The day my daddy died – by Lenda Marshall, part 1
Mar 12
I mentioned in a previous post, when my “Memommy” died, that my mother’s father had been killed when she was a teenager. Since then, Mom has been thinking a lot about that time and what she could and couldn’t remember of it, and decided to write it all down. She ended up with a nice article that we have encouraged her to submit to the Brownfield News next in case they would be interested in publishing it. I thought I would share it with you, and since it is rather long, I’ll break it into 3 installments.
THE DAY MY DADDY DIED – Reflecting back 48 years later
written by Lenda Ray Marshall with reflections from Neva and Clara and others who were present
My seventeenth Christmas is forever etched in my mind and it changed the course our family life forever. December 22, 1958 was just like any other day. My sister Neva, 5 years younger than I, received an autograph book for her 11th birthday in October. She had been asking Daddy to write in her book since October and he finally fulfilled her request in the early evening: “Merry Christmas and happy years ahead to a sweet daughter (tom boy) All my love, Daddy.” Those were his last words to her. Our Daddy, James Bryant Ray, was killed on a “Night of Tragedy: December 22, 1958” (as the headline read in the Brownfield News) in Brownfield, Texas. A butane transport truck was east bound on the Seagraves Hwy. A pickup truck was also traveling east on the access road and pulled onto the highway at Eighth Street into the path of the butane truck. The semi-tractor rig, towing the large double tank butane trailer, struck the pickup, flipping it over. It came to rest upright atop the median strip.
After the initial collision, the butane truck careened down the highway a short distance where it jackknifed and overturned, pinning the driver inside. All butane tanks have a valve which is designed to open, releasing pressure when a tank becomes overheated. However, since the tanks were upside down, the valve was buried in the asphalt and could not be opened. The fact that the butane truck was upside down prevented this safeguard from working as it was designed. A large crowd had gathered and they were being urged to back up or even leave the scene for fear of an explosion.
Brownfield is a small town just South of Lubbock on the South Plaines of Texas. We lived in Brownfield just east of the High School on East Main Street. My sisters and I, were all born and raised in Brownfield. We had recently spent two years in Ropesville where my dad worked for a butane company until October 1958.
Butane is a form of fuel used at lots of farms and some homes. Our car even had a butane tank in the trunk to be used as an alternative to gasoline. My Daddy had converted our car so that we could use butane with a flip of a switch. He was well known in the community for his knowledge and expertise in the butane field.
Late in the evening, around 10:45 p.m.., my sister and I had already gone to bed when a siren began to blow. Normally it didn’t blow very long, but this particular night it began to blow and just kept going. The night sky in the Southwest part of town had an unusual glow My parents never went to see about fires and rarely ever went out late at night but this particular night, Daddy told my Mother he thought he would go see what was going on. Since Neva and I were already in bed, Mother decided to go with him. I don’t know how long it was but some length of time after they left the house, we heard a loud boom. I remember feeling the vibration and wondered what had happened. Being awakened from a sleep I wasn’t sure if it was a dream or if it was real, so I drifted back off to sleep. Later we realized that the vibration was so great that it caused the bed we were sleeping in to slide.
I was later awakened with the sound of someone banging on the front door of our house. I got up and went to the door. It was my Mother. She was frantic, almost to the point of not being able to understand what she was saying. Not understanding her because she was talking so fast and not understanding because it was hard to comprehend what she was trying to say. “Something terrible has happened and I think Daddy may be dead,” or something to that effect. “There has been an explosion and daddy was on his way up to the fire when it exploded – I don’t know where he is – he didn’t come back to the car after the explosion. We were close enough that when the explosion happened, our car was completely engulfed in flames. Get dressed. I think we need to go to the hospital to see if we can find Daddy.”
Great idea. Details get forgotten or changed when just passed down verbally. Having a record of it in first person is priceless. i sure hope you are going to post the rest of the story on TUESDAY!
Not that it’s just a story Lenda. I appreciate it being shared and want to finish reading it.
This is so touching!! I just lost my Dad in January, and Mom died four years ago. So, I can really feel for your loss.
I am trying to get the audio to play, but it won’t work.
Audio? I’m not sure what audio you’re referring to. Hmmm…
I am from Brownfield. I was 4 years old at the time
of the tradgedy. My mother went to the wreck site that night. She was about 22 years old. Her name is Theda Stafford {maiden}. I remember being awakened by
the blast. We didn’t know what happened until the next day. I am currently researching this accident as well as the grain elevator explosion 2 years later. God bless you and your brave father.
Lenda, I was there at the time of the butane explosion. I did not know your Dad but it was
a horrifying experience. I was not hurt but many
were. The Hospital was full on that night. There
was an article in the Reders Digest about the
explosion, as well as the Goodpasture Grain elevator.
two years later. I am Rick’s Mom. If I can help
let me know.
Theda Wagner
Lenda,
The truck explosion was not in Reader’s Digest as my mother thought. I contacted the magazine and the indexing dept. found no articles about the accident.
