Monday Memories: 1960 explosion leveled Wauseon school, rocked community

A huge blast rocked the quiet Wauseon community on March 19, 1960, leveling much of the Clinton Street school, blowing out windows around the block and pelting the area with bricks. Fortunately, it was a Saturday and only school superintendent William Pees, school janitor Ralph Todd and plumbing contractors William Gorsuch, Sr., and his adult son William, Jr., were in the building. They were injured, as well as Anna Pfund, whose car was demolished by bricks, and Gary Gottschalk, 8, who was hit by debris as he was walking past the school. In this Blade archive photo, members of the community survey the damage. The blast was caused by a natural gas leak, which found its way into the school’s sewer line and was ignited. It happened when the workmen were trying to unplug a sewer in a shower room. Over the next two years, the village passed two bond issues to purchase the school property for a new municipal building and to build a new elementary school on Burr Road. Laura Kull, a Blade correspondent who lived across the street from the school, remembered her big scoop well. She told the Blade in 1991 that she called the weekend editor and shouted, “Stop the presses! We’ve got a big one.”   Go to thebladevault.com/memories to purchase more historical photos taken by our award-winning staff of photographers, past and present, or to purchase combinations of stories and photos.