Beckham County, OK - Obits: Herbie LeRoy Hoover, 1929 01 April 2008 Submitted by: delma25@pldi.net (Delma Tindell) ********************************************************************* USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ********************************************************************* HOOVER, HERBIE LEROY (27 Nov 1929, Elk City Newspaper, Elk City, Beckham Co, OK): BURNS FATAL TO SAYRE YOUTH SAYRE, Okla., Nov. 27, (U.P.) - Four persons were in a hospital today, with a slight chance of recovery and an 11-year-old boy was dead as a result of an explosion and fire in a storage plant here Sunday. LeRoy Hoover died from burns late yesterday. His mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Hoover, a sister, Vennie and a brother Carl were in the hospital. Mrs. Hoover saved her small child by wrapping it in blankets and carrying it through the flaming building. Fire was caused by explosion of a gasoline stove. (28 Nov 1929, Sayre Headlight, Sayre, Beckham Co, OK): Four persons are in the Tisdal hospital in Sayre painfully injured and one is dead as a result of flames starting from the explosion of a gasoline stove tank in a tent in the Tourist Park here late Sunday. Herbie LeRoy Hoover, 11 year old received wounds that proved fatal, death coming 24 hours later, Monday evening after physicians had fought a hopeless battle to save him. The father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Hoover and a son and daughter. The Hoovers live at Sapulpa. Their relatives with the exception of Mrs. Howard's (sic) two married sisters at Goodland, live there. Hoover follows public work and each fall for the past number of years, the family has picked cotton near Wellington, Texas. Crops near there were not so good this season and the Hoovers had been picking cotton near Childress, Texas, prior to coming to Sayre. Mrs. Hoover says they had been in Sayre 30 minutes when the explosion occurred. They had driven all day Sunday hoping to arrive in time to get a job and start picking cotton on Monday, and after unpacking their belongings and erecting their tent Hoover and their son who met his death were arranging the stove to cook supper on when the blast occurred. The family is destitute depending together on the mercy of persons volunteering aid to them. Mr. and Mrs. Ben Ellifrits living on west Main street across from the Tourist Park cared for two of the children until relatives came for them. Ellifrits was nearby when the explosion occurred and called a doctor to render medical aid after it was seen they were seriously burned. Mrs. Mary Brock, a neighbor camper with other women in the camp, attended the family's needs until they could be removed to a hospital. It is said that relatives will be here within the next few days to move the mother and the other children to their homes to care for them. Physicians say it will be sometime before Hoover can be discharged from the hospital. Church Women Give Aid. A committee of Sayre church women assembled and presented the mother clothing for the family early Wednesday. Families all over Sayre gave liberally, proffering further assistance should it become necessary. Mrs. J. E. Itchner, headed the committee and was assisted by Mrs. J. W. Waddel, Mrs. Pearl Marcia and Mrs. P. W. Hare. --------------------------------------------------- Return to Beckham County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/beckham/beckham.html