On March 1, 1950, at 7:25 pm, a quiet and calm evening in Beatrice, Nebraska was disrupted by a powerful explosion. The force of the explosion was such that windows were shattered in many houses throughout the town, and the broadcast of the local radio station was interrupted.
The epicenter of the explosion was in the West Side Baptist Church, which was immediately engulfed in flames and from which only charred heaps of boards and bricks remained. The cause of the explosion was not fully determined, but the firefighters agreed that it was very much like an explosion from a gas leak.
However, we are not just informing you about this incident on the site about the paranormal.
Among the locals shocked by the explosion, who fled to the burning building, was the Reverend Walter Klempel, who worked in this church and most recently was inside it, because it was necessary to warm up the church stove - at 19.20 the singers of the church choir were to come for their regular rehearsals.
Klempel was horrified, as he was sure that all the choristers were inside the church at the time of the explosion and that all of them certainly died in this terrible explosion. However, firefighters soon reported that no bodies had been found in the building.
And this was the biggest mystery of this incident. All 15 members of the church choir were suddenly and synchronously late for the rehearsal. At the same time, earlier they, on the contrary, tried to come earlier than the appointed time and no later than 19.15 everyone was already assembled in the church.
But on this day, EACH of them, as it turned out later, was delayed by some minor setbacks and very strange absurdities, which is why all 15 people did not come to the time appointed for rehearsals by 19.20.
All of this seems so incredible for an ordinary coincidence that goosebumps run down the skin. Among the choir members were a husband, wife and their daughter. And that day, they all could not come to the rehearsal on time, as the daughter's church dress suddenly turned out to be dirty due to the fact that her daughter accidentally spilled soup on it during dinner. The girl's mother had to look for another suitable dress for her, but it turned out to be crumpled and she took additional time to iron it. Accident?
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Another choir member, a high school student named Ladona Vandergrift, was extremely punctual and was never late for anything. But that evening before rehearsal she was doing her homework and the geometry problem was unexpectedly difficult. The girl pored over her so hard that she completely forgot about the time.
Ladona's friend and also a member of the church choir Rowena Estes and her sister Sadie Estes could not go to the rehearsal, because even in the afternoon their cars suddenly broke down simultaneously. Because of this, both girls called Ladona and agreed that she would pick them up. But, as we wrote above, Ladona sat up for lessons and was unable to pick up the sisters in time. This non-accidental accident saved the lives of all three girls.
Other girls, Lucille Jones and Dorothy Wood, were always among the first to come to the choir rehearsals. But on that very day Lucille listened to the radio program and forgot about the time, and Dorothy did not go alone and waited for Lucille to come for her.
Student and pianist Marilyn Paul that day went to bed after dinner, but fell asleep unexpectedly sound sleep and overslept corny. Marelyn's mother also sang in the church choir, but that day she did not go anywhere, because she could not wake her daughter in any way.
Another member of the choir - stenographer Joyce Black, also felt sleepy and sleepy all day, but in addition to that, she was also attacked by incredible laziness in the evening. The girl lived very close to the church, but she did not find the strength to get up and go to the rehearsal. The windows of her house were knocked out during the explosion, but she was not injured even then.
Another woman named Schuster always came to rehearsals with her daughter, but that day at her work she was asked to stay late to help prepare for an important meeting.
Turner Herbert Kipf was late for the rehearsal because he wrote an important letter and ran into the post office to mail it. When journalists later asked him if the letter was so important that he could not just throw it in the mailbox, Herbert was confused and said that he himself did not understand why he did this.
And the machinist Harvey Ahl planned to come to church with his two sons that time, but he just chatted with them at home and thus saved the lives of all three.
The destroyed church was later rebuilt, but the mystery of the miraculous rescue of 15 choristers still impresses the minds of people who learned about it.