The Symptoms of the Botulism Poisoning

As we continue our account of the Great Olive Poisoning as told by William H. Morgan, Dr. Roach of Alliance and Col. Morgan put their heads together and realize that the symptoms experienced were linked to the dinner party. Dr. John Phillips, Chief of Internal Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic was summoned to come to Alliance and check on the ill. Col. Charles Weybrecht loses his final battle.

Monday August 25th

Mother received a telephone call early that morning from Ann Sharer’s nurse informing her that both John and Kit Sharer were very ill, but didn’t know what the trouble was. Mother hurried to the Sharer home to find them ill indeed. Their speech, swallowing and breathing were becoming impaired. Dr. John Roach had been there and suspected fungus poisoning. Nurses were secured and Mother came home for lunch. When Dad heard the news he was thunderstruck. If the diagnosis was correct, and there was no reason at that time to believe otherwise, Dad felt that he was responsible, and must have made a mistake in his identification of the edible mushrooms and puffballs. He indeed spent a very bad afternoon at the office. Mother returned to the Sharer’s home. The condition of both patients gradually worsened.

Sometime late in the afternoon Dad received a call at the office from his friend Ben Weybrecht informing him that that Ben’s brother Charlie was very ill and that his doctor, whom I believe was Charles Hoover thought that Col. Weybrecht had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Dad was naturally distressed but at that time there seemed no connection between the Sharers’ illness and that of Colonel Weybrecht.

About dinnertime my parents got the word that Helen Gahris was also very ill, and that her doctor thought that she had contracted some sort of ptomaine poisoning. The truth hit Dad immediately. He reasoned that the illnesses were all the same, and that whatever caused it would have to go back to the previous Saturday night when the victims were all at the same dinner party.

He immediately called Dr. Roach, told him of his conclusion, and suggested that he contact the other doctors involved. Dr. Roach called back shortly with the word that the doctors had conferred and agreed that all of the victims had been poisoned, but did not know what kind of poison it was. They felt that the fore most authority in this area was Dr. John Phillips, Chief of Internal Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Phillips was reached about 9:00 P.M. Upon hearing the symptoms, he said that he was almost sure that the problem was an outbreak of botulism. He had never seen a case of it but had recently read an article. He was extremely interested and said that he would leave by car for Alliance immediately.

Dr. Phillips arrived in Alliance about midnight and went first to Col. Weybrecht’s home. The patient was in critical condition, and examination confirmed Dr. Phillips’s telephone diagnosis. Col. Weybrecht was unable to speak, but was able to write on a pad, “What are my chances?” The doctor reassured him, but Charlie replied on the pad, “50-50”.

Dr. Phillips planned to drive then to Sebring, but a telephone call brought the sad news that Helen Gahris had died. The doctor next went to the Sharer home, and his diagnosis was further confirmed. Unfortunately, no effective treatment was known. Dr. Phillips then returned to Cleveland. Col. Weybrecht died about 4:00 A.M. Tuesday morning.

Tomorrow: Other Members of the Dinner Party are Contacted

Part 8

Table of Contents

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 7 – The similarities in the symptoms become obvious

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?

The First Effects of the Tainted Olives are Felt

William H. Morgan continues his story with descriptions of the first effects that were felt – double vision.

Sunday August 24th

Uncle John Sharer drove to our home Sunday morning to pick up Dad. The two of them were going mushroom picking. In those days mushrooms were much more plentiful in open fields and pastures than they are today. In late summer and early fall a basket could be filled in short order. We all picked and found many of them in our own yard. We were, however, careful to stick to the common field mushroom, known as the Agericus campestris. There are many other edible varieties, but unfortunately some of them bear a close resemblance to the very deadly Amanita family, so it is wise to use discretion. We also picked another type of fungus, which we knew as puffballs. They would often grow to a diameter of 5 to 6 inches and were delicious when picked fresh and sautéed. Uncle John was not familiar with them, but Dad insisted that they were edible, so Uncle John put some in his basket. The Sharers ate their mushrooms on Sunday. I do not know whether it was at noon or in the evening.

