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| Catherine Meyer holding a photograph of her maternal grandmother Catherine Brennan Super in front of the monument installed in memory of the 133 persons who lost their lives in the explosion. Catherine Super was not scheduled to work on the day of the explosion, but never returned home or her body found. |
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| Knights of Columbus preparing to walk to the burial site prior to the ceremony. |
In 1917 the Eddystone Ammunition Plant, located outside of Chester, was one of the busiest munitions factories in the country piercing fuses and filling shells with gunpowder. On Monday, April 10th at about 9:55 a.m., just days after the U.S. had entered the war, “F” Building of the plant was torn apart by a trio of explosions. One hundred and thirty-three persons, mostly girls, lost their lives in the explosion. The majority of the women killed worked in the loading room.
Many of those killed were never accounted for and bodies and body parts were collected and placed in a mass grave in the Chester Rural Cemetery located on Route 352 in Chester.
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| Catherine Brennan Super |
On April 8, 2017, 100 years past, citizens of the community, the Knights of Columbus of many areas, and ancestors of those who died, gathered to remember the victims of the explosion that happened just four days after the United States entered World War 1.
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| Pastor “Charlie” Thomas |
Beth Gross of the Eddystone Council, and Herberta Kerestus, Sharon Martin, Claire Wilson, and Kellie Walters
of the Eddystone Historical Society organized the event. Beth Gross told the story of the factory and the people who worked there. She also told of the community that bonded with the victims and their families with never a question as to what they could give or how they could help. People throughput Delaware County responded with clothes, shelter, food and whatever was needed.
Pastor “Charlie” Charles Thomas of the Eddystone Methodist Church officiated and provided solace and “grace” in his short tribute and prayer. He said that “God was there that day....and though God could not change what happened, his will was clearly shown in the actions of community.”
Till this day, no one knows the real story of what caused the explosion, but for many families, this ceremony provides closure on an event beyond the realm of reason.
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| Beth Gross speaking of the events leading u to the explosion, the tragedy, and the community who stepped in to serve. |
