Some things our ancestors did seem heroic, strong, and selfless, while others seem crazy; what were they thinking? One event in the life of my great-great-grandfather Gustave Girod falls into the second category. A newspaper article with the headline “Giant Powder Explosion” certainly caught my attention!
Gustave Adolphe Girod (1830-1916) and his wife Sophie Alexandrine Balmer (1854-1909) were born in Switzerland. They had sixteen children. As with many families of the time, not all the children survived to adulthood. Two, Cecile and Bertha, died as infants. Sophie Emma, their firstborn, died in childbirth in 1879. After three more little girls, Bertha, Alice and Eliza, died, the family decided to leave death behind and, in 1882, sailed for a new life in America. Unfortunately, there was more tragedy on the voyage as seven-year-old Louis died and was buried at sea.
Some of their children were already living in the United States, including their only surviving daughter, my great-grandmother Ida, teaching at a girls’ school in Baltimore, Maryland.
They arrived in Wayne County, Ohio, in the Sonneberg area with Jules, Leon, Henry and Arthur. Although Gustave had taught in schools and universities in Switzerland for 30 years, he changed course and began farming in the United States. The children attended school in Orreville.
A few years later, Gustave and Sophie moved to Illinois, where they found a community of French Protestants in Kanakee. The minister was one, Ismael Bruneau, a French Presbyterian from Quebec. Ida visited, caught the minister’s eye and they soon married.
In 1890, Gustave and Sophie continued west and settled near Salem, Oregon in the Lake Labish area, where Gustave had purchased 180 acres for $4200. He was going to continue farming.
The land needed clearing, and stumps needed to be removed. Alfred Nobel had invented dynamite in 1867 by adding diatomaceous earth to liquid nitroglycerin. This solid explosive was a little safer to handle. The Giant Powder Company was the first company in the United States to produce it under an exclusive license from Nobel. So when dynamite became available, farmers found it useful for blowing up stumps.Any one could purchase it without a course on the safe handling of dynamite. Gustave purchased a box containing 50 pounds of the explosive.
“Monday morning the box was placed beneath the stove that the powder might thaw preparatory to using it in removing some large stumps. The heat from the fire was greater than Mr. Girod thought and while placing some wood in the stove a quantity of the powder exploded. Mr. Girod has a distinct recollection of the stove rising before him but when he gained consciousness he found himself about 100 feet from the house which had been blown to pieces. Mr. Girod sustained no serious injury from the explosion with the exception of a few bruises, a fact that seems remarkable to say the least.”
Luckily, Sophie, his wife, was not at home on this fateful day.
Not everyone learned from Gustave”s mishap as a few years later, in 1897, a fellow with a similar name, also living near Salem, Oregon, almost blew himself up. “Arthur Girard narrowly escaped a sad accident: Monday, while preparing some giant powder for blasting. Twenty-two pounds exploded, breaking windows and doors and otherwise wrecking his house but, fortunately, Mr. Girard escaped unhurt which was a miracle.“
I don’t know what Gustave’s sons thought about his mental health at the time of the explosion, but 25 years later he was declared incompetent with his sons, Arthur and Paul appointed his guardians. “A guardian was appointed because he was feeble in body and mind, had personal property and money of $ 5,000 and was incapable of handling his affairs.”
Still his obituary didn’t mention the dynamite incident, but rather he was remembered as a gentleman of broad education and “His thrift and industry caused him to accumulate considerable property.”
Notes:
The children of Gustave and Sophie Girod:
Sophie Emma Girod 1855-1879
Cecile Girod 1857-1857
Alfred Girod 1858-1903
Adolphe Girod 1859-1909
Paul Girod 1861-1825
Ida Girod 1862-1927
Ernest Girod 1863-1937
Jules Girod 1865-1823
Leon Paul Girod 1867-1913
Bertha Girod 1968-1868
Henry Girod 1869-1904
Arthur Girod 1871-1946
Bertha Girod 1872-1880
Louis Girod 1874-1882
Alice Girod 1878-1879
Eliza Girod 1878-1881
Salem Capital Journal, February 17, 1890, “Giant Powder Explosion”.
The Giant Powder Company was the first company in the United States to produce dynamite under an exclusive license from Alfred Nobel. The factory moved around the San Francisco Bay area from 1897 to the early 1900s as the buildings kept blowing up.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Powder_Company
Statesman Journal, Thursday Dec 25, 1890, page 3 Real Estate -J.G. Dorrance to Gustave Girod, 180 Acres in Marion County $4200.
The Capital Journal, Wed June 19, 1915 – Gustave was declared an incompetent by his sons Arthur and Paul Girod and a guardian was appointed because he was feeble in body and mind, had personal property and money of $ 5,000 and was incapable of handling his affairs.
Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon.) Thursday, November 25, 1897, page 3. Arthur Girard narrowly escapes. I initially thought this was Gustave’s son Arthur Girod, who hadn’t learned anything from his father but later realized the last name wasn’t a typo but another man.
The Capital Journal, Saturday June 10, 1916 page 13. Gustave Girod’s obituary.
