Olives Archives - Alliance Historical Society

Part 4 – The dinner guests

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 12 – The final victim

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

Great Olive Poisoning of 1919 – Part 13

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

Part 1 – Introduction

Part 2 – Who was Col. Weybrecht?

Part 4 – The dinner guests

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 12 – The final victim

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

Great Olive Poisoning of 1919 – Part 12

2019 | Events

The Final Victim

Saturday, August 30, 1919

The final victim of the olive poisoning, Jessie Sanford, died. Reports on Mary Bates said that she was barely holding on.

The headline of The Alliance Review now referred to the dinner party as the “death banquet” as another victim is claimed.

Mrs. Sanford could not survive, even with injections of a serum that was tried on her as a last resort.

Tomorrow: Aftermath for the Morgan Family

Part 13

Part 1 – Introduction

Part 2 – Who was Col. Weybrecht?

Part 4 – The dinner guests

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 12 – The final victim

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

Great Olive Poisoning of 1919 – Part 11

2019 | Events

Funerals Are Held for the Dead

Friday, August 29, 1919

The entry in William H. Morgan’s accounting of the Olive Poisoning for August 29 is very brief but relates how difficult a day it was:

This was a difficult day. Uncle John and Aunt Kit Sharer were buried in the morning. Col. Weybrecht’s funeral was in the afternoon.

For more details of the events of the day, we turn to the accounts in The Alliance Review. Lengthy articles are given with many details of the funerals and processions for the dead. The following are part of the address by Karen Perone given during the 100th anniversary memorial service on August 25, 2019.

The funerals for the Sharers were short and simple with only family attending at their home. The service followed the Episcopal Ritual and included no eulogies and no music. They occurred on Friday morning, August 29. Their memorial here at the Alliance City Cemetery depicts a young woman weeping. It is thought that the young lady was the couple’s only daughter, Ann, who was only 7 at the time of her parents’ deaths but could also symbolize John’s mother who buried her son.

At noon on Friday, August 29, the mayor requested all businesses and stores to close as the community prepared to pay its respects to Col. Weybrecht. Flags were lowered to half-staff and the city mourned its favorite son. Funeral services were held at the Weybrecht home on South Union Avenue and were attended by a large number of friends, relatives, military and civil associates. A men’s quartet from the Rotary Club sang renditions of some of Col. Weybrecht’s favorite hymns, including Face to Face.

Following the service, a funeral cortege 10 blocks long formed. A military unit formed on East Market Street and Freedom Avenue and a civilian unit formed on East Oxford and Linden. The military unit consisted of a firing squad from Company K, Company B and the 146th US Infantry, World War veterans, Spanish American veterans, and veterans of the Army, Navy, and Marines. The 146th Infantry Band of Akron led the military division.

Funeral procession lined up on E. Market Street in Alliance. It included the Alliance City Band, members of the 146th Regimental Organization, and funeral cortege with a car carrying the honorary pall bearers. The procession was 10 blocks long.

The civic unit was led by the Alliance City Band and consisted of 800+ workers from Morgan Engineering and 100 workers from Alliance Machine.

An automobile carried honorary pallbearers who read like a Who’s Who of Alliance’s leaders: Charles Sebring (brother of Helen Gahris), Walter Ellett, Col. Morgan, Willis Ramsey, Walter Heiss, Capt. Atkinson, Dr. Charles Hoover, O.T. Transue, D.W. Crist, and W.J. Rose. Following the automobile was a hearse carrying Col. Weybrecht’s body.

As a military tradition, Col. Weybrecht’s riderless horse followed the hearse. The horse was fully dressed with a saddle, bridle and saddle cloth. His riding boots were reversed in the stirrups, and his saber was hanging from the saddle horn.

The cortege proceeded to pass the Weybrecht home at 29 S. Union Avenue and made its way to the Alliance City Cemetery. It is estimated that 10,000 citizens were waiting there to pay their last respects. Director Emil Rinkendorf of Alliance led the choir of buglers in a stirring rendition of Taps. He also led a similar performance at the burial ceremony for William McKinley.

Photos from Weybrecht funeral procession, Alliance Review, August 30, 1919

Tomorrow: The Final Victim

Part 12

Part 1 – Introduction

Part 2 – Who was Col. Weybrecht?

Part 4 – The dinner guests

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 12 – The final victim

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

Great Olive Poisoning of 1919 – Part 10

2019 | Events

Jessie Sanford Struggles

The entry for August 28 in William H. Morgan’s account is equally short with yesterday’s:

Thursday August 28

Jessie Sanford’s condition worsening. Mary Bates critically ill.