The 1958 accident may be mentioned in the subsequent
article published in the April 1961 issue about the grain elevator accident. If you would like a copy of the grain elevator issue call 1-800-890-2478 and order one for yourself. They cost $4.00 each and they had about thirty left before I ordered my two copies. The Editorial Indexing Dept. is 1-800-840-9020 to research articles that have been published.
I’m wondering if they might be interested in publishing your story. Email RD.com the customer service dept. seems excellent.
Good luck
Rick Wagner
This page is a interesting read.
Lenda, may your faith in God be as strong as your mothers and fathers.
I was at the site standing on the west side of the butane tanks when it blew.
Max Proffitt
I was also at the site, along with my younger brother, C.L..
We were walking toward my car when the tanker blew. I was burned on my back, face and head; C.L. was burned on his hands and ankles. He was in worse shape that I , but we were both treated at the hospital. I was kept two nights.
Terrible experience; so many injured.
Even though I was living in Kansas at the time, many of my friends from BHS were burned.
maked me sad
I was there that night with my Mom. She had driven us to the fire to see what it was. We were driving away from it at the time it exploded and I was on my knees in the back seat watching out the rear window at that time. I will never forget that event. I am sorry for your loss, even so many years later. I lost my Dad last year. It is something you are never ready for no matter your age. I have copies of the Reader’s Digest article of the grain elevator explosion in 1960 and it does not mention the butane truck explosion.
I came across your blog story tonight while searching for any news articles on the fiery truck accident that happened today west of Brownfield.
I live here too, grew up here. I wasn’t alive during the “great explosion” but I have heard my mother talk about it often and how it blew windows out all over town.
Sorry to hear about your loss.
Hi,
I was born and raised in Brownfield Tx as well. I was 5 yrs old when Goodpastures blew. I was actually in our front yard playing when it happened and I could see it from there. It was horrible. My father and my brother both worked there. There were two elevators. My dad was in the smaller one at the time of the explosion, and unfortunatly my brother Charles Lester Burden (C.L.) was in the big one. It was three days and three nights before they found him in the bottom covered with grain, he had smothered to death. He was only 24 yrs old, and left behind his wife and 4 children. It’s something you just never forget.I believe there were seventeen men that died that day. So,yes I really sympathize with anyone that had some kind of connnection with this. I also remember the butane explosion. Another horrible tragedy. I would love to get more info on this.
God bless all of those that lost loved ones.
YOU KNOW ON A WHIM I LOOKED THIS UP ON GOOGLE AND IT BROUGHT ME TO THIS ARTICLE. MY DAD NOW 82 YEARS OF AGE HAS MENTIONED THIS ACCIDENT SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE YEARS. MY DAD THERON DALE BRADLEY MOTHER, MY GRANDMOTHER, LOTTIE BRADLEY LIVED IN BROWNFIELD WITH HER HUSBAND HAMP BRADLEY, ALSO SOME OF THEIR YOUNGER CHILDREN, MY AUNT AND UNCLES LIVED THERE TOO. DEWEY, JERRY, ARTHUR AND SHIRLEY. ANYWAY MY UNCLE ARTHUR HAD A BADLY BURNED FOREARM FROM THIS INCIDENT. HE WAS NEAR THE EXPLOSION AND HAD TAKEN COVER SHIELDING HIS FACE AS HE JUMPED FOR COVER. I’M SURE THIS QUITE A SITE IN SUCH A SMALL TOWN AND PEOPLE AS WE ARE CURIOUS, MY UNCLE MUST’VE NEAR OR WAS DRAWN TO THE ACCIDENT. GREAT ARTICLE LOOKING FOR THE 3RD INSTALLMENT. SORRY ABOUT YOUR LOSSES
I was 15 when this happened. I had gone there with my dad, brother, and little sister. I was standing in the middle of the highway when it sent up. My dad and brother had walked up to the road to get closer. I was certain that all of those people were dead but both of mine came running in a couple of minutes and we went to the hospital. Both of them were burned pretty badly and the plaid pattern on my dads shirt was burned into his back for the rest of his life. I knew several people were killed in that accident but I think it was more than four. There is a memorial in Austin at the State Capital building that lists the names of the firemen that died and that was more than four. It was a very bad night. I left that town a couple of years later and never went back.
I was born in Brownfield,my grandparents Elmer and Flossie Phillips lived down the street from this horrible tragedy. I’ve heard my Mother say that my grandfather burned his hands I assumed trying to help also. I was only two months old to the day that the truck accident happened
1960 me and my older sister were outside playing when the grain exploded and I still remember that even though I was very young
Hi Mrs. Marshall. Some excellent film footage is within this film posted on youtube. I was only a month old when you lost your father. I was at the Stripes convenience store on 09-09-2016 on my way to Seminole. The VFW hall appears to now be the American Legion? The old Phillips 66 is still there with a new façade but the garages in the back are still intact. One of the surviving firemen is interviewed as he is in a hospital bed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA6LorZcEGk
Addenda. The Brownfield segment begins at 8:23. The city limit sign shows Brownfield to be at a population of 10,841.