In the afternoon, Uncle John walked to my grandmother Sharer’s house, which was only a block away. My grandmother was very badly crippled with arthritis, and confined to her wheel chair.

Uncle John, sitting where he could look out of the window asked his mother whether there were two girls walking up Union Avenue. It seemed strange to him that they were dressed exactly alike and moved in unison. Grandmother assured him that there was only one, to which John replied that he had better have his eyes checked.

We later learned that Helen Gahris had played golf on that Sunday and had also experienced double vision. We learned too that Charlie Weybrecht had experienced double vision.

Tomorrow: The Similarities in the Symptoms Become Obvious

Part 7

Table of Contents

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 7 – The similarities in the symptoms become obvious

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?

The Dinner Party – August 23, 1919

We continue with a look at the dinner party that was held at the Lakeside Club as told by William H. Morgan.

I was fifteen years old at the time and the details are as clear to me now as though it had all happened within the past few years.

In order that the reader visualize the pertinent events as they developed, I shall list them day by day beginning with that fateful Saturday August 23rd.

Saturday evening August 23rd

The main course of the dinner at the Lakeside Club was roast turkey. It was the first prime suspect of the cause of the poisonings. In 1919 there were no fast frozen foods as we know them today. The turkey had been preserved by what used to be called cold storage. It had been frozen but not at the low temperatures used today. Then there were the olives, brought by Helen Gahris for her table. Mother liked ripe olives and took one, but said many times afterward, that the olive was soft, and not black as it should have been, but a mottled brown. She took one bite, and since it did not taste right, put it down and did not touch it again. Ella Morris thought that the olive she had taken did not smell right, and cautioned her husband, Fred not to eat any. Fortunately for him he took her advice. Others at the table ate the olives without question. Some ate several olives.

Seating of the Gahris party. Columbus Dispatch website, October 25, 2015

One fact is certain, those who became ill had eaten olives in various amounts. One factor that received more attention than was warranted was that of drinking at the party. Prohibition had gone into effect on July 1st that year, so the serving of any alcoholic beverage at the table was against the law. Nevertheless, Bill Gahris brought liquor with him and a number of the men had drinks in the grill.

Many of the people involved believed afterward that those guests who had taken a couple of drinks were not seriously poisoned although they had eaten the olives, and that the alcohol had saved them. I do not agree, nor do I think that any medical authority today would. The more likely explanation is that some of the olives were more contaminated than others, which would indeed account for the varying severity of the subsequent illnesses. Personally I wouldn’t want to rely on a couple of martinis to prevent botulism, had I been exposed.

The most ridiculous story that made the rounds in Alliance was that the ripe olive story was merely a cover up and the guests were poisoned by wood alcohol in the bootleg liquor. This one needs no further comment.

The only guest who felt any immediate ill effect after dinner was Col. Weybrecht, who became quite nauseated. One would think it might have saved him, but apparently had no effect. Whether it was caused by the olives or some other factor will never be known.

Tomorrow: First Effects of the Tainted Olives are Felt

Part 6

Table of Contents

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 7 – The similarities in the symptoms become obvious

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?

The Dinner Guests

As we’ve mentioned, the author of the Recollection we are sharing was William H. Morgan. He was the son of Col. Henry Morgan and Annette Sharer Morgan. His Aunt and Uncle were John Sharer and his wife Katherine Ballou Sharer. The Olive Poisoning tragedy affected his family very profoundly. Here are his descriptions of the Morgan and Sharer family members who attended the dinner party.

My Uncle, John Sharer, one of mother’s brothers, and Aunt Kit were also favorites of mine. They too were outgoing and enjoyed parties. Their daughter Ann was about 7 years old. Uncle John owned the Sharer Jewelry Store, which was partially on the site of the present J.C. Penney Company. The Sharer home on South Union Avenue stood on the present location of the Columbia Gas Office.

