dead

Part 12 – The final victim

Part 13 – Aftermath for the Morgan Family

Part 14 – What happened to the other guests at the Gahris dinner party?

Great Olive Poisoning of 1919 – Part 13

by Alliance Historical Society | Aug 31, 2019 | Events

Aftermath for the Morgan Family

We return to the final portions of the story as told by William H. Morgan, son of Col. Morgan, who was just 15 years old at the time of the dinner party.

Aftermath.

Mother [Annette Sharer Morgan] later admitted that she was very ill the week following the Lakeside dinner. Her eyes did not focus properly and she felt generally bad, but simply had to keep going. She said that her eyes never were as good afterward, although she had excellent eyesight. This was the result of one bite of a contaminated olive.

Lou and Maude Brush recovered as did Mary Bates, although it took months before she completely regained her health.

About one month after the Lakeside Party, Dad noticed an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about a prominent family in Grosse Point Michigan by the name of Sayles being victims of a strange type of poisoning. Dad [Col. Morgan] immediately suspected botulism and sent a telegram addressed to the Physician attending the Sayles family, informing him that we had a similar outbreak, and suggest that he contact Dr. John Phillips at the Cleveland Clinic. The telegram was delivered. Dr. Phillips contacted, and the result was botulism was diagnosed and the culprit found to be Mammoth Ripe Olives packed by Curtiss Brothers in California.

Shortly thereafter an account of another poisoning in the Pittsburgh paper, this time in Greensburg, Pa. Another telegram and the same result, botulism caused by Mammoth Ripe Olives packed by Curtiss Brothers in California.

How many contaminated jars were distributed across the country? How many deaths were caused? The answer will never be known, but there was sufficient adverse publicity that Curtiss Brothers soon went out of business.

Many years later Mrs. Morgan and I were at the Congress Lake Club one evening. I was introduced to a woman from Detroit who was visiting an old school friend in Canton. Somehow she mentioned the fact that her maiden name had been Sayles. I couldn’t wait to ask her if she were related to the Sayles family who had been the victims of a poisoning in 1919. They were indeed her family. She had been very young at the time, and several of them had died. Since it was neither the time nor place to press for more details, the subject was dropped. It was just one more proof that it is a small world.

Tomorrow: What of the future of the other guests at the Gahris dinner party?

Part 14