The Akron Beacon Journal (15 Jan 1980, Tue · Page 40) identifies the vandal as Dale A. Gauder and states that he plead guilty and was sentenced to 2 to 10 years but was released on "shock parole" after serving just 60 days. His release date was in October 1977. I did a bit (a couple of minutes) more digging, I believe he is still alive and which city, or state he resides in - NO, I'm not going to stalk him or anything like that. My curiosity is more about what he did with his life after release and why he would be released after just 60 days when he caused so much damage and the fact it could have been so much worse. Did he really do it or did someone else, was he paid to do it (possibly someone using a disgruntled former employee for their dirty work?) It just seems very odd and will probably never be known if it was just his sudden idea to do this or if someone else was really behind it. Maybe he really acted on his own but only served 60 days? Another article (The Akron Beacon Journal 27 Jun 1977, Mon · Page 1) quotes a union spokesman as saying Gauder was suspended from his job for refusing to unload a truck, saying it wasn't in his job description but his job description was "general utility man" and he had worked there for 2 years, this article includes a picture of Gauder. The plant, at that time, only had 4 employees and a supervisor. They made solvents and adhesives. Part of Gauder's job was to label cans. His 21-year-old brother also worked at the plant. Their father had worked there for 20 years until the previous July when he'd been laid off. Both brothers had picketed the company that night with the break-in occurring after 9:30 PM. The NY Times (June 28, 1977, Page 16) reported he had been suspended from his job on May 17, 1977. This article, The Akron Beacon Journal 08 Jul 1977, Fri · Page 20, reports on the trial and that Gauder only had an 8th-grade education. The judge had him read the charges and he had stumbled over some words (voluntarily, imprisonment, punishment). Gauder stated he worked alone on the explosion. The judge asked him if he realized the chemicals were harmless. Gauder responded that he didn't think the chemicals would go anywhere and that they were in the building as they were there anyway. This hearing was the first time Gauder commented on the incident, he'd never made a statement to the police. Gauder stated he went by the strikebound plant on the evening of June 22. Saw a truck and a deputy so he stopped. After the truck and deputy left, he and the picketers stood and talked about what they could do to stop the trucks. 30 minutes later he told the picketers he'd be right back, he went to the back of the plant and entered the building through a broken window. He turned on the valves and left. He further told the judge he did it to stop production as he thought it would help the union. The judge asked him if he'd thought realized it would actually do more harm to the union and to their collective bargaining. "No, I just didn't think of it." The judge ordered it put out to pre-sentence investigation. Gauder had no police record so he was released free on bond. The same Judge, Barbuto, that sentenced him to 2-10 years in prison also released him on "shock probation" after just 60 days in prison. Upon release, this article The Akron Beacon Journal 17 Oct 1977, Mon · Page 16 states he was placed on 5 years probation and was to go to work with his dad at a meat packing plant. He also was ordered to stay away from any area engaged in a labor dispute. When the judge asked him why he should release him, Gauder responded that he'd had enough of jail, and he wanted to go home to his wife and child (Gauder was 18 at this time). The amount of petroleum naphtha he released was 3,000 gallons, btw. And this is probably all more than anyone wanted to know.
Nice summary of the other side of the story. Being a little speculative, perhaps the judge let him out because he recognized his lack of education, the fact he was only 18 and lacked a criminal record and the fact he was working, thus making him a contributing member to society and the fact that Gauder didn't seem to recognize that the chemicals would go into a sewer drain that snaked through the city. These are all mitigating factors, not to mention it was 1977, well before the criminal justice system's obsessive need to impose cruel and unnecessary jail sentences.
Thanks for that. I’ve read that until about 20 years old humans don’t aren’t biologically matured enough to consider consequences of their actions. An adult would think of where a rock might land before throwing it where a juvenile wouldn’t. We often ask kids “what were you thinking!” When the answer is they weren’t thinking.
So good to see you back again!! This is a cool cemetery! I appreciate the fact that it's cold up there! I live in Rockford, OH, just north of Celina. It's snowing right now! I've visited some awesome cemeteries, including in Virginia City, NV!! Boston and the area have ones well worth visiting, too!! Thanks again for your fun and informative videos!
