Explosion
Fifty years ago, an explosion at the corner of Rohmann and Sterling Avenues killed four people and destroyed two buildings: a two-story brick building at 2425-2427 W. Rohmann that housed three businesses as well as two upstairs apartments and a residence at 708 N. Sterling.
The businesses located on the first floor of the building were Traub's Market, owned by Perry Traub; the Aaron Hardware and Paint Store, owned by Ralph Aaron; and the West Peoria Beauty Salon, operated by Mrs. Leona Aaron. A CILCO gas distribution center was located behind the commercial building.
Both the building and the house were owned by John J. Heitzman, who lived with his wife Opal in the house on Sterling. Heitzman's daughter, Margaret Einfeldt, and her husband Robert lived with their two boys, Robert and Kenneth, in one of the apartments above the brick building.
The second apartment was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond C. Wright, the owners of the then well-known Peoria eatery, Wright's Café at 106 S. Monroe Street.
Hopefully, recalling this tragic event will jog the memories of older residents to recall and share happier stories about the people and businesses associated with this historic West Peoria site. Truly, Rohmann Avenue has been the home of a significant number of businesses and people whose community involvement and entrepreneurial spirit set an example for our residents to follow.
The evening of January 16, 1957, started off as did most Wednesday evenings for the Einfeldt family. Margaret Einfeldt, the organist at West Bluff Christian Church (today's United Disciples Christian Church) in West Peoria, was at choir practice. As usual, her two sons had possibly attended a Boy Scout meeting at the same church. Robert Einfeldt, also active in Cub Scout work, had picked up his sons and taken them to Mrs. William G. Wahl's variety store at 2508 W. Rohmann, where they bought ice cream and comic books.
Perry Traub, who was still working at his market after its 6 p.m. closing time, detected the smell of gas sometime between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. After receiving a call from Traub, Heitzman joined him to help investigate the problem. Central Illinois Light Co. logs showed a trouble call was received from Heitzman at 8:06 p.m.
When Einfeldt returned home, he joined the other two men after taking his two sons to the Heitzman home to stay with their grandmother.
Within minutes before a CILCO gas service truck arrived, the explosion occurred around 8:25 p.m.
Ralph Aaron, whom Traub had called about the gas odor, was just leaving his home at 505 N. Western Ave. to go to his hardware store when he heard the explosion and saw the flames. Probably with extremely mixed emotions, the Aarons went to the site to witness this devastating event.
The three men--Traub (41), Heitzman (61), and Einfeldt (35)--all perished. Robert John Einfeldt, 11, also was killed. In the confusion and terror of the moment, he had evidently become separated from his grandmother and 8-year-old brother Kenneth, both of whom escaped the enflamed Heitzman house on Sterling. These two survivors were taken to St. Francis hospital. Opal Robb Heitzman suffered severe burns and leg cuts; Kenneth had only slight cuts.
Of course, those who lost their lives left behind family members forced to deal with such unexpected sorrow. But this was also a West Peoria tragedy that deprived this community of people who had already contributed to its growth and would undoubtedly have continued to do so.
Before the birth of their children, both Perry and Theresa Moskaitis Traub--herself a Manual grad--had worked at their market, interacting with West Peorians every day. Their residence was at 1631 W. Gilbert Ave. in Peoria. Theresa, who just died on Sept. 3, 2007, remained in the Peoria area to raise their son Larry now of Morton and their daughter Irene now of Ohio. Perry's sister Elsie Sipp lives in Dunlap.
Robert Einfeldt, manager of the Joosten Piano Co. for twelve years, had played the trombone and other instruments in the Manual Training High School band and had subsequently been active in Peoria area music circles. He had served in the U. S. Army during World War II.
Heitzman, who had been an engineer at the pumping station of the Peoria Water Works Co. for 27 years, was a World War I veteran.
The younger Robert Einfeldt was a sixth grader at Calvin Coolidge and a member of Boy Scout Pack 211.
Remaining in West Peoria, Margaret Einfeldt--who lost her husband, father, and son in this accident-was the office manager and organist at the Davison-Fulton Funeral Chapels for 47 years until 1997. She died Feb. 2, 2004, in a hospital near Winsted, Connecticut, where her son Kenneth lives.
The Wrights, the other family who lived at this site, were not home at the time of the explosion.
There were others in the immediate vicinity that night-some who suffered injuries. Deputy Sheriffs Frank Scherer and Robert Mowbrary, who were on Farmington Rd. when they heard the explosion, arrived on the scene before the second blast. Mowbrary rescued Prentice Pickard, 2605 W. Hays St., by beating out the flames from his burning clothing. Pickard, severely burned, was taken to the hospital.
While waiting for the time to start his scheduled trip downtown, Benjamin Davis-a city bus driver of 104 S. Gomo-was standing at the gas station across the street and talking to William Shoup, the station attendant. They ran when they heard the explosion, thinking the gas station had exploded. Davis was treated at St. Francis Hospital for head cuts.
Mrs. Orville G. Strassburger, 705 N. Sterling Ave., was taken to the hospital and released after receiving treatment for cuts.
The explosions were heard as far away as Creve Coeur and in various areas of Peoria, at least three miles away. Flames shot so high that they were visible for miles. West Peoria houses in the vicinity shook, windows were shattered, doors were blown off, lamps and dishes were broken, furniture was overturned, and electric power was cut off. Cracks in walls and ceilings of some West Peoria homes remain as reminders of this tragic event.
West Peoria firefighters, including Ron Robinson (still living in West Peoria) and Emil Henrich (former owner of Geier Florist who now lives in Peoria), were joined by firefighters and equipment from Peoria, Richwoods, and Limestone to aid in the rescue efforts and to stop flames from spreading to nearby buildings.
CILCO reported the six-inch distribution main contracted, creating a crack in the cast iron pipe about one-eighth of an inch in width. The explosion reportedly occurred because gas escaped, followed a path of least resistance, and entered the building on Rohmann Ave. Records show that the distribution main was carrying 45 pounds of pressure at the time of the break. This particular six-inch line, installed in 1930, was built of materials tested to carry 150 pounds of pressure, with a life expectancy of more than 100 years. CILCO officials maintained that severe weather conditions were directly responsible for the break. The CILCO distribution center on this site was closed after this accident.
Information for this article was taken from the Peoria Journal Star and from conversations with various West Peorians.
If any of our readers have additional information about this tragic event and the people associated with it, we would like to include your stories in this history section of the WPRA website. Our next issue will continue with the history of this site from 1957 to 1977. Please contact Sharon Crews at 676-8109 or SharonCrews@hotmail.com. with any of your memories about this site and the people and businesses related to it.