The Panhandle Trail

The Panhandle Trail. . , The Aetna Chemical Explosion, Throughout World War I, American companies worked to meet wartime demand for weapons, The Aetna Chemical Company was established to manufacture munitions for the allied powers. Local manufacturing plants were erected in nearby Noblestown, Carnegie and Oakdale., Constructed in 1915, the Oakdale plant, situated less than a mile south of here, eventually employed over 450 in the production of TNT and various other wartime chemicals. France alone ordered three quarters of its explosives from Aetna., On the afternoon of May 18, 1918 with wartime production and patriotism at its peak, the TNT Building on the grounds of the Oakdale plant suffered a devastating explosion. Bystanders from Oakdale ran into the flames to rescue those who were trapped, only to be caught in subsequent explosions., In Oakdale Cemetery, a monument was dedicated to the two hundred victims who "like soldiers, they died in their country's service.", Among those killed was Kirven Lawhon, a sixteen year old who had quit his position the previous day. Preparing to leave Oakdale for a safer job in Ohio, he ran to the plant to help after the first explosion., At 66, James Keenan did the same. Several days after the blast, he would be identified through personal effects found near his remains., Marlyn Ashelman, a young nurse from Pittsburgh, survived the explosion as she lent aid but lost a portion of her leg when it was severed by a steel girder., Following a lengthy investigation, government officials determined that the cause of the explosion was human error and not sabotage as originally suspected., (Captions):, James Keenan . Kirven Lawhon . Marlyn Ashelman, James Keenan's personal effects, Kirven Lawhon's mother received word of his death by telegram. In her own handwriting, she noted how long her boy had been away from home., A granite memorial marks the mass grave at Oakdale Cemetery., The steel skeleton of the massive TNT building remained standing after several powerful explosions.