Boston Mass would be an awesome experience! The Virginia City cemetery was amazing! Found an eerie grave there. Might share that someday. Thank you for watching Rose! 😊😊
That is so cool and tragic though that the culprit was given a slap on the wrist. It is peculiar. Do you know if the caretaker house was able to be repaired and the Warrens could return to live in it again, or was the damage so bad the building couldn't be fixed? And how bad was the office? I'm glad they were able to repair the windows on the chapel; my heart sank when I saw the photos of the shattered portions. I saw the post on Patreon and have been waiting excited for your release. I'm glad you're able to be up and about--hopefully that means the health issues are abaiting? Sadly, it's not the first creek/storm system that was buried in Ohio. In Perry, the home I grew up in had a creek that ran a few blocks away that the kids would play in an exposed portion, but a huge chunk of the water flowed from the ground under/around the schools and ran awhile before tumbling into the wider natural basin. A great many a rock was chucked in while we waited for the elementary bus beside it. In another exposed portion I would catch frogs! In the years since I moved to Akron before I returned post-birth of the eldest, the township buried the rest of the creek; I'm not sure how much is accessible now. It dumps into Sippo Lake's south side. I can easily imagine because of this exactly what happened when you mentioned blue smoke and storm sewer having lived in Akron surrounded by the factories and such. I mean, Summit Lake was unable to be swam in (so they built the Olympic pool beside it) and the Cuyahoga caught fire around the same time! Sadly things we did back then are still taking years to counteract today the damage we caused w/o knowing what we were doing (or in some cases, ignoring the warning signs).
That would be a blessing that I'd not considered: that it happened at the time it did. You also make a good point about only serving 60 days for what he pled guilty to. Suspicious! Sounds like a scapegoat. I don't really do social media, so I've missed you guys, it was great to wake up to a new video. Take care!
Great video John! Thanks for making and sharing. Yeah, the "kid" that did this should've served more than 60 days...that's ridiculous! So, IF (glad he didn't) he had killed someone what then? 1 year? Seems the laws haven't changed that much over time! This is one of those "quiet" stories, one that most locals talk about, but no one else. Glad you found it and retold it.
They should of made him help rebuild sewer and not get any pay or anything until it was done. Let him sit in prison while ours have to toil and struggle to undo his handy work.
I'm not sure how I stumbled across your channel, but I'm glad I did. You have a great narrative voice and great subject matter. Thumbs up and you have my subscrition!
Wow this is a sad story,he should of served the sentence, it's a shame what these bad people and criminals get away with,thank you for the real history video 👍🙏
I agree to a point about the jail sentence but would like to know the whole story about the 18 year old, did he have a terminal disease and order things that if we knew we change our mind
Good to see you again. I can only hope things have eased up just a bit for your family--know what you're going thru, it's happening to ALOT of us. Take your time, family first. Praying for y'all.
It’s been a tough 2023 so far Jeremy. We are on the mend health wise. Finances are the big hurdle right now. We’ll make it thru though. Thanks for asking.
Omg, Only 60 days in Jail. Somebody payed someone off to get that 18 year old off. Something fishy happened there. Crazy stuff. Great story. Thank you.
Soothing pleasant on the ears voice. Enunciates well making every word understandable. No loud music drowning words and spoiling the story. Calm tone allowing the story to carry itself instead of speaking in a crazy fake voice like he speaker at a world wrestling event. Choice of story held me captive, a true jaw-dropping what why who mystery. I've often said, "Just because you're able to talk does not mean you can speak professionally. This gentleman can make reading the Yellow Pages a pleasure to listen to. Thank you Sir💕🤗
Hello there. Just found your channel. Thank you for your in depth and informative delivery of this event. I am always trying to educate myself on historical events and I am very grateful for people such as yourself for taking the time to make sure material. I will be looking forward to seeing more videos thank you. Oh , one final thought. The 60 days this individual served just seems outrageous. I obviously couldn’t say for certain but perhaps said criminal at his young age had relatives in high places who seen to it that this 20 year sentence was not going to happen. I know what you’re thinking, but let’s face it….it’s the reality we live in. But this is just my own personal opinion, it perhaps holds no water….just a theory. Thank you again for the video.
