I just stumbled across a Then and Now site about Richmond. For example, here are then & now pictures of the Wayne County Court House.
Also, Kemplog has a post about an upcoming documentary film 1:47 on the subject of the explosion in downtown Richmond at 1:47 p.m. April 6, 1968. Morrison-Reeves has posted page images of the book Death in a Sunny Street by Esther Kellner that documents the explosion. A gas leak coupled with the gun powder in the Marting Arms sporting goods store caused the blast. Vigran’s Department store and Holthouse Furniture were leveled. MacRaven recounts his near miss at being the 42nd person killed that day. Apparently the blast blew out my Dad’s office window (this was about 3 years before I was born). Luckily he’d taken a long lunch or something that day and was not at work. I asked my Dad (also a lawyer) about it a year or so ago. Mostly he just remembered who got the legal work that resulted.
Update: I edited the title to reflect what has become the main subject of the post. My Mom just e-mailed me with her recollections of that day, and I thought she gave a good description of what she had been doing:
I remember it well. It was a Saturday. Your dad and I had gone to Civic Theatre with Dick and Cathy Brantner the night before and then out for some beer. It was a beautiful warm Sat., the day before Palm Sunday. We had lived in Richmond for 8 days and your dad went into the office for a short time on Sat. morning and then came home for lunch. Since we had been out late the night before your dad, Cindy and I all took a nap. We were still unpacking and getting settled and had dinner at home still unaware of what had happened.
Bert Keller called around 9:30 that night and told us what had happened, we were stunned. I still can’t believe that we didn’t see smoke from the down town and didn’t hear the sirens, etc.
We did see the horrible result of the explosion the next day and lived with the reconstruction of the downtown as well as meeting many people whose lives were effected by this tragedy.
. . .
[T]he window in your dad’s office blew in and as I recall glass was on his desk where he had been sitting not too long before the explosion. He was fortunate that he came home when he did.
Seems to me that’s a big thing to have happen to a fairly small town.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Dad went to pick up a pair of boots at Marting Arms. He circled the block a couple of times, couldn’t find a parking spot, and decided to return later. I think he got just over the G Street bridge when it blew (don’t recall exactly). He’d be happy to tell you the long version next time you see him.
He also recalls this was in the immediate (one or two days, I think) aftermath of MLK being assassinated. That caused a bit of heightened anxiety above and beyond the downtown blowing up, at least initially.
I have absolutely no memories of that day. So thanks, T and Doug (and Doug’s mom) for sharing. My Dad says that a co-worker of his went to the Marting Arms on his lunch break and returned to work just before the explosion.
Thank you for these stories — we are trying to gather as many as we can for the film, 1:47. The title, “1:47,” refers to the time of the explosion, the moment when so many lives were changed forever. If you look at the film website, http://www.147film.com, there is a field to enter your email address for updates on the film. This is a temporary site; a more complete site will be up within the next several weeks, which will contain periodic updates, a trailer, a production blog, and more.
- Jean Harper — Writer/Director of 1:47
Thanks for the info on the documentary. I was almost 16 and working at the library just one block down from Marting Arms. I remember the day well. I lost two classmates, another friend’s father died (the attorney next to Marting Arms, James Trimble), and another friend’s father was the Police Chief. I haven’t been to Richmond since my family moved in 1972, so it’s quite interesting to see the “then and now” photos.
My grandfather and grandmother worked at the Richmond state hospital. We are actually from Southern Indiana. My Sister, her husband and their first little baby was visiting our grandparents in Richmond. Being hunters my brother in law and grandfather was going to Martin Arms but when they started to leave the baby was asleep and they elected to wait until she woke and the time was about 30 minutes prior to the explosion. Had she not been asleep, my family would have been in Marting Arms gun shop where the explosion occured. I believe God was watching out for my family that day.