The Alliance Review offers details on the day’s events, including a photograph of the Lakeside Club’s chef who died, Frank McAvoy, and the menu that was served at the dinner. Among the items served were pink meat cantaloupe, white and dark meat turkey with dressing, browned potatoes, scalloped corn with green and red peppers, sliced tomatoes on lettuce with French dressing, fresh rolls with butter, salted wafers, olives, ice cream, spice cake with caramel frosting, nuts, candy, and coffee. The olives, nuts, candy, Newport creams and chocolate were brought to the dinner by Mrs. Gahris.

A number of olives and the can they came in were still in the refrigerator of the country club. They were sent to Columbus for analysis. A rabbit died after eating one of the olives. The results of the tests performed on the olives and the organs of the Lakeside Club staff members were expected to take at least three weeks.

Mrs. Gahris was buried on this day in Sebring while plans were made for the funerals of Mr. & Mrs. Sharer and Col. Weybrecht for the following day.

Tomorrow: Funerals Are Held for the Dead

Part 11

Part 1 – Introduction

Part 2 – Who was Col. Weybrecht?

Part 4 – The dinner guests

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 12 – The final victim

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

Great Olive Poisoning of 1919 – Part 9

2019 | Events

The First Information Published in The Alliance Review

William H. Morgan’s account of August 27 is extremely short:

Wednesday August 27

Aunt Kit Sharer died Wednesday morning.

At this point, the story is picked up by The Alliance Review. Three prominent citizens of Alliance (Col. Charles C. Weybrecht, John Sharer, and Katharine Sharer) had died and the story became newsworthy. Also among the dead were the hostess, Helen Gahris, the chef, Frank McAvoy, and the waiter, Robert Jennings.

The headline for the day read: “FOOD POISON DEATH TOLL SIX” and several articles describing the food and the dead were given. The secondary headline read, “Mr. and Mrs. Sharer Die; Chef Passes Away; Chemist Analyzes Vitals of Chef and Negro Waiter.” Here is the front page of The Alliance Review for August 27, 1919.

Tomorrow: Jessie Sanford Struggles

Part 10

Part 1 – Introduction

Part 2 – Who was Col. Weybrecht?

Part 4 – The dinner guests

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 12 – The final victim

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

Great Olive Poisoning of 1919 – Part 8

2019 | Events

Other Members of the Dinner Party are Contacted

In today’s posting, we learn of the status of other members of the Gahris dinner party and locate evidence to be analyzed for the cause of the illnesses. Again, here are the recollections of William H. Morgan.

Tuesday August 26

Since the poisoning was definitely linked to the Saturday night party, all of the Gahris party were contacted. Jessie Sanford and Mary Bates were both very ill. Lou and Maude Brush in Salem were ill. We were very concerned about Fred Morris who had left Sunday night on a business trip to the east. He was finally located and found to be all right, much to the relief of Mrs. Morris.

The Lakeside Club and the Canton Medical Society were informed, and it was found that no other guests at the Saturday night dinner other than those at the Gahris table had become ill, with the exception of the Club Chef and one waiter, both of whom died.

It was first thought the turkey was probably the carrier of the deadly bacteria, but the fact that only the Gahris table was affected and not all of them ill seemed to point to a different source. The other suspect was the olives. Those who had become ill had all eaten olives. Also it was found that both the chef and the waiter had sampled them. The waiter had suggested to one of his co-workers that the olives tasted odd, and wanted him to try one, but he refused. Fortunately the olive jar which was marked MAMMOTH RIPE OLIVES, packed by Curtiss Brothers in California, was in the club refrigerator with about a half dozen olives. The olives together with a sample of turkey were sent to Columbus for analysis. The turkey was harmless, the olives contained bacillus botulinus. The cause was pinpointed.

Tuesday night Uncle John Sharer died.

Tomorrow: The First Information Published in The Alliance Review

Part 9

Part 1 – Introduction

Part 2 – Who was Col. Weybrecht?

Part 4 – The dinner guests

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 12 – The final victim

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

Great Olive Poisoning of 1919 – Part 7

2019 | Events

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

Part 1 – Introduction

Part 2 – Who was Col. Weybrecht?

Part 4 – The dinner guests

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 12 – The final victim

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

Great Olive Poisoning of 1919 – Part 6

2019 | Events

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

Part 1 – Introduction

Part 2 – Who was Col. Weybrecht?

Part 4 – The dinner guests

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 12 – The final victim