Really interesting video! I agree, it doesn't add up to just serve 60 days for causing all that! Perhaps a relative with a lot of pull!?? Thanks for doing this research and such a great job with your videos.
Whe. You drove that road and said it was completely destroyed I was shocked to see how long you drove! There still could have been some damage to Graves underneath that Noone knows about. Especially around the epicenter of the explosion. ( Earth had to have been moved a lot.) Had to have been scary! Young man or his parents should have been ordered to pay something! 😡
I remember the explosion in Beaver Township in the mid-80s I believe. My brother actually worked for the fireworks company that exploded. Thankfully he had that day off but one of his closest friends did pass that day. Seems Ohio has a lots of history with explosions
while repairring the sewer a worker forgot to unblock the sewer do to a massive rain storm forecast over night so the boarded up sewer flooded the home and office for the second time
The man responsible should have been made to work at gunpoint 12 hours a day/7 days a week cleaning up the mess that the explosion left behind with his bare hands.
In Henderson Nevada back in the 80's had a building explode and clear acoss East Las Vegas at the Elementary School I was working at felt and heard the explosion. The drop tiles in the ceiling went up and then back down causing them to be misplaced. We went into lock down because Nellis Air force base wasn't to far away from Our school and not knowing what happened we thought we might be under attack. It took us 30 minutes to find out what that explosion was. It was a chemical plant.
I remember my Grandma telling me about a gas line explosion which happened in Cleveland during the 30's or 40's which caused many many deaths. Thanks for another great history lesson! You should have a weekly program on PBS , it would be an Ohio favorite!
Hi John, yet once again, another awesome video about history that probably few people know about or have never heard of. I am so glad that no one got hurt in this explosion. It's interesting that the 18 year old who caused this only spent such a short time in Mansfield Reformatory, (that is very odd, and I'm sure there's more to that story as well). I just could not image a sound that loud at night. It's truly a miracle that none of the mausoleums nor the gravestones were damaged in the explosion. Glad to see you all back out on the road bringing us new and exciting videos for 2023. As always, please be safe in all your travels, and may God bless you all my friend! 🙂
Can't believe the punishment was so little for such a crime. Glad you're doing well. One viewer said it beautifully. You deserve to be a public television host for Ohio's history. Keep up the great work!
Wow. What an interesting story that was! Imagine if that explosion had happened in the city. It would have no doubt killed people and done major damage. It's scary to think that i was done deliberately. What a shame the men that did it only got 60 day in jail. Really?? That was no where near long enough for what they did and the damage they caused. It gave me goosebumps when you were explaining how loud the noise would have been. The loudest noise I have ever heard was a crack of lightning one day, that was directly overhead. I was on the phone at the time and my friend heard it and thought it was some kind of explosion outside. My hearing was not right for several days afterwards, but slowly came back over the next couple of weeks. You tell these tales so well, it has me totally absorbed from beginning to end! Thank you so much - stay well!
What a beautiful Church (chapel) at the start of the video. Some one surely knew exactly what they were doing by dumping those two chemicals. It feels like that 18 yr old "took the rap' for it knowing he would get out early, is my thought. Closest sound I can think of was the jets screaming down the massive lake my family had land on in Maine. Or the passenger planes landing at Logan International airport in Boston back in my mush younger days. You'd get sonic booms day and night. I'm too far away to have heard this, yet this past week a meteor exploded in the air over Wagoner, Ok. Might be very comparable to what happened in that cemetery as far as sound. So amazing that no one was hurt.
A few years ago a house 5.5 miles from my house, across the empty winter farm fields, exploded. It shot me straight up out of bed and I heard the explosion echo off the hills for the next few minutes. Within about 2 minutes scanner traffic explained the explosion. Uninhabited home with a propane leak. No severe injuries. There was debris in the trees for nearly a mile and a 20 foot crater where the house had been. Old trees were laid flat. It was crazy!
That happened near my mom's house when newly built houses were receiving their first occupants. There was nobody living in this house, thankfully. The day it happened, my mom said she heard this very loud explosion and saw a fire. The fire company came and when the fire was out, the house was a huge mound of vinyl siding, shingles, windows and the contents of the house (pipes, water tank, etc.).
