Ellwood City in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

In Memory of Charles Follette Jr.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, September 2, 2023

1. In Memory of Charles Follette, Jr. Marker

Inscription. On October 2nd, 1942, Charles Follette Jr. was attending a Lincoln High School football game. On that day, the Boy Scouts worked as crowd control, helping to make sure spectators stayed off of the field. Junior (as he was called by his family) was one of those Scouts. The week before that particular game, Junior successfully tried out for the coed cheerleading squad. He asked his father that night if he could just sit in the stands with his friend to enjoy the game since he was going to start with the squad the following week. His father informed him that it was too late to find a replacement on such short notice. Junior accepted his duty and went to the game to assume his post. During the game, the seniors were holding a fundraiser which included wheeling a gasoline powered popcorn roaster around the stadium to sell popcorn. Somehow during the game, the machine caught fire. Junior and his fellow Scouts moved toward the scene to push the crown away from the blaze. While Junior and his fellow Scouts were attempting to push the crowd away from the roaster, a second eruption sprayed them with burning gasoline. Junior's clothes

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

were set afire, and he began to run. Several reports state that a sailor came down from the stands and wrapped Junior in his peacoat to douse the flames. Junior's sister Deanna, who was four years old at the time, remembers hearing him tell their father that he didn't want to die. She also recalls him talking with a fellow injured Scout named Jack Lindgren, saying "Pray, Jackie, Pray!" Junior's father said he was able to walk into the hospital on his own, but his lungs were severely burned and the damage was irreparable. Junior passed away from his wounds that same night. He was 14 years old.

Erected 2017 by Justin Banko Eagle Scout Project.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • Sports. A significant historical date for this entry is October 2, 1942.

Location. 40° 51.882′ N, 80° 16.309′ W. Marker is in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, in Lawrence County. It can be reached from the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Foch Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ellwood City PA 16117, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northwestern Pennsylvania

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, September 2, 2023

2. In Memory of Charles Follette, Jr. Marker

photo caption
TRAGEDY: Charles Follette Jr. suffered fatal burns the night of Oct. 2, 1942, when a gasoline-powered popcorn roaster exploded during an Ellwood City-Butler football game.

Scout's Honor
Witnesses recall how a popcorn roaster explosion claimed the young life of a Boy Scout 68 years ago today
By DAVID BURCHAM
[email protected]
By age 14, Charles Follette Jr. was an Eagle Scout. No boy from Ellwood City had ever attained that rank at a younger age. In the final moments before a bizarre accident took his life 68 years ago, Follette was proudly weaing the uniform.

and in Greater Pittsburgh.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Helling Stadium (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lewis Robert "Hack" Wilson (approx. 0.2 miles away); Ellwood City (approx. 0.9 miles away); Seamless Tube Industry (approx. 1.1 miles away); Wurtemburg Veterans Memorial (approx. 1.4 miles away); Providence Baptist Church (approx. 2.6 miles away); James Beach Clow House (approx. 2.8 miles away); Koppel (approx. 3.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ellwood City.

Also see . . . Charles Leslie Follette Jr. at FindAGrave.com. (Submitted on September 5, 2023, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.)

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, September 2, 2023

3. In Memory of Charles Follette, Jr. Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on September 5, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 5, 2023, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 281 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 5, 2023, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.