NEW LONDON, Texas — The names of the nearly 300 people killed in the nation’s worst school tragedy were spoken aloud Saturday to mark 85 years since the explosion at London School in East Texas.
Families, friends and graduates gathered at West Rusk High School for a ceremony to remember March 18, 1937, when just minutes before school ended for the day undetected natural gas caused an explosion leveling the London High and Junior High schools. The blast killed an estimated 294 people — mostly children — and is often referred to as the day a generation died.
The day of remembrance is typically scheduled only on odd years; however, it was set again for this month to mark 85 years since the explosion.