My parents too enjoyed company and parties. Dad neither smoked nor drank but it never prevented him from entering into the fun. Fortunately his dislike of ripe olives probably saved his life. He always carried the title Colonel. It was not military, but had been conferred on him by a one time Governor of Ohio, George Nash, and was probably akin to a Kentucky Colonel, but there were considerably fewer of them in Ohio. Neither was mother a shrinking violet, being very outgoing.

The Other Members of the Dinner Party

The Brushes also were an interesting couple. They had one son, Stuart, a few years older than I was, whose wife, Kay, in later years became quite a well-known novelist. Neither are living. Lou Brush had been brought up in Alliance. Both of his parents taught at Mount Union College. Lou later got into the newspaper business in Salem. He was the type of person who would try anything. My earliest remembrance of him was of Dad taking me to a balloon ascension in Alliance when I was very young. One of the astronauts was Lou Brush, and I was duly impressed, and never forgot it. Maude Brush I believe originally came from Pittsburgh. She too had personality plus. They were a couple who would be an asset to any party.

The Morrises I had known and liked as far back as I could remember. Fred Morris was a very close associate of Father’s, being head of Sales at Morgan Engineering. Mother had known them both since school days. They too enjoyed a good time.

Dr. Sanford and his wife Jessie lived in Alliance, but his office was in Sebring. I did not know them well at the time although I learned to know Dr. Sanford very well in the 20’s after he moved his office to Alliance and became my dentist.

Clem and Mary Bates I did not know well at the time. Clem was head of the Buckeye Jack Company, then a well known Alliance industry.

So much for my knowledge of the guests at the Lakeside Club Party. There was no one in that crowd that would not have thoroughly enjoyed the evening. After these many years, it is still difficult to reconcile the tragedy that unfolded during the following week.

Tomorrow: The Dinner Party

Part 5

Table of Contents

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 7 – The similarities in the symptoms become obvious

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?

The party hostess: Helen Sebring Gahris

We return today to the oral history provided by William H. Morgan for a description of the dinner party and its hostess.

The Lakeside Club of Canton had scheduled a dinner dance for Saturday, August 23rd, and Mr. and Mrs. W. I. Gahris of Sebring, who were members, thought it an excellent opportunity to entertain Col. C. C. Weybrecht, who had returned from France only a month before and a number of their mutual friends. The old wooden club house stood on the west shore of Meyers Lake, and the property also contained a nine hole golf course.

Mrs. Gahris, wishing to make her table more festive, brought candy, nuts and a jar of ripe olives, which she had purchased at the L.M. Barth grocery in Alliance.

L. M. Barth & Muntz Grocery – Alliance Historical Society photograph

The Gahris party consisted of: Willard I. Gahris & Helen Sebring Gahris (Sebring, Ohio); Col. Charles C. Weybrecht & Emily Brosius Weybrecht (Alliance); Col. W. H. Morgan & Annette Sharer Morgan (Alliance); John C. Sharer & Katherine Ballou Sharer (Alliance); A. Fred Morris & Ella Bullock Morris (Alliance); Louis H. Brush & Maude Snowden Brush (Salem, Ohio); Dr. Willis F. Sanford & Jessie Williams Sanford (Alliance); Clem Bates & Mary Bates (Alliance)….

I knew the Gahrises but not so well as the Weybrechts. They too were outgoing and enjoyed a good time. They were also somewhat younger than most of their guests at the Lakeside party. Bill, as he was known, was an official of the Sebring Pottery which was owned by Frank A. Sebring, the father of Helen Gahris. One of Helen’s brothers, Frank H. Sebring was married to my first cousin, Margaret Ramsey, the daughter of Mrs. Willis H. Ramsey, Dad’s sister. The Gahrises had one daughter, Gretchen, about 7 years old at the time of the tragedy.

