Column | Faulty boiler leads to fatal explosion
Centralia, incorporated as a city in 1874, was established around sawmills. The Pioneer Pulp Co., started in 1884, predated the first paper mill by three years.
Erected where Rablin's sawmill had been, the Pioneer was sold to an Appleton man who put in grinders to make wood pulp for making lightweight box frames. Originally they dried the pulp outdoors, then steam dryers were used for a short time, but did not work well.
Big boilers were used to steam wood under pressure, and on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 1900, a frightful death happened when a boiler exploded.
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The boiler, 9 feet in diameter and 14 feet long, was filled with wood about 9:30 a.m. and the steam turned on. Normally carrying 40 pounds of steam, the foreman stated that was what the gauge registered just minutes before the explosion near noon.
Adolph Middlesteadt, working at a pulp machine, was in a direct line with the boiler when it blew. The head tore loose at one side and swung part way around before being blown forward into the mill a distance of 25 feet, smashing timbers and beams like matches. The wood from the tank was tossed hundreds of feet and scattered about the yard. The explosion was so fierce that it blew out one end of the mill building and one side of the engine house, the head striking a barker in its flight and demolishing that, throwing pieces of casting about.
It was probably one of these that struck Middlesteadt, 19, on the side of the face and fractured his skull. He was carried from the mill and it was not known if he would survive.
Henry Podowiltz and Ferdinand Pagel, who also worked in the boiler room, were struck and covered by debris. It caused bruising and lacerations, but they managed to free themselves from the wreckage and got out through a partially jammed door. Both were expected to recover, but from the mess it was hard to believe they were alive.
The boiler room was separated from the mill proper by a passageway about 10 feet wide. When the explosion occurred, the end of the boiler room was caved in and the roof torn off at the end. The whole end of the structure was wrecked and the bricks, boards, beams and wood from the steamer were blown in.
Charles Pagel, unfortunate enough to be walking by outside, was lifted from the ground and hurled 50 feet, falling on the icy pond. His death was instantaneous. The head of the steamer lay just feet from him.
A coroner's jury found Pagel's death came as described above, also stating that the iron on the tank was worn thin where it broke and that made it unfit for use.
The company said a summer inspection found it fine, but a boilermaker who inspected the wreckage said he believed the pressure was much higher than stated. No lawsuits were ever filed.
Rhonda Whetstone is a columnist for Daily Tribune Media, News-Herald Media and Stevens Point Journal Media. Rhonda’s Twitter ID is TribRendezvous, if you wish to follow her musings there. You also can get previews to upcoming columns by clicking “like” Rhonda’s View Rendezvous on Facebook. If you have story ideas of a historical nature, email her at firstname.lastname@example.org.