Having grown up along the Houston Chip Channel with many petrochemical refineries I have heard many explosions. One explosion made the water in a large YMCA swimming pool jump two foot straight up. A 2:00 AM explosion would scare the life out of you.
I never knew about that John. I took a decent break from social media plus I almost died Christmas night from pneumonia and I didn't know that I was that sick but I'm doing well. They caught the pneumonia early and I was back home that Wednesday after Christmas.
11:20 "60 days for causing a disaster, something doesn't quite add up" That's why we have a justice system and not lynchmobs. The punishment is based on what he actually did (empty the tanks) and wether the explosion is something he should have been able to foresee as a possibilty. Apparently the factory was built so that any spillage or leakage would go into the sewer and that went on for years so if the factory owner, the city etc etc did not thing this could be a danger, how then can you blame a factory worker for not assuming that the fule would go somewhere where it would not be a problem? if you can blame him for the explosion when he could not possibly know that he fuel would pool in the sewer then you can blame the person who threw the cigarette because they should have known that the factory might have spilled something flammable into the sewer, right? The blame for this accident falls on the factory owners because if a tank had ruptured by itself then the exact same thing would have happened. Anyway, these explosions continue to happen all over the world for the exact same reason: people who *do* know better, refuse to do anything about it.
See people? This nonsense answer defending Gauder today in 2023 should help you understand how a liberal judge gave him shock probation. It (stupidity) is all around.
Or maybe he was 17 when he did the crime but turned 18 when he was convicted. There’s not much out there about it. My source of info was a local newspaper but they don’t elaborate
Wow. That story was mesmerizing. I had to listen until the end. But, if the cemetery blew up were caskets not dislodged and sticking out of the ground? How gruesome that would have been!
I think the depth of the burials prevented the caskets from rising above ground level? I’m not certain, but I agree that it would have been gruesome! It’s a miracle nobody was killed.
I lived at the time on Dayton street on North Hill I was in the 8th grade at the time. It woke us up when it happened. It was the talk of our neighborhood and town for quite some time. Sure did find it strange how the person who caused this explosion was basically given a slap on the wrist. 🤔 Glendale cemetery has some other bizarre happenings that surround it also. Some more macabre than others.
Wow! What a story!! I'm so glad no one died or was seriously injured but how in the world could it have been ok for that 18 year old to only serve 2 months of his sentence?? All that damage caused by a young man who knew what he was doing. To me, that's the real tragedy.
Thank you for a great video on this unusual catastrophe that happened near my home town of Copley Ohio. It was very surprising to hear the actual cause of the explosion. Mr. Warren expresses it so correctly, Thank God it happened when it did. Both the lives of his family, the Rubber Co. Employees, and anyone nearby could have been killed or seriously injured. Thank you for the thorough report and the explanation. Very interesting.
Sounds like the unions paid off that guy, maybe hiring him in advance, and the court that sentenced him was in on the deal. Don't believe things are that corrupt in this country? They are and getting worse every day.
A cigarette is categorically NOT the ignition source for this explosion. That would be physically impossible. A cigarette can NEVER get hot enough to trigger an explosion of any flammable vapour I am aware of. You can put cigarettes out by dunking them in boiling petrol in perfect safety. I repeat Perfect Safety. And anyone who denies this is simply unaware of the physics and chemistry involved. So, you better give up the silly cigarette story!
Hello John, it's good to see a new video. I hope things are going well for you. This story is unreal. I'm glad there were no casualties. The culprit should have served his full sentence. Our justice system failed on this. I was just wondering if the Cival war stained glass was restored? Take care.
Thank you Edward! Yep the stained glass was restored although I couldn’t find a price tag for the restoration. They look great from the outside and even better from the inside!
I grew up in Cincinnati I remember this faintly on the news but definitely considering a weekend trip to this cemetery! I love exploring old cemeteries!
I lived in Akron for 4 years and never heard about this until I moved away from the city. Great place to be. Thank you for the local history! Your channel is absolutely amazing
What a story! I'm sure it had to have been on the news over here in Toledo but I don't remember it. The event was just weeks after I graduated from high school (yep, I just aged myself for you all). I might go on an archive hunt to see if The Toledo Blade covered it.