Tomorrow: The Dinner Guests

Part 4

Table of Contents

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 7 – The similarities in the symptoms become obvious

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?

Who Was Col. Weybrecht?

In this part of the Great Olive Poisoning story, we will take a look at who Col. Charles C. Weybrecht was. The following information comes from William H. Morgan’s recounting of the story as part of Rodman Public Library’s Oral History Project.

Col. Charles C. Weybrecht

Charlie Weybrecht was a big man physically with a warm and winning personality to match. He was liked by all who knew him and I cannot imagine his having an enemy. He particularly liked young people and I never tired of the many stories he told to me and my friends.

From an early age, the military had a strong appeal to Charlie Weybrecht. 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. After his return from Cuba he resumed his business career, but retained his commission in the Ohio National Guard.

By 1916 Charlie Weybrecht had attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. That year the Ohio National Guard was called into Federal service and dispatched to El Paso, Texas during the time Brig. Gen. John 3. Pershing was chasing the bandit Pancho Villa around northern Mexico, following Villa’s raid on Columbus New Mexico. Villa was a folk hero to the Mexicans so had little difficulty in keeping ahead of the pursuing gringos. The expedition was called off and the Ohio National Guard returned home.

April 1917 soon came up and with it the declaration of war against Germany. The Ohio National Guard again called into Federal service became a part of the regular army as the 37th Division. The 8th Ohio Regiment to which Charlie Weybrecht, now a full Colonel, commanded, became the 146th.

The 37th Division first trained at Camp Sheridan, Montgomery, Alabama. Later moved to Camp Lee, Petersburg, Virginia, then to France.

During the late summer of 1918 the 37th Division engaged in heavy fighting in the Meuse Argonne offensive on the Western Front. This was indeed a traumatic experience for Col. Weybrecht. He was a very kind man and felt personally responsible for the welfare of the boys under him, many of whom were killed or severely wounded. A personal tragedy came when his nephew, Edgar Weybrecht, B.F.’s son died of pneumonia in Belgium. Col. Weybrecht told Dad after his return, that the glamor of war had disappeared for him forever.

Following the Armistice on November 11th, Col. Weybrecht was assigned to supervising the embarkation of men and supplies of the A.E.F., for return to the United States from the port of Nantes.

Col. Weybrecht enjoyed the work at Nantes and did an excellent job for which he was commended. His return home was delayed and he did not reach Alliance until July 1919.

Emily Weybrecht too was very popular. She had a vivacious and outgoing personality. She drove a gasoline-powered car as early as 1913 or 1914, which was somewhat unusual at that time. Some of the women drove electrics, but that was about the extent of women’s lib in the teens.

Tomorrow: Who threw the dinner party?

Part 3

Table of Contents

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 7 – The similarities in the symptoms become obvious

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?

Introduction

August 23, 2019 marked the 100th anniversary of the Great Olive Poisoning, which killed five prominent citizens of Alliance, the Lakeside Club (Canton, Ohio) chef, and waiter and sickened four others attending a celebratory dinner party.

William H. Morgan, the son of Col. Henry Morgan, recounted his story in a letter written to Rodman Public Library Director, Harriet Clem in 1982 as part of the library’s Oral History Project. Over the next few days, we will relay Mr. Morgan’s recollections of that fateful dinner party, one which was to celebrate Col. Charles C. Weybrecht’s return from France at the end of World War I.

The story begins with two brief social column items from The Alliance Review:

Social News, The Alliance Review and Leader, 07-23-1919

Col. Charles C. Weybrecht returned to the United States via the steamer Rotterdam on July 22, 1919 where his wife, Emily and Mrs. L. L. Lamborn had come to meet him. From his landing in New York, he proceeded to Camp Dix to get his discharge.

Next, we will tell the story of who Col. Charles C. Weybrecht was.

Table of Contents

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 7 – The similarities in the symptoms become obvious

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?