Looking back: Pressure cooker explodes in school kitchen, child’s death under investigation and boys start fire at J.C. Penney
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IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of Oct. 17 to Oct. 23 in east Idaho history.
1900-1925
SHELLEY — A Shelley man received a “terrible beating” from a bartender, The Teton Peak reported on Oct. 20, 1904.
C.J. Underwood “had some trouble” with a bartender at Kearney’s Saloon, so he went home, grabbed a gun, and headed back for the saloon.
“On his way back … he was met by his two brothers who attempted to take the gun from him, and another struggle took place in which the three brothers fought for possession of the weapon,” the article explained.
All three brothers were hurt during the altercation. One of them had their hand “badly injured by being bitten and chewed during the struggle.”
1926-1950
PRESTON — A pressure cooker inside a school kitchen in Preston exploded, The Preston Citizen said in its Oct. 21, 1943, newspaper.
The incident happened at the Jefferson School when Thelma Edwards was using the pressure cooker. The explosion “narrowly missed injuring several of the kitchen aids.”
“There was a cooker full of beets in the container at the time, and the explosion left a gory mess on the ceiling and walls of the kitchen,” The Preston Citizen wrote.
It was believed a crack in the pressure cooker was the cause of the explosion.
1951-1975
LEWISVILLE — A one-year-old Lewisville boy’s death was under investigation, according to The Rigby Star.
The paper said on Oct. 21, 1965, an investigation into Lance Costello’s death was ordered by law enforcement officers after he was said to have died of undetermined causes.
“The child was first brought to the Tall Clinic, and no local doctor was available, and the child was taken to Idaho Falls by Gary Cox (of) Lewisville, who accompanied the child’s father and brother,” the paper said. “The child was dead on arrival.”
The parents said their son fell from his bed. The investigation showed there were bruises on his body, the paper noted.
The Costello family moved to Lewisville only a few weeks before their son’s death.
1976-2000
POCATELLO — Two five-year-old boys set fire to a rack of shirts at J.C. Penney, the Idaho State Journal said on Oct. 21, 1977.
The boys escaped from a parked vehicle they were supposed to wait in and went inside the store’s restroom. They “quickly started a small fire with paper towels and toilet tissue.”
“Thirty-one boy’s shirts burned before store employees extinguished the blaze,” the article reads.
The boys were not charged due to their age, but the paper said their parents “may get a bill for damages.”