Ida Maxine Maddry (1924 - 1937)

Born 14 Sep 1924 in Cotton Valley, Webster, Louisiana, United States

Died 28 Mar 1937 at age 12 in Tyler, Smith, Texas, United States

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Biography

12 year old Ida was a victim of the New London school explosion. She survived the blast and was taken to Mother Frances hospital, where she died of her injuries 10 days later. Her brother, JE, did not survive the explosion.

Daughter of Macon Monroe Maddry & Bertha B. Stubblefield-Maddry-Walker.

Gravestone Inscription: "Victim of London High School." "Weep not, father and mother, for me. For I am waiting in glory for thee."

The New London School explosion occurred on March 18, 1937, when a natural gas leak caused an explosion, destroying the London School of New London, Texas, a community in Rusk County previously known as "London". The disaster killed more than 295 students and teachers. As of 2017, the event is the third deadliest disaster in the history of Texas, after the 1900 Galveston hurricane and the 1947 Texas City disaster.

London School did not publish a yearbook in 1937, instead substituting a memorial book that recognized all of the students and teachers who had died during the disaster.

Sources

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14749534

• 1930 US census

• Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000

• https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/367568?page=3#sr-13698618

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_London_School_explosion

• http://nlsd.net/Cenotaph.htm

• https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/artifacts/1936-london-school-yearbook

• https://www.usdeadlyevents.com/1937-march-18-natural-gas-explosion-consolidated-school-new-london-tx-311-319/