Photo Credit:
http://www.museumsyndicate.com/item.php?item=75069
February 9, 1960, on a sunny Tuesday afternoon around 1:45 p.m., I was in school at Meadowvale Elementary when the first explosion shook the entire building. My immediate thought was an earthquake, but our teacher said the explosion probably came from activity at the Aberdeen Proving Ground.
The explanation calmed most of the students in my class until the second of thirty explosions touched off. Six of the blasts were so severe and so intense that they rattled and cracked windows, and the lights flickered off and on, creating panic among my classmates, and me.
After school let out and I climbed off the bus, I saw huge plumes of black smoke billowing high into the air and heard an occasional, far-off blast. That’s when I learned the local fireworks company on Chapel Road had exploded, shattering windows in homes miles away, ours included. But this was nothing compared to the two killed and the five injured in the explosion. James Archie Fabrizio, the president and owner of the company, was last seen running into the building with a hose just before the plant exploded into flames. His body had to be identified through dental records and his belt buckle. Nellie Stansbury, who collapsed during one of the explosions, was rushed to Harford Memorial Hospital where she died two hours later from a heart attack.
The fireworks plant was opened in 1922 by Mr. Fabrizio’s father, Achillo Fabrizio. The fire was the largest in the history of Havre de Grace, and for years the site sat deserted but today is home to Grace Manor, a housing development.
I love the pictures! They give such great impact to the blog.
Thanks.
I was there in Havre de Grace when this happened. The Fabrizio,s and our family were friends. We were going to get together the following week and have dinner. I remember my mom saying how blessed the family was and wished our family could be as happy. We went to St. Patricks also like Archie and his family. I was 4 at the time and in 1960 our family started falling apart also. We moved away finally in 1963. Life doesn’t always go as we plan. We roll with the punches and I have learned to be thankful in the Lord in all these things.
The annual fireworks display that usually brings the Havre de Grace Independence Day celebration to a thrilling conclusion will be launched Friday at around 9 p.m.
I love hearing from my readers. Thank you Howard Gillette for your comments.
I found your story about the explosion at the fireworks factory in Havre De Grace very interesting. My dad was stationed with the U.S. Navy at the Bainbridge Naval Training Center at the time this happened. We lived at 1222 Ontario St, Havre De Grace. The neighborhood has changed a lot since then. But the house is still there right next to the RR tracks. I was about 9 years old when this happened and had a girlfriend that lived almost across the street from the factory. The explosion was so powerful, it pushed the front of her house back several feet. Fortunately, no one was home at the time. I too remember the violent tremors we felt in school and thought it was from the Aberdeen proving grounds nearby. We didn’t find out what had happened until we got off the school bus. The street was blocked off by the police and fire trucks. I looked this up because my younger sister was born when we lived there, and I had told her about this event. Thanks for sharing. You may post this on your blog.