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Newspaper
Fort Wayne Weekly Sentinel
Location
Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States of America
Date
May 13, 1908
Page
2
Fort Wayne fire officials and citizens aided guests after a hotel fire that killed twelve. Investigators searched the fifth floor for victims, while survivors praised locals for clothing, aid, and hospitality. Victims’ belongings, including a monogrammed watch, were recovered amid debris as fire crews suggested ladder nets to prevent future deaths.
Oscar H. Rudloff of Northwestern Lithographing Co Milwaukee registers at the St George hotel in Evansville and refuses a bedroom choosing to sleep on a lobby couch after a narrow escape from the Aveline fire in Fort Wayne.
City officials announced the New Avenue hotel wreckage had been thoroughly explored and all dead were found. Two search points remained near the elevator shaft base and upper south hallways as recovery moved toward razing the site.
Emerson M. Matthews of Columbus died at St. Joseph's hospital after leaping from the fifth floor of the New Aveline hotel to escape flames. He was 23, leaving a bride of eight months and grieving parents. The fire killed twelve. Matthews suffered multiple injuries, and post mortem showed a broken back, pelvic fracture, and severe burns. His funeral plans and relief funds are noted as the public eyes the ruins.
Settlements are rapidly being made by insurance men for property losses from the fire. Early today complete settlements were reported with the Commercial bank, and Ivins, owner of the cigar stand, appears among those affected.
A timepiece ran for over ten days without a minute lost after a fire. J N Wilson is linked to the International Chemical company of Chicago, but a telegram to Bren nan was refused collect. Debris removal continues under Mrs Shoats, and Capt Harry Clark filed an eighty one man payroll totaling almost 500 dollars for the state adjutant general.
Indiana politics shows Taft remains a leading candidate with harmony leaders hoping to avert a multi ballot convention fight. They fear Roosevelt third term momentum and aim to back Taft with Fairbanks as VP to solidify states like Illinois and Ohio. Key organizers include Frank H. Hitchcock and Joseph B. Kealing coordinating in Washington and Indianapolis.
The first synod meeting will be held at 2 PM in the Concordia College chapel. Services and events span Sunday through Thursday with German and English sermons, lectures on mission work, deaf mutes address, organ recital, and a Concordia alumni banquet among gatherings at St Pauls and Emmaus church.
A powerful tornado swept through northern Sarpy County on May 12, killing fourteen people and injuring about twenty. It struck Omaha at 4 30 pm damaging Bellevue college buildings including Park hall Lowry hall and Rankin hall. fatalities occurred near Louisville Richfield and Springfield.
Fire last night gutted the W. P. Briant bending works on State Street, Huntington, causing about 30000 dollars in loss with only 5000 dollars in insurance. Discovered on the building’s third story at 10 30 pm, the blaze origin remains unknown. The four story frame factory, a key local industry, was moved from New Haven twenty five years ago by Col C E Briant, later led by Col Voltz and then W P Briant son of Col Briant.
Mrs Margaret Parker 83 of Allen county dies at home near Poe from injuries after a fall in her garden a week earlier. Widow of Nathaniel Parker she moved from Parkersburg West Virginia at nineteen with him. Survived by three of twelve children Nathaniel Parker Maples A L Martin Fort Wayne and Sarah E B Krusen Oklahoma plus several grandchildren. She taught Sunday school in the Disciples church until her injury.
Burglars forced cellar entrances at George Herrmann Waiton avenue L. J. Benders store and Michael Steinbacher Wallace and Gay streets but took nothing. A few coins were found and police suspect local suspects in the case.
P A Randall was in Indianapolis yesterday attending a meeting. The brief item notes his presence and activity during the visit.
Judge Skelton found Anna Gulick technically guilty of swiping Henry Miller’s watch but treated it as a romance issue. He imposed a one dollar fine and ten days jail, suspended. Anna, hired as a cook at the county jail, will work under Matron Grice’s approval. Henry Miller was left dejected by the outcome. Other cases followed with continuances and light penalties for defrauding a lodging house keeper, liquor aboard a charcoal seller, and drunkenness pending infirmary care.
Fort Wayne will gain a new vaudeville venue named the Orpheum under the Orpheum Theater company. F E Stouder and M E Rice with others announce ground will break before June 1, and plans include competing with the Lyric Temple and Stadium. The company is capitalized at 150000 dollars. site selection is pending.
The Commercial club plans a Thursday evening meeting with J. B. Fredericks of Kokomo and J. W. Zartman of Indianapolis, president and secretary of the Indiana Manufacturers and Shippers' association, to discuss state work and benefits of membership. They oppose a ten percent freight rate increase and preview canal progress for Fort Wayne. Co A Howe of Holophone will demonstrate light reflectors.
A cleaning error at the Wayne hotel caused a revolver to discharge in a desk drawer. Louis Lymecooley was arranging items when the 38 caliber pistol fired striking a desk and tearing a drawer pull before lodging in the wall. No one was injured and guests were startled but calm after explanations.
An unclear note states that Charles Harkenriderle took money and is locked up. The fragment hints at an arrest or detention but provides few verifiable details.
Investigators detail possible chloroform use and poison in the demise of Bella Gunness as knives and dismemberment are noted in the farm killings. Neighbors recall suspicious items and behavior, while defense gains include Ellsworth E. Weir joining the legal team and William Lamphere arriving. Grand jury plans hinge on coroner reports and Lamphere case readiness.
Laporte Ind May 12 officials say a complete solution to the Gunness murder farm case is near. Ray Lamphere, former farm hand, admits firing the April 28 house fire and is linked to the deaths of Mrs Bella Gunness and her four children. Indictments for murder in the first degree and arson are expected.
Reports from Laporte Indiana on May 6 explore a sensational theory that Mrs Bella Gunness did not die in the April 28 fire at her farm and may be alive in hiding possibly in Chicago. Investigators also seek the missing head of the burned remains to determine if a victim was buried as Gunness.
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