This recalls to mind an especially horrific propane explosion, in Buffalo, NY (December 27, 1983). An illegally kept, 500 gallon propane gas tank (housed in a downtown warehouse) was being moved, by an employee, to a different location within the warehouse, when the tank slipped off his fork-lift and broke tank's seal. The propane gas was quickly filling the place and the Fire Department was called - sadly, within a minute of their arrival the explosion came, instantly killing five of the firefighters and two civilians. The four-story warehouse was leveled (as well as) most everything else within a four-block radius. There were at least 150 people injured - many critically (including other first responders). At the time, I lived in Buffalo (about 5 or 6 miles from the site of the explosion) and was sitting in the kitchen chatting with my mother - suddenly her large windows rattled and the curtains kind of "jumped away" from the windows for a quick second. Of course, we had no idea as to what had just occurred (I looked outside and everything was quiet). Really, just a sad happening for all of those victims. I am glad the Glendale Cemetery story had a better outcome. Thank you for the interesting post - Cheers to all!
Such an interesting piece of history, John. Thank you for all the hard work you and the team put into this historical video. I remember hearing briefly about this in the news. Very unsettling to think of what can occur due to something that leaked into the sewer system. Good to see you back again! Blue.
Good, informative video BUT why not show the pictures full size instead of full size but blurry with a smaller, clear picture over them? Makes it hard to see
Im thinking sign of the times. Shock probation had come into being and was being used pretty liberally. Seems harsh to you with 2023 eyes but the 70s had that soft glow of liberalism. Yuck.
2.5 years ago, the propane marine heater on my sailboat exploded with my face 6" away from it. I did not hear the blast or feel the pressure wave because I was so close to ground zero. I did notice that I was in complete silence as the roof, decks, sides and transom blew away from me. The Coast Guard cannot figure out how I survived, let alone walked away with just burned hands and face.
I have heard of these dead spaces before Chris. Seems as if you were in the perfect spot for the sound waves to go around you instead of hitting you. Glad you made it okay. I take it the boat didn’t survive?
I was 3 miles from the Alfred P. Murrah building on 4/19/1995. I thought the explosion was in the school courtyard, it was that loud. It broke windows a couple miles farther north.
I can remember when Bunsefield Oil Depot in Hemel Hempstead went up with a bang on 11 December 2005. At the time, I was living in South London, and when the explosion happened, I was in bed sleeping. It was loud enough to wake me up, even though my home at the time was about 33 miles away from the site!!!
What the Hell is "Shock Parole"? And why give it to a nameless punk who does $14,000,000 in damage? Was he from a rich family, or son of a police chief?
Another great video. This film would make useful safety training for those who work underground on public utilities either construction or operation. My experience was with a propane explosion investigation on a public sewer. The construction worker involved was severely burned but did live.
Wow. That 18 year old kid just served 60 days?? Kinda makes you wonder if he was related to someone that could pull some strings and get him out. Thankfully no lives were lost. It could have been so much worse. Another good one, John! Hope you & the fam are all doing well. ~Renee~
Ha! Love the Rush mention. Man,..could you imagine opening your front door and the ground being gone? It literally Just missed taking their home! Also, that is one creepy cemetery. I thought those were little houses or sheds at first. Nope! Tombs.
It's actually a nice, lovely cemetery. There's so much green and foliage and it's quaint. The buildings are historical and the chapel is amazing; hopefully they can release the short videos from their trip there--you'll be able to see the beauty. At night, though, I won't deny there is a bit of a creep factor (early 1990's) :) !
Wow what a story. Thank God no one was hurt or died as a result of the individuals dispute of loosing his job. What kind of justice is 90 days. The justice system is a joke seriously.
20 years, should have been more, no parole and hard labor. Something to be said for busting rocks in summer sun instead of just sitting in a cell with free medical and meals.
This is obviously the work of the dead. You said yourself that the blast was big enough to "nearly" wake the dead. I'm saying that they were already awake and busy at their jobs of sabotaging that tire plant.
